Page 31 of Lethal Deceit

“Have you searched her bag yet? Surveillance from the marina shows her on a cell phone. Delilah wants to check it out.”

My eyebrows hike. “Should I ask how you managed to get ahold of that?”

“Probably not.”

I lean against the countertop, my eyes never leaving Samantha as she aimlessly channel surfs. “I’ll do it after we get done talking.”

“Do it soon. When you find it, slip it out the bathroom window, and I’ll have someone pick it up. I don’t want her contacting anyone until we’ve placed tracking software on it. If she calls anyone, I want to know.”

“Got it. Who’s coming to pick it up? Same person who’ll relieve me?” I hope. I don’t want to stay here with her a second longer than I have to.

He pauses before answering. “Caleb’s still chasing leads at the marina, and Jake’s doing his thing with the criminal element. Reese is on standby, but I’m leaving him out of the action for now.”

That’s understandable. The guy should, by rights, be six feet under. Watching him fly a plane after being stabbed in the chest, with Verity in the copilot seat, was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I’m pretty sure the hand of God himself got us on the ground. There is no way Reese should have been able to. From what Verity says, he’s well aware of it too.

“Who, then?”

“Your closest neighbor is a contractor of mine. He’s here with his fiancée and her grandmother. He’ll pick the phone up, but you won’t meet him unless you run into something you can’t handle.”

A blip sounds in my ear. “That’s his number.”

I hold the phone out from my ear and read the screen. “Luke,” I say.

“You don’t want to engage him unless absolutely necessary. The man is a bullet magnet.” He chuckles as though that’s amusing.

I glance at Samantha yawning in the chair. I need to find an opportunity to search her backpack. That’s the easy part. What’s the headscratcher is how Silas expects me to watch her and get any rest.

As though he’s a mind reader, his gravelly voice comes down the line. “Just be mindful of how cunning she can be. She’s a master manipulator, and if she thinks there’s a way out of this, she’ll use every trick in her book.”

Does he really think I’m going to fall for the same act again?

I glance at the mismatched, unflattering clothing they’ve chosen for her. “I’m aware of that. I have complete mission clarity.”

“Good to hear it. Unless I have something urgent, I’ll contact you again tomorrow morning.”

The idea of spending a night with her turns my insides to stone. “I have to get back to the real world. I have a life.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but until we find the men shooting at you, you’re on guard duty. Food will be there in the morning, and you can order lunch and dinner using the credit card Caleb gave you.”

“Do I get exercise time?”

“Feel free to run in circles.”

“I already am.”

He ends the call with little more than a grunt of acknowledgment.

Samantha’s gaze slides to me, and she mutes the TV. “Guess your stunt backfired on you, huh? Now we’rebothin jail.”

I slide my phone back into my pocket. “My stunt worked just fine. Guys you’d conned came forward.”

Her smile slips, and her mouth presses downward. “Who?”

“Some bartender you lied to about having a sick mother. You fleeced him for a couple hundred bucks. I can’t remember the other ones.”

I take no pleasure in her surprise. I’m being punished just the same as she is.

“He was a nice guy. Trying to help you out.”

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