Midnight Of No Return (Midnight Blue Beach Book 2)

by Olivia Jaymes

  Bailey stopped pacing, whirling around to face the others. “Then we’ll go to The Retreat. We’ll get the evidence and more. That’s probably where Grant got it, so we go there and do the same.”

  Peyton was already shaking her head. “Grant was a member so he could get inside. No one would question him. But us? There’s no way we would get past the gate, especially if Archer knows we’re on to him.”

  Shrugging, Bailey was clearly on a roll. “Okay, so we sneak in. Josh did it before so we know it can be done.”

  Hold on. Once was enough.

  “I did it and I sure as hell wouldn’t recommend it to anyone,” Josh growled. “It was fucking dangerous and I still don’t know if someone saw me. Absolutely not. I understand that you’re frustrated but barging into Evandria headquarters is not the answer.”

  “I think we should do it,” she insisted, her cheeks red with anger. “We need to do something bold.”

  “This is insane,” Chase hissed. “I won’t let you go. It’s too dangerous.”

  Bailey might be laid back most of the time but right now her chin was lifted and her eyes blazing. “I’m in danger just standing here apparently, so I might as well get some answers while I’m still breathing.”

  To Josh’s utter shock Willow agreed. “I see Bailey’s point. We need to go where the information is. It may be our only chance to get at the truth. The truth Grant died trying to get to us.”

  Peyton stepped forward and grabbed Bailey and Willow’s hands. “If you guys are going, I’m going too.”

  Fuck, no. Things were rapidly spiraling out of control.

  Ellis growled in anger and frustration, pacing the few feet between Josh and the women.

  “Son of a fucking bitch, going to them without a plan is stupid. Dumb. It’s like those chicks in horror movies who open the door when you’re screaming at the screen, ‘don’t open the fucking door’. I want to go on record saying this is not in any way, shape, or form a good idea. We’re going to get ourselves killed. Chase? Josh? Any thoughts on how to talk these ladies out of it?”

  Chase slumped against a vehicle and groaned. “I agree with Ellis. This is a suicide mission and I like being alive.”

  His head aching, Josh rubbed the back of his neck where a pain was shooting down his back. This was probably the best he’d feel for the rest of the night.

  “If we walk into The Retreat we’re defenseless. It’s dumb and we’re not doing it.”

  Willow turned and poked him in the chest. “You can’t stop me–”

  “The hell I can’t,” he declared, with more volume than he intended as a few heads whipped their direction. “If I have to haul you bodily into the car I will. I won’t let you risk your life in this idiotic fashion. I won’t, Willow. I know you’re upset about Grant but this isn’t going to fix anything. If he were here he’d tell you the same. If you insist on doing this, I’m walking away. I’ll protect you with my life but not if you’re going to be stupid.”

  The very last thing he wanted to do was walk away from her, his heart pleading with him to stay, but he had to make a stand. He couldn’t allow her to make a decision from pure emotion.

  Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears, and for a moment he thought she was going to turn around and leave. Go get herself killed but then her shoulders slumped and her gaze dropped.

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  “Then stay here. What you’re seeking isn’t worth dying for.”

  “We may never get the answer if we don’t go there.”

  That was true. But there was other truth as well.

  “You may not get the answer if you go.” His hands wrapped around her upper arms and he pulled her close until their faces were inches apart, needing to look into her eyes when he bared his soul. “I love you, Willow. I really goddamn love you and I want us to have a life together and that means we need to stay breathing. But if you don’t love me or think that you can’t move on without the answers you seek then maybe this isn’t going to work. My question is…can you be happy with just me? If you never find Alex’s killer can you be okay with that?”

  At that moment, they were the only two people in the entire world. Everyone standing in a circle around them faded away and all his senses honed in on this one woman who could make or break his future. Her lips trembled as he waited, blood roaring in his ears. It was only his entire future happiness on the line. Was Alex always going to be standing between them?

  “I can,” she whispered, her voice rough. “I’m greedy enough to want you and the truth, but if I have to pick one, it’s you. I love you, Josh.”

  The breath he didn’t know he’d been holding whooshed out of him and his heart skipped several beats with relief. She was staying and she loved him. It would be enough for now.

  “We’ll go home,” he said, crushing her against him until she squeaked for air. “We’ll regroup and start again. I’m not saying we should give up.”

  Nodding, Willow turned to her friends. “I’m staying. Josh is right. Going to The Retreat unprepared like this would be crazy.” Her gaze strayed to the building that was still burning out of control, the heat turning her cheeks pink. “I’ll find another way to get justice for Grant. We’ll figure something out but this isn’t it.”

  Peyton nodded in agreement. “You’ve made your case. We’ll find another way.”

  Clearly Bailey wanted to argue but Chase stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders, whispering something in her ear that Josh couldn’t hear. Whatever it was, it seemed to do the trick. She sagged against him and buried her face in his shirt.

  “I don’t like it but okay. We’ll stay. I can’t argue with the fact that we have no idea what we’d be walking into.”

  Josh and his friends all seemed to draw a deep breath now that the females weren’t pushing to breach the gates of The Retreat. It gave them time to think their next moves through. Chase ushered the women toward the cars but Ellis hung back with Josh.

