Island Holiday (Brookwell Island #4)

Chapter 5

Sonya was obviously restless. Connor was feeling it himself. After a few hours of quiet working with little more than the sound of fingers on keyboards, he figured they needed a change of scenery.

Although dedicated to her efforts, she’d gotten up periodically to stretch and move around. He tried to time his own breaks to align with hers, in case she was afraid of interrupting him. But she didn’t chat much. He wondered if it was just her habit from spending so much time alone or something about him in particular.

Contrary to what he’d implied earlier, he didn’t know her that well. He had facts from the background work and understood her general tendencies in the time since he’d started keeping tabs on her. That didn’t equate to any true understanding of her hopes or fears or goals.

“I need a break,” he said the next time they were both up. “You up for finding a coffee shop?”

“Yes.” She stretched out the word. “There’s a national chain place a couple blocks away.”

“Do they have that holiday special everyone is raving about?”

Her eyes lit up with excitement. “They do. You like those?”

“Once in a while. You?”

“I live for the holiday special,” she admitted. “Come on.” She had her jacket on and her purse in hand before he’d tied his shoes.

It was great to see her animated about something as simple as coffee, considering the scope of their work today.

“Have you found anything?” he asked as they rode the elevator to the first floor.

She glanced up at him and once again, he was struck by her gorgeous, expressive eyes. “Anything? Yes. A viable lead?” Her curls danced as she shook her head. “Not so much.”

“Well, the good news is all three girls have posted on social media channels in the past twelve hours.” They stepped out of the elevator and he held the door for her as they exited the building. “Every verification I know to run confirms with over ninety-five percent confidence the posts are real.”

“Mm-hm. And the bad news?”

He scanned the area. The weather was clear, the sun bright, though it would soon be chilly as evening set in. Benign vigilance was the goal. He needed clear awareness of their surroundings, without being obvious enough to worry her. “All three of them claim they’ll be mostly offline through Christmas, undergoing a special beta test and training with a new device designed for influencers.”

“Connor.” She grabbed his arm and he smoothly kept her moving along the sidewalk.

The contact, even through his clothing, stirred his senses and gave him a pleasant jolt. It was easy to pretend as if the touch was an affectionate gesture, because he wanted it to be.

In his active fantasy world, they had a one bedroom, two-office condo in Chicago. They worked from home most days, went out with friends on the weekends, and made love every night before falling asleep curled up together.

It was idyllic. Perfection. And impossible. He really needed to get some perspective about her. And fast. He didn’t want his fascination with her to show up at the wrong time and freak her out.

He had her tucked close to his side, enjoying the fragrance of her hair just under his nose. When he caught their reflection in a store window, he thought they looked good together. A real couple, strolling through a trendy neighborhood, happy and carefree.

“That has to be a load of crap,” Sonya muttered.

And his pretend-life bubble popped. “What?”

“The beta test thing.” Her brow furrowed as she looked up at him. “New tech is always on the horizon, but if it was some legit new consumer test project, I’d expect it to be tied to the original fund.”

“No action there?”

“Nothing new on that front.” She paused at the display in the coffee shop window. “Wow. It looks like a snow globe.” The smile on her face was pure delight as she took in the scene of a tiny village decked out for Christmas. “Adorable.” She pointed to the figures skating across a frozen pond. Nearby was a white gazebo with evergreen boughs dripping from the railings. “It’s like a winter version of Brookwell’s town center.”

He grinned. “It really is.” It charmed him how much she enjoyed the holidays. Or at least the holiday vibe and decorations.

She thanked him as he pulled open the door and urged her inside. “The credit cards show travel expenses in the area we know about,” she said, returning to the previous subject, “but so far nothing new.”

The shop wasn’t too busy, so their orders came out quickly. He let Sonya choose where to sit and followed her to a spot against the wall, moving into the seat that gave him a view of the front door.

“That’s a protector move,” she noted.

The first sip of her coffee left a line of whipped cream along the top of her upper lip. He fought off the immediate reaction and focused on her statement. “It is.”

“And you get to pull it off because?”

“Let’s go with seniority,” he suggested.

She rolled her eyes. “Good answer.”

