Chapter 10
Tessa bolted upright. Ghosts clung to the darkened corners of Sam’s side of the duplex. Heart hammering, she searched the room.
“Sam?” His name grated up her raw throat.
“Oh, God.” She slapped her hand over her mouth as full awareness crashed in.
Sam wasn’t here and never would be again.
A sob gurgled into her palm. Tears rained down her cheeks and seeped through her fingers. She blinked them away and licked salt from her lips. Hugging a pillow against the hollow pain in her heart, she settled back into Sam’s leather recliner where she’d fallen asleep.
Lia stretched on the couch and opened her eyes. “What time is it?”
Tessa glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantle and sniffed. Darkness lay beyond the window looking out into the street. “A little after five-thirty.”
“Oh, sweetie. You had another bad dream, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Lia sat up and tucked her legs underneath her. “Same one?”
“Sort of, but Sam’s crash is tacked on at the end.”
Lia reached for her half-eaten bowl of chili on the side table. “I was afraid you’d have nightmares after being in a police station.”
Tessa grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her eyes.
“Even with Hudson and Malcolm by my side, I still wanted to run. I’m on the police’s radar now.
They think I may be included in Sam’s will and Frank found out.
The police will be watching me to see if he tries to make contact so he can gain access to my inheritance. ”
“Are you in the will?”
Tessa rubbed her temples. “If I am, Sam never mentioned it.”
“It makes sense from a speculative standpoint. Did they find any evidence of Frank trying to find you?”
“They didn’t mention any, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking.” Tessa glanced at the laptop still cradled on her thighs. “After you fell asleep, I tapped into my bank’s network. I didn’t detect any breaches.”
Lia held up her fork. “Don’t tell me about your questionable cyber extracurriculars.” She looked around the living room. “You know, just because Sam didn’t mention he’d put you in his will, doesn’t mean he didn’t.”
Tessa hugged the pillow tighter. “I don’t expect to inherit anything, but knowing Sam, he left me this house. My lease ended a few weeks ago. He said he’d get his lawyer to draw up a new one, but we didn’t need it because I’d always have a home.”
Lia sniffed. “That’s beautiful, and so was Sam. Do you know who else is like Sam? Hudson. The hottie on the fridge is something else. I wish I had been there when he and JAG escorted you into the police station.
“JAG?” Tessa raised an eyebrow.
“For Judge Advocate General. That’s what we’re calling Malcolm from now on.”
“You think he’s hot, don’t you?”
“Um, yeah. You know I’m a sucker for a surfer boy.”
“He was in a suit. How did you get surfer from that?”
“Did you not notice the fifty shades of blond in his hair? That’s the glorious work of sun and salt.” Lia stifled a yawn with her fist and stood. “I need a real bed. You coming?”
“I’ll be there soon.” Tessa opened her laptop and tapped in her login credentials. Since they’d left the police station, Lia had tried to convince her that if Frank was in town, it wasn’t her fault.
But facts were facts. If Frank was in Belmarva, she was the reason.
Dammit, she shouldn’t have let the reports from Sam’s investigator lull her into complacency. She should have kept monitoring the city servers and tracking flights into the country for any sign or mention of Frank.
Setting her fingers on the keys, she readied herself for some not-so-ethical, but necessary sleuthing.
As the sun’s first rays filtered through the bay window, Tessa leaned closer to her screen. “Son-of-a-freaking-sea-bass. I was right.”
Hudson needed to see this. She switched out her laptop for her phone and rose.
“Shit.” She didn’t have his number, but she knew where the mansion was.
Darting for her keys, she stopped midway.
“Double shit.” She couldn’t knock on the door when the sun was barely up, but she couldn’t stay here.
Quietly, she slipped into her side of the duplex and changed into her running clothes.
Grabbing a scone, she scribbled a note for Lia and left it on the kitchen table.
Couldn’t sleep. Went to the pier.
Hudson stared at the text on his phone from his buddy at the hospital and cursed.
Commander Daviani was transferred to an undisclosed location.
Malcolm glanced at Hudson from the driver’s seat of his SUV. “Did you get a message from the police?”
“No.” The Welcome to Belmarva sign painted on the water tower glinted in the waning moonlight. As Malcolm turned the corner onto Inlet Drive, Hudson texted the General.
Need another favor. Find out what undisclosed location Lieutenant Commander Christopher Daviani, USN was transferred to from Bethesda Military Medical Center.
His phone buzzed with a response.
Will do. I need a favor too. Meet with the Pentagon about Project V. You’ll be sorry if you don’t. I’ll set it up and contact you with a meeting time.
He didn’t reply. The General’s favor wasn’t a question. It was a command.
Malcolm yawned. “Telling Tessa she’s in the will could have waited until the sun fully rose.”
It could have, but sleep had been cut short by a nightmare. He’d bet Tessa wasn’t faring much better with resting either.
Hudson zipped his hoodie up to his neck. It wasn’t body armor, but the Navy logo was the closest thing he had to a shield. “Take your fee out of my inheritance, and stop whining. Or better yet, take it out of Vivian’s.”
Malcolm laughed. “Man, she was pissed last night when you wouldn’t give her the ring. I swear she was salivating.”