  “We’ll figure it out. Maybe there is a way we can get into Grant’s house without anyone seeing us,” Josh said, although he didn’t hold out much hope. If Evandria thought Grant had something incriminating they’d go after it themselves.

  “It’s definitely something for us to think about. Let’s get these ladies home. I don’t like them being out in the open. I feel like we have less control out here.”

  They only had the illusion of control and not much of that. No one was going to sleep, so they might as well order pizzas and stay up all night. They were back to square one. Glancing at his watch, Josh he felt an icy fist tighten in his chest. He’d been so busy and distracted he hadn’t even noticed. Josh nudged Ellis.

  “Did you notice what the date is now that it’s after midnight?”

  At first he looked confused, then understanding, then horrified.

  It was July twenty-first.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Willow, Bailey, and Peyton were in the kitchen making up a much needed batch of margaritas while Josh and his friends talked in the living room. Quietly. Wanting to keep their thoughts and worries private, at least for now. There was no need to upset the women with talk of guns and booby trapping the lawn. After two explosions in one day, they’d become exponentially more paranoid.

  The ring of the doorbell had Josh holding up his hand so they would pause. “Let me get that and then we’ll get back to this.”

  The pizza had already been paid for by credit card so all he needed to do was sign for it. The kid at the door barely glanced at him as he shoved the stack of pizza boxes and a receipt in front of his face. Placing the pizza on the foyer table, Josh accepted a pen and scribbled his name. The kid shoved the receipt in his pocket and pulled out another small piece of paper.

  “Here’s your copy, sir.”

  Josh accepted the receipt and tossed it on the table. “Thanks.”

  Instead of leaving, the kid scowled. “Aren’t you going to look at it?”

  Josh ha
dn’t planned on it. It was a receipt. Why did this kid even care? “Is it important that I do? Isn’t it just a receipt from the register?”

  “You should always save your credit card receipts, that’s all. My mom says you should match them up to your monthly statement.”

  For fuck’s sake, Josh had never done that in his entire life. He only kept receipts if he might return something. “Your mom sounds like a wise and organized woman. You should do as she says.”

  The kid still wasn’t moving and that was when Josh managed to get a good look at him. Young, maybe nineteen or twenty, wearing baggy cargo shorts and a t-shirt. His dark hair was long in the front and wavy, his skin still sporting the teenage curse of acne. But it was his eyes that caught Josh’s attention, wide and almost unblinking with brows lifted high. It was a strange facial expression for a pizza delivery guy.

  Which immediately put all of Josh’s senses on red alert. Keeping his gaze on the young man, Josh reached for the receipt he’d thrown on the side table.

  “So I should keep the receipt, huh? Look it over and make sure it matches what I ordered?”

  His face relaxing in a smile, the kid nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, you should. Have a good night.”

  Closing the door behind him, Josh flipped the lock and then looked out of the side window for any movement. Finding none except the young man who peeled out of the driveway as if he was being chased, he turned his attention to the receipt that had received so much attention and emphasis.

  The front was a list of what they’d ordered, printed out as normal by the cash register. It was the back that was much more interesting. Handwriting.

  Someone had written a note on the back of the receipt.

  Willow, I saw that I was being followed so I double-backed and eventually lost him. I didn’t think it was safe to go to Roy’s or to come to your home. Instead, I raced as fast as I could and left the package in a place a winner like you could find easily. They’re definitely watching both of us so I’m going into hiding and I suggest you keep as low a profile as possible. You should leave Midnight Blue Beach. They own everyone here, including the cops. Once you get the package, don’t try and do anything with it yourself. I’ll be back at the right time and we’ll do it together. I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye but I’ll see you soon. Stay safe, Grant.

  Grant was alive and Willow was going to be thrilled and relieved. The evidence was out there but what did he mean by a place that he knew she could find? It didn’t make any sense. If she could find it, then couldn’t someone else?

  Or maybe this note was a ruse. To lure them into a trap.

  It was going to be a long night.

  Willow loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher while Josh took Scout and Brodie out one last time before the furry duo went to bed. She didn’t fool herself into thinking she would sleep, not after Josh had shown her the note from Grant. No, she and Josh would be up most of the night trying to figure out what Grant was talking about. He’d used the most vague wording and it left the field open wide. There were a million places she could find, but what did that mean exactly? Why did he call her a winner?

  “Grant, you could have been a hell of a lot clearer,” she muttered, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “I’ve never been good at puzzles.”

  The door to the backyard opened and the two canines barreled in, wanting treats and kisses. Mostly treats. Josh followed and retrieved two bottles of water from the refrigerator. Chase, Bailey, Peyton and Ellis had gone home to try and get what little rest they could. They’d need their energy tomorrow as Ellis was pressing for all of them to leave town after what Grant wrote in his note.

  “I can practically hear the wheels turning in your head, honey. Any thoughts on what he said?”

  “Just that I wish he’d given us a better clue, although I suppose if I can’t find it no one else can either. So wherever it is, it’s safe until I get there.”

