“There is some information the public doesn’t know.”
A familiar rumbling started deep in Luke’s gut. The sensation rose inside him whenever he hovered on those last few steps before gaining the information he needed. “Such as?”
“This is confidential, you understand.”
Like he would ever share a confidence with this guy. “Understood.”
“Money is missing.”
“From?”
Steve glanced around and then leaned in as if sharing a trade secret. “This is the difficult part. You see, in addition to a family trust, Phil and I run a very successful commercial real-estate-development company. We’re responsible for most of the new construction you see in the Maryland suburbs. We develop—”
Enough with the advertisement. “What does this have to do with Claire?”
“The company employs over four hundred people. People with pension funds that are now missing.”
Luke had not seen that allegation coming. He didn’t believe it one bit, but he gave Steve credit for dropping it at just the right moment. “You’re saying Claire stole money out of office accounts without anyone knowing it?”
“Yes.”
“Did she even work there?”
“She is a very enterprising young woman. Convinced Phil to discuss vital business facts with her, shared the paperwork. That sort of thing.”
“And somehow she wrote a big business check to herself without anyone seeing?”
“She has those skills. I would venture to say if Phil had understood her background before they got married…” Steve sat back in his chair. Made quite a scene of pretending to be buddies, as he shook his head. “Well, let’s just say it’s unlikely we would be in this position.”
“Her background?”
“Her father was a con man. Look how she caught Phil.”
Luke wasn’t sure what bits of information grew out of a truth, but he suspected the one about Claire’s father did. “Why isn’t the news about the theft all over the press?”
“We’re holding back those pieces, hoping to flush Claire out. It is possible, at this point, that some of the money can be recovered. We need to tread carefully for the sake of our employees.”
“And you think she’s still in town?”
“I know she is. There have been sightings.”
And shootings. In Luke’s mind, the only thing missing at this point was a car chase. “Have you checked the house?”
“Phil is the owner of several properties. The only one that’s open and not being watched is the family horse farm out in Loudon County.”
“She doesn’t strike me as the farm-girl type.”
“Except for staff, no one else goes there. It’s actually a fairly recent purchase. Phil bought it for Claire when they got married. As a surprise he had it remodeled, and that’s only recently been completed.”
“Claire owns a farmhouse.”
Steve scoffed. “Well, no. The Samson family owns it. I doubt she could even find it. Once Phil suspected there was a problem in the marriage and with Claire’s honesty, he took great pains to make sure she never knew of the property except as a business investment.”
“So he bought her a house and then didn’t tell her about it.” Yeah, that made about as much sense as everything else Steve was saying. Luke just wondered how much more he had to hear.
“To my knowledge he never took Claire there or let it be known that it was to be her legacy. We quietly folded it into the business. You see, Phil didn’t trust his wife.”
“Obviously.”
“Turns out he was right to be troubled.”
“Sounds like it, but look, I can’t help you. I cut my ties with her a long time ago.”
“All I am asking is that you be aware. If she does come to you, please contact me.” Steve reached into his jacket and pulled out a business card. He slid it across the table. “My deal is always open.”
“Good to know.”
HOLDEN CLEARED his throat. “You can let go of my arm now.”
Claire eased her fingernails out of his skin. She didn’t even know she had him in a death grip until he mentioned it. “I’m sorry.”
“I could be wrong, but I think Steve doesn’t like you.”
She pushed the chair back, letting it squeak against the wood floor. “Because he accuses me of theft and low morals?”
“Yeah, that’s about where I sensed the dislike.”
“I had dinner with that man every week.” She pointed at the empty screen. “He was decent to my face and…and…”
“I get it.”
“Do you think he believes that garbage?”
“I think he trusts his brother.”
She snorted. “So did I.”
“Right now we have bigger problems.” Holden tapped on the keys.
“What?”
“Someone, probably someone who took Steve up on his big money offer, is following Luke.”
The laptop switched to a street scene. Claire could see Luke’s dark sedan. When Holden split the image, she saw the second car. “What are we going to do?”
“Wait an extra half hour for Luke to get back while he loses the clown.”
“But he—”
“Have a little faith, Claire.”
That’s the one thing of which she’d always had a very low supply. “I do.”
Holden smiled. “Nah, not yet. But you’ll learn.”
Chapter Nine
The next morning Luke stood by his car and stared down at the map of Loudon County spread out on his hood. From Adam’s digging through court records and corporate shell companies, they knew the top-secret Samson property sat a mile to the west.
Luke knew he wanted to get in there and poke around. Putting an end to this mess for Claire moved farther out of reach the more they worked. The evidence kept stacking up against her. Much more and it would fall right on top of her.
But that wasn’t what ate at Luke on this cloudy fall morning. A day later and he still hadn’t brushed off the stench of sitting at a table with Steve. The guy’s words lingered. Not that Luke believed the garbage about Claire stealing pension funds. He didn’t need Adam to trace that one. If money was missing, she was not the one to blame. He refused to believe her faults extended to embezzlement.