He noticed that subtle frown pinching her brow and left her to her thoughts as he mulled over his next steps as well. There was a way to find those three women, he was sure of it. They had to be together. That in and of itself should be an advantage. And yet, here he was, stumped.

“Did you hear about Max’s place?”

The question jolted him out of his thoughts. Max Crosby was a protector who’d shifted gears to open a boxing gym in Key West. He continued his work with the Guardian Agency by offering training classes to new hires. “What happened?”

Her smile flashed, sly and satisfied. “I knew it. You’ve been through training down there too.”

Caught, he could only shrug. “I have. I’ve also been through basic training with the Army and a variety of classes—physical and technical—since Swann hired me.” He grinned. Her eyes had flared with interest over his Army time. “What about you?”

“You mean you don’t know?”

He couldn’t really blame her for the jab. “I know you went to Key West for a couple of weeks.” Not like he had general open-access to her personnel records.

With Sonya, that kind of trip could’ve meant anything. She might’ve gone for the weather or sightseeing. Any place with a good internet connection was fair game since she could work remotely. Though unlikely, she might’ve gone as a requirement to assist on a case.

She tipped her head from side to side, stretching her neck. “I’m a relatively recent graduate of both the self-defense and protector 101 classes.”

“Good for you. Top of the class?” He’d seen the transcripts. She’d been at the top of nearly all her college courses.

“I wish.” She propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “I had high hopes, but only did okay.” Her smile flashed. “I’m still the champion of all things numbers, though.”

“That’s more than enough.”

Her smile faded and her gaze fell to her coffee cup as she slumped in her seat. “You think so?”

If she needed the confidence boost, he’d happily oblige. “One hundred percent.”

A slow smile curved her lush lips. “Numbers answer. I like it.”

“More importantly, do you believe it?”

She paused, studying him closely. “Yes.” She reached across the table and patted the back of his hand. “Thank you.”

Once more, her touch sizzled through his system and he had to work to hide the reaction. Somehow, he suppressed the blistering need to catch her hand and simply hold on. Gently, of course. This was his chance to draw her attention to the possibility of taking things in a personal direction.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked instead. “Being back in the area, I mean.”

She sipped her coffee and then crossed her legs. “I’m not afraid of the city. The odds of being recognized are slim to none.”

He hoped so. Behind her, he caught a glimpse of a man strolling by. Tall and heavy, any other identifying details were hard to pick out under the shadow of a gray hood pulled up around his face. The letterman-style coat with the local pro-football team colors was open, his hands stuffed in the pockets.

Football Fan was on his second pass by the coffee shop. Not a big concern. Yet. Connor checked the time on his phone.

“Are we late?”

Of course, she noticed. “No.” To prove it, he leaned back in his seat. “But you aren’t comfortable here.”

“There’s a reason I left,” she stated. “Many in fact.”

He was betting each reason was labeled with the names of her family members. What would make her trust him with the full story? “I’m not interrogating, just curious. I’m a great listener, if you need one.”

She snorted. “It’s bad enough you know all the dirty details about my abrupt career change. I don’t like to broadcast my business.” Her nose wrinkled. “Feels like being paraded about naked in the town square.”

Now he had a new image to fight off. “Talking to me is broadcasting?”

“You’re offended.”

“No.” He wasn’t. Disappointed maybe. He wanted to build a friendship with her. Hell, he wanted a whole lot more than that, but she had to trust him first. Sonya had become inexplicably important to him and she barely knew he existed. “I’m concerned, that’s all. And before you get mad again about me keeping tabs on your travels, I’m not pushing. Not judging.”

Squinting her eyes, she lifted a hand and pinched a smidge of air. “A little judgy.”

He laughed. “Really, not at all. So you like to travel. No big deal. We all have issues.”

“And you don’t like mine.”

“I don’t know yours. My concern is that you aren’t sharing with anyone. Not even with your friends. Solitude can be a bad habit.”

He frowned, catching sight of Football Fan once more after just a few minutes. At least the guy was across the street now, hanging near the entrance to a bank. Had they stumbled across a potential robbery?

“Connor—”

He grabbed his phone, pulling up a map of the immediate area. “One second.” He expanded the map, searching for an alternate route from the coffee shop to the condo building.