  The dogs settled onto their beds in the living room and Willow and Josh did the same on the couch, cuddled close so her head was resting on his shoulder.

  “He had to keep it generic like that in case the note fell into the wrong hands,” Josh pointed out. “Assuming Grant actually wrote the note, of course. So what have we ruled out? Where can it not be?”

  Willow ticked them off on her fingers. “The house. He said it wasn’t safe to come here. We also know it’s not at Roy’s.”

  “Is that it? It doesn’t cut the list down much.”

  She sighed and burrowed closer, her fingers playing with the hem of his t-shirt. His arms tightened around her as images of the burning bar filled her head. Once they found the evidence – and she believed the note was indeed written by Grant – they needed to get the hell out of Midnight Blue Beach. She and Josh had discussed it, and they could pack up Scout and Brodie and head back to Williamsburg. Those two along with his six dogs would make a hell of a burglar alarm. According to Josh, Ramsey, the former police dog, would make sure no one got near Willow. Picking up the note, she read it over and over, looking for some clue.

  Did all the capital letters make a word? No.

  He’d said he double-backed. Were there any roads with the words “double” or “backed?”

  No.

  Had she ever won anything and if so, where? No.

  They weren’t getting far and she wasn’t sure which direction to head next. Everyone had read the note and no one had come up with anything concrete.

  Abruptly, she sat up, slapping her forehead. “Wait, I did win something once. I won a silent auction at a charity event a few years ago. I won a barrel full of fine chocolates. I lived on that for days.”

  Immediately, Josh looked wide awake. “Okay, but how would Grant have known something like that?”

  “He said he kept an eye on me and I bet we have many of the same friends. It has to be it because it was held at the civic center.” Smiling, she grabbed Josh’s arm excitedly. “That’s where I met Bailey and Peyton. It’s a sign, Josh. It’s a sign. It has to be at the civic center.”

  “Then that’s where we’ll go.”

  The civic center was a huge building on an even larger piece of property. This wasn’t going to be a simple search by any stretch of the imagination. There were literally dozens of places that the evidence could be hidden and it complicated matters that they didn’t know what form it took. Paper? A thumb drive?

  Basically, it boiled down to this. They didn’t know where to look for the thing they couldn’t identify. Josh was operating on the principle that if they saw it they’d know it. He just hoped they’d see it.

  “So should we go on one of those grid searches I’ve seen on television?” Josh asked.

  Willow turned one direction and then made a one-eighty to look in the other. There wasn’t a soul around, although if any cops were to drive by they might find two people walking around with flashlights pretty suspicious.

  “Maybe we should split up,” Willow suggested. “One of us do the parking lot and the other walk around the building.”

  She didn’t have to finish her sentence before Josh shook his head. “No way. We stay together. Until the others get here, it’s just the two of us.”

  The two couples had been asleep so it was going to take them a little longer to show up, which was fine. Josh and Willow could handle the search until they arrived. He was sure they hadn’t been followed but he wasn’t as sure that there wouldn’t be some sort of welcoming committee waiting for them. It was a relief that they were alone.

  “Then I guess we start right here in the parking lot. Lead on.”

  He’d seen this done on forensic shows. People walked a grid, shoulder to shoulder, looking for clues. It seemed a reasonable method for searching the parking lot.

  Reasonable but tedious. They weren’t a quarter of the way through and they both were grumbling under their breath.

  “I don’t think Grant would have thrown the evidence down in a parking lot,” Willow pointed out. �
��Anything could happen to it out in the open. We may be wasting our time out here. Maybe we should check around the building.”

  Rubbing his chin, Josh’s gaze ran over the large, empty expanse. It would have been empty as well when Grant was here and it did seem farfetched that he would toss the evidence out of his car and onto the concrete before driving away. On the other hand, nothing about this investigation had been remotely normal.

  “I think looking through your husband’s vintage car collection was easier,” Josh laughed. “At least that building was air-conditioned and didn’t have any mosquitos. I’m getting eaten alive out here.”

  Willow grabbed his arm, her nails digging painfully into the sweaty skin. “What did you say?”

  “I said–”

  She waved him off and raised her hands to her face, pressing on her cheeks. “It was a figure of speech. I know what you said.” She took several shallow breaths as she pivoted on her foot, taking two paces away, then turning again and taking two paces back. “Alex has a race car in his collection. It won some race but I don’t know which one. It could have been the Daytona 500 for all I know but it won something. Grant said he raced to the place where a winner like me could easily find it. Jesus, what if he left it at the warehouse?”

  His heart speeding up with excitement, Josh mentally ran through Grant’s note again.

  “I have to admit it would make more sense than this. Leaving it out in public is risky but leaving it in a place that you have control of is much safer. Plus, that warehouse is on a road that leads out of town. He could have dropped it there and then headed for a private airstrip or kept driving for the state line. Just one question here, would he know about the warehouse and how would he get in?”

  “Alex took his friends there to show off the cars. It’s feasible that he did that with Grant. Maybe he even saw the key code to get in. Alex wouldn’t have tried to hide it. Not from his close friends. They weren’t going to steal anything.”