Free Reckless (Wrecked) by Elle Casey Page A

Candi.  “Yes.  All of their throats were cut with a very sharp knife.  Probably either the one you’re holding or one like it.”
    “Obviously, the other killer is long gone.  He’d have already murdered us too if he were here,” said Kevin.
    “Maybe he’s one of them,” said Candi, gesturing to one of the bodies.
    “Maybe,” said Sarah, “but I doubt it.  I heard them talking outside the bathroom, then followed that guy right to our room.  That means the other guy went downstairs and either killed these four agents or left the house.”
    “Why didn’t he come after us?” asked Kevin.  “If I was a killer, that’s what I’d have done.”
    “Maybe he wasn’t a killer.  Maybe he was just an informer,” said Jonathan, the picture becoming clearer.  “Maybe he let the guy in and had him just do a sweep of the whole downstairs, then walked him upstairs and showed him which rooms we were in.”
    “And he tried to kill the easiest ones first,” said Candi.  “Does that make sense that he’d come for Sarah and me first?”
    “Who knows?  What does it matter?  We need to get out of here,” said Sarah.  “We’ll have plenty of time to figure this out on the road.”
    “Check their pockets.  Check any bags they brought.  See if they have money or ATM cards we can use,” said Kevin.
    They fanned out, each taking a body.  Jonathan could hear his sister crying and Sarah complaining angrily.
    “You stupid jerk!” ranted Sarah.  “Why’d you have to go and get killed like this?  You’ve got blood all over the place, and you just left us up there to get stabbed.  I don’t want to die by stabbing, okay?  I want to die of old age with my hot husband next to me in bed.  You stupid bastien, lamefudge, jerkbag.”  And on and on it went.
    Jonathan smiled, knowing Sarah was doing okay mentally if she had the presence of mind to be angry at the dead agent.  His sister was another story.  Her tender heart was taking a pummeling right now.  They’d have to address that as soon as they could.  Her having a nervous breakdown or a panic attack would not help their situation one bit.
    “Guys, come check this out,” said Kevin.  “I think I struck gold.”
    Jonathan joined the girls in the kitchen.  Kevin had a duffle bag out on the table, its zipper open.  He was holding a folded-up manilla envelope in his hand.
    “What’s that?” asked Sarah, reaching for it.
    “I’m not sure, but it looks like money to me.”  He opened it, peering inside.  “Yep.  A lot of money.”  He handed it to Jonathan. “I think we found our mole.”
    Sarah frowned at the bag.  “Whose bag was it?”
    “It belonged to that guy,” said Candi, pointing to the one in the kitchen.  “I saw it over his shoulder when we first got here.”
    “So you think someone paid him off recently, so recently he didn’t bother to put it anywhere but in his bag?  And then the killer slit his throat after, without taking the money back?” asked Jonathan.
    “Maybe.  At least, I think the guy upstairs probably paid him off and planned to take the money back when he was done.  But he just didn’t get that far.”
    A muffled thumping from upstairs silenced them completely.
    Jonathan looked at everyone’s face; all of them were reflecting back the fear that he felt in his heart.  The killer’s awake!
    “We need to get out of here,” whispered Candi, her face as white as a ghost.
    Sarah nodded hurriedly.
    “We need to get dressed first,” said Jonathan.  “We can’t run around outside in our underwear.  Everyone will notice us, and we have to go everywhere incognito.”
    “He’s right,” said Kevin.  “You girls stay here and write the FBI a letter, telling them what happened.  In fact, write two of them and put them in different spots.  If there’s another mole, maybe it’ll up our chances one of the good guys sees it.  Jon and I will go get your dresses and our tuxes.”
    Candi grabbed his