Chapter 4
"That’s ridiculous." My mouth went dry. The dark green walls of my ugly room seemed to press toward us. Or just toward me.
"Yes, I called Reynolds," Sam admitted. "His phone logs prove as much. But neither Reynolds nor I ever spoke to Stone."
The silence in the room overwhelmed me as Sam, Mallory and Villet stared impatiently, waiting for answers I couldn't concoct fast enough. All I had was the truth, but clearly honesty was failing me with Sam.
"Then someone else, someone connected to Reynolds must have informed on us." I glared at Mallory. "Sam called his little wifey often enough."
"Don’t look at me. I was trying to save Sam’s ass. My calls are all accounted for."
"Stone didn’t force you to choose," Sam continued. "You called him when my back was turned, told him where to find us. We found calls to Stone each stop on our path—in the motel, at the gas station, at the diner—like bread crumbs for him to follow."
"I never called him," I muttered, blocking out Sam’s accusations. They’d never told me Sam’s version of events. "This is really crazy. You can't be serious. Why would I call that bastard?"
Sam stood up straight, hands on his hips. "Reynolds told me Stone had turned on Goliath with your help. For a very, very special price."
I winced. Sam scoffed at my ignorance, seemed to enjoy my flinching.
He continued, "Reynolds told me how well the two of you were carousing at the Waldorf, which I saw for myself. Said you were making your deal sweeter with the DA in exchange for your testimony. Against me. No wonder the sniper didn't take out Stone or the witness. He was there to cover your tracks."
"Sam." I ripped back my blankets to stand, but Mallory jumped toward me, and I recalled the drops of blood on the sheets underneath my legs. No matter how heavily Sam’s words fell on my shoulders, I couldn’t expose my secret loss, wouldn't level a blow like that on him when he was in so much doubt already as to my loyalty or love for him. Or when I was in doubt as to when I'd conceived. With all the wicked things Sam now clearly thought me capable, he'd be the first to accuse me of seducing that rat bastard Stone. Fate again was forcing me to choose Sam over myself.
Pulling the blankets over my knees, I lay back against the headboard. "Reynolds was a traitor. He probably made the calls to Stone himself. I don't understand why would you, or anyone on this team he betrayed, would believe one word he said. Forget what you think or how you feel about me. That man was rotten to the core."
"You’re telling me that you and Stone didn’t make an agreement at my expense. That you never promised your testimony to frame me?" Sam grew impatient with my silence. "Any time, Jules."
"They were going to kill you. They were going to kill me. None of this makes sense." Rubbing my forehead, I searched the bedspread for answers, noting the long thin hairs Max had left during his short visit. I’d never see my dog again after this. I'd never see Max or Sam or anyone I cared about because I'd be sitting behind bars in upstate New York.
Sam withdrew a digital recording device, pushed play. "Yes, I’ll testify against Sam and help you frame him." Through the static of a lousy recording, my own strained voice emerged. "I never wanted Sam, but we had to play him. Lead him into Reynolds’ trap. Now we have the money, we can be together."
Sam pushed another button to stop the recording. The room fell silent, the air growing cold, like someone had opened a window to let winter's breath invade. The icy chill of Stone's presence. When the hell had they found that recording? Vilet had never said a word about this evidence.