Hudson tightened his jaw. His molars throbbed from the tension. “Did you get the ring to your buddy?”
“Yeah. That’s going to cost you triple. You’re lucky he’s a geek who sleeps all day and games all night.” Malcolm maneuvered around a garbage truck. “Still think it’s a good idea for him to put a tracker in Tessa’s ring?”
“Probably not.” The decision sat wrong in Hudson’s gut, but it was necessary.
“I don’t think she’s lying, but she’s skittish.
Once I’m sure that what she’s guarding has nothing to do with Pop, I’ll take it out.
” He yawned and stretched his denim-clad legs.
“Still won’t tell me what Pop left her, other than it’s sizeable. ”
“You know I can’t until I file the paperwork and contact all the parties involved. In the meantime, you might want to start calling Tessa an heiress.”
“I don’t think so.” Pretty little thief suited her to a T.
“I’m serious, man. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but she’s worth enough to kill for.”
Malcolm’s words hung in the air with the weight of all the implied zeroes.
The shift heightened every instinct Hudson possessed.
“Jesus, that kind of money isn’t an inheritance—it’s an invitation for all sorts of danger.
” He cut his gaze to the window and searched for threats.
“How soon until you can reveal the contents of the will?”
“Tomorrow night.”
Malcolm pulled into Pop’s neighborhood. Way too many cars for a fall Saturday morning lined the streets. Fuck, he’d forgotten about the tournament.
He debated telling Malcolm to turn around. He couldn’t handle condolences and stories from Pop’s friends who might pass by on their way to the pier, but he had a mission.
Malcolm whistled low as they approached the duplex. The paramedic from last night sat on the steps tying her sneakers. The porch light cast a soft glow over the hair piled on her head.
He glanced at Malcolm. “Pick up your jaw.”
Malcolm waved to her as he pulled into the driveway. “I have a theory about why Pop didn’t tell you the truth about Tessa’s age.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Well…” Malcolm cut the engine. “The last time Pop tried to set you up it was a disaster.”
Hudson looked at the scar on his palm. “I made the old man swear never to introduce me to another ‘nice girl’ again.”
“So, if he had told you he wanted you to meet the nice girl next door, you would have run the other way.”
“You’re not wrong.”
Hudson opened the door and swung his legs out. As he cursed Pop’s suspected deviance, he met Malcolm on the paved path to the porch.
Lia met them halfway. “If you’re looking for Tessa, she went up to the tournament.”
Hudson’s stomach bottomed out as he glanced toward the pier. “How long ago did she leave?”
Lia shoved her hands in the back pocket of her running shorts and eyed Malcolm from head to toe. “Not sure. I was about to go back inside and grab a scone and go find her.”
“Ralphie’s scones?” Malcolm rubbed his stomach.
Worry rippled across Lia’s face. “Yeah. Is Ralphie okay?”
“Last I checked, he was asleep at the house. Would you happen to have coffee too?”
Hudson backed down the path. “I’ll go up to the boardwalk and look for Tessa. Save me a scone.” Now that he was here, he couldn’t wait another moment to speak to her.
Head down, he stepped onto the boards. There hadn’t been many people on the street, but tournament-goers stood shoulder to shoulder on the pier.
He scanned the crowd for Tessa. No sign of auburn curls.
Pop’s friends would have been here hours ago to claim their favorite spots well over the water.
Walking through the crowd filled him with more apprehension than visiting Chris yesterday.
Stop being a coward.
He squared his shoulders and fortified himself like he did before he went into surgery.
As he stepped toward the pier, the line at the Coffee Hut shifted.
Long, lean legs he’d already memorized the shape of came into view.
He locked his focus on Tessa’s neon pink running shorts as she stepped out of an older woman’s embrace and turned her teary face in his direction.
Sliding behind a pickup truck, he took a photo in case he needed something to share with the authorities—not because she looked more beautiful than the pale light painting the horizon. As he put his phone in his jeans pocket, the woman pointed to the pier.
Tessa shook her head and backed up. With a little wave, she turned and walked away.
He understood Tessa’s retreat to his core.
Careful not to catch anyone’s eye, Hudson followed Tessa for a block. As he opened his mouth to call her name, she broke into a run.
“Fuck.” His ribs flared at the exertion they weren’t healed enough for. Breathing hurt as he wove through a group of people carrying coolers and lawn chairs. He should stop and wait for Tessa to double back, but letting her disappear wasn’t an option.
He held his side as he pumped his legs. He didn’t bother calling her name. She wouldn’t hear it over the wind anyway. But when he caught up to her, he’d get close enough to read every flicker across her face when he asked about Pop’s will.
His phone buzzed. Slowing, he fished it out of his pocket and read a message from the General.
Found nothing more about Tessa McVie other than what you shared. Still looking into Frank McVie. Uncovered this video. It’s legit. The place and time are consistent with events.
Hudson hit play on the attachment. Slowing to a fast walk, he watched the evidence unfold “Son-of-a-fucking-sea-bass.”
As he looked up, a man dressed in head-to-toe black stepped onto the boardwalk and headed straight for the pretty little thief.