Page 121 of Deep Tide

Scanning the shelf in front of her, she grabbed a box of hibiscus mint tea. She needed peach, too. And cups. The hostess had specifically requested plain white cups with no logo. The woman had ordered pink coffee sleeves with little gold storks printed on them. It seemed a bit over the top, but Leyla was quickly discovering that a lot of her customers’ requests were like that. Her job was to smile and take orders and make sure she got paid.

Katie stuck her head into the stockroom. “Oh, good. You’re here.”

“What’s up?” Leyla asked, scanning the shelf for the peach.

“You’ve got a client waiting in your office.”

She glanced up. “Who?”

“I don’t know. She said she’s worked with you before and she wants to book another event?”

Leyla grabbed the box of peach tea. “Can you put these in the kitchen?” She handed Katie the boxes. “And this.” She added a long tube of cups and lids.

“Sure.”

“Next time, invite any prospective clients to wait in the dining room. My office is a mess.”

“Got it.”

Leyla wiped her hands on her apron and hurried into the hallway. She was a mess, too. She was tempted to duck into the bathroom to fix her hair, but she didn’t have time, so she settled for smoothing it and making sure she didn’t have icing on her hands.

Her office door stood open. A woman was seated in the guest chair, and Leyla recognized the artful blond twist in her hair.

Jillian got to her feet as Leyla stepped into the room.

“Leyla!” She smiled. “I’m so glad I caught you. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure. What can I do for you?”

“Come with me.”

“Pardon?”

Fingers clamped around Leyla’s arm, and she glanced down at Jillian’s hands.

She had a shiny silver pistol pointed at Leyla’s chest.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

Sean let himself into the condo and went straight to his computer on the bar. He’d been in Brownsville all morning but decided to work from Lost Beach this afternoon and join the five o’clock team meeting remotely—a decision that had raised eyebrows when he’d mentioned it to Moore.

Sean dumped his phone and keys on the counter as he turned on his laptop. He didn’t care about raised eyebrows. He wanted to be on the island right now. Despite being buried under an avalanche of meetings and paperwork, he was determined to find a way to see Leyla tonight.

Before he had to get on a flight at seven a.m. Sean’s stomach tightened as he thought about it.

He’d been thinking about Leyla all day and dreading the conversation he knew he needed to have with her. He was scheduled to leave in a matter of hours, but he wasn’t ready to say good-bye yet. And he’d started searching for ways to get out of it. He had some vacation days stacked up, and he was considering taking them, even though his timing couldn’t have been worse. Moore was counting on him to help manage the far-reaching repercussions of their operation.

Sean’s phone buzzed, and he checked the screen.

“Hi, Nicole.”

“Hey, I don’t have much time. I’m on my way to the police station, but I wanted to let you know I got your results back.”

“Results?”

“The beer can. The one you begged me to run for you? I called in about three different favors to have them put a rush on it.”

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