Wish Her Well by Meg Silver Read Free Book Online Page A

up had reared its complicated head, and this time it wasn’t as simple as brushing someone minor like Marla off with a lie. This time it was Josh and the FBI.
    Wade led her still further. “Thomas claims it was him.”
    She vacillated only long enough to realize Josh would forgive her for siding with Thomas. Again she shuffled through her prepared responses and came up with the same one. “What do you mean, Thomas ‘claims?’ He was the client on those sets, but nothing untoward ever happened, if that’s what you’re worried about. They were only training exercises.”
    Wade leaned back in his chair. It creaked beneath his massive frame. “Training exercises. Interesting flair for dissemination, you’ve got. But we know Thomas is lying, Miss Tate. He wasn’t even onsite for a couple of those bookings.”
    No response for that. No way to answer. All she could do was stare Wade down and try to look unaffected.
    He asked, “Why are you lying for him? And more importantly, why is Thomas concealing the real guy’s identity? If the real client was in collusion with West or Steph, we need to know.”
    True. She also wanted to know who the mystery client was, but she could find out for herself, given time and freedom to work on it. What worried her was the echo of something she’d thought about yesterday, the things Thomas had repeated in the shower that day. He kept saying he had to follow orders, that he couldn’t always do what he wanted. But whose orders was he following? Not Wade’s, obviously.
    She repeated her question. “Why are you questioning me instead of Thomas? Aren’t you supposed to be the one in charge?”
    Wade’s eyes narrowed, and he reminded her momentarily of a cartoon tea kettle, reddening and tightening, explosion imminent. But he contained it. Only just. “All right, fine. Let’s see if your loyalty can outlast this one.”
    He took out his smartphone and swiped his thumb across the screen, then slid the device across the desk to show her a photograph.
    She glanced down to have a look. The photo showed a high-definition shot of Thomas standing next to his bronze-colored SUV, mid-conversation with a blond woman. Gail Warnous.
    Why was this a big deal? When Amanda had first moved into her townhouse, Thomas and Marla both used to swing by Gail’s place all the time, and not very long ago, she’d surmised that Marla had been under orders to do so. Whether or not Thomas had switched teams to take orders from Milazzo, those visits to Gail were never a secret. “Why is this a problem? That photo must be weeks old by now.”
    “Yesterday. This picture was taken yesterday afternoon.”
    “No. That’s not possible. Gail Warnous is, as far as I know, confined to a psychiatric facility up north.”
    Wade finally showed some emotion. “Cut the crap. Explain this, or I’ll make sure your contract gets lost on its way to my desk.”
    “Take it easy,” Josh cautioned. He turned to face her. “We’re not accusing Thomas of anything.”
    “The hell we’re not,” Wade said. “There is no such thing as a kinder, gentler cattle prod, Joshua. If you’re so damned concerned for everyone’s wellbeing, what about Amanda’s? If Thomas has been compromised, you think she’s safe?”
    Amanda had never seen anyone turn so many colors at once. Josh paled, looking sick yet reddening with fury at the same time. But he clamped down on the emotion and spoke to Wade in a semi-reasonable voice. “I think you’ve outlived your usefulness in this situation.”
    Wade continued his attack as if the argument had been boiling beneath the surface, and she’d added the catalyst they needed to let it break open for good. “And I think you’re in denial. That girl—” Wade pointed at Amanda “—is a dangerous distraction. Now, I know you care about Thomas, but I know the type better than you ever will. Their loyalties always get them killed in the end, and you and I both know a dead man still holds his