She stopped talking, letting what she’d said sink in.
“I’m thinking he probably suggested starting that rumor would be a good way to make a quick buck,” she started up again. “But of course, it wasn’t worded like that when he suggested it to you, was it? He was probably sipping some scotch, throwing around ‘gossip’ as if he respected you, and maybe tossed this one out, like ‘I heard this company might go bankrupt. Now, mind you, I don’t believe it, but if I did and I sold my stock now and rebought when the price dropped, I could make a killing.’ And you took it and ran with it.
“He knew all along how to play you. He knew if he treated you as worthless, you’d do whatever it took to prove him wrong, because you’re better than he is—smarter, savvier, more charming. And he manipulated you the entire time. The entire time, when you thought you were pulling something over on him, he was feeding you lies and pulling your strings and making you dance to his tune. And on those same illegal transactions that made you two million, he made twenty-six million.”
Drew watched Repetto as Carly sank the sword in deep, exposing his ultimate weakness, his ego. Now it was time to see how violently that wounded ego would lash out.
“So now, the thing is, Vince, we have you for a whole slew of crimes,” she said. “But we also have information here that will allow us to at least arrest Senator Laturna for insider trading. I’d like to get him convicted too. Now, there’s no question it’s too late to save yourself, and I’m not offering any deals, but after everything he’s done to you—the manipulation, the lies, the years of making you feel like less of a person, all while he was profiting off of you—well, since you are going down, how do you feel about finally taking Senator Buzz Laturna down a few notches and bringing him with you?”
Epilogue
Carly rolled over in her bed and watched the snow falling outside her bedroom window. It had been four months since that day in the interrogation room and on lazy days like these, she couldn’t help but reflect on all the changes that had happened since.
Downstairs she could hear Drew futzing with the coffee pot. That was definitely one change. Still working in DC, he flew up every weekend to see her, or sometimes they met in New York City. They’d even been to Maine twice to visit Dani, Ty, and all three kids. Really, it didn’t matter where they were, they just tried to spend as much time together as they could.
And time was easier to come by now. Vic had hired not only Josie Webb but also an older, more experienced officer named Travis Brantley. He’d also re-instated Marcus as Deputy Chief of Police when Carly had resigned two months earlier. She hadn’t quit completely, but she’d become a part-time officer.
Vic was still struggling with his family, but he was also cautiously stepping into this new phase of his life. Each day he seemed happier with himself and the people around him, and he was definitely more engaged than she’d ever seen him as the chief.
Of course, he was now considering a move to the Boston area to be closer to Lucas and had started to look for his own replacement. Carly didn’t know what would come of that or what kind of candidates he would find, but he was being diligent about screening them. He’d also left one full-time position open so the incoming chief could hire one of his or her own, so to speak, as a way of creating some instant investment in the team. It was all very well thought out.
As for Marcus, he was sticking around in his reinstated role, but she often wondered how long that would last. Since they’d been officially released from the witness security program, they’d each been given access to the family funds and businesses that had been held in trust for them all this time. She had no interest in the business side, but Marcus had loved it, and she wondered if he was contemplating leaving law enforcement to take up the reins of the family ventures. He’d had meetings with the board of directors for the holding company that controlled all those ventures, including Bill Wycoff, the man who had worked with Deputy Director Perelli to arrange for the storage locker, and had visited several executives, but other than that, he’d been closed lipped about his plans.
Carly flopped onto her back and her eyes caught on a new pair of boots, still sitting in the box they’d been shipped in. She smiled. Now that she was only working part time, she’d taken Trudy up on her offer to spend some time at the barn. Actually, she’d been spending more than “some time” there. More weeks than not, she was there all four days she had off. She was picking her riding skills back up again, getting in shape, and remembering how to read and respond to different horses. Trudy had a handful of horses from the jumper circuit that Carly was helping her rehab for friends and clients—some had been through traumatic experiences and some were coming back from injuries. Each time Carly worked with one and felt a little bit of improvement—in its mind or its body—a surge of pleasure washed through her. She didn’t think she’d ever get over the high that came with knowing she was reaching—truly communicating with—an animal.
But she wasn’t just riding and working with the horses. She was also getting up to speed on the changes in the industry, and in the fifteen years she’d been out, there had been many—the show rules, the gear, the types of feed available, and even the medicines. For each hour she spent with a horse, she spent at least the same amount of time learning about the care and management of the barn and its inhabitants.
And she’d never been happier.
“Carly,” Drew called from downstairs. “Come here for minute.”
Smiling to herself at how comfortable she and Drew had become in each other’s lives, she tossed the covers off, grabbed her cashmere robe—the warmest she had—and slid on a pair of slippers. Outside, a winter storm had blanketed the valley and though her house was warm, staying cozy was still a mental necessity.
