Kiss Midnight Goodbye (Midnight Blue Beach Book 3) Read online

  Kiss Midnight Goodbye

  Midnight Blue Beach

  Book Three

  By

  Olivia Jaymes

  www.OliviaJaymes.com

  KISS MIDNIGHT GOODBYE

  Copyright © 2017 by Olivia Jaymes

  Kindle Edition

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  Kiss Midnight Goodbye

  Secrets revealed…

  Peyton Nelson travels to London to find the truth about her irresponsible late-husband and all of the lies he’s told through the years. Without a doubt, her family knows more than they’ve let on.

  Dizzying passion…

  Detective Ellis Hunter is a man on a mission. He’ll keep Peyton safe from the people who want to kill her no matter what it costs him. But the true danger is how they’re beginning to feel about one another. He might save her life but lose his heart.

  Painful truth…

  It’s the two of them against the powerful and secretive Evandria organization and only one side will be victorious. The lines between good and evil are blurred and Peyton and Ellis only know one thing for sure…trust no one but each other.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  About the Book

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  About the Author

  Other Books by Olivia Jaymes

  Chapter One

  Peyton Nelson linked her arm through Ellis’s and led him through Notting Hill to her brother’s flat. It had been over a year since she’d visited Jensen but the charming neighborhood hadn’t changed much. The funky art gallery was still on the corner and that little bookstore she’d stumbled into when it was pouring rain was across the street.

  “He knows we’re coming?” Ellis asked, his entire body tense as his gaze swept back and forth from one side of the street to the other. Detective Ellis Hunter was charged with keeping Peyton safe and he took that responsibility quite seriously.

  “I called him when we checked into the hotel,” Peyton assured him. “He’s thrilled to see his baby sister.”

  “Me? He’d rather I wasn’t around.”

  Peyton rolled her eyes at Ellis’s sardonic tone. “Hardly. As much as he and I love each other, we’ve never inserted ourselves into each other’s lives. I see him at the holidays and that’s about it. He’ll probably pour you a drink and drive you crazy with questions about being a cop in America. He watches too much television so he’s going to think you’re just like the detectives in his favorite shows.”

  “How much does he know?”

  Good question. She’d been wondering that very thing the entire flight from Virginia to London. “I’m not sure. He knows that I was in an explosion and was in a coma. He knows I have questions about Evandria and Greg because that’s what I said to him when I called. But I do know he’s a member and that means he might know a hell of a lot more than we do. So for now, I’m planning to try and get him to tell me all that he knows.”

  Ellis’s lips twisted into a half smile. “Give me fifteen minutes with him and he’ll tell us everything he knows and all his secrets.”

  Elbowing him hard in the ribs, she gave him her best disgusted look. “You will not interrogate my brother like one of your street perps. We will discuss this calmly and rationally like the adults we are.” She grinned gleefully. “Besides, I can always tell when he’s lying.”

  “Because you’re psychic.”

  Another dig in the ribs. Harder this time. “I am not psychic. I said I believe in psychics although they’re rare. No, Jensen is just a terrible liar. He has tells.”

  Ellis smiled as they rounded the corner. “You have a tell too, princess. You rub the back of your ear when you are being less than truthful.”

  “Less than truthful,” she echoed. “You mean lying. Just say it.”

  “Fine. When you lie you rub the back of your ear.”

  Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, she ignored the funny looks they were attracting from passersby. If there was one thing she’d learned in her life it was to ignore what strangers thought. It was hard enough to please yourself and maybe a few family or friends.

  “When have I ever lied to you?”

  It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Are you kidding? Peyton, you should lie down and rest. I’m not tired, Ellis. When you clearly are. Peyton, you should take your pain meds. My head doesn’t hurt, Ellis. When it clearly does. Should I go on?”

  No, he shouldn’t. She got it.

  “I just don’t like people fussing over me and frankly, by the time I woke up I was already sick and tired of being in the hospital and on those pain pills. They made my thinking fuzzy.”

  “I know—that’s why I never said anything.”

  Ellis wasn’t an eloquent man. He’d described himself to her as a simple, direct individual who tried to do right more often than not but often found himself tired, grouchy, and frustrated with people and bureaucracy.

  He was all those things but he was also kind and giving, always putting her wants and needs before his own. Her comfort and safety was far more important than anything he wanted. Being treated so special…it was a first for her. While she couldn’t help but love being cared for so diligently, it also made her a little uncomfortable. As if she didn’t deserve it.

  She tried to remember instances when her late husband Greg had put her first but one didn’t come immediately to mind. He was sure to have of course, but the fact that she couldn’t think of any off the top of her head said a lot.

