Page 33 of Island Holiday

She looked up, her gaze catching his. “The finance firm.”

“Yes.” That would’ve been high on his list of search parameters. “You already have someone in mind.”

“Oh, crap.” She unbuckled and scrambled for her bag.

“Let’s talk it through.”

“Right.” She pulled out a notebook, flipping pages. “Here we go. I was tracking shell companies and the flow of money into the project fund.” She tapped the page, turned it so he could see. “There it is. Morning Acquisitions. I completely overlooked it. Chalked it up as one more layer in the shell company game.”

He was reviewing her notes when she reached over and turned the page. “Look at their reported charitable donations.”

The numbers didn’t match up at first glance, but then again, numbers were her thing, not his.

“Could it really be that simple?” Sonya was leaning against the back of his chair, restless and edgy. “I should’ve seen it. Should’ve known.”

“Known what?” he pressed. “Don’t shut me out.”

“No. I won’t. It’s not like that.” She kissed his cheek. Her eyes were bright and she looked ready to charge into battle. “When I turned in my old boss, I pissed off nearly everyone. Some of them were really powerful people.”

“I remember.” One more reason he’d kept an eye on her.

“Sorry. It’s just blowing my mind that I didn’t see it sooner. We might’ve saved those girls.”

“Wewillsave those girls,” he vowed. “Talk to me.”

“Morning Acquisitions must be linked to Alice Mertens.” Sonya swore. “Her initials are A and M. She used ‘morning’ in several business dealings when I managed her accounts at the firm.” Sonya rubbed her temples. “It should’ve clicked.”

“It’s clicked now.” He tapped the notebook. “Morning Acquisitions shows several property assets.”

“They’re legit,” she said. “Based on what I found, I marked them as a potential victim in the whole scheme.” She swore. “That’s exactly how she operates. The woman is conniving. She has extensive business interests all over the world. Back at the firm, I suspected she was profiting too much from certain introductions between interested businesses. Real estate, car dealerships, trucking. But I couldn’t prove it.”

“Did you give her name to the police when you took down your boss?”

Sonya flopped back into the seat. “Not specifically. The authorities went through all my accounts. That alone would’ve caused her problems.” Her nose wrinkled. “If she is the money backing Zimmer’s scheme, she has someone on her payroll looking for snoops like me.”

“And the list of people like you is short,” Connor said. “From what you’ve described and turned up already, she likely has Zimmer under surveillance.”

Sonya groaned. “Go me.”

“There’s a silver lining,” he said, leaning close. Her scent teased his nose, made him wish they had another hour in the air, just the two of them.

“Do tell.” Her fingers stroked his beard.

When she wet her lips, he almost forgot what he meant to say. “She doesn’t know we figured out the connection. This is a new lead.”

“For both of us,” she agreed.

He felt the plane shift as they began their descent. “This one thread might untangle the knot you’ve been wrestling with for weeks.”

Happiness flared in her eyes and he kissed her quickly. He planned to get in as many kisses as possible and make the most of his time with her before the case or the holidays or something else interfered.

Chapter 11

Connor got to workas soon as they were settled. They had a suite in a hotel overlooking the Ashley River. Now that he had names and dates, he pulled out all his best research tricks—only a few of them were one hundred percent legal—and all too soon confirmed their theory. Sonya had been spotted while tailing Zimmer.

Mertens, assuming she was the facilitator, had acted as soon as she recognized the risk to the overall operation.

“You want the good news or bad news?” he asked.

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