“What’s up?” she asked as she hit the bottom of the stairs.
“In here,” he called from the living room. She turned to find him sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table, mug in hand, watching TV. Only he’d paused it.
“What are we watching?” she asked, sitting down beside him.
“This,” he said, restarting a morning news segment.
A newscaster in a navy blue jacket with her dark hair clipped back was introducing a new story. “And in breaking news this morning, the jury for the trial of Senator Buzz Laturna has returned a guilty verdict and for the first time in decades will be sending a sitting senator to prison.”
The image on the screen cut from the newscaster to the sketches of the courtroom, media cameras having been barred from the trial. “As I’m sure you remember, Senator Laturna was being tried on several counts of securities fraud and insider trading linked to his former son-in-law’s activities. His former son-in-law, Vince Repetto, a federal agent at the time of his arrest, was also convicted of securities fraud and insider trading, as well as three counts of murder for the deaths of Anthony Lamot, Sophia Lamot Davidson, and US Marshal Marguerite Silva. One of Senator Laturna’s former security officers was also convicted in connection with the death of Deputy Silva. Repetto’s testimony of his father-in-law’s involvement in his schemes was a key component of the prosecutor’s case.”
Drew turned the TV off, cutting off the rest of the broadcast. They knew enough already.
Feeling him watching her, Carly turned to face him.
He smiled. “You done good with that one,” he said with a gesture of his head to the television.
She shrugged, but smiled back.
He tugged her over until she was tucked up against him. He’d had some papers in his lap, but moved them to the arm of the couch as he took her hand in his.
“You really did,” he said, his voice turning serious. “You knew from nearly the beginning, from when Joe started talking about Repetto, that something was missing from the picture.”
“I was kind of lucky,” she said, tracing his fingers with her own.
“Maybe. But you were right to keep pressing, to keep asking the questions. And even though
we both know that, morally, Laturna was also at least partly responsible for the murders, I’m glad we could at least get him on something. That we could at least hold him responsible for some part of what happened with Repetto.”
She exhaled and rubbed his palm with her thumb. “Yeah, me too. And even though he wasn’t necessarily an accessory to all of Repetto’s crimes, not in the legal sense anyway, I’m glad we were able to play a part in showing him for who he really is.”
And for a long moment, they sat, comfortable on the couch, wrapped in each other’s arms, watching the fire. She was about to get up and grab a cup of coffee when Drew’s arm tightened around her.
She looked up in question.
He picked up the papers from the arm of the couch and scanned them.
“What are those?” she asked.
“Do you know the old VanDurst farm?”
She frowned in thought. “That big place just beyond Trudy’s?”
“That’s the one.”
“I do. It’s that place with the old stone house, isn’t it? I’ve always loved that house. It has a kind of, well, I don’t know, charm, certainly, but a little something more. A little something kind of enchanting about it,” she added, thinking of the building.
One of the older houses in the area, it was quite large for being made of stone—not large by modern standards of mini mansions, but large by the standards of historical homes. Built of gray stone, it had three floors in all, although the top floor looked to be quite small and may have, at some point, been the servants’ quarters. It also had rows of windows, climbing roses in the summer, and a large porch that had recently been added off one side.
“It sits on about four hundred acres,” Drew said.
“If I recall my history right, it was one of the largest family farms in the area when it was first settled. I’m sure it’s changed hands several times since then, but it’s always been known as one of the bigger estates.”
“This is the contract to buy it.” Drew handed her the papers he’d been holding.
Stunned, she sat up. “Excuse me?”
He cleared his throat and sat up too. “Yes, well, I thought maybe we could, you know, buy it. We could spend this summer renovating the house and then the winter making plans for a barn and pastures for some horses, for you, and also a small training facility, for me, that we could start building next summer.”
She stared at him for a long, long moment. She understood the words coming from his mouth, but somehow they weren’t sinking in. Not until she noticed that the pulse on his throat had become visible and was beating rapidly.
Drew Carmichael was nervous.
“You mean, move in together?”
He hesitated, then replied. “To start.”
“And build me a barn so I can get back into the business?”
“I know you’ve liked working with Trudy. The farms abut each other, so you could still share trails and maybe share some training, horses, that kind of thing.”
“But you said a training facility for you,” she said, not knowing what he meant by that.
He cleared his throat again. “Well, by next summer I’ll have been with the agency for twenty years and, well, I’m planning to retire.”
“Retire,” she repeated.
“Sort of. I want to get more into the family business, I shouldn’t leave that to Sam and Jason anymore. Especially now that my dad wants to spend more time traveling with my mom and retire himself. But, well, I’ve also been talking with Rina, my boss, about doing some consulting work for the agency.”
