Free The Fire Within by Dana Marie Bell

they’d help her bury the bodies if she finally decided to lose her damn mind and off her parents.
    She wished she could tell them about what had happened with Abby. She needed them, their advice, their concern. Even Sam’s quirky way of always looking on the bright side would make things so much better.
    But Abby had sworn her to secrecy, and while Beth understood that this involved Seth’s safety, she still didn’t like it. It felt wrong not to share what had happened with Andi and Sam.
    “Beth, Detective Zucco. What a pleasant surprise.” Andi couldn’t hide her interest as well as she thought she did. She might fool others with her cool looks and exotic beauty, but Beth knew Andi. The woman was about to die of curiosity. The brown-haired beauty sat next to Dante, her unusual turquoise eyes alight with curiosity. Andi was far too genteel to ask what they’d just walked in on.
    At least, she was too genteel to ask while Dante was sitting there. Beth wouldn’t be surprised to find herself with a visitor in the near future. For all her sophistication, Andi was a twelve-year-old girl at heart.
    A tom-boy too. Something that would surprise anyone who didn’t know Andi well. With her sleek, sophisticated hairstyle and her impeccable wardrobe, most thought she was nothing more than Piotr Romanov’s arm candy.
    If only they knew. Andi could run rings around most people, figuratively and literally.
    Sam merely smiled shyly at the detective and wiggled her fingers hello. “Hi, Dante.”
    Dante reacted the way most men did when confronted with the ethereal Sam. He smiled gently before handing her a menu, just as eager to please and protect her as any other man. “Sam. It’s nice to see you again. How’s the job hunt going?”
    Sam made an adorable face, pursing her lips and blowing a raspberry. If Beth didn’t know better she’d swear Sam had come straight from the pages of some magical girl manga. “Meh. I had a job interview, but I’m waiting to hear back.” Her shoulder-length golden-blond hair gleamed in the shaft of sunlight from the window next to them. Her delicate hands rested lightly on the tabletop. “I’m hoping the salary will be at least a match for what I made at Wyatt Industries.”
    Dante jolted in his seat. Beth knew why too. It was the mention of Wyatt Industries, the company run by one of his friends. “That would be great.” Beth truly hoped Sam got the job. She’d been out of work ever since being summarily fired from Wyatt. The reason given had been down-sizing, but Beth wasn’t buying it. There’d been a hush-hush investigation, then... no more job. Sam had gotten several interviews, and with her skills she should have landed a job by now, even at a lower pay rate.
    Instead, she did freelance work for people like Beth.
    Andi must have figured out something was going on, because she leaned forward and began to speak solely to Dante. “So, detective. What’s the craziest case you’ve ever worked?”
    Dante shot Beth a quick, irritated glance, but when she didn’t rescue him he sighed. “This one time we had a guy show up at the precinct in nothing but honey and feathers...”
    Beth suspected that someone at Wyatt Industries was giving Sam a bad reference, but there was no way to prove it. She spoke softly, hoping Dante didn’t hear. Damien was a friend of his, but Sam was hers. “You should keep Wyatt off your resume if this one doesn’t pan out.”
    Sam immediately shook her head. “That would be lying.”
    “Nope. Just tell people you were doing freelance work due to the economy. That’s not a lie, is it?”
    “But...” Sam bit her lip. “You think I can’t get a job because of Wyatt?”
    “...then he told the desk sergeant that his mama wore combat boots...”
    Beth blinked, determined to ignore Dante’s outrageous story. “I’m almost certain of it.” Beth’s instincts were rarely wrong. Sam had no problems finding jobs before Wyatt. After...
    She couldn’t get