Harlequin Intrigue July 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Carol Ericson

  Thanks,

  Wayne

  “My dude,” Gregory said, slamming his hand down on the desk victoriously. He replied to Wayne’s message and thanked him, then forwarded the email to Samantha.

  We’re well on our way to getting to the bottom of all this, he wrote before sending it.

  When he heard a commotion outside his office, Gregory looked up and saw Chief Wentworth walking back into his office.

  Gregory was tempted to go ask him if he’d had a chance to look over the police reports that were filed on the vandalisms at Samantha’s house. But considering the new intel he had on the chief and his connection to Collin’s drug ring, the detective decided against it. The last thing he wanted was to bring attention to himself and Samantha and cause a disruption in their investigation.

  Follow your own advice, he told himself. Just be patient and stay the course.

  And with that, Gregory pulled Samantha’s blog back up and began reading her latest post, which she’d aptly titled “We’re Getting Closer to the Truth, My Friends...”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  By the time Samantha walked out of the grocery store, darkness had already fallen over the town. She peered into the parking lot in search of her car. When it didn’t immediately come into view, she clicked on the key fob until taillights blinked over in the far right corner.

  Samantha glanced around the lot before stepping out onto the asphalt. There were very few cars scattered about between the neon-yellow lines. Most of the townspeople usually did their grocery shopping on the weekends, including her. But since her impromptu dinner with Gregory was planned at the last minute, she had no choice but to make a last-minute run to the store.

  “Shoot,” Samantha muttered when one of the handles on her shopping bag tore. She bent down and grabbed the steaks and potatoes before they went tumbling to the ground.

  Just as she gathered the top of the bag and twisted it into a knot, the sound of a revving engine roared behind her.

  A stinging cloud of dread seeped through Samantha’s pores. Her entire body stiffened up. She looked ahead at her car, her vision blurring with fear. It appeared to be miles away.

  “Please, please, please,” she begged, willing her heavy feet to lift off the ground and get her to the vehicle. But it was as if she were in the midst of a nightmare. Everything around her began to move in slow motion and she was stuck in one spot, literally unable to budge.

  But when the sound of screeching tires pierced her ears, she let out a loud scream and darted through the parking lot.

  Samantha refused to look behind her for fear that it would slow her down. When she reached her car, she fell onto the trunk trying to get around to the driver’s side.

  “Come on,” she whimpered, clutching her bags tighter. “Come on!”

  The heel of her boot slipped into a crack in the asphalt. Samantha fumbled, gripping the bumper on the back of her car while barely avoiding falling to the ground.

  Get up, get up, get up!

  She scrambled to her feet, shuddering as a gust of blustering wind rushed past her.

  Samantha whipped around and was blinded by bright yellow headlights. A car was careening toward her at full speed.

  Once again, she found herself unable to move. A stiffening shock invaded her limbs. Her body felt as though it was cemented to the ground.

  As the car zoomed closer toward her, Samantha realized that it was the same dark sedan she’d seen in the alleyway the night her garage was vandalized.

  Her eyes widened with terror. She struggled to peer inside the windows to see who was behind the wheel. But she couldn’t see through the dark tint.

  Samantha recoiled against the back of her car as the vehicle raced past her. She dropped her grocery bags and screamed in terror. The car tore through the lot and onto the street then disappeared into the night.

  “Ma’am!” a woman yelled as she ran toward Samantha. “Are you all right?”

  Samantha clung to the back of her car, trembling with fear as tears streamed down her face.

  “I... I think so,” she stammered, her shaky voice indicating that she was far from okay.

  She watched as a woman scurried past her and picked her groceries up off the ground.

  “I saw what just happened to you,” the woman said, reaching down and helping Samantha stand up straight. “What was with the crazy driver of that car?”

  “It’s a long story,” Samantha sighed. She patted her damp face with the sleeve of her coat, then took her bags from the woman. “Thank you so much.”

  Samantha spun around and rushed inside her car. Her hands struggled to grip her phone and dial Gregory’s number. When she finally got the call to go through, he picked up on the first ring.

  “Hey, I was just thinking about you,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to our dinner tonight.”

  Before Samantha could say a word, she burst into tears.

  “Wh-what’s going on?” he asked. “Are you crying?”

  “I’m at the grocery store,” she sobbed, “and when I came out into the parking lot, somebody tried to run me over!”

  “Wait, somebody what?”

  “Somebody tried to hit me with their car!” she cried out, clenching her heaving chest.

  “Okay, calm down,” the detective said soothingly. “Are you still at the store?”

  Samantha could hear him rustling about, then heard a door slam. A feeling of relief rushed over her knowing he was already on his way there.

  “Yes. I’m in the parking lot. But I don’t feel safe staying here. At all.”

  “Okay. Why don’t you head to your house and I’ll meet you there? The squad car should be watching over your place. At this point, though, I’m honestly not comfortable with the idea of you staying in your home. If it’s okay with you, I’d like you to pack a bag and come stay with me.”

  Samantha opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn’t even formulate the words to express how thankful she was for Gregory.

