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Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 9
Margo pulled up to the old sewing factory. She was supposed to meet Aaron at eight and she was over an hour and a half late. She popped the trunk. Thankfully, Aaron was outside posting “Private Property” signs on the gates and the building. “Good, I’ll have help getting this stuff in here,” she mumbled. “Hey, I see you finally showed up,” he joked as he walked toward her. “Yeah, sorry I’m late. I . . . had a late night,” she said. “Can you help me carry this desktop equipment and programming books inside?” “Sure. I got the perfect little office for you.” Aaron helped Margo get her things into an office. The floor was white and lime tile. The desk was big enough for two monitors, and the chair looked pretty comfortable. It was obvious that Aaron decided to spend a little money on cleaners for the warehouse. Margo didn’t think he had the entire building cleaned; that would have been a small fortune within itself.Sh
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 10
Margo had worked her fingers to the bone for five and a half days. Every time she came close to having something, it would crash as soon as she tried to transfer it to Aaron’s undetectable flash drive. She leaned back in her chair in her office. Someone tapped on the door. “Yeah.” It was Aaron and Anthony. “Hey, girl, guess who’s on the phone?” Anthony said with joy. “Hey, Margo,” Bobbi said through the speaker of Aaron’s cell. “Hey,” Margo said with glee. She hadn’t heard from Bobbi in over a week. Aaron perched himself on Margo’s desk, and Anthony sat in a folding steel chair. “How’s Dallas?” Margo asked. “Wretched,” Bobbi replied with disdain. “I don’t like it here. The men are absolute pigs. Seriously, I feel like I’ve gone back in a time warp. Women are not taken as seriously as they should be here. We’re like second-class citizens.” “Maybe it’s just cultural di
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 11
Instead of being at Jimbo’s Steakhouse BBQ for a few hours, they stayed until eight o’clock in the evening. The time had gotten away from Margo because she ended up having a better time than she thought. It was great to watch Bruce play with the kids there along with Keisha. Margo and Lana had a nice chat. Then Alec, Margo, and Bruce played softball with a few other guys and teenagers. Bruce walked Margo to her door. She unlocked it and turned around to face him. “Thank you for taking me to the barbeque.” He grinned. “I told you you would have fun.” “I did, and I hadn’t played softball since I was in high school. You were the hero of the team with that homerun that won us the game.” There was a twinkle in his eye. “I’m glad that I helped the team, but the reward of that kiss you gave me was better.” “Oh, I’m sure my kiss and the three other women’s kisses right after was great for you,” she remarked. She had given
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 12
Margo was excited about her trip to Monte Carlo. First, she had to catch a flight to Dallas. Then she, Bobbi, and her boss were going to be picked up personally by the filthy rich billionaire who was their host. And if Margo wasn’t excited enough, the billionaire was going to let them fly to France with him on his private jet.Luckily, Anthony had finished one of her post heist personas, and he and Aaron thought it would be a good idea to show at least one legit trip on her fake passport.Margo was checking things off her list when her doorbell rang. She couldn’t imagine who it could be. Her question was quickly answered when she opened the door.“How come you didn’t tell me you were leaving town for the weekend?” Bruce asked.Her mouth dropped open. “It was a last-minute decision, and how did you find out so quickly?”“Last minute, huh? Then how come Lana and Alec knew before I did?” Bruce asked as he walked past her into the house. It looked like he had just gotten off w
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 13
It was a few days before Thanksgiving, and Margo was only a few inches away from creating a virus that was stable, spread to all twelve Federal Reserve locations, could extract and transfer funds to various locations at once in a hurry, and could lay dormant until 11:59 p.m. on December thirty-first. She also had three couples who were interested in buying her house. She had placed an ad on a for-sale-by-owner website in September. However, Margo didn’t place a for sale by owner sign in the yard because she didn’t want her neighbors or friends to know. They would have asked too many questions, plus Bruce would find out. She had to disappear without a trace. Margo had also been slowly selling some of her household things on eBay. She had sold both bedroom sets in her guest rooms in October. She kept the doors closed to those rooms so Bruce wasn’t any the wiser when he spent the night. Her mind drifted to Bruce. During the past few months,
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 14
Lana Murphy Peterson had outdone herself with the Thanksgiving meal. A twenty-pound turkey, homemade rolls, green beans, cornbread dressing, and corn were on the dining room table. Corey and Lacey Smith, Alec, Keisha, and Bruce had complimented Lana on the meal. Lana had two choices for dessert, a sweet potato pie and a strawberry cake with white, cream cheese frosting. Bruce had pieces of both. He wasn’t shy, especially when it came to food. After they ate, they went to the living room where Alec poured them champagne. He said that he had a big announcement to make. “Does everyone have full glasses?” Lana asked with a smile. “Yeah, girl,” Lacey said. Lacey was a black woman who had auburn hair. Margo had spotted a few years ago that she wore weaves. Not that it was a big deal. Lacey’s hair looked good. Corey put his arm around his wife’s shoulders as he held his champagne glass. He was a white businessman who mad
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 15
Four dark-colored Dodge Charger Hellcats were parked under the overpass across from the building. Everyone was already there when Margo got to the factory. Morris was a little surprised to find out that she was in the life, but he nodded his respect and listened as Aaron went over the full plan. He had also clued Morris in on how to communicate over the burners. At one-fifteen a.m., Bobbi, Aaron, Morris, and Anthony deployed to the Hellcats. Margo already had her computer up and ready to go. Anthony and Morris, along with two guys they had met on the street, had boosted the cars from a Dodge dealership earlier that evening. It was easy, and they got away clean because it was closed for the holiday. By the time the dealership opened tomorrow and discovered them missing, the cars would be destroyed. They were small vehicles, but they were fast enough to escape the cops just in case something went wrong. They were all linked on a conference call setup
Love, Money, and Lies (A Series of Secrets 2) Chapter 16
Bruce woke up to running water, a ringing phone, and a headache the size of a mountain. He groggily looked over at the clock. It was six a.m. Margo was in the shower. Bruce snatched the annoying ringing contraption and answered it. “Yeah,” he answered hoarsely. “Sorry to rustle you awake from one of your ladies’ beds, Styles, but we need you, Peterson, Soros, and Calcutta to report to SunBeam Savings and Loan as soon as possible,” Blanchette said. William Blanchette was supervisory special agent and his boss. “Why?” he asked huskily as he placed his hand on his throbbing head. The water in the bathroom stopped. “SunBeam was robbed last night. They drilled right into the vault,” Blanchette said. He opened his eyes more. “You’re shitting me?” “I wish. Damn crooks can’t even take the holidays off,” Blanchette said with resentment. “I had promised my daughters that I would spend the day with t
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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
