Page 24 of Island Holiday

She was frowning now. Heedless of her nudity and the glorious picture she made, she got up as well. “What are you getting at?”

“They were on us in a hurry when we went out for coffee.” He pulled a shirt over his head.

“Oh. They must know we’re here.” She looked around as if she expected the men to jump out from behind the curtains. “How?”

“Feels too late for how. We need to figure out why and what next.”

“I disagree. If we know how they figured out I was involved, we can cut off the source of information.” She was gathering the clothing they’d tossed all over in their earlier haste to get naked.

He found her bra on his side of the bed and handed it to her. “Maybe. There’s another option.”

“More than one, I’m sure.”

“Probably,” he allowed. “Jess squeezed us in as a last-minute reservation, wanting the unit Zimmer used. What if the thugs who caught up with us had more than one assignment?”

She shoved at her hair. “What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t found any direct methods of payment.”

“Not yet.” She grinned at him. “I got distracted.”

As did he. And his only regret was that there was work left to do. “I did some investigating and caught them hanging out around this building before we arrived. Here, not the construction zone.” He looked around the room. “What if those guys are part of the system, at least here in Charlotte? What if Zimmer somehow hides cash or contraband in the rentals for them to pick up?”

“Then why follow us?” she asked. “Wouldn’t they have searched the condo while we were out? Or before we arrived?”

“I changed the guest code and the master access code,” Connor confessed.

“You can do that?”

He nodded, unsure if the way she was staring was a good thing. Probably not. His odds of getting out of this without her believing he was a stalker who belonged behind bars were shrinking. “But you make a good point about before we arrived,” he murmured, his mind racing ahead once more. “Do you know where his recruits stayed?” he asked, hurrying back to his computer.

“Most of them, yes. It’s usually a rental like this. I’ll send you the list.”

Her bare feet were barely audible on the hardwood floor as she followed him, veering off to her cozy workstation setup on the couch.

That was an unexpected quirk that reinforced how much he didn’t know and wanted to discover. In his head, he’d always pictured her creating more of a formal desk situation. But that was his preference, not hers.

He dug into the reservations record for this condo. If this was the method Zimmer used to pay off any hired help, why hadn’t Football Fan and Flannel gotten in here first?

He felt privileged to be this close while she did her thing. To see her laptop and notebook and the big bold cup she kept filled with water. People always said the little things made the biggest difference. It certainly seemed to be the case for him in regards to her. Every little personal detail only made him want to learn more, to grow closer.

To earn her trust and shower her with the affection she deserved. The closeness she denied herself—at least from his point of view.

He dragged his mind back to the more pressing issue and searched every possible camera in the area for a sign of Football Fan or Flannel. Or anyone else who didn’t belong. His email alert chimed with the list Sonya had promised. More information to scour once he knew what had happened here.

“Here we go. I’m into the registration system.”

“Do I want to know?” Sonya rested a hand on his shoulder.

His entire body warmed at the easy, familiar touch. He hoped it meant she was growing fond of him too. Possibly feeling more than just the glow following amazing sex. That would be the best ever, to find a sweet, lasting connection with her.

“Here look.” He leaned back so she could see the list of dates and reservations. “Zimmer stayed a couple of nights.”

“Mm-hm. Then the cleaning crew.”

“Right. Jess wedged us in here. And a new reservation arrives a couple days after our stay ends. Just enough time to clean in between.”

“Huh.” She moved from behind him to take a seat at the table. “I didn’t know how long we were staying.”

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