  “Are you still there?” he asked after several moments of silence. “I hope that suggestion didn’t make you uncomfortable.”

  “No, it didn’t,” she whispered. “Not at all. That’s extremely generous of you to offer. And I will take you up on it. Thank you.”

  Samantha started her car and pulled out of the lot. Her head swiveled back and forth as she searched for the dark sedan, afraid that it would come flying at her out of nowhere. But the street was empty.

  “I’m on my way to your place now,” Gregory told her. “I’ll stay on the phone with you until you get there.”

  “Thanks,” she replied, a rush of gratitude managing to overpower the burning fear churning throughout her body.

  “No problem. I know you’re tough and all, but what you went through tonight must have been terrifying. I’m so sorry this is all happening to you, Samantha.”

  “I’m scared, Gregory,” she blurted out in spite of hating to admit it. She wasn’t used to feeling this vulnerable. But no cold case she’d ever covered had hit this close to home, to the point where she was in such danger.

  “I know you are, Sam. I clearly need to step up protecting you. The good news is that we’re closing in on Collin. The bad news is, he knows it. So he’s amping up the threat against you in hopes that you’ll back off. If it’s any consolation, he’s unlikely to do anything in such a public place. He wants to scare you enough that you’ll stop investigating.”

  Samantha felt a streak of anger shoot through her. She squeezed the steering wheel and pressed down on the accelerator.

  “That’ll never happen,” she insisted. “I don’t give a damn how scared I am, or how crazy Collin gets. I refuse to let up until he is behind bars. Period. I will not quit until we get justice for Jacob.”

  “I understand that, Sam. But like I keep telling you, you
can’t risk losing your life over this. Maybe you should let up on the blog posts for now. Go dark for a minute. Let him think you backed off. Focus on the results we’re waiting to get back from my IT forensics guy. We’ve also got Hudson on our team now. Have you tried to set up that meeting with him?”

  “I did. I reached out to him earlier this afternoon. I’m just waiting to hear back.”

  “Okay, good. Hopefully you’ll hear back soon.”

  The pair grew silent for several seconds. Samantha could feel the pressure as the situation began to close in on them.

  Yet as thoughts of staying at Gregory’s place crossed her mind, she realized that it was all bringing them closer together.

  “I’m a few blocks away from your house now,” he told her. “How far away are you?”

  “I should be there in a couple of minutes.”

  “Okay. I want you to pull your car into the garage—”

  “Which I did get fixed, by the way,” Samantha interjected.

  “Glad to hear it. Once you pull your car in, I’ll go inside the house with you while you pack a bag. Move as quickly as you can, grab what you need, then we’ll take my car back to my house. Cool?”

  “Sounds good. Oh, and I’m so sorry about dinner. You have Collin to blame for missing out on the filet mignon, double-baked potatoes and grilled asparagus I was planning on preparing tonight.”

  “Do you really think I’m about to let Collin ruin our dinner plans? I still have every intention of indulging in our meal. We’ll just pull a little switch up and I’ll take the reins and whip up the meal for us. I’ve got a fantastic red wine that’ll go well with those steaks you bought, too.”

  “You’re so good to me. That would be wonderful. I could really go for a glass of wine right about now. Or three...”

  “Well, lucky for you I’ve got a couple of bottles,” Gregory laughed. “And I just bought a new set of furniture for my deck. Why don’t we sit out there and eat? I can cook up the steaks on the grill, light up the heat lamps and fire pit. Then after we enjoy a nice, relaxing meal, we’ll plot out our next moves on gathering the evidence to present to Mayor Elliot.”

  Samantha felt her stiff back slacken as Detective Harris put her at ease. “I’d like that. We can do it over the cheesecake I bought for dessert.”

  “Mmm, now my mouth is watering...”

  When she turned down her block, Samantha was relieved to see Gregory’s car parked in front of her house.

  “By the way,” he said, “I just pulled up in front of your house.”

  “I see you. I’m pulling up now.”

  Samantha drove up beside Gregory, waving as he nodded and waved back. She could tell by the look in his shining eyes that he was just as pleased to see her as she was him. She lowered the window.

  “Thank you so much for coming to my rescue yet again,” Samantha told him.

  “Ah, don’t even mention it. At this point you’re working harder for the Gattenburg PD than our actual employees. I consider you one of us now. Therefore, I owe it to you to look out.”

  “I appreciate you.”

  “It’s my pleasure...”

  The twosome sat there gazing at one another before Samantha noticed the squad car that’d been keeping watch over her house blink its headlights at her. She tapped her horn and waved.

  “I’m really grateful that Officer Barris has been keeping an eye on my house. Thanks again for setting that up.”

  “No problem.” The detective shifted in his seat and glanced behind him. “All right. Enough with the small talk. We’ll have plenty of time for that once we get to my place. Why don’t you go ahead and pull into the garage, then grab your things? I’ll meet you at the front door.”

  “Will do.”

  Samantha turned into her driveway and clicked the garage door opener. As she waited for the door to rise, she glanced in her rearview mirror and watched as Gregory stepped out of his car.