“Connor? Why are you glowering?”

He sat up straighter. “A guy on the street is bugging me. Don’t turn around.” It could set off the alarm if they used the emergency exit, but better that than getting caught in a blind-canyon situation if this guy challenged them here in the shop. He looked through the windows once more.

He had to be overreacting. Sure, Gamble and Swann were concerned Zimmer was aware Sonya was following him, that’s why Connor was out here in the field. But they’d taken a private flight into town. They were staying at a condo under a corporate name. Yes, it was the same address recently used by one of Zimmer’s testers…

Connor swore under his breath. Jess had booked the reservation, but if Zimmer was using vacation rentals on purpose, maybe the rental was being monitored by someone on Zimmer’s payroll.

He shifted his full attention to Sonya. “It’s nothing.” He had to think positively or he’d scare her. “Back to the point, my issues are all about getting plenty of fresh air and wide-open spaces.”

“Why?”

“Goes back to my time in the Army,” he began. Movement across the street distracted him once more. Another man joined Football Fan. After a brief conversation, they went their separate ways. It should’ve been enough for Connor to relax, but he couldn’t. All his instincts were on high alert.

“Basic training is an indoor sport now?” Sonya queried.

“No. It got a little more complicated.”

“Hm.” She tucked a few wayward curls behind her ear. “I should warn you that I looked you up.”

“That’s not unexpected.” He met her gaze. They were both in research, both skilled with tech, and their work with protectors had taught them to be skeptical of everyone and everything. “Didn’t find anything about my Army days?”

She shook her head. “Not one tiny footnote.”

“The record was scrubbed.” His gut was telling him they needed to move. Now. “Gamble and Swann didn’t want that out there.” It was a whole mess, but one he was grateful was behind him. “A few years ago, my career took an abrupt turn as well,” he said. “I’ll tell you the whole story when we’re back in the condo.”

He suddenly wanted his computer and a few layers of security between them and the rest of the world.

Too late. Football Fan drifted by the coffee shop once more. This time he was way too obvious about looking inside. Connor pushed back his chair and offered her a hand, striving for a casual approach when he wanted to run like hell. “Let’s go.”

“Okay. You could give a girl some warning.” She looped her purse strap across her body and grabbed her coffee. “Maybe even fill me in.”

“Sure.” He took her hand. It was simply a reflex. Her fingers tightened around his as they turned for the door. That was a feeling he could get used to in a hurry. Focus. “Did you see the tall guy walk by?”

Her eyebrows flexed. “The one in the gray hoodie?”

“That’s the one,” Connor confirmed. “He’s got a friend wearing a flannel shirt over a black tee, ripped jeans and work boots.”

“Construction,” she said as they started toward the door. “Didn’t you see that shop on the way?”

He had. “Brown paper in the windows.”

“That’s right.”

“Huh. Guess the supervisor’s out.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because those two have spent way too much time away from the work zone while we’ve been talking.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “You should’ve told me.”

“We’ll be fine,” he said, assuring them both.

“Did you call for a ride?”

He grunted. “Didn’t think of it.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Let’s just get back to the condo.” But it was already too late. Flannel was striding quickly toward them, a hard intent in his eyes. Connor used the reflection of the next store window to confirm Football Fan was closing fast behind them. “Trust me?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, just pulled her around the corner. It was that or dart into traffic. No way was he taking that kind of risk with her.

The side street wasn’t as busy, but there was no immediate place to hide. No crowd to blend into and disappear. Where was a holiday parade when a man needed one? Somehow, he had to throw this pair off their trail. It was that or turn and fight.

No contest.

Keeping her close, he ducked into the first store without paying any attention. He was immediately faced with long display cases filled with jewelry. Framed art on the walls was interspersed with ad displays of happy couples and sparkling gems.

He’d landed in a jewelry store just days before Christmas. Except he wasn’t alone, he was holding hands with a beautiful woman.

Sonya leaned into him, her hands warm as she stroked his arm. “Oh, Connor! This was my surprise?”

He stared down into her face, awestruck by her acting. But it was the perfect way to draw more attention. The staff and customers had all turned their way.

