Page 54 of Sam's Salvation
Twenty-Five
Nerves fluttered through Audra’s belly. She shouldn’t be nervous. She was a bloody spy. She didn’t do nerves. But everything she’d worked toward the last couple of years was on the line with this conversation. If Dee didn’t hear them out, if she decided to arrest them and not listen, all her hard work was for naught.
“You ready?”
Audra drew in a deep breath and looked at Sam. “As I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” They’d decided the direct approach was best. Dee was home, so they were just going to walk up and knock.
Hand-in-hand, they approached the door. Sam rang the bell, then squeezed her hand.
“It’ll be okay.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
Audra closed her eyes briefly, wondering how he always seemed to know what was on her mind. Though right now, it probably wasn’t hard to tell. A fine tremor coursed through her as they waited.
Movement flickered in the light coming from the side windows beside the door. Audra could see the silhouette of a woman pause for a moment before the door swung open.
She smiled at her boss and waved. “Hi. I’m home.”
Dee’s surprised expression quickly morphed. Her eyebrows slammed together. She raked her gaze over Sam, then speared Audra with a hot glare. “It’s about damn time. And who is this?” She eyed their clasped hands, sighing. “I’m not going to like what you have to say, am I?”
“Could we come in?” Audra asked.
Dee stepped back, opening the door wider, and motioned them inside. “My husband is still at work, but he won’t be for long. We need to make this quick.”
Sam hesitated in the doorway, and Audra glanced back.
“Maybe we should take this elsewhere, then. I’m not sure how long it’ll take.”
“It’ll be fine,” Dee said. “You can slip out the back, if necessary. There’s an exterior door to the block’s shared courtyard in my office.”
Audra tugged on Sam’s hand, and he followed her into the ground-floor flat.
Dee led them through the small foyer to a room behind the stairs. Audra glimpsed a kitchen to her left and a living room to her right as they passed. Both were good size rooms for a London flat. It looked like there was a dining room beyond the kitchen as well.
Flipping on the light, Dee breezed into the room. She walked behind the desk and grabbed her chair, wheeling it around to the other side. “Sit.” She pointed to the brown leather sofa.
Audra perched on the edge, hanging on to Sam’s hand for strength.
“Explain, Ridley.” Dee pierced her with a look, then flicked her gaze to Sam. “And who’s your friend?”
Sam and Audra shared a glance. He nodded slightly, and she inhaled a breath to steady herself before she jumped in.
“So, you know that nine days ago, someone ran me down near the park by my condo.”
Dee nodded once.
“Sunday morning, they found Theo’s body in the park.”
Her boss let out a string of curses and stood. She paced to the bookshelves and stared at them for a long moment before turning back. “You’re sure it was him? How did I not know this?”
“Yes.” Audra waved a hand. “As for how you didn’t know, I’m not sure. His image was plastered all over the news stations there. Someone dropped the ball, I guess. I haven’t talked to Moran, so I’m not sure what happened. Anyway, I should back up. When I woke up after being hit, something bothered me about the incident. It was the shoes.”
“The shoes?” Dee frowned. “What shoes?”
“The black trainers I told you about. A man walked up to me as I laid there, and he had on black trainers. The same ones Theo had on the night before. When I woke up and tried to remember what happened, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Theo—or someone from within our organization—was involved.”
“Why?” Dee’s gaze turned sharp. “What happened?”
“Nothing major. It was just a bunch of small things. Like the shoes. And the fact that someone followed us to the park that night. Someone had been following me.” Audra stabbed her index finger into her chest. “Taking my picture. And I didn’t know. Then, when you ordered me back to London, that feeling got stronger. I couldn’t understand why you would want to remove me from the investigation. Even with my cover blown, I had information the people in Las Vegas could use. It made me wonder if Theo was the only one involved and whether you could be too.”