Besides that, the facts just didn’t fit. If she had that kind of cash, counting into the millions, and really had no compunction about taking what wasn’t hers, then she’d be gone. Her integrity wouldn’t have forced her to stay. Sticking around for the sole purpose of driving him nuts and taking another tumble between the sheets didn’t make any sense. No, Claire didn’t take the money.
That left Phil or Steve. Luke hoped that something in this house would point to one of them. Finding Phil alive and kicking back by the fireplace would do it. With that information, Luke could go to the police and prosecutor. Until then, he had a bunch of theories and a bullet wound and little else to prove Claire’s innocence.
“Why are you frowning?” Claire asked as she fought with the cool breeze to hold down the edge of the map.
“I still don’t like this. You being here. It feels wrong.”
“It’s always nice to spend some quality time together. Happy to know you appreciate it.”
“You know what I mean. This is dangerous.”
“Too scary for the little lady?” She skimmed her fingers over the red circle outlining the acres the Samson family owned. “Get over the macho garbage. This was your plan, if you recall.”
His temper flared to life, licking at the inside of his skull and begging to get out. “To come out here, yeah. But my scenario had you back at the safe house listening to the radio—”
“Like that would happen.”
“—while we carried out the surveillance.”
She stared him down even though she had to lift her chin to do it. With hands on her hips and the skin of her cheeks pulled tight in anger, she treated him to a tsk-tsk sound.
&n
bsp; “You know I’m right,” he fired off before she could launch into whatever diatribe she was cooking in that head of hers.
“This is my life.”
“And this is my team. Hell, we don’t even know if we’re at the right place.” Luke looked at Holden for support. His friend of more than two years just shrugged.
So much for having his back.
Claire poked Luke’s arm to get his attention. “Luke—”
“Easy. That’s still sore.”
“Steve is right. No one comes out here except the help. Look around you.” She swept her hand out to the side, across the acres of crisp, green perfectly mowed grass and gentle hills. “It’s the perfect place for Phil to hide.”
“It’s not exactly roughing it, either.” Adam set his laptop down on the car and pointed at the photo of the front of the Samson manor home, then clicked through a series of other pictures. “This thing should be on a hill in Europe somewhere. There’s an actual helicopter pad on the far end of the property. And what is that, like, ten thousand square feet under roof?”
To Luke it looked like five times that much. Beige stone reaching at least three stories high. There was an extra wing coming from the main house in a diagonal to the right and a row of garages to the left. He was surprised he didn’t see a moat and a drawbridge.
If Phil was in there it could take a year and an entire police force to track him down. Luke knew he needed to shortcut that process.
“Have you tapped into the security feed?” Holden asked as he chugged the last of his coffee and squashed the cup in his fist.
“That’s where this gets interesting.” Adam clicked on a button and four images filled the screen. Four blocks, four big guys with even bigger guns.
“There a lot of crime out here?” Holden asked.
Claire made a clicking sound with her tongue. “He’s in there. Leave it to Phil to live in greater luxury and with more security while in hiding than he did during his regular life.”
Luke couldn’t disagree because he knew she was right. Somewhere in that mass of firepower and maze of rooms sat Phil. Waiting, scheming, ready to pounce on Claire the minute he saw her.
Steve may not have figured it out, but Luke had. The minute the other man mentioned the house, a fissure of knowledge moved through Luke. Claire must have felt the same way, because she announced her discovery the second he’d walked into the safe house last night. They didn’t talk about the other things Steve had said, only the house.
“I need to get in there and look around without getting my butt kicked or shot at. Again,” he said.
Claire puffed out her chest. “I’ll get you in.”
Adam groaned as he turned away from the car.
Luke decided to make his dismissal of the idea even clearer. “That is never going to happen.”
“I know the house plans. I know where Phil might be. You can’t do this without me.”
“Watch me.”
“You said yourself the place is huge. I am the only hope we have to make it past the front door, with Adam’s help on the alarms, of course.”
“I thought you’d never been here before,” Holden said.
About time his friend stood up and helped out. “Exactly. You have as much information as we do. None.” Luke said.
“Steve was wrong about that.” She folded the map. “You don’t think my attorney found this house? Look at it. Even my budget lawyer could look through records. This house was on the table at the time we started working on our divorce settlement agreement.”
“Your attorney has some good contacts, then, because this was not easy to track,” Adam said.
“My point is that Steve didn’t know everything his brother was up to. If he did, that pension money might still be in its account.”
“All good arguments, but no.” Luke plucked the map out of her fingers. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I am the one Phil wants.”
“That position does not work in favor of your argument.” Luke slipped a microphone into his ear and glanced at Adam. “You’re going to have to steer me through.”
