Waves of Deception (Samantha Rite Series Book 1) Read online

  Waves of Deception

  Samantha Rite Series Book 1

  Hope Callaghan

  FIRST EDITION

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Orlando Home Solutions, LLC

  Copyright © 2014

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Although places mentioned may be real, the characters, names and incidents and all other details are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Prologue

  He stood staring down at the petite blonde sprawled out on the bed. He never meant to kill her. It was all her fault. If she’d just shut up but she didn’t. She went on and on about the money. How she was going to spend her share. The trips to Europe, the designer clothes, the new sports car. And then she said something else. The one thing that she shouldn’t have.

  She told her sister about the job. About the money. After that, he knew he had to kill her. She couldn’t keep her mouth shut. He could no longer trust her.

  Dumb broad. Now he’d have to find someone else. And fast.

  He opened the slider and stepped out onto the balcony. He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag. Now he had another problem. What to do with the body.

  He had been very careful to avoid the hotel cameras. No one had seen him come in and no one would see him go out. He glanced back towards the room. She wasn’t scheduled to check out until tomorrow. By then he’d be long gone.

  He dropped the cigarette on the cement floor and crushed it out before tossing it over the balcony to the ground below.

  He walked back inside to take care of the small details. After carefully wiping the door knobs, the toilet handle and the TV remote, he grabbed his backpack and slung it across his shoulder.

  With one last glance at the motionless woman on the bed, he grabbed the Do Not Disturb sign off the wall and carefully placed it in the holder on the outside of the door.

  After checking to make sure it was shut, he sauntered down the hallway and into the elevator.

  “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

  Proverbs 31:30 NIV

  Chapter 1

  Samantha shook her head as she peered inside her daughter’s trunk. It was crammed full of junk – empty water bottles, fast food wrappers, wadded up clothes, a tennis racket. There was even a picnic basket. After a couple of turns this way and that, she was able to wedge her suitcase in and barely close the lid.

  Huge, wet snowflakes quickly coated the top of Sam’s head, creating a white halo. The snow was really coming down! She cast a wary eye skyward. What a great day to leave on a warm, sunny vacation.

  Her feet skidded on an icy patch as she gingerly shuffled her way to the passenger side door. Without taking the time to kick the snow off her favorite leather boots, she jumped into the seat and buckled herself in. She bent over to wipe them dry as Brianna cautiously backed the car out of the driveway.

  “You really need to clean out your car – I could hardly get the trunk closed!”

  Her daughter rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mom. I’m going to get to it.” Here came the excuses. “I’ve been trying to squeeze it in when I’m not in school or at work but the weather has been crappy, you know?”

  Good one. Laying on the guilt. Sam ignored her answer. “Do you know you have a picnic basket in there???”

  Brianna giggled as she shook her head. “I’ll have it cleaned out before I pick you up next week. I promise.”

  Sam switched her attention to the weather outside. The roads were covered in snow and ice. The streets were becoming more treacherous by the minute as it began snowing even harder. Sam peered out the window. It looked as if they were inside a giant snow globe that had just been shaken. With every passing mile, Sam worried that Brianna’s trip back home would be dangerous.

  The weather in Michigan could change in an instant when winter storms blew across the Great Lakes. It looked like this one was going to be a doozy.

  Brianna read her mother’s mind. “Mom, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. We aren’t really that far from the airport and I’ll take the back roads home.”

  Sam smiled over at Brianna. “Yes, I’m sure you will.” Her daughter knew her all too well.

  Brianna was the most precious thing in Sam’s life. At 22 years old, her whole life was ahead of her. She was finishing her degree in marketing and interning full time at a local ad agency.

  Brianna was a pretty girl with a heart-shaped face, long blonde hair and large blue eyes, surrounded by long, lush lashes. She had her mother’s shape - petite and on the thin side.

  Over the years, Sam watched the boyfriends come and go. She had really liked some of them but none lasted very long. The longest was a year. Bri, as she was called, knew exactly what she wanted. She just hadn’t found him yet.

  Born and raised in West Michigan, she was tired of living here. To her, it was one of the most boring places on earth. Unless you liked hunting. Or fishing. Or snow. She definitely didn’t like the snow. The long, cold, dreary winters dragged on forever. There were very few sunny days and when the sun did shine, it practically blinded you when it bounced off the pure white snowdrifts. No, she did not like living in Michigan at all.

  But Brianna had been working on her mother. Wearing her down, really. She wanted to move somewhere warmer – and she was convinced her mom should go with her. Since her parent’s recent divorce, finally finishing school and gearing up to embark on a new career, she was certain her mom would follow.

