Page 72 of The Billionaire's Son

“I assume everyone on your staff knows about it.”

“Not everyone, but key people.”

“Including Maria?”

“Yes. Anyone who lives in knows it’s here and its purpose.”

Kelly nodded. “That’s a problem if they have access codes.”

“They don’t.”

“Good,” Kelly said.

“You still think someone on the staff was involved in the kidnapping?”

“I’m sure of it. And that makes this room all but useless. They’ll know exactly where you are.”

“But not how to get me out.”

“Maybe,” Kelly said.

“Have you seen anything concrete to make you suspicious?”

“Not concrete,” she said slowly. “Certainly nothing that would stand up in court.”

“Hans?”

Kelly shook her head. “No. Hans is in the clear, and so is Greta. But Maria hasn’t taken her polygraph yet. She keeps making excuses.”

Trey gaped at her. “You can’t think Maria would be involved in harming Jason. She adores my son.”

“Yes,” Kelly agreed. “She does. And I like Maria, but something is going on with her.”

“Like what?”

Kelly took a deep breath. She couldn’t prove her suspicions about Trey’s housekeeper, but she was a law enforcement officer. Her gut told her Maria had a secret.

“I’ve caught her on her phone several times. When she sees me, she immediately terminates the conversation and hurries away.”

“Maybe she didn’t want you to know who she was talking to.”

“Could be, but why? I’m not her boss. Her actions were, you know, secretive. Plus, she’s gone through my drawers.”

“I instructed her to do your laundry.”

“And I appreciate that, but she leaves the clean clothes on the bed and I put everything away in drawers. Believe me, I know when my stuff has been rearranged. I don’t have a whole lot here.”

“Why would she do that?”

“I think Maria is looking for something.”

“What?”

“My gun. I deliberately put the gun locker in a new place twice, and it’s been moved. Someone is trying to get at it. If not Maria, who?”

Trey shifted to face her more directly. “Maria has been with me for four years, since Jason was an infant. She’s totally loyal.”

Kelly chewed on her bottom lip. Maybe she was wrong about Maria. Maybe there was a good explanation for her behavior, but Trey needed to know her suspicions no matter how much he didn’t want to hear them.

Kelly looked away from the denial in Trey’s eyes, from the allure of his lips. She was trying to behave like a professional, explain her doubts about his most trusted staff member. He needed to know this information.

But he sat too close, which short-circuited her brain. She could feel his body heat, breathe in the subtle fragrance of his aftershave. It was hard for her to concentrate on the results of her investigation when she wondered what he would do if she licked his throat. Whether they could turn this sofa into a bed without waking up Jason.

She suppressed a groan. What was wrong with her? All she could think about was getting Trey naked again.

She needed to focus on something besides another foolish fling—no matter how enjoyable—with Trey Wentworth.

“You have a traitor somewhere, Trey. I’m trying to find out who it is.”

He crossed his arms across his chest.

“Maria’s been good to me since I’ve been here.” Kelly released a breath and looked away from his troubled face. “But I think she has a secret.”

“A secret?”

She raised her gaze to his. “I’ve seen signs of a substance abuse problem.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

TREY CAME TO his feet, but had nowhere to go. The room was too small to even pace. What else could go wrong?

He glanced back to Kelly. She avoided his gaze, her mouth tight.

“What signs?” he demanded.

Jason rolled over, and she shot a look toward his bed. “Keep your voice down.”

“Sorry.” He moved back to the sofa and sat beside her again. “Look, I pay Maria quite well, and she survived a background check when I hired her.”

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