Island Holiday (Brookwell Island #4)

Chapter 3

“May I join you?”

“Of course,” Jess said. “Pull up a chair.”

Connor had been watching the last few minutes of the chat, waiting for Jess to wave him over. He didn’t want to intrude too soon, and yet it felt weird hanging back like this. Watching Sonya’s movements from miles away had been a different kind of privacy breach. One he wasn’t keen to confess. Sitting here, just out of earshot, felt more like a sneaky intervention.

Sonya continued to stare at him in silence. Hannah had warned him she was reserved, if not exactly shy, and Connor searched for a way to put her at ease. “Yes, join us,” she managed as he sat down.

“Are you okay?” Jess asked.

“Sure.” Her smile wobbled, refusing to hold, though she made a valiant effort. “Forgive me, Connor. I wasn’t expecting… Well.” She tried again. “I mean, we’ve met online. Just not in person…”

Her voice trailed off and Connor felt obligated to finish the thought. “Face to face is different,” he agreed. He glanced at Jess, got a brief nod to continue. “You should know I’ve been working in the background on this consumer testing case. Tracking participants and that kind of thing.” Tracking her, though this wasn’t the best time to say so.

“Not Hannah?”

He shook his head. “No.” Relief flitted through her gaze, there and gone in a blink before her attention returned to Jess. “Connor is my partner?”

“That’s right,” she confirmed. “You’re teamed up for this endeavor. Unless you’d rather not see this through.”

“No. I want to stay involved,” she said in a rush. “I thought you were kicking me off the case.” Her dark eyes darted his way and then back to Jess. “To prevent problems.”

“Just the opposite. The two of you are expected in Charlotte as soon as possible,” Jess continued. “Connor tracked one of the three women to that area.”

Sonya’s skin paled under the cloud of her dark, curly hair. “Charlotte,” she echoed. “All right.”

Connor recognized the lie immediately. It was not remotely all right. He wouldn’t say anything in front of Jess. Sonya was an extremely private person. As soon as they were alone, he’d reassure her they weren’t going anywhere near her old neighborhood. With luck, that would be helpful information rather than cringe-worthy.

“I thought we weren’t field agents,” Sonya pointed out.

“You’re still not.” Jess tapped her empty coffee mug on the table top. “However, the two of you are the best researchers we have. Together, I think you can gather what we need to get the authorities involved.” She gave Connor a nod.

“Charlotte is the biggest international airport used to date,” Connor explained. “Gamble has asked us to see what we can find in and around the property where the young woman stayed.”

“All right.”

Still not a ringing endorsement of the plan. “I’ve booked you into the property,” Jess said, “based on what you and Connor have learned so far.”

“Connor has found the most pertinent information,” Sonya said. “Thank you for discovering what I overlooked.” She worried her full lower lip with her teeth. “I won’t forgive myself if we can’t find those young women.”

The pain in her dark brown eyes nearly undid him.

“Take a breath,” he said. “I have good news on that front.” It was more than a little disconcerting to realize that he would’ve made something up, said just about anything, to take away that pain.

Then again Sonya wouldn’t appreciate anything less than the truth. Through previous online meetings and Hannah’s comments, he knew her to be strong enough to handle it. “The women we are most concerned about, the ones who did not return home as expected, are still using their phones and posting what appear to be current updates.”

“So, you have their locations,” Sonya said. “Are they all together?”

He hated to disappoint her. “Yes and no,” Connor cautioned. “Tracking shows they’re not together. But the social media for each woman is enthusiastic, if cryptic. Their devices are still in the states. The young woman who was in Charlotte is now in Kansas City.”

Sonya frowned in Zimmer’s general direction. “Why can’t we just go ask him what he’s up to?”

“I’m not about to let you scare him off,” Jess said under her breath. “We don’t have any clear proof that he’s doing anything illegal.”

“Three women aren’t where they should be,” Sonya snapped in a whisper. “He isn’t where he should be.”

“Right.” Connor leaped into the fray before an argument drew Zimmer’s attention. “But we can find them. You’ll follow the money and I’ll follow the people. We can build on your solid start.”

“Exactly.” Jess smiled, a forced expression that was somewhat scary. “That’s the plan. Connor will work his magic tracking the people. Sonya works her magic tracking the money. Are we all in agreement?”

He waited, but she didn’t say anything more about his additional orders. There were concerns that Zimmer was aware of Sonya’s efforts, though they weren’t sure how significant the threat might be. Regardless, Connor had been instructed to keep watch and keep her safe.

“Absolutely,” Sonya said. She turned those big brown eyes on him. “I look forward to working with you.”

Working. Working. His impossible infatuation with her was on him. And he needed to be responsible and lock that down right now. Entertaining anything personal was a dumb idea. No matter how he wanted to reach for her hand, draw her close, and kiss her.

Finally kiss her.

He’d imagined that moment dozens of times in the last couple of years. Didn’t matter that he never expected to meet her. Maybe that was part of the allure, depressing as it was even inside his own head. Sonya was safe, the ideal girlfriend illusion, because face to face was so unlikely.

With Sonya, he could care without being called out over his personal baggage. He could keep an eye on her without any declarations or commitments. He could feel protective and helpful while keeping the ugly secrets in his past tucked out of sight where he didn’t have to share.

Working together only changed the temptation factor. Everything else was the same. And really, she wasn’t giving any indication that she might be into him too, so he could just get over himself.

Fast.

They had three young women to find, preferably before the holidays. It didn’t matter to him that the students probably didn’t realize they were in danger. Until they found something definitive, Connor would keep digging.

“I’ll email the reservation information. Leave the recruiter to me for now,” she said without looking in Zimmer’s direction. Standing, she smiled at both of them. “First order of business is to get yourselves to the Charleston airport, the sooner the better. Happy holidays to you both.”

Connor swallowed his frustration. Clearly, he was expected to tell Sonya they’d tasked him with protecting her. Maybe it wouldn’t even come up. He didn’t want to sound like an arrogant know-it-all. He just wanted her to be comfortable—with the job and with him.

“New territory for both of us?” he asked.

Her chin bobbed. “Guess so.” She gathered her trash and pushed away from the table. “We’d best get going.”

He commended her discipline to not scan the area for Zimmer. “Too bad I won’t get a tour of Brookwell,” he said. “We should probably take my rental car and drop it off at the airport.” That would throw off anyone who might be following her.

She paused mid-stride. “What should I do with my car?”

“Oh.” He’d been making assumptions based on what he knew about her. That would get him in hot water fast. “We could leave it at the Ellington resort,” he suggested. “Aren’t you and Hannah spending the holidays with Harper’s family?”

She frowned. “I didn’t realize you and Hannah talked that much.”

“We’re both in the office most days.” He caught himself before he could over explain. “Or there’s always the hangar at the airport.”

“Hangar?” she echoed.

“Gamble and Swann have a plane standing by for us.”

“Seriously?” Her eyes went wide, then she chuckled at herself. “I should’ve known.”

“In the interest of time, you can always leave the keys with Jess and she’ll keep it safe.” He preferred that option since it fit with his plan to keep her close. But he could work around it if she didn’t like the idea.

“Let’s do that.”

He fell into step beside her as they walked away from the marina area. “Do you need any help packing up?”

“No, thanks. I can be ready to go within ten minutes. And if you’re driving, I’ll handle the check-out online.”

“Works for me.”

He couldn’t have asked for a better start to their official partnership.