  Sam was an insurance agent and the agency she worked for had locations all over the U.S. She could easily transfer to any one of them if she wanted to. At least that was Brianna’s reasoning.

  She had narrowed her search down to California, Atlanta or Orlando. California would probably be super expensive, Atlanta too crowded with too much traffic. Warm weather, beaches and fun stuff to do topped Brianna’s list and she’d almost decided that Florida would be perfect. Maybe it wasn’t fair, but Bri knew that if she told her mom she was serious about moving, her mom would more than likely go with her.

  Although their entire family lived in Michigan, nothing was really keeping them here any longer. After the divorce, Bri’s dad rarely called her and she was fine with that. He had his new wife and his new life now so he didn’t need her anymore.

  It was another ten minutes of white knuckle driving before they finally pulled up in front of the Grand Rapids International Airport.

  Sam grabbed the door handle and pushed her way out into the blustery cold. Despite the hazardous weather, the airport unloading area was bustling.

  Sam pulled her suitcases from the trunk of the car and shook her head as she looked at the inside. She impulsively grabbed an empty shopping bag and started throwing handfuls of trash into it.

  “Mom, what are you doing?” Brianna was now standing b
eside her mom, hands on her hips.

  “I’m giving you a head start!” She grabbed an empty Kleenex box just before her daughter pushed her away and slammed the lid shut.

  “Stop! I promise it’ll be spotless the next time you see it!”

  Sam nodded. Maybe she was just nervous. Cleaning always seemed to make her feel calmer.

  There was nothing left to do but head inside. This was it. Time to go. She straightened her back, squared her shoulders and hugged her only child. Trying to appear braver than she felt, she marched off into the airport terminal.

  “See you next week. Don’t forget to pick me up.” Sam called out behind her as she made her way through the sliding glass doors.

  Check-in was fast and soon she was navigating the long line through security. By the time she reached the gate, passengers were already boarding.

  Wow, we cut that a little close, Sam thought.

  She pushed her carry-on bag under her seat and settled in next to the window. A frown crossed her face as she gazed out at the huge snowflakes that were still coming down.

  The last time she was in Miami was with Anthony. They spent a long, romantic weekend in South Beach. That trip had been a perfect escape – just the two of them. Looking back, she wondered if the trip was as magical as she remembered or if he had just been really good at faking it.

  Her eyelids drooped and the corner of her lips turned down as Sam started to feel depressed. Had he ever really loved her or was it all an act? If he had loved her, when did he stop?

  Pushing the thoughts of her cheating ex-husband out of her mind was hard but Sam was determined. This vacation was about getting away and forgetting all the horrible crap she’d gone through this past year. Anthony’s betrayal, his admitted affair with one of the partners in his real estate office, the shame she felt. The hardest part of all was the pity she saw in the eyes of her friends and family when the whole horrible affair and inevitable divorce unfolded for all the world to see. The sadness and pain of it all were just too much. She quickly wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

  Sam’s support group had saved her sanity during and after the ugly divorce. She started the group at her church years ago after she was unexpectedly diagnosed with cancer. When she shared the news with a few of her closest friends, one of them encouraged her to create the small group – a kind-of support system to help each other deal with life changing events.

  When she really thought about it, she realized Anthony was little help after her cancer diagnosis. She tried to open up about her fears or ask his advice on decisions that needed to be made. His only response would be to abruptly shut down and change the subject.

  She practically pleaded with him to go with her for a doctor visit or chemo appointment but he always had an excuse. He never did go – not even once.

  Her family had their own lives to deal with and she didn’t want to be a burden. There was no one to turn to.

  Over the years, the group had taken on a life of its own. Now one of the largest groups in her church, it consisted mostly of women – from young Twentysomethings to Great-Grandmas. Everyone was facing a different battle - from divorce to death to life-threatening illnesses to a job loss. When she started it, she had no idea how many hurting people there were – right in her own back yard.

  With the help of the support group, someone was there to go with her when she had gone in for surgery and then for her chemotherapy and endless radiation treatments. Oftentimes, more than one person would offer to take her.

  After the chemo treatments, Sam was completely wiped out. It would take days to recover. Lying in bed, sick and tired was the only thing she could do. Time after time, someone from the group would show up on her doorstep with cooked meals or bags of groceries. More importantly, they were always there with love and support.

  Nighttime was the worst for Sam. So many nights she would lay in bed, wide awake. In those long, still hours, the terrifying thoughts would slowly creep in. No matter how many times the doctors reassured her she had a promising outlook for full recovery and a long life still ahead of her, the word cancer filled her mind. Cancer and death. The two just seemed to go together.

  Those were some very dark days and Sam thanked God every day for the prayer warriors, for caring friends, and for her own eternal salvation. Even in the deepest, darkest places, she felt God’s love and peace.

