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Chapter 33
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Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 34
BAAM met at the Tampa Bay Marina. They took their things out of their SUVs and loaded it on Aaron’s yacht. Then they drove the SUVs ten miles from the marina and ditched them on the side of the road next to a thicket of trees and bushes. They walked half a mile to a gas station and called for an Uber to take them back to the marina. Aaron and Anthony undid the ropes that were tied to the brown poles of the dock and the boat. “All aboard,” Aaron said as they got on the yacht. They all piled into the sitting area where the captain’s controls were. Aaron raised the anchor, cut on the lights, and started the engine. “Bon voyage, Tampa,” Margo chimed. They chuckled. Aaron blew the horn. Anthony collected the Bluetooths and burner phones that they used during the heist. When they got five miles away from the coast, Anthony tossed them in the water. They had purchased new burners for their new lives earlier.They quietly lounged in the sitting area, d
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 35
Two days later . . . The doctor had made Bruce stay in the hospital overnight for observation. When Bruce had tried to leave in the middle of the night, Blanchette was right there to stop him. They had let Vic go home. Bruce had gotten a rental car while his SUV was in the shop. Luckily, his car insurance covered rentals due to accidents. He was going to take a few days off, but he got an all alert text on his phone from headquarters in Washington. When that kind of text was sent, something big had gone down. A text like that was sent to every FBI agent in the country. Bruce walked off the elevator. Of course, Blanchette was the first person he saw. “Styles, you’re supposed to be on medical leave,” he said harshly. “I know, sir, and I was going to follow orders, but I saw the text. It’s obviously important. There’s nothing wrong with my head or body that a few aspirin can’t keep at bay.” Bruce had a couple of scra
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 36
Two days later . . . Bruce was at home on the couch. With the exception of the occasional headache, he was a lot better. After getting briefed about the robbery, Blanchette had ordered him to go back home. Bruce had no choice but to comply, or Blanchette would have made it official by suspending him. However, Alec had kept him in the loop. IT experts at the Dallas field office had figured out that the virus had originated at the Dallas Reserve. They believe the system had to be compromised on site. If a hacker had tried to breach the system outside of the reserve without weakening the system first, they would have been automatically traced in seconds. The information wasn’t released to the public, and the bureau wanted to keep it that way until the thief or thieves were caught. The last thing he needed was to look at the walls and think. Every time his mind wandered, he thought about Margo. How could she leave him? And what was she really doing wit
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 37
Morris Mandel had been cruising on the interstate with the top down on the Mustang before he was pulled over. The cop said he had a taillight that was out. Instead of giving him a ticket and letting him go about his way, the cop detained him. Morris didn’t get bent out of shape until a blue SUV pulled up with two white dudes in it. His eyes widened when he got a look at the shorter man with brown hair. He was the guy that pulled his piece on him and Anthony at Margo’s house. He said he was FBI. The big guy looked familiar too, but he couldn’t remember from where. Oh, shit. What is this? “Thanks, girlie,” the big guy said to the cop. “Any time,” the cop said and got back into her cruiser. However, she didn’t go anywhere. “Mr. Mandel,” the big guy said. “Do you remember me? I’m Bruce Styles, and this is my partner, Alec Peterson. We’re FBI.” Morris thought he was going to crap in the middle o
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 38
When Margo first disappeared, Bruce had called a girl he used to date who happened to be a cop. He had given her the make, model, and license plate of Margo’s car and asked her to keep an eye out. Sargent Ann Dakota had seen a motorist driving a red Mustang with the taillight out. When she had gotten a look at the license plate, she had called Bruce. Alec and Bruce had a secretary run a quick background check on Morris Mandel as they had traveled to the pull-over location.Bruce and Alec’s gamble had paid off. They had been bluffing about knowing that Morris had something to do with the SunBeam robbery. But they did know that he had bought the car off Margo, and they used the association to insinuate that Morris was involved. They had gotten a lucky break when they found out Tampa Vice was watching Morris.They waited in Detective Menendez office. Morris was talking to his lawyer. The assistant district attorney had been called in to make a deal concerning Morr
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 39
It was eight o’clock at night by the time they were finished with Morris. Bruce and Alec were walking down the hall. Blanchette and Rolls called them over. “Congratulations, Styles,” Blanchette said. “Sir?” “Thanks to your steel trap memory, we got names and hopefully faces concerning the hit on the reserve.” Blanchette explained. “Damn good work,” Rolls said and extended his hand to him. Bruce wanted to walk away. He wasn’t proud of himself about this, but he shook Rolls’s hand, nonetheless. “You’ll be recognized for your contribution, Styles,” Rolls assured him. “I’ll personally see to it.” “I just got . . . lucky, sir. And I was able to connect some dots, that’s all,” he mumbled. “Dots that can blow this thing wide open. Thanks to you, we got names, and once the IT and analysis team is finished, we’ll have faces,” Rolls said. Bruce nodded. “You both lo
