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

cop, and there was no one else he’d rather have by his side in an emergency. He’d take Mitch too, but that would look suspicious as hell. He had to get out of here fast without freaking his mom out.

He overheard Jake making excuses and his mother complaining as he pushed the button to call the pilot. He’d make it up to his mom later. Right now, he needed to find out what the hell was going on with Annie.

Once they were settled on the plane, Sam told Jake what he knew, which wasn’t much.

“The phone call was from Annie’s intern, Beckie. She was crying and rambling on, but the gist is that she hasn’t heard from Annie since she left the office on Thursday. Annie called in sick on Friday. Then she and Beckie were supposed to meet for coffee this morning, but Annie never showed or called. Beckie tried to call several times, but the phone went straight to voicemail every time.”

“Maybe she’s just upset about your fight and doesn’t want to take calls,” reasoned Jake.

“Maybe. But Beckie also told me everything that Annie had confided in her after I left that day. Annie had no idea Wayne was back in town. She figured he’d find her eventually but was completely confused as to how he found out about us.” Sam ran his fingers through his hair. “Which means she’s not in cahoots with him.”

“Never mind that you just used the word ‘cahoots.’” Jake rolled his eyes. “How did he know about you and Annie?”

“That was Beckie. She came clean just now, saying it was all her fault. She told Wayne about us thinking he was some random guy she’d met in a coffee shop. Wayne used her to get information about Annie. Beckie also admitted that she told him what kind of car Annie drives and thinks he may have found her based on that. She feels guilty as hell.”

“She should. Good Lord, why would she tell some stranger so much information about someone else?” The cop in Jake made him instantly doubt most people’s motives and intentions. That was one thing Sam and Jake had in common.

“She’s young and naive. I don’t blame her. She thought he liked her and probably hasn’t had many boyfriends. God, I can’t wait to get my hands on that little creep.”

“Hold up. We still don’t know that he means any real harm. We can’t jump to conclusions.”

“I get why Annie would be avoiding me, but why wouldn’t she be responding to Beckie? What if he kidnapped her? Or worse? He’s a desperate man, Jake. I have a bad feeling.” He raked his hands through his hair for the thousandth time. “Can’t this damn plane fly any faster?”

“Calm down. We’ll get there as soon as we can. We’ll go find her, make sure she’s okay, and then deal with her punk ex. Come on, sit down. Tell me what you know about this Wayne character. What’s he after?”

“I don’t know much. He recently got out of prison for accidentally killing a man in a bar fight and apparently came straight to Washington once he found out Annie was here. I think his main goal is money, not Annie. He probably saw me as a bigger target and came for me first, but when I didn’t pan out, must have gone for Annie next.”

“That’s good information. He must be on parole, and I’m sure that doesn’t allow for him to leave the state. A threat to call his parole officer may be all we need to get him to take off and crawl back under the rock he came from.”

That calmed Sam a little. Annie had said he wasn’t a violent man, but Wayne’s look of desperation in the lobby the other day had Sam’s instincts on high alert. Wayne didn’t seem rational or like someone who could be reasoned with.

If Annie was okay, she would have had coffee with Beckie. Or at least called to cancel. It wasn’t like Annie to just not show.

Something was wrong. He could feel it. He had ignored promptings before and had always been sorry later.

He sat and closed his eyes. Another thought had snuck into his mind during all the panic. He was in love with Annie. Like, really, truly, head over heels in love. He’d already admitted he cared for her, but there was no denying it had pushed past caring. In the short time they’d spent together, he’d come to respect her. And despite his dumbass move in her office, trust her. Implicitly.

He couldn’t let anything happen to her, and he couldn’t let her push him away. His heart hurt just thinking of her in danger. And anger raged against that douchebag husband of hers for putting her through so much shit.

Sam just hoped she wasn’t too stubborn to accept his help with the asshole. They’d land, stop by Jake’s for some hardware, and then go straight to her place. He wasn’t sure guns would be necessary, but better safe than sorry. He’d feel much better with Jake there.

The plane finally landed at dusk, and within the hour, they were pulling up to Annie’s cul-de-sac.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Annie’s initial plan had been to just wait Wayne out. Knowing he was harmless and wanting to keep Sam safe from his stupidity, she’d mostly gone along with him. She thought he’d get tired of doing nothing and getting nowhere, and that he’d eventually take no for an answer and go home.

It was becoming clear to her that he was more invested than she thought. Or more desperate. Since he’d arrived, he’d been following her everywhere and hadn’t let her out of his sight, except to use the restroom. He insisted she sleep on the couch downstairs so he could keep an eye on her while he slept in a chair next to her. She was surprised he let her have the couch.

He told her not to try to leave during the night—that prison had taught