Flawless Danger (The Spencer & Sione #1)

by Rachel Woods

  “Then why don’t I have that envelope?”

  Spencer took a deep breath. “I am still looking for it.”

  “No, you’re playing house with Sione Tuiali’i and giving me excuses, telling me what you won’t do.”

  “I will find the envelope,” she said, clutching the burner phone so tight, she thought she might crack it.

  “Have you searched the entire casita?”

  “Not yet, but—”

  “Did you use the GHB?”

  “I told you, I’m not going to—”

  “You are going to do exactly what I tell you,” he said. “Go back to his casita. Use the GHB. Once Sione Tuiali’i is unconscious, you need to search every inch of his casita. Do not stop until you find that damn envelope.”

  “What if the envelope is not in his casita?”

  “It has to be there,” Ben said, after a slight hesitation, one she almost didn’t catch. “The envelope is in that casita. Find it. Don’t disappoint me. You have until the end of the week.”

  “The end of the week?” Panicked, Spencer stood again. “Today is Friday!”

  “Then maybe you should hurry up and start looking.”

  “I can’t guarantee that I’ll find it in two days!” she said. “You have to give me more time!”

  “Well, sweet girl, let me tell you what I can’t guarantee,” he said. “I can’t guarantee that I won’t burn your grandmother’s house to the ground, and I can’t guarantee that she won’t be at home when I strike the match.”

  His threat hit her like a sledgehammer and took all the breath from her body, leaving her trembling and gasping. “No ...” She dropped to the floor, struggling to speak. “Please ... don’t ... hurt—”

  The cell phone slipped from Spencer’s hand, banged against the hardwood floor, and skittered toward the settee at the foot of the bed. A hot mass formed in her throat, and as she struggled to swallow it, Spencer stared at the phone until it started to blur. A tear slid down her cheek and then another, salty trickles dripping from her chin.

  chapter 67

  San Ignacio, Belize

  Belizean Banyan Resort - Honeymoon Casita

  Staring at her reflection in the framed mirror above the dresser, Spencer took several deep breaths and tried to calm down. Since her conversation with Ben yesterday afternoon, she’d been consumed with how she would accomplish Step Three. So far, the GHB seemed to be her best option.

  Spencer didn’t want to use the GHB.

  But she had to.

  Because of that damn blue file with the photos John had taken of her.

  John’s suspicions might hinder her search for the envelope Ben wanted. The only way to remove those hindrances would be to drug John. Spencer glanced at the vial of GHB and then at her reflection, hating herself for what she was going to do, but she didn’t have a choice. If she didn’t find that damn envelope, then—

  I can’t guarantee that I won’t burn your grandmother’s house to the ground, and I can’t guarantee that she won’t be at home when I strike the match.

  She had to use the GHB, or Ben would hurt her grandmother. Taking a deep breath, Spencer tried to calm down, but it wasn’t working. Nothing would stop her heart from slamming. Not when she couldn’t stop thinking about Step Three.

  I want you to pour him a glass of wine, and then pour the contents of the vial I sent you into the wine. Once he has passed out, find the envelope, and then call me. I’ll tell you what to do next when I hear from you. I know you can do it, so don’t disappoint me. I’m not asking you to do anything that you haven’t done before.

  Ben was right. She had drugged men before. Today, she would have to do it again. Spencer knew she could, but it wouldn’t be easy. It never was.

  Unlike Rae, Spencer had never mastered the art of remaining calm while watching a man drain a glass of drugged wine. She usually had to force herself to go through with it, but it was always damn near impossible to convince herself that she could actually unscrew the top off the vial and pour the liquid into the glass of wine.

  Most times, she’d have to trick herself into drugging the guy and pretend she was acting in some movie. Still, she was always tense and nauseous, waiting for the man to succumb to the effects of the drug and slump over, unconscious.

  She stared at the vial of GHB.

  I’m not asking you to do anything that you haven’t done before …

  Spencer took another long, deep breath. No more hesitating, it was time to—

  No, she couldn’t do it, not this time.