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 40
It was ten o’clock, and Bruce was still at the office. He had just gotten the email with the newest most wanted. He read each profile slowly, committing it to memory. Aaron R. Stokes had dark blond, curly hair and blue eyes. He was five-foot-seven and weighed a hundred and fifty-seven pounds. The last known job he had was eight years ago as a waiter in the Keys. Nine years ago, he had been arrested for money laundering and running a prostitution ring. Anthony Wayne Mandel had a box afro, clean shaven, and he weighed a hundred and forty-two pounds. He had been arrested for possession at the age of eighteen. He served four years for it. A few years later, he was found in contempt of court and was made to do six months of community service and pay a five thousand dollar fine. He had no profession on record. Bobbi Lauren Bennett, born Robert Lee Bennett, had dark brown hair and was five-foot-seven. When Bobbi was a man, she was a bank manager, married to a woman n
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 41
It was eleven a.m. the next day. Bruce and Alec had been called to Rolls’s office by Blanchette. This had to be a big deal. Rolls didn’t call any agents to his office unless they were in deep trouble or a raid had to be organized. When they got to Rolls’s office, Blanchette, Vic, Tommy, Troy, and Jack were already there. “Thanks for coming, boys,” Rolls said. “I think we got a break this morning. Two people fitting the description of one of our suspects were spotted in Cancun, Mexico.” “That was fast,” Jack commented. “Well, if a dead body wasn’t discovered in one of the suspect’s room, it wouldn’t have been that fast,” Blanchette spat out. “What?” Alec blurted out. “A poor maid at the Sunset Marina Resort & Yacht Club got the shock of her life this morning. She opened the door and wham, dead body; American mid- to late thirties. According to the Mexican federales, the corpse fit the description of Aar
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Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 50
It was Saturday. William Blanchette and Neil Rolls were at Margo’s condo instead of spending time with their families. They really wanted her to work for the bureau. During the week, she had filled out several job applications. She wasn’t sure if anything would come of it or not. Margo had to admit that the job at the FBI sounded intriguing and challenging, but she really didn’t want to be put in a position to interact with Bruce on a regular basis. Plus, she wasn’t sure how she would be received by any co-workers she would have to interact with. After all, she was a former bank robber, and Bruce’s co-workers could see her as a manipulative skank. She expressed that to the gentlemen as they enjoyed sweet tea and pepperoni and cheese snacks. “Perhaps we can make it where you can work from home,” Neil Rolls said. “We can set up a secure server here and communicate through email.” “It could work,” Blanchette mused and sipped his tea.
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 49
One week later . . . Bruce was lounging on Alec’s sofa at his house. Bruce was sipping on a beer, and Alec was nursing a rum and Coke. Lana was upstairs lying down. She was further along in her pregnancy, so she got tired easily. They had learned last month that she was having a boy. Ever since then, Alec had been bragging about how he was going to teach the kid how to play football and basketball. Alec had already bought him a football, and the kid hadn’t even been born yet. “Bruce, I know you said you are fine, but you’re not,” Alec said flatly. “It’s like working and hanging out with a completely different person.” “Ah, shit. I don’t want to talk about this,” Bruce groaned and sipped his beer. “I know you felt like the lowest specimen on the food chain after you . . . saw Margo at the safe house that last time. You know she’s mad at you . . . probably thinks you’re the biggest asshole in the world. The only wa
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 48
Three months later . . . Two weeks after Margo’s plea deal, the feds tracked Earl Churchill in the Bahamas. From what Bruce heard, US Marshalls barged into his little bungalow as he was screwing a twenty-three-year old. He was arrested for accessory to a federal crime. His trial was scheduled for early fall.Bobbi Bennett had been caught a month ago. She used one of her aliases to request a cashier’s check for seven million dollars for a yacht. She had abandoned Aaron’s because she knew the authorities were looking for it. Her plan had been to live on the new yacht in the Caribbean for at least a year, then she was going overseas. She had told the US attorney that the last time she saw Anthony was in South America in exchange for the Justice Department lowering her sentence to fifteen years with a chance of parole in ten.Anthony Mandel was discovered in Belize when the authorities there busted a brothel a month after Bobbi had given them the lead. Trent Michaels was able
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 47
