Shadow of Sin(75)

Served her right.

He was a Marine, a man used to having his orders followed. A man who’d do whatever it took to get his way.

He’d keep secrets. Manipulate her. Lie.

Oh god.

She couldn’t stay here. No one in this house would go against Caleb. Not when he went all I’m-the-head-of-this-family-and-I’m-in-charge on them. And what she’d overheard had definitely been his “don’t fuck with me” voice. Lord knew, Samantha had years of experience with that tone.

Her heart broke into a thousand pieces as her gaze searched the room in desperation. Searched for something, anything to stop the tears she knew were coming. She couldn’t fall apart. Not here and not when Caleb could walk in at any moment to find her a weeping mess.

She should go. Vincent was dead. She was safe. She could sneak out of the house without being seen, but how would she get anywhere? Her car was still at the Martin Tactical compound.

There. Alec’s keys were like a beacon through the pain that filled her chest. She snatched them off the dresser and made her way from the room.

Hushed voices drifted from the office as Samantha slipped around through the kitchen and out the door to the garage. Relief washed over her when she found the garage door already open and Alec’s truck parked in the driveway. With any luck, they wouldn’t hear her as she committed grand theft auto against one of her best friends.

Tears seeped from her lids as she wound through the neighborhood and headed toward the highway. She didn’t know where she was going, but she was painfully aware of her limited options.

Her stuff was at Caleb’s, but she certainly wasn’t going there. Oh no. It was bad enough she’d given her heart to the bastard. She’d not give him the satisfaction of chewing her ass for leaving Alec’s without telling him. On that note, they’d probably look for her at her apartment.

She wasn’t ready to be found. She needed to get her head clear. Any fanciful ideas she might have had about a lasting relationship with Caleb had been shattered with his need to keep things from her.

Carlotta.

Samantha had kept her own secrets, hadn’t she? Caleb had tried to get information from her about Carlotta. She hadn’t shared with him, but the situation wasn’t the same.

Or was it?

Samantha headed west on the highway. It seemed silly, with Vincent dead and all, but she suddenly needed to know that Carlotta was okay. Or, Darcy as she was now called.

Darcy Emerson.

Lock, stock, and barrel, Samantha and Amanda had created Darcy Emerson from the ground up—family, childhood illnesses, doctor and immunization records, college transcripts, job history. Darcy Emerson had even voted in the last three elections. Nothing had been left to chance.

Samantha had insisted on a location far away, Oregon being her first choice. She’d wanted to relocate her in Seattle—a good place for a person to start over, blend in, hide. Its eclectic mix of people and tourists would provide an atmosphere for Carlotta to finally figure out who she wanted to be.

Carlotta had other ideas and had been insistent as well. She’d wanted to stay in Texas, close to Samantha in the event something went wrong. She was alone in the world and Samantha hadn’t been able to argue with the broken woman. At the time, keeping her in Texas seemed a small concession to make in order to give Carlotta some peace. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake. With her recent track record, she was starting to question her ability to do anything right.

Caleb had said it himself. She was safe. It was over.

They were over. That had been their deal.

The tears she’d been trying to fight finally broke through. She let them flow, hoping that somehow they’d cleanse her shattered soul.



* * *



“You’re going to be sorry,” Brandon informed him.

Caleb ground his teeth together, forcing back the urge to yell at the top of his lungs.

“Samantha hasn’t slept well for days.” Totally his fault, but that wasn’t the point. “She needs to rest. I won’t allow anyone to disturb her, especially not with information she can’t do anything but worry about. Telling her now or telling her an hour from now doesn’t change a thing. Vincent is dead, we can’t change that. Carlotta was with him before he died, we can’t change that either. Give me a legitimate reason to wake her, or shut the hell up.”

Brandon lifted his palms in defeat and sank back into his chair.

Caleb ran a hand through his hair and turned back to Alec. “You got something to add, or can we get back to the real issue?”

Alec grinned. “I’d have thought gettin’ laid would’ve made you a little nicer.” Then he turned to Joe and pulled a face. “Told you.”