  She couldn’t drug John. Cursing, Spencer grabbed the vial, glaring at it. The GHB seemed to stare back at her, mocking her, warning her, congratulating her.

  You can’t do it, you dumb bitch. You’ve gotten too close; you’ve fallen in love with him and for what? So he can break your heart when he finds out you’re a lying, thieving bitch?

  You have to do it, or you’ll never find the envelope, and Ben will kill your grandmother, the woman who loved you when your own mother abandoned you! Her death will be your fault!

  You can’t drug John. It isn’t right. You can’t keep making bad decisions and stupid mistakes. You do have a choice. You don’t have to steal or lie!

  The thoughts played over and over in her mind.

  Finally, no longer able to stand the horrible, dizzying mantra, Spencer hurled the vial against the wall.

  chapter 68

  San Ignacio, Belize

  Belizean Banyan Resort - Owner’s Casita

  Sione opened the door and found himself a bit speechless.

  Ms. Edwards stood on the porch outside his casita, at a little past two in the afternoon, wearing the pink sarong she’d bought on their trip to San Pedro. He remembered her having problems figuring out how to tie it, but she seemed to have done a fairly decent job by herself and had somehow managed to showcase her cleavage. She looked beautiful, just like he remembered. Not that he’d forgotten or could ever forget.

  “Hi.” She smiled a little.

  “Hi.” He smiled back, just a little, no more than she did. He didn’t want her to think he was happy to see her, or anything, even though he might have been glad she was at his door. He was a bit upset about her disappearing act yesterday morning. Ms. Edwards had left the kitchen when D.J. arrived, claiming she was going off to take a shower.

  After what D.J. had told him about the Xanax box he’d found in Maxine Porter’s closet, Sione had toyed with the idea of questioning Ms. Edwards about the fake passports and money she’d delivered to Carla Garcia, Karen Nelson, and Maxine Porter. By the time his cousin had left, Ms. Edwards was gone.

  “Don’t mean to bother you,” Spencer said. “But I think I left my earrings in the guest room when I stayed here last night.”

  Sione nodded, thinking it might be a good time to find out what Ms. Edwards had to say about the money and fake passports. He wasn’t sure he wanted to interrogate her right this moment. He wasn’t sure how to pose the questions he needed answers to.

  “My grandmother gave me those earrings. They’re really special to me.” Ms. Edwards looked a bit irritated as a jungle breeze blew a strand of hair across her face. “Would it be okay if I looked for them?”

  Sione stepped back, allowing her to enter. “Sure, no problem.”

  As she walked into the foyer, he tried to remind himself that she wasn’t the kind of woman he wanted to get involved with, no matter how beautiful she was. If Ms. Edwards was mixed up with fake passports and illicit money, it would be best to stay away from her. The problem was, Sione didn’t want to stay away. He actually wanted to get a bit closer.

  chapter 69

  San Ignacio, Belize

  Belizean Banyan Resort - Owner’s Casita

  Spencer slipped into John’s master bedroom and then closed the doors behind her.

  Taking a deep breath, she stood still, waiting for her blood pressure to lower, praying she wouldn’t have a stroke. It was probably crazy to be in his bedroom, without hi
s permission, when he could walk in at any time. But she had to look for the envelope. She had to find the envelope.

  Showing up on his doorstep today had been a gamble. Spencer half-expected he would deny her access, but he’d allowed her entry, and she had to make the most of it, especially since he was still in the casita, alert and conscious, not slumped over somewhere, suffering the effects of GHB.

  She’d been determined not to drug John, despite Ben’s orders, even though it might have made things easier for her.

  The lie she’d told John about missing earrings had taken a toll—emotionally and physically. She was literally on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but she couldn’t fall apart.

  In addition to John’s bedroom, Spencer had only two more to search. Hopefully, she would find the envelope. Step Three would be done, she could give the envelope to Ben, he would give her the video, and she could leave Belize and never look back.

  And never see John again.

