Ties That Bind by Natalie R. Collins Read Free Book Online Page B

man who had made her feel like no other but thrown her to the wolves when things got hot.
    Great.
    She closed her eyes and remembered the beginning. The day she met Gage Flint—those flashing eyes whose electricity she felt the moment she shook his hand. A thrill of excitement had rolled through her body as she realized that her placement undercover meant constant contact with this man.
    But then the case … it had been the beginning—and the end.
    *   *   *
    She remembered standing for the first time in the big warehouse/kitchen supply store belonging to the Clarkstons, undercover on the biggest case of her young career. She kept her eyes on the floor, meek, submissive. The man who stood in front of her, carrying a clipboard and eyeing her up and down, was mollified by her subjection, even though she was wearing jeans and a loose T-shirt. The girl who stood next to her, Mary Ann, wore a long dress, work boots, and had her hair in a thick braid twisting down her back. She kept her eyes down as well. Sam was a quick study and had learned from Mary Ann what was needed to survive in the Clarkston clan.
    The group was closed, secretive, and tightly woven, and infiltrating them was not going to be easy. Sam had become friends with shy, ungainly Mary Ann, who was known to be the daughter of one of the highest leaders of the Clarkston order. Befriending the sad, lonely, mousy girl was easy. It hurt Sam to see how truly alone Mary Ann really was, but she had a job to do.
    They’d met at the Salt Lake City Public Library, because it had been set up that way. Mary Ann didn’t know.
    Sam had bemoaned her lack of a life and her lack of a job, and before she knew it Mary Ann had brought her into the very entryway of the Clarkston clan—their main business, a kitchen supply store. Getting further than that had proved difficult.
    The Clarkston “organization,” as those in the know referred to it, maintained a remarkably low profile in Utah, despite the fact that they were building a huge financial empire.
    Getting close to understanding just how much money the Clarkstons had had taken police detectives months, and they still only had a ballpark figure. They knew that the holdings were worth at least $200 million.
    But you wouldn’t know that driving by the shacks and shanties where the Clarkston wives lived, scattered throughout North Salt Lake and Salt Lake City.
    Tracing the clan’s holdings was difficult, given the Clarkstons’ penchant for placing businesses and real estate holdings under corporate titles and other names. This device managed to shield them from direct scrutiny.
    The easiest way in, as far as the investigating detectives had seen it, was through Mary Ann. And an entry level position at the kitchen supply store that also served as the church’s headquarters and place where they held their Sunday meetings.
    The undercover job not only introduced Sam to the intriguing Gage Flint, but for once she thought she was going to be able to be the savior. She might actually be able to save someone, to change someone’s life.
    This time, she might make a difference.
    *   *   *
    After Roberson finished up with Gage, he sent him over to Sam and turned to one of the techs dismantling the computer. Gage met her eyes without restraint, and she fought to maintain her composure, forcing a look of ice over her face.
    Don’t react … don’t react.…
    “So, we meet again.”
    “I don’t need your help.” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.
    “That’s not very friendly, Sam. I think your chief wants us to work together in the spirit of police brotherhood.” His eyes glinted with humor, making her even more uptight. Anger burned in her stomach. It matched the electricity she felt, which pissed her off. On her first big case she had wanted to prove something and the electricity sparking between her and Gage was an additional bonus. Or so she’d thought.
    “Look, I have work to do,