“Consulting?” she was starting to feel like a parrot but she truly didn’t know what “consulting” with the CIA looked like. Was it like what Caleb Forrester, Kit’s brother did? If so, she wasn’t sure she was going to like that.
“Yes, consulting. You know I like working with agents and I like training. I’ve posed the idea to Rina that I set up a small training facility up here where agents, one or two at a time, could come up and stay for a few weeks before heading off on assignments. While they’re here, I’ll work with them to make sure they’re prepared for what they’re going into, both physically and mentally.”
Okay, that made sense and she could see him enjoying the work. “What kind of training facility are we talking about?”
“I’ve walked the land and there are a few hills on it, which is great. On the back side of one, deep into the woods, is a little clearing that could be accessed from a road on the other side of the property.”
“Away from the main house is what you’re saying?” she clarified.
“Exactly. I’d build a small facility there that would include accommodations for up to four people, a study room, a workout room, maybe a shooting range, things like that,” he clarified.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about living near a bunch of spies, but Drew wouldn’t do anything to purposefully put her, or anyone, in danger. “And you’d work with them here, in Windsor, for a few weeks before they went off to wherever they were assigned?”
“That’s what Rina and I are talking about now. Of course, it would depend on whether or not you agreed.” He paused then took her hand in his. “I know this is a big decision, for both of us. But I also think it’s the right decision. I want to be with you. You want to be here. Windsor has grown on me too, and this,” he said, gesturing to the papers she still held in her other hand, “Well, this lets me have the best of all worlds, I think. You, work, flexibility. And I hope you agree it’s the right thing for you too.”
“This is big.”
He nodded, looking nervous again.
“This is long term, isn’t it?” she asked.
He let out a short laugh. “I certainly hope so.”
“Marriage?” she asked.
He smiled. “Maybe. I figure I’ll wait for the idea to feel comfortable to you and then you can ask me.”
She laughed at the reminder of his previous attempt to wait until she felt comfortable with him to make the first move. At which he’d failed. And she hadn’t minded. She didn’t think she would mind if he failed to wait her out again.
“Well?” he asked.
She looked into his eyes and felt no doubt about her answer. She smiled and he pulled her onto his lap.
“You could be waiting a long time,” she teased as her arms went around his neck and she brushed her lips over his.
“Maybe,” he said, kissing her back. “But I doubt it. I don’t think I have to tell you I’m not a patient man.”
“No, you’re not,” she said, leaning her head to the side so he could make his way down her neck with his lips.
“And I am very persuasive,” he said, sliding a hand under her robe.
She laughed softly. “Yes, you are,” she agreed, knowing full well that he wouldn’t wait long. And she was just fine with that.
Acknowledgements
As always, my family and friends are my rock (or should I say rocks?). Without them, life would be a lot less interesting—not to mention immeasurably harder—and way less fun. And, once again, without my editor, Julie Molinari, well, I’m not sure where I’d be—we went through the trenches with this one and I couldn’t ask for a better ally.
Keep reading for a preview of Tamsen Schultz’s upcoming book,
A DARKNESS BLACK
Windsor Series Book 6
Darkness. Covert operative Caleb Forrester has always preferred darkness over light, keeping his grief and shame in shadow. But just as he starts to question this existence and let go of the years of blame he’s carried, his best friend’s widow calls upon him to help her stop a murder. It’s a request he can’t refuse, even though he knows that traveling to the remote New Hampshire mansion to reunite with Cate will put him face-to-face with memories he’s spent more than five years trying to forget.
Life. After suffering two searing losses less than a year apart, widow Catherine Thomson has worked hard to let go of her guilt, move forward, and rebuild her life. But when a murde
rer threatens the wealthy family she works for, it’s Cate’s history that may save them. To help her investigate, she calls on Caleb—a man she trusts though may no longer know—and when it becomes apparent that it’s not just the family who is in danger, Cate realizes that revisiting the past she’s so painstakingly put behind her may be the only way she can help Caleb find his own redemption.
Betrayal. It’s everywhere. The Whatley family has generations of secrets and resentments that Caleb and Cate must wade through if they have any hope of preventing the murder. But it’s Caleb’s own disloyalty that shocks him to his core when he finds he’s falling for Cate. Caleb knows that stopping the killer isn’t going to be easy, but finding the strength—and forgiveness—to forge a future with Cate could be the hardest thing he’ll ever do.
* * *
Chapter One
Caleb Forrester scanned his surroundings. There were too many kids. They were everywhere. His chest tightened as a baby crawled between its father’s feet. He opened his mouth, about to call out a warning, then stopped himself. He shouldn’t—doing so would bring attention to him—but if the man wasn’t careful, god only knew what could happen to the infant. Fortunately, the man reached down, scooped the baby up, and walked off.
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