“It’s about time, right?” He dropped down on one knee. This was fast-tracking his fantasies in a big way. “Sonya, will you be my wife?” The words came way too easily. He’d have to take closer stock of that later. Right now, they needed to keep up the ruse until Football Fan and Flannel gave up.

Sonya’s gaze darted past him. “Yes!” Her eyes locked on his, then dropped to his mouth.

Everything inside him went tight with anticipation. Fake or not, he wanted her kiss more than his next breath.

She bent slowly, really selling the whole moment as her mouth brushed over his. Her lips were sweet and hot. The kiss was a flash of heat lightning under his skin. He surged to his feet and claimed her with all his pent-up longing and current adrenaline. She gripped the panels of his coat, kissing him back if her life depended on it.

He had a sinking suspicion it did.

Dazzled by her, it took a minute for the sound of cheers and applause to register. Still, he didn’t want to stop. He cradled her head, taking the kiss deeper. He was instantly addicted to her taste, the softness of her lips, the flavors of coffee and sweet whipped cream lingering on her tongue.

She eased away, her eyes glowing with a heat that reflected his own desire, while her hands smoothed over his chest.

“Congratulations!” A salesman had walked closer and Connor hadn’t noticed. He pulled his mind back to the task at hand. “That’s the first proposal I’ve seen here in ages.” He smoothed a hand down his tie. “Makes me believe in Christmas miracles again.” Beaming, he looked from Connor to Sonya. “Do you have a particular style in mind?”

“Oh, gosh.” Sonya fanned her face. “It’s our first time with all of this. I’ve seen what’s trending.”

“Of course.”

“But I’m not sure any of those styles are for me,” she added in a whisper. “Connor? Did you have something in mind?”

Her acting skills were superb. He had to catch up fast. “I, um.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve looked around some, obviously.” His face felt as if it had caught fire. He sounded like an idiot. “Y’know, her answer was more important to me than the actual ring. Did I get that wrong?”

She looped her arm through his. “You got it perfect. We can shop for both of us now.” She pointed to a few settings that caught her eye and the salesman guided them to a few more. She tried on the various styles, making what he assumed were appropriate comments, while he surreptitiously watched the street. Eventually, he lost sight of Football Fan and Flannel and didn’t see anyone else loitering out there.

He listened to the whole pitch about choosing the diamonds of the right size and quality for his budget. Budget? Holy cow. He probably wasn’t getting out of here without a ring.

Sonya came to his rescue. “I know the budget,” she stated with an easy smile. “I’m the math girl in this relationship.”

“She is.” He grabbed his phone. “Work,” he muttered, stepping back from the counter.

“No worries. Go handle it.” She fluttered her fingers. “I’ll narrow down the choices.”

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You’re the best.”

“I really am.”

He left her to it as he sent Jess an update and asked for advice. Jess hadn’t been a protector specifically, but she’d been a cop. She quickly confirmed that she’d send a car for them.

When he returned to Sonya, there were three engagement rings with coordinating wedding bands displayed on black velvet. “Do you have a favorite?” she asked, batting her lashes.

He chuckled. “Is this a trick question?” Because he absolutely knew without any doubt which ring he’d want her to wear if this was real. He took her hand and traced the long, delicate fingers. She was stronger than she looked at first glance and if he truly had the honor, he wanted her to wear a ring that made a statement.

“My opinion?” He reached for the ring that he would’ve chosen for her if this wasn’t an exercise in evasion. Sliding it onto her finger, he said, “This is what I’d choose for you.” The band was loose, so he held the ring in place when it wanted to roll. Gave him an excuse to keep touching her.

The salesman beamed. “That’s a cushion cut, with plenty of sizzle and interest in the halo and the bands. Excellent taste, sir.”

“Connor,” she whispered.

The salesman was going on about carats and clarity and customizing the stones and the bands. Connor barely heard him. He was caught up in Sonya’s glistening eyes as she blinked back tears. Could she tell by looking at him how much he wished this was real?

Probably not or she’d be running away, more frightened of him than the thugs who’d chased them in here.

“You like it.” Not a question.

“It’s…incomparable,” she replied, her eyes on him instead of the ring.

He glanced at the salesman. “How long will it take to have it sized?”