During Alec and Bruce’s stay, Bruce sat in the car. He couldn’t even stay in the same house as Margo. Even Alec barely talked to her. There was no reason to linger downstairs, so Margo went back to her bedroom. In hindsight, she should have gotten out of the crew at the very least. Perhaps Bruce was right. She had gotten greedy – and full of herself. Bruce wasn’t perfect, but it had appeared he had changed – for her, to be with her. Margo should have taken a chance and told him everything about her past and BAAM. In the end, it wasn’t worth keeping the secret because BAAM had broken up in the worse way possible, she was broke, and worst of all, she had hurt Bruce, a man she loved more than anything.Margo fell back on the bed as tears started streaming down her face. “Oh, God,” she whimpered. She would take it all back if she could. If she had made different choices, she and Bruce would be together and happy right now. Turning her face, she sobbed into the pillow, crying herself to sl
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 46
A feeling washed over Margo when she was done. It was relief. Not just because she had avoided prosecution, but it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. Margo hadn’t realized how keeping her criminal life under wraps had weighed her down until now.She had laid out her secrets for the federal government to examine and mull over. But she was no fool. She had left out the Largo Jewelry store heist BAAM had pulled during the early days. Of course, she told Deidre about it, but she had advised Margo to leave it out and not to tell her any details about it. Robbing a jewelry store was not a federal offense. The store was in California, and the owner could still press charges against her for the theft.With the exception of that one thing, Margo had revealed all, including Bobbi’s two alternate aliases. Margo had learned them when she transferred Aaron’s cut of the money out of his account and Aaron’s aliases that they were under. As soon as Bobbi
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 45
Two days later, Margo had been allowed to shower and change into the clothes Deidre had brought for her. She had also brought Margo some makeup. They were meeting with Trent Michaels at the FBI offices to work out a deal. US Marshalls handcuffed her wrists for transport. When they had arrived, Deidre’s paralegal, Owen Jessup, was already there waiting on them. Deidre had wanted a witness that was on their side present during the meeting. They walked the hall to a room that had a large table and seven chairs. There was a large glass window in the room. Margo knew that people were on the other side of it, watching her. Deidre, Margo, and Owen waited for five minutes in silence before Trent Michaels walked in with FBI agents she was familiar with — Vic, Tommy, Troy, friends of Bruce and Alec’s. Vic was carrying a large recording device. “Good afternoon,” Trent greeted as he placed his black briefcase on the table. He sat down in a chair acr
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 44
US attorney for Middle District of Florida Trent Michaels and US attorney for Northern District of Texas Lawrence Osborne had gone back and forth about who had rights to the case. Margo’s attorney, Deidre Underwood, had gotten into the fray and argued that Margo should be taken back to Tampa. In the end, Deidre had petitioned the court to let a federal judge decide. Since the Federal Reserve was a federal institution with locations all over the country, the judge stated that the crime was committed against the bank as a whole. Plus, the judge had noted that Margo had been in Tampa when she hacked the Federal Reserve, so it was Tampa’s case to deal with.On day four, US Marshalls had escorted Margo back to Florida. A bail hearing had been held the same day. Bail was denied because the judge saw her as a flight risk. That was just as well for Margo because she had nowhere to go if she had been let out on bail. Plus, the FBI had confiscated her bag of money, so she couldn’t pay it withou
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 43
The last thing she remembered was coughing and Bruce’s wet face before everything went black. Now she was staring at white walls and lying in a hospital bed with one of her wrists handcuffed to the rails. She looked over to see a nurse who was looking at a machine that beeped every now and again. Then the nurse looked at her. “Oh good, you’re awake. You were out for a while. How do you feel?” she asked with a Mexican accent. She had dark hair that was in a ponytail, and she wore blue scrubs. “Like crap,” Margo answered bluntly and hoarsely. The side of the nurse’s mouth kicked up. “I’m not surprised. You still have a little water in your lungs. You won’t be able to leave until we get that cleared up. I’ll let them know that you’re awake.” “When you say them, I take it you mean the authorities?” “Si,” she said solemnly. “But I overheard a few of them talking. Maybe it will make you feel better to know that you did
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 42
The doorman at the Sunset Marina Resort & Yacht Club remembered Margo. He had told the agents that she took a cab yesterday and he hadn’t seen her since. He had also told them the cab company she used to leave. After questioning and showing eight cab drivers her picture, they had finally found the one that had driven her to Playa del Carmen. The break got better when he told them the name of the motel he had dropped her off at. They were only half a day behind her. Chances were that she was still there. The Mexican National Guard had let the US Marshalls and the FBI borrow a couple of their vehicles to drive to Playa del Carmen. Four Dallas field agents and two US Marshalls had stayed behind to talk to passing tourists and show them pictures of the other suspects. FBI agents and US Marshalls spread out at the small, humble-looking motel like ants. They showed her picture to people in the area. The desk clerk was so scared when he saw the
