Catching Sam: Book 2 of 5: The MacDonald Brothers by Emily Matthews (best mystery novels of all time TXT) 📗

in that the girlfriend is married to a murderer, the juicy factor goes up exponentially. No one would care about the difference between murder and manslaughter.

“So, you’re blackmailing me. If I call the police, you’ll call the tabloids?”

“That about sums it up,” he said casually as he opened the refrigerator and perused its contents. “What’s for dinner, love?”

“If you think I’m making you dinner, you are out of your ever-loving mind,” she said firmly.

“I’ll just start with these leftovers then. Lasagna? Looks pretty good.”

“Wayne, what’s your plan?”

“Well, your boyfriend ruined my Plan A. I’m moving on to Plan B, which is to get as much money as I can from you and then, depending on how much that is, decide whether or not to ruin Sam’s precious reputation.”

“Why do all your plans rely on other people giving you money? Why don’t you go back to California and get a fucking job?”

“Jesus, Annie, when did you start cussing? You kiss your momma with that mouth?”

“I’m serious, Wayne. Do you plan to get a job?”

“Sure. Someday. Right now, I need some cash, and since my wife, who appears to be doing all right for herself, didn’t leave me any…”

“I offered you one hundred thousand dollars to sign the divorce papers, and you turned it down. And you’re the one who wanted a prenup.”

“Does that offer still stand? Cuz I’ll take it. Hundred grand, and I’m gone.”

“No. I’m not giving you anything. According to my attorney, we’ll be divorced within the month, whether you sign anything or not. And if I give you money now, it will only be a matter of time before you’re back for more.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do then, Annie?”

“Get. A. Job.”

“You make it sound so easy. I just got out of prison. Who’s gonna wanna hire me?” he whined.

“Didn’t they work with you before you left prison to make some arrangements for something?”

“I told them I was going back to my wife, who made plenty of money.”

“Well, you’d better figure out a Plan C because I’m not giving you anything, and neither is Sam.”

“We’ll see,” he said ominously.

How the hell was she going to get him to go? “Well, what’s your more immediate plan? Like right now? Where do you plan to go tonight?”

“Oh, honey. I’m staying right here with you. In fact, I’m not letting you out of my sight until we work something out.” His tone had a menacing note to it, which put her on edge.

“What? You can’t mean that! Where have you been staying? Go back to wherever that is.”

“I’ve been sleeping in a car I borrowed since I got out. Lately, I’ve been staying at a homeless shelter, but I’m not going back there. I can’t risk you calling anyone. Speaking of which, where’s your cell phone?”

It was lying right out in the open next to her purse and keys on the kitchen counter, not two feet from him. Making a dive for it wouldn’t have done any good. She watched helplessly as he picked up both the phone and her keys, walked to the back door, and unceremoniously pitched them into the woods.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Sam was on his way to New York for a weekend of supposed debauchery, but all he could think about was Annie and what a fool he’d been. He called before taking off and then again mid-flight, but she wasn’t picking up. He didn’t blame her. He’d been a jackass and deserved the silent treatment. He’d run everything by Jake on the plane ride to New York, and together they’d made some tentative plans, but even after racking his brain about how he could apologize, he was still coming up short.

Alex, Johnny, and Mitch met them when they landed. Mitch had never looked happier, and Sam set aside his problems to celebrate his brother’s upcoming nuptials. The wedding was still a few weeks away, but this was the only time they could all get together. Since they were too old to be running around town drinking and going to strip clubs, they settled for dinner at their favorite Italian place and a poker night at Mitch’s penthouse.

“Where’s Maggie?” asked Sam upon entering the apartment.

“She cleared out to give us some space. She’s spending the weekend with Jenny and Adam but will be at Mom’s for dinner tomorrow.”

Jenny was the widow of Mitch’s partner who’d been shot and killed. She was also Maggie’s aunt. Adam had been Mitch’s partner on the force for a while but was now his best friend. Adam and Jenny had gotten married the previous summer.

“Oh, she left some homemade cookies, I see. Unless you’ve taken to baking?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“No. Maggie made those. That woman loves her cookies.” Mitch chuckled and shook his head.

“Well, you’d better be careful. Looks like you’re already getting mushy in the middle,” Alex said, jabbing him in the stomach. “You gonna let yourself go now that you’ve nailed down a wife?”

Mitch lifted his shirt enough to reveal a rock-hard six-pack and looked down. “I think I’m good for now.” They all laughed.

“Sooo good,” cooed a woman’s voice, and they all turned toward it.

“Oh, here we go,” said Mitch. “You’d better behave, Harold.”

“Ah, the infamous Harold. The pervy parrot. I’ve heard a lot about you, dude,” said Jake, walking over to the bird. “I can’t believe you still have him. Didn’t he drive Maggie crazy?”

“He drives us both crazy, but he’s gotten a lot better. He hardly ever talks about sex anymore. Those first few months were the worst!”

Sam had heard the horror stories. Maggie was a veterinarian and someone had dumped the perverted bird on her last year—its only vocabulary being sex talk. She’d pawned it off on Mitch as a joke, never assuming she’d be living with it again.

“So, you guys gonna keep him then?” asked Jake, poking his finger into the cage.

“Why, you want him?” Mitch asked eagerly.

“Hard pass. Thanks, though,” Jake said, shaking his head.

Jake and Sam dropped their suitcases, and