Page 15 of Sam's Salvation

“Did you find Theo?”

“Not that I recall.”

“Okay. What else?”

She closed her eyes again, searching her addled brain. “Black shoes.”

“Black shoes?”

“Yeah. I remember black trainers.” Unbidden, another image flickered through her mind. This one of Theo. Wearing similar shoes. Her eyes snapped open. It couldn’t be.

But the thought wouldn’t go away. Something?—

“Anything else?” Dee’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

Audra cleared her throat. “No. Look, can you get me out of here without having to explain to these cops who I am? I gave them my Amber Carter alias. I was too addled to speak without my accent when I came to. They’re grilling me about the handgun I had on me and the lack of ID and a CCW permit.”

Dee let out a soft groan. “Yes. I’ll get on it. Don’t say anything else.”

The line clicked in Audra’s ear. She lowered the phone and sagged against the bed, fatigue taking over again. No problem.

What felt like seconds passed, but it was actually nearly an hour later when her phone rang. She startled awake with a hard jerk. Pain lanced her side. Audra winced and pressed a hand just above her injured hip. “Ow.” The phone continued to trill. She lifted it, seeing the U.K. country code, and answered. “Yes?”

“Do you need to stay in hospital?” It was Dee.

“I don’t think so.” Even if she did, she wasn’t.

“All right. I’ll send a car to pick you up. Your investigation has been compromised, so I want you on the first flight back to London.”

“What? I can still investigate here without?—”

“No. Come home, Officer Ridley. That’s an order.”

Again, the phone clicked in Audra’s ear. She pulled it away to frown at it. What? That didn’t make any sense. She couldn’t stay in her condo, but that didn’t mean she needed to leave the city. She had valuable knowledge and insights into Liam’s business. It would facilitate efforts to bring him down if she were contributing to the investigation here and not in London. They’d lose over half a day just in the flight, not to mention the time difference.

Audra’s mind whirled. Something wasn’t right.

She tried Theo again, but he still didn’t pick up. Cursing, she stabbed the icon to end the call. Audra thought furiously. She couldn’t go home. To her condo or to London.

The door opened, and the detective came in, a dark glower on his face. “I’ve been told to let you go.”

He walked closer and held out a white plastic bag with the hospital’s logo. Audra could see the outline of her pistol inside.

“For the record, I don’t like giving this back to you. I don’t know who you are or what you’re really doing here, but it’s above my paygrade.”

She took the bag. “Thank you, detective. I’m sorry to have caused problems. And I promise I’m one of the good guys.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I certainly hope so.” With a nod, he left.

Audra lifted her phone and tapped the screen. The generic background lit up. She touched the phone icon, ready to call Theo again, but the image of black trainers flitted through her thoughts. Logically, she knew many people owned black athletic shoes—she did. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the same pair of shoes. Something was going on, and she didn’t know who to trust.

Instead of dialing Theo’s number, she typed in one she’d memorized a few months ago. The line rang four times.

“Hello?”

Audra swallowed hard at the sound of the sleep-roughened deep voice and closed her eyes. A tear leaked out. Hearing his voice was like a warm blanket. It banished the worry trying to take hold.

“Sam? It’s Audra. I need your help.”