She’d recognized the other woman. And since the big, dark-haired agent had been lying in wait for her in front of the elevator bank on the third floor...
The lady from the parking garage must have called him and tipped him off. Maybe he’s her partner.
A partner who would have been with the other woman when she stormed George’s house.
So she had two agents in her sights—one male and one female.
Which one had pulled the trigger?
Which one deserved payback?
She didn’t know, so maybe she’d just punish them both.
*
THE OFFICE DIDN’T feel right without Samantha there. The place just seemed...empty. Blake steepled his fingers as he stared at her empty desk chair. She’d be cleared in the shooting, of that, he had no doubt. He’d already told his side of the story that morning. Samantha should be back in action right the hell away and then— The office door swung open. “She doesn’t exist.” Samantha stood there, her chest heaving, her eyes gleaming, faint spots of pink color on her cheeks.
His brows shot up as he rose to his feet. “Bass gave you the all clear to get back to work?” A smile curved his lips. When Samantha was close, there was more excitement in the air. More focus. More— “Hell, no. I haven’t heard a word from him yet.” She just waved that matter away.
Blake blinked. “What?”
“The woman. The reporter.” She hurried toward him, nodding. “She doesn’t exist. There is no Hannah Broderick at Channel Seven. I went down there and talked to the producer myself. She doesn’t work for them.”
Tension snaked through his body. “Then who the hell was she?” He reached for the phone. He’d call the hospital and warn the guard to be extra vigilant just in case the lady came back.
But Samantha snagged his hand. Heat seemed to lance him at her touch. “I already contacted the hospital. They’re moving Missy to another floor and putting a second guard on her.” Excitement sharpened her voice. “I think it’s her.”
He stared at her.
“George’s trigger? Come on, you know I mentioned this to you only a dozen or so times. His victims were all a certain type.”
“Young, blonde, beautiful.”
“Petite,” she fired right back. “Delicate builds. Fragile in appearance.”
“She had red hair, Samantha.”
“Like that couldn’t be a dye job.” Samantha nodded. “Actually, the hair was what made me suspicious in the first place. Do you know how many redheads with blue eyes are roaming around? Natural ones?”
He shook his head, not having a clue on that one.
“Those are recessive traits—the red hair, the blue eyes. I read a story on this once, and only like one percent of the population has that combination. It’s like finding a freaking four-leaf clover or some crazy shit like that. Needle-in-a-haystack odds.”
Samantha had a photographic memory. He’d learned that early on. If she read something once...she had the facts forever.
“I’m wagering she’s a natural blonde.” Samantha nodded. “More than that, she’s the trigger. I know it. She was waiting for me in that garage. She wanted to know who’d killed George. She was there for a reason.”
He remembered the woman’s eyes. “Because she was pissed.”
Samantha nodded. “Anger like that is personal. We need to find her.”
She’d already found them.
“She’s tied to George Farris. We have to dig in his files...search his house... We have to find the connection to her because I think she’ll be coming after us again. Only I don’t think it will be for a little chat this time.”
She was still touching his hand. Blake cleared his throat. “You think she wants vengeance?”
“She wanted to know if I’d killed George.”
His shoulders tensed. “She asked me the same thing.”
A faint line appeared between her brows. “She’s trying to figure out which one of us killed him because she needs to know which of us she will kill.”
Sure as hell seemed that way. “Repercussions,” he muttered.
Her hand pulled back from him. “What?”
“That’s what your friend Latham warned me about.”
Surprise flashed on her face. “Cameron warned you about something? When?”
“Outside of your apartment last night. We had a little chat.” One that still didn’t sit well with him. Cameron Latham wasn’t a guy he’d ever see as his friend. Too much tension was between them. We both want Samantha. His voice was low as Blake said, “Cameron warned that George’s death could have repercussions. That someone close to George would react, only I didn’t think there was anyone left close to the man.”
“Someone was left,” Samantha said. “His trigger. The woman he’s been systematically trying to kill over and over again. The woman who helped to turn him into the killer he is.”