She trailed her fingers down his lapels. “A little tight across the shoulders, but that just makes you look even more buff.”
“Okay, because that’s the look I’m going for.” He rolled his eyes. “You, on the other hand, look like a shimmery white cloud of perfection. Actually, you look like one of those princesses Jess always wants me to read about. Wait until I tell her I know a real princess.”
“When she meets this princess, she’s going to be extremely disappointed.” Jolene caught her breath as Sam grabbed her hand.
“Does this mean you want to meet her?”
Jolene nodded, afraid to speak around the lump in her throat, afraid to ruin her carefully applied makeup with tears.
“Let’s get through this, first.” Sam pulled her close and kissed the side of her head. “Let’s go.”
As they drove to Tucson for the casino gala, Sam drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel, running through their plan. “Are you sure the AV guy you know at the hotel is working this gig?”
“He said he was, and if not, he’ll give his replacement a heads-up.”
“He’s not worried about losing his job?”
She jabbed Sam in the side. “If everything unfolds as planned, he’s going to be the hero of the evening. He won’t have to worry about his job.”
“I’ve put all the other agents who are going to be there on notice.” Sam ran the tips of his fingers across his clean-shaven jaw. “Even Nash.”
“How’d he react?”
“Nothing surprises Nash. He’ll do his job.”
When they got to Tucson, they had to drive several more miles into the foothills to the Hacienda del Sol. Sam left the car with a valet.
As they walked into the resort, Jolene pressed her hand against her stomach where the butterflies were flapping their wings furiously. They followed the signs to the ballroom, and when they entered, Sam slipped his hand into his pocket, withdrew the thumb drive and pressed it into her hand.
They’d edited together the most pertinent pieces of the videos—the digging, the relocating of tarps into the side of the ridge along the border and the people behind it all. Thank God, she’d never seen her father on the videos—too recent for him—but she was almost sure now that Dad had discovered that tunnel or those bodies and had paid the price for his knowledge—just like Melody, Tucker, Contreras.
Did Wade know the people he’d been dealing with had murdered his uncle, the man he revered and emulated? He must have guessed.
Jolene spotted the AV setup at the back of the room. Lucky for her and Sam, the gala tonight was supposed to feature a presentation on the Yaqui tribe and their land in the desert, straddling the US and Mexico. The video would still feature that land—just not in the way the backers imagined.
She squeezed Sam’s bicep through his jacket. “My guy’s here.”
As she started across the room with purpose, Wade touched her shoulder. “Looking beautiful, cuz. I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Oh, I’ve come around. I see the light now.” She nestled her hand with the thumb drive in the folds of her dress.
Wade’s dark eyes glowed. “Glad to hear it because I just got word on those bones that mysteriously appeared at the construction site.”
Jolene blinked. “Oh?”
“Just some dried out bones from an archaeology site, not even from Arizona. Funny, huh? But that means, I’ll be announcing tonight that the project is proceeding as planned.”
“That’s great.” She spread her red lips into a smile. “It just may not be proceeding with everyone on board.”
She twirled away from him and snatched a champagne flute from a passing tray. Gran wouldn’t be here tonight, not her thing, but other tribe members stood in clusters around the room and Jolene headed for one of those groups.
She could feel Wade’s eyes drilling into her back and didn’t want him to see her talking to the AV guy. As she chatted with family members, she glanced at Wade from the corner of her eye hobnobbing with the mayor and his cronies.
Making her move, she swept up her skirt with one hand and sauntered toward the back of the room. “Derek?”
The man behind several computers looked up. “You’re Jolene?”
“Yeah, just like we discussed.” She slipped him the flash drive and five hundred bucks.
“Is anyone going to come for me once they realize the approved programming is going to be replaced by this?” He held up the flash drive.
“They’ll be occupied with other things.”
As she turned, Derek stopped her. “Hang on. I’m going to put this video on my hard drive and give the flash drive back to you. That way, if someone does come back here and tries to stop the video by removing it, you’ll have your original.”
“You’re worth every last penny. I do have another copy at home, but that’s a great idea.”
“I’m doing it for our mutual friend, not really the money. I owe her.” He clicked and dragged and clicked again, and then handed the flash drive back to her. “Done deal.”
Jolene slipped the drive into her white beaded evening bag and downed her champagne. No turning back now.
She found Sam just as the lights began to dim, and soft music started to play. Slipping her arm through his, she whispered, “It’s all set.”
Sam nodded toward Nash, spiffy in a custom-tailored tux, sticking close to Karen Fisher’s side.
Karen sported a silver sheath, her salt-and-pepper hair braided over one shoulder. She didn’t look the part of a murderous drug dealer.
As the hors d’oeuvres circulated and the champagne flowed, the speeches began. Wade announced to a delighted crowd that the bones found at the ground-breaking ceremony were planted and not native to the land.
Sam bumped her shoulder and she replied, “Oh, yeah. Forgot to tell you that.”
Wade continued, “The Desert Sun Casino is going to provide jobs
