Morgan Hunter sacrificed everything for her career. She had yet to encounter anything she wasn’t willing to do to succeed...until now. When she uncovers evidence that the healthy foods she’s been hired to promote may be dangerous, she must reevaluate her priorities. As questions mount and the body count rises, she finds herself caught in the crosshairs of an organization that will stop at nothing to hide its secrets and protect its profits. With no one else to trust, Morgan is forced to seek help from the man she drove away, but whom she never stopped loving.
Excerpt:
Nick made his way to the security offices where Devyn said she would be waiting for him.
“Just in time,” she stated as he walked through the door. “We have the footage about ready to roll from all the cameras from every elevator and stairwell leaving the third floor. Unless she’s still on the third floor, we’ll find her.”
Nick watched over Devyn’s shoulder as feeds came up on multiple screens from different cameras. Since the time frame in question was a small window, they quickly narrowed down the search.
“There. Stop it there,” Nick ordered, pointing to the middle screen. “What’s Morgan doing here?”
“I couldn’t get in or out of the car or drive on my own with the sore ribs, so she insisted on bringing me to the hospital. She left when the chaos erupted, so she should be home by now.”
Nick glared at her and then returned his focus to the paused images. “That person, can you zoom in on that one?”
Devyn’s jaw dropped. The hair color and style had changed, but there was no doubt in her mind that the woman in scrubs, two people behind Morgan in the stairwell was Candace Rogers. She turned to Nick, but he already had his phone to his ear and his back to her.
“Pick up, pick up,” he pleaded. “Morgan, call me the second you get this message.”
Devyn had never heard such panic and fear in her partner’s voice. She should have called a cab and tipped the driver extra to help her in and out of the car. She hadn’t intended to put Morgan in danger, but if anything happened to her, Devyn knew Nick would never forgive her. And she would never forgive herself.
As the feed continued to roll, they watched Candace close the distance between her and Morgan. Devyn could feel the tension in Nick’s body as he stood next to her, but was helpless to ease his fears. After the door slammed shut, they lost visual on the two women.
“Check all cameras that might pick up where those two women went,” Devyn demanded, as Nick tried Morgan’s cell phone again.
“There they are,” Tanner stated as Morgan and Candace reemerged on a camera near the main lobby.
The women were only on camera a second before they disappeared again, but long enough for them to see that Candace was now herding Morgan. By Candace’s posture and mannerisms, she likely had a gun poked into Morgan’s side.
“Where does that hallway go?” Nick asked.
“The employee area, and there’s an employee exit into the garage from there,” offered the security guard running the video playback.
Devyn struggled to keep pace as Nick ran in the direction the two women were last seen. He pulled out his cell, and Devyn could only assume he was trying Morgan’s number again. She nearly collided with his back as he skidded to a stop outside the employee break room and listened.
Devyn pulled her weapon and took up a position outside the door opposite Nick. Devyn nodded when she was ready to provide cover. Nick entered. The room was empty, so he called an all clear to her and she followed him in.
Checking each bathroom stall and shower stall, Nick froze.
“What is it?” Devyn asked.
“She was here.” Nick picked up Morgan’s purse and clothes. Checking her purse and then her pockets, he found her cell phone. “Where did you two park?”
“Just at the end of the row outside this door.”
Nick rushed out of the break room and pushed through the exit, setting off alarms since he hadn’t swiped an employee card, with Devyn at his heels.
“It’s gone,” Devyn gasped as she caught up to him.
For a moment, both agents stood, not speaking, staring at the empty spot where Morgan had parked her car earlier that morning.
Devyn wasn’t sure what to say, but thought she should offer something. As she opened her mouth to speak, Nick held up his hand, silencing her.
They listened for a moment, honing in on the sound of a dull thud nearby. They isolated the sound coming from the trunk of a parked car.
“Tanner, send someone out to the parking garage with a crowbar immediately, and have this license plate run so we know who this car belongs to,” Nick ordered into the tiny mic pinned to his lapel.
He provided Agent Tanner with the car’s license plate number, and within moments, two security guards arrived with a crowbar. “Whoever’s in there, we’re FBI. We’re going to pop the trunk, so watch yourself,” Nick stated.
The pounding stopped, and he nodded to the man holding the crowbar. With one firm push on the crowbar, the trunk popped open. The half-naked woman staring back at them was not Morgan.
Author Bio
Larkin's Letters