  Spencer moved from the door and dashed to the large walk-in closet, a long, thin rectangle with racks of clothes on either side. At the back was a huge armoire against the wall, a massive piece of furniture with two doors and three drawers at the bottom. Spencer hurried to the armoire and eased to her knees on the cool hardwood floor in front of it, staring at the drawers.

  She couldn’t help but remember the night she’d opened that drawer in Ben Chang’s closet, unaware of the hell she was unleashing in her life. Why hadn’t she known what Ben was capable of then? Why hadn’t she seen the signs? Looking back, with twenty-twenty hindsight of course, she realized all the evidence had been there. The guns. The money. Why hadn’t she made the conclusions? Maybe the better question was why hadn’t she wanted to make those conclusions?

  Spencer opened the bottom drawer and pushed aside the assortment of T-shirts. Pulling the drawer out farther, she pushed aside more T-shirts. Near the back corner of the drawer was a square of chamois. Peeking beneath the edge of it was a strange sickle-shaped object, hard and black, with a razor-sharp point.

  Spencer lifted the soft cloth. Gasping, she stared at four long claws, which seemed to be welded, or fused somehow, on top of what looked like a set of brass knuckles. Her heart slamming, she picked up the claws. What the hell? Why did John have these strange claws in his drawer? What were they used for?

  The severed hand, covered with blood, in Maxine Porter’s closet invaded her mind. Horrified by the potential direction of her thoughts, Spencer put the claws back were she’d found them and slammed the drawer.

  Shuddering, Spencer pulled out the second drawer, trying to push the image of those strange claws from her mind. Struggling to forget the questions swirling in her head, she focused on the contents in the second drawer.

  A compass, a bundle of letters, an old cigar box, a Mont Blanc pen, and a faded three-by-five picture of a woman, an exotic island girl with sun-kissed caramel skin and long, thick, black hair swept over one shoulder. She turned the photo over and saw a name scribbled on the back. Moana. Spencer flipped the photo and stared at the exotic beauty. Was this the old girlfriend? The woman who wouldn’t stop calling? The woman he claimed he didn’t want to talk to? The woman he’d broken his promise to? Or, maybe—

  “Ms. Edwards.”

  Startled, Spencer looked back over her shoulder, heart pounding.

  John stood in the entrance to the closet, frowning at her. “What are you doing in here?”

  Panicked, she shoved the photo back into the drawer and then closed it. “Nothing,” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. “I was just …”

  “Just?”

  Letting out a slow, silent exhale, Spencer stood and turned to him. With two long strides, John was inches from her, staring at her, making her uncomfortable with his piercing gaze, as if he was trying to figure her out, or size her up. Spencer forced herself to stare back, to match his gaze, trying to summon up a sly sassiness. The truth was, she was shaking in her boots.

  “I thought you said your earrings were in the guest bedroom?” John asked, his gaze and his tone holding traces of suspicion.

  “I checked the guest bedroom, but they weren’t there,” she said. “Then I remembered that I left the guest room and spent the night in your room … with you … so I decided to check in your closet because I got the T-shirt from your closet, remember?”

  “I remember,” he said, his gaze still piercing.

  “Because I needed something to sleep in …” she said, trying not to stammer, wondering if he believed her story.

  “Did you find your earrings?”

  “No, I didn’t,” she said and then ventured to walk around him, desperate to get the hell out of the closet.

  John stepped in front of her. Swallowing, Spencer stepped back, looking up at him.

  “What do the earrings look like?”

  Spencer took a quick breath. “Oh, um … they’re just little pearls. Not expensive or anything.”

  Nodding, he said, “I’ll tell the housekeeping staff to look out for them.”

  chapter 70

  San Ignacio, Belize

  Belizean Banyan Resort - Owner’s Casita

  As Sione escorted her out of his bedroom, two thoughts dominated his mind. One, Ms. Edwards had lied to him. Her story about missing pearl earrings was bullshit. Although, he had to admit, it was a pretty good cover. Special earrings given to her by the grandmother who’d raised her after her mother died. Of course, she’d want to look for them.