  Most of it about her. She’d gotten married too young and then stayed that way for all the wrong reasons. Now look where she was. Questioning her brother about a secret society that had murdered her husband and his two friends along with others, she was sure.

  “There it is.” Peyton pointed to a row of homes. “His is the light blue one with the black door.”

  “It’s very…British,” observed Ellis with a grin. “Although to be honest I don’t know a damn thing about the UK except that I like their television shows.”

  Anyone overhearing the conversation would think he was talking about Dr. Who and Sherlock. He did love those shows but he also avidly watched “The Great British Baking Show”.

  Peyton checked her watch. “He should be home from work by now.”

  “What does he do again?”

  She’d told Ellis before but she had the fee
ling he didn’t quite believe it.

  “He’s a banker of sorts. International finance and trade.”

  They stopped at the bottom of the steps. “Translation?”

  “He puts together deals for international corporations. Helps them secure financing.”

  Ellis shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Sounds boring as hell.”

  “It is,” Peyton confirmed. “That’s why he’ll be asking you about your job. Much more exciting.”

  “If you like paperwork and bad coffee.”

  Jensen must have been watching out of the windows for them because the front door swung open and he stood there with his arms open, waiting for his hug. She ran into his arms and he squeezed her tightly, his hand running over her head.

  “Thank God your head is as hard as it is.”

  Her brother was the funny one in the family. “Ha ha, so cute. Next time you can spend several days in a coma and wake up with doctors asking you who the president is.”

  Jensen chuckled and ushered them inside. “I’m just happy that you’re okay. You are all healed, right? No lasting effects?”

  “Right as rain.” Peyton linked her arm with Ellis’s again, pulling him closer. “Ellis, this is my brother Jensen. Jensen, this is Detective Ellis Hunter.”

  The two men shook hands, clearly sizing each other up, but seemed mostly satisfied with what they saw. There aggressive stances relaxed and their body language loosened up.

  Good, no pissing contest.

  She was struck by the differences in the two men as they stood facing each other. Where Jensen was blond and fair, Ellis was dark-haired with golden skin from the sun. Her brother was tall and lean, and had been described as gangly in his youth. Ellis, on the other hand, while only an inch or two shorter was powerfully built, not the kind of man you’d want to tangle with in a dark alley.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Jensen said, walking over to a bar in the corner. “Can I get you a drink?”

  Ellis held up his hand. “I’m good. Peyton?”

  She shook her head. After that long flight from the States, her head was pounding. She was going to need to take a pain pill when they got back to the hotel.

  “Not for me.”

  Jensen indicated a beige leather sofa as he settled into a matching chair next to it. “Then have a seat. You wanted to talk to me about Evandria.”

  This was the moment they’d talked about, planned for but Peyton was finding that it was easier said than done. She was about to ask her brother – in a roundabout way – if he’d known that Greg was murdered. Oh, and had he been part of the conspiracy?

  It was going to make Thanksgiving a little tense.

  Ellis took pity on her when she hesitated. “We found out Greg was a member of Arsenal.”

  Jensen frowned. “The football club?”

  She had no idea what he was talking about.

  “What?”

  Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. “Arsenal, the football club. Us Americans call it soccer. Are you saying that Greg was a member of the team? I find that hard to believe.”

  “What your sister means is that Greg was a member of the Arsenal division in Evandria,” Ellis said smoothly, keeping his expression and tone neutral. He sounded like he was discussing the weather and not a group of people who might be killing their enemies. “Did you know that? Are you also a member?”

  “I’m not. I’ve never actually heard of that division in all the years I’ve been in Evandria. Are you sure it exists?”

  “We’re sure,” Peyton replied tightly. Boy, were they sure. “So you’ve never heard of it?”

  “No, but I’ve been pretty concentrated in the financial area. Dad was in that division so I naturally drifted there when I joined.”

  Ellis leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “See? That’s something I’ve been wondering about. Peyton knew about Evandria because your father was a member. You’re also a member. Greg was a member along with most of your friends I’m guessing. How come Evandria didn’t recruit Peyton?”

  Jensen’s smile widened. “I distinctly remember a conversation between Mom and Dad when I accepted the invitation to join. Mom said that Peyton would join over her dead, cold, stiff body and although Dad blustered and complained she was always going to win.”

  Peyton wished she had been there for that but as usual she was an outsider in her own family. She’d never been what people might call “close” to her parents. They were almost strangers to her for the most part. “Why do you suppose Mom felt that way?”

