Page 15 of Island Holiday

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 separateways. 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.”

---