  But Ms. Edwards hadn’t returned to his casita to look for misplaced jewelry. She had come back to look for something though. Damn if he knew what. Sione sighed as his second thought eclipsed his first. Ms. Edwards looked just as good from behind as she did from the front. He told himself that didn’t matter. He couldn’t get caught up in her beauty, because—

  Excited shrieks made his heart jump for a second. Turning toward the commotion, he saw his little second cousins, Keisha, Maggie, and India, racing down the hall toward them.

  “Miss Spencer! Miss Spencer!” the girls squealed and giggled, dashing over to Ms. Edwards, all three of them trying to throw their arms around her.

  Setting her purse on the accent table in the foyer, Ms. Edwards eased to her knees, eye level to them, and hugged them back. She matched the girls’ squeals and giggles and seemed to enjoy all the attention they lavished on her. Sione found it hard to reconcile the woman who was so affectionate with his second cousins and the woman who might have been mixed up in something illegal.

  Finally, Ms. Edwards stood. Two of the girls grabbed her hands, while the third latched on to her elbow, and they began to drag her out of the foyer, excitedly announcing all the plans they had to spend the afternoon playing and inviting her to join them.

  “Wait, wait,” Ms. Edwards told the girls. “We need to ask your cousin if it’s okay for me to play with you.”

  Immediately, the girls turned to Sione and began shouting their wishes. “We want Miss Spencer to play with us!” the girls pleaded, though there was an undercurrent of command in their high-pitched pleas. “Let her stay and play with us!”

  Sighing, Sione crossed his arms, looking down at the cute little expectant faces staring up at him, waiting for his answer. Of course, he knew he couldn’t say “no,” or there would be hell to pay, bitter tears and threats of retaliation.

  He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Ms. Edwards playing with his second cousins.

  The recent revelations about her were damaging and, if he were honest with himself, more than a bit disappointing. Sione could no longer give Ms. Edwards the benefit of the doubt because there was no proof that money and passports had been in the bags she’d switched.

  D.J. had found the Xanax box in Maxine Porter’s closet, which meant Ms. Edwards had made the delivery to the store clerk. Sione couldn’t pretend Ms. Edwards was innocent anymore. Yet he didn’t like the view of Ms. Edwards as deceptive and manipulative. He was having trouble wrapping his mind around the idea of her as
a criminal.

  The longing look in Spencer Edwards’ eyes as she smiled at the girls made him think of her childhood. The brief glances she’d allowed him so far were of a lonely, neglected little girl. Knowing firsthand the effects of a troubled upbringing, Sione was inclined to think he might be wrong about her. Maybe the situation with the fake money and passports wasn’t so black and white. Maybe there was a reason for her involvement, one that could be explained, understood, and even accepted.

  Glancing at Ms. Edwards, Sione had a feeling she wanted to stay and play with the girls just as much as they wanted her to. If he didn’t allow the “play date,” she might be more upset than the girls. On a practical note, he hadn’t planned to babysit today. His cousin Terrance, the girls’ father, had caught him off guard with the request, and Sione hadn’t said no, even though he was behind on a lot of paperwork.

  He had invoices to approve, more résumés for the pool assistant position to review, and business proposals to consider. It would help him out if Ms. Edwards could keep the girls occupied while he got some work done.

  “Can Miss Spencer stay and play with us?” Maggie ran to him, giving him the sweetest, toothless smile. “Please?”

  Unable to resist, Sione reached down, picked Maggie up, and kissed her cheek. “Yes, love, Miss Spencer can stay and play with you and your sisters.”

  Happy and excited, Keisha and India cheered and clapped, and when Sione looked over at Ms. Edwards, the smile she gave him was even sweeter.

  chapter 71

  San Ignacio, Belize

  Belizean Banyan Resort - Owner’s Casita

  Sione stood just outside the arched entryway into the kitchen. Ms. Edwards and the girls sat at the large round table in the breakfast nook, giggling and talking, the four of them creating some type of art project. The table was littered with large sheets of construction paper in every color, pencils, markers, stickers, glue, watercolors, scissors, and glitter.