Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth (web ebook reader .TXT) 📕

has been in my purse,” Mia said as Laine walked through the door. Mia’s head disappeared behind the counter.

Laine walked to the other side of the counter and leaned against it. A fury rose inside of her. Everything in her wanted to make Mia responsible for what had just happened to Tamyra. If they hadn’t had to protect Riley, they would have all been home by now. But something inside her wouldn’t let her blame even Mia.

“Look at this. Everything in my purse has been dumped out on the floor!” Laine watched as Mia frantically ran her hands through the exposed contents of her handbag. “They were obviously looking for something. Maybe it was the same guy who did that to Tamyra.”

“Did they steal your wallet?”

Mia picked up her wallet, unable to hide her irritation. “No! My wallet is right here.”

“Something else missing?” Laine coaxed.

Mia grabbed her handbag and crammed her hand inside; she fumbled wildly through the empty purse. “No, no. I’m sure it’s all here. If they didn’t take my wallet, I can’t imagine what else they would have wanted.” She tossed the purse down and leaned over to peer beneath the counter.

“Wouldn’t be looking for these, would you?”

The look on Mia’s face when she raised her eyes and saw the bottle of antianxiety medication dangling from Laine’s fingers gave her a small sense of satisfaction amid all this mess. Laine only wished the girls could see it with her.

“Where did you . . . ?” Mia stood quickly.

“Out of your purse.”

Mia made a desperate attempt to grab it from Laine’s hand.

Laine pulled the bottle out of her reach. “I don’t think you will be getting these back anytime soon. In fact, I think you need to grab a seat right there on that sofa and tell me everything you’ve done. To be honest, that is about the only thing that will keep you out of prison at this point.”

The fear that flew across Mia’s face made that statement so worthwhile, whether there was any validity to it or not. “I want to know everything. How many of these did you give to Riley?”

“You’re crazy!” she barked. “Just because you write fiction novels doesn’t mean you can walk in here creating it.”

Laine stepped back and decided she’d sit on the sofa if Mia didn’t want to. “Drugging someone’s drink is a crime, Mia. Pure and simple. Ever seen what happens to pretty girls in prison?” She was being ruthless but she didn’t care. Tamyra was in a hospital room with a face that resembled a prizefighter’s, and she doubted Tamyra had had the privilege of landing a single blow. “They eat women like you alive in prison. Trust me, I’ve written all about it.” She smirked.

She could hear the trembling in Mia’s voice. “I don’t want to go to prison.”

“You should have thought about that before you drugged someone.”

“I wouldn’t call two pills drugging someone.” She laughed nervously.

“You gave her two?”

Mia came around the counter. The arrogance in her shoulders slowly seeped away. “Please promise that if I tell you, Riley won’t press charges.”

“Of course not. Riley won’t press charges.” She knew she couldn’t be sure. But she was pretty confident Riley Sinclair wouldn’t press charges against anyone. “But you’ll write it all down, and you’ll call Max while I’m standing here. Now sit,” Laine said as she stood, walked over to the counter, and got a pen and paper. “I want you to write everything that you’ve done to Riley from the moment you arrived. I know more than you can imagine. So leave one thing out and any promise I’ve made to you will be as void as what rests between your ears.”

Mia sat, took the pen, and began writing. Laine sat down in the leather chair beside the sofa, placed her hands atop its chrome arms, and let the coolness of the metal alert her to how real this day actually was. If she had written this as a story, she wouldn’t have even thought of this ending.

* * *

Laine stood there as Mia told Max everything. Even as she recounted it all, Laine couldn’t believe how quickly Mia had begun her sabotage against Riley. She had known in her gut that this girl was up to no good. But Riley was so trusting. And Mia had maliciously used that trust against her.

Mia handed the phone to Laine. “He wants to talk to you.”

Laine took the receiver. “Hello.”

“Thank you, Ms. Fulton. I’m sure this isn’t how you planned to spend your research trip.”

“Well, no, not exactly. But I’d say it’s been a very informative week, to be honest with you.”

“I’m sending security over to make sure Mia gets her stuff and gets out immediately, and they will call the Bahamian police. I’ll call Mr. Manos and ask him to take care of both The Reef and The Cove until Riley can get back. And I’ll call Riley and apologize to her and see if I can get her to take her job back.”

“From the way she was handling the guests this morning, I’d say her heart has never left this job. And I don’t think you have her termination letter yet, do you?”

He laughed. “No, I didn’t figure she’d be in a hurry.”

“I’m headed to the hospital now. But could you give me a little time with her first before you call? She needs to hear what’s gone on from someone in person. She’s beaten herself up mercilessly, and I just don’t want her to have to hear this over the phone. I’m thinking she’s going to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth,” Laine said, her glare not leaving Mia’s face.

Mia dropped her eyes at Laine’s stare.

“Well, thank you. I’ll call Riley this evening. I heard what happened to Ms. Larsen as well, and I called the hospital and asked them to keep me informed. We will be hoping for a miracle. And I have also talked to the chief of police. They’ve received a picture of the suspect, so