Page 20 of Island Refuge

Again, not sharing that with him.

“Connor, my research assistant,” he explained, “doesn’t know her real name. Not yet. But he did finally find an image of her in this area after other thefts were reported a few months ago.” Travis rubbed his eyes. “And now, thanks to the decoy, we’re pretty sure she thinks you have the stolen goods she expected to pick up today.”

Lila took a breath. One of them had to settle down. She’d never seen Travis so agitated. “If you’re right, why didn’t she just steal my suitcase at the dock?” It was the logical move for a thief.

“That might’ve been the plan. But there were lots of people around and you’re a local. Maybe she thought it was safer to wait.” He sat down again. “You went with your grandmother, so I followed her. She didn’t meet with anyone. She bought a meal from one of the food trucks, then walked over to the Inn. From there she caught a ride-share car and left.”

“Good.”

“Connor was able to track the car’s route, including stops.”

Unease prickled across her nape. “And?”

He held out his phone to her once more. “She’s on the island. Specifically, Connor caught sight of her on Central.”

Lila took the device and studied the image. It was grainy, from a security camera. She agreed it was probably the same woman and she was standing near the wall between Gram’s bakery and the flower shop next door.

“Gram has nothing to do with this,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. “For that matter, neither do I.”

“She would disagree.” He shifted suddenly, coming to sit next to her on the couch. “That was taken less than an hour ago. You’re in danger, Lila. I thought the decoy bag would be the cleanest way to wrap this up. Instead, I’ve made you a target.”

A sickening dread swirled in her stomach. What if thiswastied to her somehow? What if her parents had somehowrecognized her when she’d been out with Juliet? There was no way for her to ask. She hadn’t spoken to either her mom or dad since moving to Brookwell. Even if she could drum up the courage to tell Travis about the possibility, she had no additional information to share. Not a phone number, not even an address.

Her parents had completely fallen out of her world. She supposed Gram might still have some information, but it was unlikely. Lila hadn’t so much as seen a Christmas card from her parents since that fateful summer.

“Well, what are you doing about it?” she asked. “Can the police pick her up and question her?”

“For standing on a street?” He shook his head. “Connor is getting the word out so we can try and get someone followingher.”

She closed her eyes. “And what do I do?”

“You let me stick close.” He drummed his fingers on his knee. “Let’s keep up the new boyfriend angle, it’s the most logical explanation.”

“I can’t go into the bakery with you underfoot.”

“With luck, we’ll have this cleared up before Connie lets you get back to work. In the meantime, you can show me around Brookwell and—”

“And you’ll stay where?” she asked. As if she didn’t know the answer.

He cleared his throat. “Here. On the couch,” he clarified quickly. “Connor arranged to have my car and luggage dropped off.”

“What a guy.”

Her sarcasm appeared to bounce right off him. “The thief wants the goods and the value of those items implies she won’t give up. She doesn’t know you didn’t take them. I swear this won’t be forever. A few days at most.”

She didn’t see a way to toss him out, not now. Gram already believed they were a couple. As much as she rejected the idea of bringing trouble to Gram’s door, it was already here. Probably for the best if she didn’t try and handle it on her own. The last time she’d been close to the shady world of thieves and burglars, she’d been a kid. She might know the general system, but she didn’t have any helpful contacts and her street smarts were rusty.

Worse than rusty if she’d missed both a stranger and Travis on her tail all afternoon.

“Fine. Stay. I hope the couch is comfortable.”

“You’re going to bed?” he asked as she walked away. “It’s early. We need to make a plan.”

She shook her head. “Right now my only plan is to sleep. If we’re joined at the hip from this point forward, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss any and all plans tomorrow.”

His brow furrowed. An odd change to his normally stoic expression. He really was worried about this. “Okay,” he said at last. “Good night.”

As if she’d wait on his approval or permission for anything. With luck he’d reach that conclusion for himself and soon.