Her eyebrows lifted. She glanced at Nutmeg, then at Nash, apparently trying to decide if it was safe to accept a bowl of water.Wow. No trust yet.
"Lena, it's just water. Here." He took a cereal bowl from a kitchen cabinet, filled it with water from the sink, and approached just short of Nutmeg. He lifted the bowl. "Is it okay?"
"I . . . I guess so."
He set the bowl in front of the curly-haired, dark-eyed ball of fur, who looked more like a teddy bear than a dog.
Nutmeg needed no prompting. He lapped the water so fast Nash was sure he'd need a refill in about thirty seconds.
“How do you know my name?” Lena asked, a curious mix of fear and determination lacing her words.
Okay, here we go.“I’m going to be honest with you, and I need you to trust me. I know you’re here looking for your cousin. But you’re in way over your head. This is dangerous, and you need to get out of here.”
Her eyes grew wide, but she didn’t flee down the steps. “You didn’t tell me how you know my name.”
“Fair enough,” he said. “I’m here working undercover for a private security firm. We’re investigating Emil Van Horn on behalf of interested private parties. I know hisgirlfriend, Cassidy, flew to the Caribbean with him a week ago. That’s your cousin, right?”
She nodded, but he wasn’t sure she was breathing. Some of the color left her face. “Is she . . . is she okay?”
The tremor in her voice pricked his conscience. Maybe he should soften his tone.
“I can’t promise you that,” Nash said as gently as possible. “I’m not sure exactly where she is, but I suspect she’s on his yacht. I haven’t been able to confirm that, though.”
That news seemed to infuse a little hope. At least she appeared to be breathing again.
“Then you need to take me there." She took another half-step closer to the doorway. “I have to find her.”
“Whoa,” he said. “I'm not going to do that. I understand you’re concerned about your cousin, but you need to let us handle this.”
"Us?"
“I’m the only one on the premises at the moment, but I have a team behind me gathering information, and I have backup I can call. We’re arranging a flight to fly you home in the morning. I’ll take you to the airport. I can provide Delphine a very convincing story. She won’t think anything of it. Nutmeg will still be taken care of. Delphineand I can look after him until Victoria gets back or wants to hire another dog-sitter.”
Exasperation flashed on her face, but he changed the subject before she could protest. “I’m not even going to ask how you engineered your way into this job. But I'm curious, why not just show up and knock on the door with your real name?”
Her momentary anger fizzled. She bit her lower lip. Interesting.
“Look, I’ve been very honest with you,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me what you know? Maybe you could help us. To be clear, we weren’t hired to find your cousin, only to investigate Emil. But I promise you I won’t leave here until we locate your cousin and you get a chance to talk to her on the phone. That's all I can promise you, though. If she doesn’t want to leave Emil, we can’t force her. But I will find her and make sure that she’s all right.”
The slow shake of her head revealed a deep weariness of the subject. “You won’t be able to force her to go. If she hasn’t figured out Emil’s true colors yet, she won’t want to leave. I’ve been trying to get her to break up with him for weeks.”
“You don't trust him?"
"No."
"What do you see that she doesn’t?”
Her mouth flattened into a hard line. “It's not just one thing. I know several people in his circle of friends. At best, they’re ruthless businessmen. At worst . . . well, I don’t think highly of them. I’ve suspected for a long time that they’re dangerous. And Emil doesn’t seem genuine. He’s nice to Cassidy. Very nice. He acts like he adores her. Maybe he does. Maybe he loves her. But I don’t trust him.” Something jolted in her gaze, and her body froze. “Oh, I know why you’re here. You’re looking for the jewels.”
So she did know something. “Go on." He motioned for her to keep talking. “What do you know about the jewels?”
Her shoulders straightened. “I know Cassidy didn’t steal them. But since you said you’re not looking for her, then I know Sebastian Ruben didn’t hire you. He's been telling people he suspects Cassidy took them.” Her jaw clenched. "But. She. Didn't."
He threw both hands in the air. "We don't suspect Cassidy. I believe you." His hands rested on his hips. "How do you know Ruben?"
An irked huff escaped her lips. “For better or worse, I know a lot of people. I don't trust many of them.” She said it like maybe she didn't trustanyof them.
This conversation was proving productive for his investigation. But there was something—something he couldn't name—about her that sparked a genuine fascination in him. He waited for her to go on.