Adam shook his head. “I’ll try.”
“Since when is that good enough?”
“We have a disadvantage.” Adam flipped the top of his laptop closed.
“You mean another disadvantage,” Holden said.
“Yeah. See, the house plans on file with the county are interim plans and they don’t match the house I’m looking at. That whole right side is new. I can’t find anything about the construction and what’s in there now. I can rig something through the camera feed, but I can’t guide you from room to room.”
“Which is why I am going in,” she said.
Luke didn’t think the pounding in his head could get any louder, but it did. “Absolutely not.”
Holden laid a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Luke, she’s going.”
“Thank you.” If she smiled any wider her eyes would disappear.
“It’s not a compliment. I just know that unless I tie you to the steering wheel, you’re going after him.” Holden threw Luke a pitying look. “So just accept it and get moving.”
Luke felt the ground shift beneath him. “You can’t keep one woman in her place?”
Holden glanced at Claire and then back again. “Not this one.”
“Then it’s settled.” She snapped the map out of his fingers before he could stop her. “Do I get a weapon?”
“I’m already regretting this,” Holden said.
Luke frowned. “That makes two of us.”
CLAIRE CROUCHED DOWN behind a hedge cut into the shape of a diamond. A four-foot diamond. Yeah, because having a big ol’ house didn’t make a strong enough expression of wealth. The Samson family went one step further and cut the rows of greenery that divided the garden from the pool in the shape of symbols from a deck of cards.
She wondered how she survived almost two years with Phil. And how she lived through the same time without Luke.
He ducked down beside her. He scanned the area, his eyes constantly taking in the surroundings.
“What’s that building?” He pointed to one of the many structures sitting in the back half of the property.
She had no idea what it was. She had never been here. Didn’t even remember Phil mentioning the place. Kind of hard to believe he just forgot he owned a multimillion-dollar property in the middle of horse country.
“The pool house.” Because of its location, she engaged in some deductive reasoning. But really, the answer didn’t matter. Phil wasn’t hanging around outside. He lurked somewhere behind the heavy draperies.
“Where do you think he is?”
“Phil?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
She knew, but she was stalling, trying to come up with the most logical response. “I think he could be…”
Luke’s face fell. “You have no idea, do you?”
“Of course I do. I was married to him.” When Luke didn’t move, she gave up. “Okay, no.”
“All that stuff about your attorney?”
“That wasn’t true. I only said all of that so that you’d stop arguing about me coming with you. But how exactly could my attorney miss a house like this when he went searching for Phil’s assets?”
“The part about you knowing the house?”
“A complete lie.”
“Steve was right. You didn’t know it existed.”
“Didn’t have a clue.”
Luke sighed heavily enough to part her hair. “What’s with all the subterfuge?”
“You were going to leave me behind.”
“I still might.”
“It’s too late.”
“Is that why you’re telling me the truth now? You think I can’t have Holden come in here and get you?”
“I’m saying it because it matters now. It was irrelevant then.”
Luke smacked his lips together. “That pretty much sums up our entire relationship, doesn�
�t it? You make whatever decision is best for you and screw me.”
The abrupt turn in topic sent her stomach in free fall. “This probably isn’t the right time for a ‘what happened to us’ discussion.”
“I’m starting to think there’s never going to be a right time.”
“Then why did you bring it up?”
“I regret that I did.” His gaze went to the speakers mounted around the outside area. “We know there are cameras out here somewhere because the Samsons love that sort of thing and the house plans we do have show a significant security operation downstairs. I’d bet they’re hidden in those mountings.”
As he droned on about wiring, something sharp and painful broke loose inside of her. The dam holding back all of the frustration and loss burst.
“You want to know why I left you?” The question was rhetorical because she sure as hell intended to tell him.
His eyes shifted to the side. “Uh, Claire…”
“I grew up with a man who hid the truth. He avoided questions and pushed my needs aside to focus on his own. When I woke up one morning and realized I was about to marry a man just like him—that’s you—I panicked.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open. “Wait a second. You’re comparing me to a con man?” Luke muttered under his breath.
She had suspected Luke wouldn’t let that tidbit Steve delivered about her past slide by. She hadn’t shared all that much with him about her parents. When Luke refused to open up, she returned the sentiment, closed off her emotions and prepared to leave. It took her longer than expected because despite it all, she loved him so much, but she knew she could not stay with a man just like her father.
“I didn’t know, Luke. That’s the point. You took a new job and started skulking around. You were out half the night.”
He tapped on his ear. “We’ll talk about this later.”
“No, now. See, I didn’t need to know every single detail about your past, but your present mattered.”
“You were my present.”
She refused to let that heartbreaking comment push her off task. “Do you know I followed you once? I was so sure you were cheating on me. I could close my eyes and smell perfume on your shirt.”
Under the Gun Page 8