  “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV

  She would constantly remind herself of this verse. If she died, there was no doubt she would be in heaven.

  She would be forever grateful for those friends that took the long, terrifying journey with her and held her hand the entire way.

  Looking back now, she wasn’t sure if cancer was the worst thing she’d gone through – or the heartbreaking betrayal of the man she loved so deeply and trusted without question.

  Chapter 2

  Standing on the balcony outside his hotel room, Lee Windsor looked blankly into the distance, wishing he was anywhere but here. Admittedly, the Florida weather was gorgeous. A gentle breeze blew through the Royal Palm trees circling the courtyard pool.

  Now would be a good time to smoke a cigarette, Lee thought to himself. He quit that nasty habit a few years back and was glad that he had. Except for times like these.

  Most would describe Lee as the quiet type. Women were attracted to him like a moth to a flame. They were always trying to break through the impenetrable wall he had constructed.

  He was definitely easy on the eyes. At almost 6’ tall, he had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Even a passing glance revealed his almost flawless physique. His blonde hair was cut very short but the style suited his rugged good looks.

  His most striking feature by far was his piercing eyes. They were the most incredible shade of emerald green. And if they focused on you long enough, it was as if he could see in to your soul.

  Annie would’ve loved this whole adventure. He could see her now – the look of excitement and anticipation on her face as she soaked it all in – the warm sunshine, gently-swaying palm trees, a romantic evening walk on the beach. He slowly shook his head. Why hadn’t ever taken the time to surprise her with a place like this? But it was too late now - he would never get the chance.

  Annie was like a magnet and people were always drawn to her. At first glance, it would seem they sought her out for her natural beauty – the long blonde, naturally-curly hair, her crystal-clear blue eyes, but no – it was definitely her smile that drew them in. When Annie smiled, the whole room would light up. Even the most ill-tempered person would smile back when Annie turned on her charm. She was just so genuine. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. And no matter how irritating or annoying someone was, she always saw the best in them – and she had a way of bringing that best out.

  Annie looked at life as the glass half full. She was never down. Everything she did and everywhere she went was a great adventure. Around every corner was something new to discover or somewhere new to explore. Lee had never met anyone quite like her. He was sure he probably never would again.

  For a moment, Lee allowed himself to wallow in his own self-pity, his eyes burning from years of unshed tears. He was missing Annie fiercely. His heart was breaking – for the thousandth time. If only he could have just one more day with her, one more hour …

  Bleep! Bleep! A car alarm started blaring in the parking lot below and reality came crashing in. He lifted his head and swallowed hard. With his mouth drawn in a straight and angry line, he turned on his heel and walked back into the hotel room, slamming the slider door shut behind him.

  Chapter 3

  Two hours later, Sam’s plane safely landed in Miami, much to her relief. She never did care much for flying and flying solo was even worse. At least traveling with someone took her mind off her claustrophobia – and her fear of crashing.

  As soon as she was able, Sam checked her phone and was relieved when she listened to Brianna’s me
ssage, letting her know she had made it home safely and the weather was getting worse.

  She grabbed her bags from the carousel and made her way outside the terminal. The warm sunshine enveloped her. Palm trees lined the sidewalk and a gentle breeze was blowing. She closed her eyes for a second, soaking in the sun and welcoming the heat.

  It didn’t take long to flag down a cab to take her to her hotel, the Miami Intracoastal on beautiful Biscayne Bay. She originally booked this hotel because she thought she and her sister would have fun catching up and getting excited about their first-ever cruise the next day.

  Part of this trip was supposed to be a celebration of Sam’s 40th birthday and the start of a new chapter in her life. The last decade had been rough to say the least and she was looking forward to leaving the bad behind and starting over.

  Everything changed when her sister, Deb, fell off her 4-wheeler on her property in Northern Michigan the week before. Not only did she break two of her ribs, but she suffered a serious concussion. Sam sighed. When she did something, she did it right!

  After spending a couple nights in the hospital, it was obvious that Deb would not be going anywhere anytime soon and she certainly wouldn’t be making this trip. Sam was deeply disappointed.

  Even though her aunt wasn’t able to take the cruise, Brianna convinced her mom to go alone. Bri tried hard to figure out some way she could go with her since the trip was already paid for, but because she was in the midst of final exams, there was really no way she could take a vacation right now.

  She knew her mother was in desperate need of this break. The heartbreak and pain from the past year – actually the past decade - had taken its toll. Her mom looked so sad and tired all the time. She looked beaten and it was a look that Brianna wasn’t used to seeing. Brianna was finally able to wear her down and looking back now, Sam was glad she did.