Page 58 of Sam's Salvation
Her cheeks flushed as an image of his bare backside wandered through her mind. More and more, she wanted to touch him. She wanted him to touch her. It was no longer a question of if it would happen. It would. As soon as her body was well enough—and it was close—she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from climbing his tall, muscular body and begging him to take her.
Disguising the need flooding her veins, she rolled her eyes, then turned away. She looked at Dean and Max. “What have you two been up to while we’ve been gone?”
“Plenty,” Max said, taking the hint to change the subject. “But we don’t have much to show for it. We’ve been tailing Donny and Patrick Callahan. It doesn’t seem as though they’re doing anything out of the ordinary. Except, did you know they live in the same house?”
“Really?” Audra frowned thoughtfully. “No, I didn’t.” Maybe Patrick wasn’t involved at all. It was Donny’s initials on the ledger. And Donny was the one to call her, concerned.
“Maybe they’re lying low right now. Until things die down a bit.” Sam sank into the desk chair.
“That’s what we were thinking,” Dean said. “If we’re going to get anything on them, we’re going to need to flush them out. Make them make a mistake.”
She pushed the thoughts of whether one or both brothers were involved aside for now. “So, while we were waiting on our plane, I called the FBI agent in charge of the case against the Brogans. Dominick Moran.” Audra perched on one of the beds. “Dee told us Theo never turned over the USB drive I gave him. I figured Dom was unaware as well, so I wanted to catch him up. He said Liam’s been in a tizzy since I left. The few informants they have that have any dealings with the Irish mob said Liam put out a bounty on me. He wants me brought to him alive.”
“Well, that’s something, at least,” Max said.
Sam snorted. “It doesn’t make it any better. Alive doesn’t mean unharmed.”
“No,” she said. “But it gives us an opening.”
“What do you mean?” Dean frowned.
“So, I had a lot of time to think on the trip over here. What if I went back voluntarily?”
“Hell no.” Sam leaned forward, the fierce look of a warrior on his face.
She held up a hand. “Hear me out. He still doesn’t know who I am. He thinks Theo was my lover. What if I go back and tell him I’d lost my memory? That I left the hospital because I was scared and not thinking clearly.”
Sam got up and paced to the window. “Aud—” He stopped and ran a hand through his dark hair.
“I know it’s risky. But we need to get to the Callahans. I don’t know if we can do that outside of the organization. I know I can’t. They’ll recognize me.”
“What about the guy who saw us running from your condo? You thought he was Irish mafia. He’d have gone back to Brogan and reported what he saw. How do we explain your association with me?”
She bit her lip. “Bodyguard my father hired. I can say that he heard about what happened to me and hired someone to find me. You tracked me down and took me to my condo to get clothes, then we saw that guy and got spooked.”
Sam sighed, and she could see in his eyes that he didn’t like the plan.
“Look, I know it’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. It just needs to get me back into the fold. And only long enough to plant some trackers and maybe a couple of bugs on Donny and Patrick.”
“I can get that stuff,” Dean said.
“Not helping,” Sam growled. “And what if they know your true identity? That was one of our theories, remember? That Theo was offering info to them in exchange for a payout.”
“Right, but we don’t know for sure. It’s a chance we need to take. You guys can wire me all up and stick close. If things go ass over teakettle, you can bail me out.”
“Hold up.” Max waved his hands. “What if there’s a better way?”
Three sets of eyes turned on him.
“How so?” Dean asked.
A corner of Max’s mouth lifted, and a speculative glint entered his eyes. “I’m a wealthy man. What if I’m looking for something only Brogan can offer? Audra, I’m sure you can help me figure out what would pique his interest. We could put me there in your place.”
She tipped her head. Aspects of Liam’s business ran through her mind. One particular part stuck. Something she hadn’t given much thought to before now, but it might work. “There were two men. The night I got hit. I went to a business dinner with Liam. We met with the Powell brothers. Simon and Geoffrey. Simon gave me the willies. Anyway, they run a distribution network in Vegas. I didn’t get much out of them at dinner. It felt more like Liam was feeling them out. At home, later, I looked them up. They have several wholesale warehouses in the city. Like a mini Amazon.”
Sam crossed his arms; a curious frown settled on his face. “You think they’re running stolen goods?”
“It’s possible. If they want Liam’s business, it’s highly unlikely they’re legit.”