Page 43 of Sam's Salvation
“Are we sure she’s not the one who’s really in charge?” Max asked.
Audra let out a soft snort. “I’ve wondered that too. She has a lot of sway, but the final decisions come down to Liam. He usually does what she wants, though.”
The fourth message played. It was from Liam.
“Alexandra, where are you? You missed dinner. And with no phone call. That is unlike you. Please, call me back.”
“He actually sounds concerned,” Dean said.
He did, but that didn’t surprise her. She’d worked hard to endear herself to him and to earn his respect. It was how she’d kept him content with a sexless relationship.
The fifth message played. This one was again from Liam.
“Alexandra, I’m getting worried now. I went to your house, and you weren’t there. I even called your father. He hasn’t heard from you, either. Please call me.”
Audra grimaced. “I hope dear old dad called his SIS contact about that and they put some extra people on him.” Things could get dicey for Sean Burton if Liam thought he’d been double-crossed.
The sixth message began, also from Liam.
“You bitch. I saw the news. Who is he? Your lover? Is that why you always shut me down? Have you been fucking him behind my back? You better hope I don’t find you, or you’re going to end up just like him.”
“Whoa,” Max said.
Whoa was right. She’d never heard such vehemence in Liam’s voice.
“What was the timestamp on that one?” Sam asked.
Audra played it again, listening to the AI voice read the timestamp. It was from last night.
Sam cursed. “We definitely need to get out of this hotel. The news must have aired that story yesterday, too, and we didn’t see it.”
“There’s one more message,” Audra said. “Let’s listen to it, then we can make a plan.” She hit the key to play it.
“Alexandra? It’s Donny. Look, I don’t know where you are or what you’ve done, but you need to call Liam and explain. I’m sure it’s not what he’s thinking. I know you love him. Please call him. Even if you don’t want to come back, please call. He’s on the warpath, and I’m afraid someone’s going to get hurt.” The message ended.
“Who’s Donny?” Dean asked.
“His number two.”
“Is it normal for him to call you?” Sam asked.
Audra lifted a shoulder. “He has before. Usually it’s at Liam’s request. But that message—something like that is a first.”
The three men looked at each other. Audra’s gaze bounced between them. “What?”
Sam stared at his friends for a moment longer, then looked at her. “We definitely need to leave. It sounds like Brogan doesn’t know who you are, but he’s still angry. Spurned lover angry. That makes him doubly dangerous.”
She tipped her head as a thought occurred to her. “If he doesn’t know who I really am, and he doesn’t know where I am and wasn’t the one who tried to kill me, then who did?”
“I think we need to dig deeper into your handler,” Max said. “The answers lie with him.”
“I agree. What’s the plan in the meantime? Where do we go? Because I can’t stay in Las Vegas.” That was now abundantly clear. Big city or not, she couldn’t risk it. She glanced around the room at all three men.
“Maybe you should listen to your boss,” Sam said, a contemplative expression settling on his face.
She frowned, tipping her head again, assessing his look. “What do you mean?”
“Brogan doesn’t know who you are. He doesn’t know who Theo is. The Irish mafia didn’t try to kill you. That means it’s someone inside your operation.”