“And not only that,” said Leo, “but, Wes will authorize the police to check your computer, which is his property, and they might find that you ordered red food coloring from the Internet and had it delivered to you. That purchase can be tracked.”
Matilda said nothing as she tossed her hair again, but Leo thought she might be starting to crack.
“And let’s say that you were smart enough not to leave a trace,” said Leo. “Not sure if you know this, but Wes has camera surveillance around the compound. Several cameras are aimed toward the cottages. We haven’t gone through the footage, but we might see you on camera going into Francine Xarras’ room, and—”
“Wes, is that true?” Matilda demanded, glaring at him. “Are there cameras at the compound?”
“I had them installed for the protection and safety of my staff and volunteers,” confirmed Wes.
Cursing, Matilda jumped up from the couch, grabbed the shoebox and spiked it to the ground, shattering the glass bottles across the hardwood floor.
“You think destroying that evidence is going to keep you out of jail?” asked Leo.
Matilda glowered at him. “I didn’t mean for that bitch to die!”
“Oh, God, Mattie, no,” lamented Wes. “How could you? Why would you?”
Exhaling, Matilda sank onto the couch, shaking her head.
Vivian asked, “What did you think would happen?”
“You made that poor woman out to be a bloodsucker and put a pack of superstitious villagers on her scent,” said Leo. “You expect me to believe you didn’t know they would kill her? Officer Kenyatta Shenango warned you about the vampire rumors. He told you that vigilantes were capable of murder and yet you still carried out this plot against Francine.”
“I only wanted the villagers to scare her,” insisted Matilda. “Wes, you have to believe me. I didn’t think those ignorant barbarians would hack out her heart and set it on fire! I thought she would get spooked after the roadblock and then she would leave Africa.”
“Your twisted plan didn’t work,” said Wes, his expression pained, tone dismayed. “Francine wasn’t spooked. She was slaughtered.”
Epilogue
A private island in The Maldives
“Wait a minute, there’s something I need to ask you,” said Vivian, lifting her head, breaking the kiss she and Leo had been indulging in for the past few minutes.
“What’s that?” Leo asked, his hands roaming over her bare ass.
“Wes doesn’t have cameras at the compound in Bingu, does he?”
Leo smiled. “Nope. But, I’m glad when I told Matilda that lie, he played right along with me. If I hadn’t fooled her, she might not have confessed to her part in Francine’s murder.”
“Speaking of her part in the murder,” began Vivian.
“Let’s not,” suggested Leo. “Let’s enjoy Wes’ bountiful hospitality.”
“Giving us a week on his dad’s island in The Maldives was nice of him,” agreed Vivian, glancing at the palm trees, gently swaying in the breeze, forming a canopy over the large hammock they’d been lounging the day away in. “I’m glad Matilda is going to spend the rest of her life in jail.”
“Not just any jail,” said Leo. “An African jail. I doubt she’ll last a month.”
“I can’t believe she allowed jealousy to make her homicidal.”
“Actually,” said Leo, “I sort of can.”
Vivian frowned at him. “You can? Are you saying …”
“I’m saying that you’re the only woman I ever want,” he said, staring at her. “And if you ever left me for another guy, I would—”
“Make a mob of superstitious locals think he’s a vampire?” she asked, kissing his nose.
Leo smiled. “I was going to say that I would beg you to stay and do everything I could to make you realize that we belong together.”
Losing herself in his blue eyes, she said, “Well, you don’t have to worry about getting rid of any rivals or begging me not to leave. You’re stuck with me, Leo Bronson.”
“You promise?”
Kissing him, she said, “There’s nothing you could do to make me ever leave you …”
Message from Rachel …
Isn’t it crazy how some people are willing to kill in the name of love?
Speaking of love, in Africa, Vivian and Leo were crazy about each other but in their next exciting installment, you’ll find that their relationship isn’t the only thing that has changed …
Get ready to travel from Africa to the Caribbean where Vivian has taken a job at an island newspaper called the Palmchat Gazette, owned by Leo’s demanding father.
If you enjoyed The Secret Rival, you’ll love the next book in the series – THE SILENT ENEMY!
Vivian’s best friend Amal, visiting St. Killian for rest and relaxation, is killed, run over by a car, and left for dead on a lonely road.
Convinced that the vicious hit-and-run was no accident, Vivian reluctantly teams up with Leo to investigate. When the trail of secrets and lies leads to a shady crook, Vivian is targeted by the desperate criminal and kidnapped. Leo refuses to lose Vivian, but can he save her before it’s too late?
Get your copy of The Silent Enemy now!
Or … swipe the page to read an excerpt of The Silent Enemy today!
The Silent Enemy Excerpt
Prologue
I’m going to die tonight, he thought, gazing at the amber liquid his favorite bartender, Ratcliff, expertly poured into his glass.
“You doing all right tonight, Mr. Jameson?” Ratcliff asked, screwing the cap back on the bottle of whiskey he preferred, the only drink he ever ordered when he patronized the Purple Gecko. A local bar on Sandy Coral Road, it was in a neighborhood called Handweg Gardens, considered the wrong side of the island, an area where tourists were warned not to wander around alone at night. He liked the Purple Gecko because it wasn’t busy during the week. On the weekend it was a madhouse of adventurous tourists and locals, deafening reggae, thick clouds of weed-laced smoke, and raucous behavior.
“I’m okay, Ratcliff,” he said, even though he wasn’t.
He