  He threw on his black leather motorcycle jacket while strolling toward her front door. The cool, confident swagger in his gait, mixed with his sexy good looks and gym-honed physique, had her wondering how she would get through staying at his house without slipping out of her bed and into his.

  * * *

  “GREGORY, THIS WAS absolutely delicious,” Samantha said, dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin. “I hate to admit it, but my meal probably wouldn’t have been as good as yours.”

  “Nonsense. Stop trying to boost my self-esteem. I’m sure yours would’ve been better.”

  Samantha felt a tingling heat creep up the back of her neck underneath the intensity of Gregory’s gaze. She picked up her glass of cabernet and took a long sip, focusing on the rim as opposed to his seductive stare. She knew that if she looked him directly in the eye, she just might jump across the table and do something wildly inappropriate.

  “Well,” she continued, discreetly patting away the beads of sweat that had formed along her hairline, “the filet mignon was grilled to perfection. The twice-baked potatoes were crispy on the outside and nice and tender on the inside, just like I like them. And the charred grilled asparagus was tender and full of flavor.”

  Gregory’s lips spread into a gradual smile. Samantha pressed her fingertips against her mouth and threw him a chef’s kiss.

  “My compliments to the chef. This was amazing.”

  “Why, thank you. You know what they say—when you cook with love in your heart, the meal is always delicious.”

  Samantha cocked her head to one side and felt herself swoon at the sound of those words. “That is what they say, isn’t it?”

  “It is...”

  Gregory refilled their glasses, then set the bottle back down, his expression growing somber. “So, I’ve tried to avoid talking about what happened to you tonight for as long as I possibly could, but we do need to discuss it.”

  She swallowed hard as the elevated energy in her mood quickly spiraled upward. “I know we do. I’m okay. We can discuss it.”

  He swirled his wine around in the glass before continuing. “So you’re sure the car that almost hit you is the same vehicle you saw in the alleyway the day your garage was vandalized?”

  “Yes. I’m positive it was the same car.”

  “But neither you nor the woman who helped you today were able to get a good look at the license plate?”

  “Unfortunately, no. We didn’t. That would’ve been such a huge help, too.”

  “It would have. But that’s okay. I’ve been trying to keep an eye out on all the dark sedans I see across town and run their license plate numbers. My plan is to pull them over and ask questions if anything suspect comes up in the system. So far, they’ve all turned up clean.”

  “Humph. Well, hopefully something will turn up soon. We know Collin drives that obnoxious pickup truck, so my guess is that it’s one of his boys.”

  “That’s my guess, too.”

  Gregory took a swallow of wine, then leaned back in his chair. “Listen, I really hope you took what I mentioned earlier to heart. I want you to start keeping a low profile. Not only should you go dark on the blog for a while, but start being more low-key around town, too. I’ll continue to have Officer Barris keep an eye out on your house. Now that we see Collin and his associates are playing dirtier, we’ll be keeping a closer eye on you, too.”

  The thought of being confined and having to watch her every move irritated Samantha to her core. But deep down, she knew the detective was looking out for her best interest.

  “Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. “I can do that.”

  “You can?” he asked, sounding surprised. “That’s it? You’re not gonna give me any type of pushback?”

  “Nope—” she shrugged “—because I know you’re right. I may be tenacious, but I’m not stupid. It’s obvious that Collin is willing to do whatever he ca
n to silence me. I’ve seen firsthand what’s come of Jacob and the other factory workers. I don’t want to suffer the same fate.”

  “And I don’t want you to. So I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

  Samantha took several sips of wine while staring thoughtfully into the flames flickering in the fire pit. “At this point, I know that getting Mayor Elliot involved is our best hope. So I’m willing to stand down while we gather the necessary evidence to present to him.”

  Gregory held his hand up and gave Samantha a high five. “It’s so awesome to hear you say that, partner.”

  “And it’s so awesome to hear you call me partner. Remember back when you wouldn’t even talk to me about this investigation? Look at you now.”

  He chuckled self-consciously. “Yeah, well, what can I say? You presented a pretty compelling case. Then you charmed me with your good looks and alluring personality. So technically I had no choice.”

  “Oh, is that what I did?” Samantha laughed.

  “It sure is.”

  The twosome stared at each other across the table. Through the corner of her eye, Samantha noticed Gregory’s hand slowly sliding toward hers. Just as their fingertips touched, the heat lamp above them went out.

  “Oh no,” he muttered, glancing up at it. When he stood up and tinkered with the on/off switch, the fire pit’s flames began to die down.

  “What is happening right now?” Samantha asked.

  “I know, right? Are our heat sources trying to tell us something?”

  “Yeah, that we need to wrap things up out here and go back inside,” she told him.

  “Maybe so. Because it looks like this heat lamp is out for the count. I just bought this thing, too. Oh well, it’ll be going right back to the store tomorrow.”

  As Gregory poured water over the fire pit to snuff out the remaining flames, Samantha stood up and began collecting their dishes.

  “By the way,” she said, “since I didn’t hear back from Hudson, I sent him another text message asking if he’d be willing to talk with me tomorrow.”