  Shrugging, Jensen propped his ankle on his opposite knee. “I don’t know but she sounded damn sure. I’m guessing she probably wanted to save you from the boring meetings and the endless social commitments. You always hated stuff like that and you wanted to be left alone to do your own thing. I think Mom was just making sure you got to do that. Are you upset that you didn’t join? It’s not too late.”

  Not in a million years.

  “I think I’ll pass.” Now for the stickier questions. “What do you know about an internal war in Evandria for control?”

  “I’ve heard stories but never seen anything myself.”

  Ellis stiffened next to her but she didn’t know what had caused him to suddenly tense. Was it Jensen’s answer?

  Time to stress him a bit. See if he reacted. “Greg was murdered by Evandria.”

  The color drained from Jensen’s face and he opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Jumping to his feet, he began to pace the small space between the chair and fireplace.

  “Evandria wouldn’t do that,” he finally said, coming to a halt in front of them. “They don’t kill people. We’re a philanthropic organization trying to make the world a better place.”

  Ellis placed a hand on hers. “That’s what we’ve heard but we do have proof that certain people in Evandria have, indeed, been killing to grab more power. Arsenal was an initiative started to control that, but clearly it’s failed spectacularly. Greg was murdered along with his two friends Alex and Frank, plus Stephen Baxter. They’re currently trying to kill Nigel Holmwood and Grant Hollister, although your fearless leader Archer Caldwell has been taken into Evandria custody for triple murder. I doubt he’s going to be able to hold onto control of the organization after this.”

  Jensen’s eyes widened and his throat bobbed. He looked like he almost wanted to cry, shaking his head and muttering to himself.

  “Alex and Frank too? Their deaths were an accident.”

  Peyton grabbed on to his words. “You knew them?”

  Shrugging, Jensen shuffled his feet. “Sure. I saw them at meetings a few times over the years.”

  “They were killed just like Greg,” Peyton said, not able to keep still. Standing, she walked over to the window and looked out onto the quiet street.

  “Greg’s death was an accident. He had an allergic reaction.”

  “Archer Caldwell admitted to paying off the chef at the restaurant to put a large amount of peanut powder into the food.”

  Jensen sank back down into a chair, his skin pale. “I’m having trouble believing what you’re saying.”

  Ellis glanced at Peyton and she nodded. It was time.

  “Maybe this will help you believe it,” Ellis said, pulling the cell phone from his pocket and placing it on the table between him and Jensen. He started the recording and the room grew quiet as the sound of Archer’s voice filled their ears along with the unknown accomplice. Jensen visibly started when he heard his own name. Shaking his head, he buried his face in his hands with a groan as the recording ended.

  Tucking the phone back into his jacket, Ellis cleared his throat. “Do you know who Archer is speaking with?”

  Her brother looked up, his eyes watery and bloodshot. “No, I have no idea. They’re talking about another Jensen. It’s not me.”

  Peyton wanted to take pity on her brother but they needed answers. If he knew something he needed to say so. “Jensen is an unusual name
. It’s okay if you know the person. It doesn’t mean you knew they were going to kill Greg.”

  “I don’t know,” Jensen stated, falling back against the cushions, his arm over his face. “I don’t know that voice.”

  He wouldn’t look at her. His expression was hidden by his hand and he was avoiding her direct gaze.

  Jensen was lying. He’d done the exact same thing when her parents had questioned him about a party he’d thrown during his senior year in high school while they were out of town. All drama and victimhood, he’d thrown himself on their couch in the exact same position he was sitting in now.

  “Are you sure?” she pressed. “Not even a guess? It would help us immensely.”

  He was still hiding behind his arm. “Not a clue. I wish I could help you.”

  Placing her hand on Ellis’s arm, she squeezed hard when it looked like he was going to question her brother further. There was no point when Jensen was like this. But she remembered that party in high school well. After Jensen had convinced their parents he hadn’t thrown that party, he’d been left to stew in his own guilt for a few days. He’d admitted the truth eventually and she hoped this time would end up the same. He had a hell of a lot more to feel guilty about this time, so it might not take too long.

  A question flickered over Ellis’s features but he didn’t question her in front of Jensen.

  “I guess we should be going,” Peyton said, giving her brother a smile. “You’ve worked all day and must be tired.”

  He sat straight up and she could see that his color had returned. “Not yet, you just got here. I can order in some dinner and you can tell me what you’ve been up to since you left Paris.”

  Mostly trying to solve the murder of my husband.

  “Other than getting blown up?” she joked, trying to keep things light now that she saw Jensen wasn’t ready to talk about whatever he knew. He’d definitely lied about knowing something about Arsenal. What she wasn’t sure about was whether he’d known about Greg’s murder. For now, she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.