Flawless Danger (The Spencer & Sione #1) Read Free Page A

was even a camera in the closet.”
    A moment later, the screen flickered and then came to life.
    “What we are going to view is raw footage,” he said. “The video feed from the interior surveillance camera in my closet which I copied onto a DVD.”
    Sick at the stomach, Spencer grabbed the edge of the couch seat, trying to brace herself. Nothing could have prepared her for the black-and-white images on the screen in front of her. Rigid, nails digging into the leather, she watched herself in the video, trying to deal with the disconnected feeling of seeing herself doing things she still couldn’t believe she’d done; the woman on screen, removing the watches and money, seemed like someone else, and yet it was her.
    “So, that’s how you knew I stole from you.”
    “That’s how I knew.”
    “Now what? You going to show that video to the cops? You gonna have me arrested?”
    “I thought about it,” Ben said. “It’s what you deserve. Five to ten behind bars. But then I thought, maybe I can use this video for good and not evil. Maybe I can use it to teach you a lesson, one that you won’t forget. Maybe I can use this video to make you suffer, the way I suffered that night after you stabbed me and left me to die. Maybe you need to see how it feels to wonder if your next breath will be your last … I managed to call nine-one-one, and then I passed out. Woke up in a hospital. I don’t know how many days had passed. I hardly knew who the hell I was. Took me several days to remember what had happened to me. And then, one day, the memories came rushing in like a flood, damn near drowning me. And then, I couldn’t get what you had done to me out of my head, even though I wanted to. I wanted to forget. I even wanted to forgive. But I couldn’t. There were days when it was almost like I could feel that knife plunging into my gut. I told myself I had to find you. I couldn’t let you get away with what you’d done. And that is why, sweet girl, you owe me this favor.”
    Trembling, she stared up at him. “What is this damn favor about?”
    “I told you last night.” He sat on the coffee table, facing her. “I want you to go to Belize, and once you are there, I will let you know what to do next.”

chapter 3

    Belize City, Belize
    Goldson International Airport

    Spencer ducked her head as she climbed into the taxi and slid across the stained, careworn bench seat, announcing her destination to the man behind the wheel. “Belizean Banyan Resort.”  
    Nodding, the driver shifted gears and pulled away from the curb, leaving the airport.
    It was a lovely day, with an expansive blue sky, brilliant white clouds, and a shimmering sun. Spencer hardly noticed. She was unable to concentrate on the lush, tropical scenery. Collapsing against the seat, she took a deep breath, and tried to calm down.
    The two-hour flight from Houston had been hell. Despite four glasses of wine, she hadn’t been able to relax. Every other minute, panic had assailed her, flooding her mind with thoughts of the night she and Ben had made love for the very first time. The night she’d made a mistake so horrible, it was almost perfect.
    An absolutely flawless mistake that had taken her to hell and back. Except she wasn’t back—not yet. She wouldn’t be back until she completed the favor for Ben.
    The cab turned from the main highway and onto a side road cut through what seemed to be a small village of clapboard houses. Spencer stared out the window at the yards littered with junked cars, dilapidated furniture, and clothes swinging in the breeze on thin lines stretched between trees.  
    As the cab driver followed the curving road, Spencer couldn’t stop worrying, wondering what Ben wanted her to do. He’d said it would be a favor, but it hadn’t taken him long to let her know that he wasn’t really asking for her help.
    You owe me, sweet girl.
    She’d stolen from him. Now she had a debt to pay.
    Consequences for your mistakes.
    Spencer