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“Owen?” Luna prompted. “What’s your response to that?”
“I’ve always supported your ambitions.” He was speaking directly to her, ignoring Luna and everyone else. “You don’t need to swim with sharks to be part of your team. You’re already integral to their success. You are great at what you do. You’ve got nothing to prove.” He delivered that line and sat back in his seat.
“Is that all, Owen? I sense there’s something you aren’t saying,” Luna said, continuing to pry. “Try to think about it in terms of the ‘I’ statement. I…” Luna made a little gesture with her hand, trying to draw Owen out.
His jaw tensed, and she thought he’d refuse to speak. She couldn’t read his expression. It wasn’t the cocky grin she was used to, and it wasn’t the serious SEAL mode look she’d seen the day before either.
“I can’t protect you from the dangers when there are too many variables,” he finally spoke. “Sharks are only one of my concerns. You could drown, something could go wrong with your scuba equipment. It happens. And I’d be unable to prevent a tragedy. I couldn’t live with that.”
She’d always believed that nothing bothered Owen. He always seemed so laidback and relaxed, like nothing was worth making a fuss over. She never would have guessed he felt such deep concern over the idea that he might not be able to succeed at a task he’d set for himself—in this case, keeping her safe. This was proving to be far more interesting than she expected.
“The last time I was in…in a tricky spot, you knew exactly what to do.” He hadn’t hesitated for even one second when he thought she was in danger. “And you did it. Why are you so worried now?”
“Maybe the two of you could go scuba diving together somewhere at a place that Owen deems safe. That way he can see you know what you’re doing,” a member of the group suggested, defusing the charged moment. “It might even help him gain confidence in you and realize that the two of you are a team.”
“Not a bad idea,” Owen said. “I’m willing to look for viable solutions to get us past this issue.”
“And that’s exactly the kind of ‘I’ statement we want to hear.” Luna turned to another couple. The session continued, but Sophie only half-listened.
What had Owen been trying to convey with his words? Since having a post-workshop group lunch was part of today’s agenda, it was two hours later before she and Owen left the main lodge and were able to talk privately. Other couples headed back toward their cabins, but she wasn’t ready to be closed in just yet.
“How about we take a walk in the woods?” he said. “There are some pretty trails.”
“You’ve scouted the entire camp, haven’t you?” she quizzed, but she was pleased with his suggestion. It seemed to suggest that they were in sync with each other.
“Part of my job. Know the risks, the weak points.” He chuckled. “Which is everywhere. There’s no fence surrounding the property, no gate, and one middle-aged retired cop is the entire security force.”
“It’s safe, though. If you didn’t think it was, we’d be moving.” She was convinced of that.
“It’s safe for now. Come on.” He took her hand and led her between two cabins and up an incline onto a trail. They hopped over a stream and climbed up a long slope to a lookout point that gave them a view of the valley below. The forest canopy was so dense that even the roof of the main lodge was obscured.
“It’s like there’s no one else for miles,” she said, turning in a circle.
“Looks are deceiving. There could be hundreds of snipers in those woods, and we wouldn’t know it.”
“That’s pretty pessimistic for you,” she said. “Where’s your chill attitude?”
“Like I said in that session, there are too many variables that prevent me from guaranteeing your safety. I don’t like it.”
“But—” she started.
“But I’m willing to consider other options to move the investigation forward,” he conceded. “I still feel firmly that you shouldn’t interview Razor or anyone else likely to be directly connected to Wilson—in person or otherwise. There must be another way to get intel. I was thinking about Mason’s phone. Did you get anything off that?”
She’d taken the phone that horrible day when Helen had been kidnapped and nearly killed, hoping it had hard evidence on it. No dice on that. “I had my tech guy examine the phone. It’s a burner used mostly to call another burner. Not helpful. The only other thing pulled from it were locations, designated by GPS, that Mason frequented.”
He tipped his head to the side, considering that. “Could be something.”
“You’d think,” she said. “But I looked them up and none of the places struck me as significant. No obvious leads.”
“Still, it might be worth it to visit them in person. Take a look around. You never know what you’ll spot.”
“You could be right.” She felt a plume of excitement grow inside her. Going to the various GPS coordinates might be a waste of time, but it might lead to something, too. “Okay, we’ll do it.”
“And we can continue our dive into the backgrounds of Wilson’s known associates,” he said. “You’ve got access to background information and so do I. We keep widening the circle, checking more names, following more threads, and something’ll give.”
“Exactly.” Her enthusiasm returned. Before she could think better of it, she put her arms around Owen’s neck and pulled him in for a hug. He stayed still for no more than a second before hugging her back, his hands on her waist. She let it last for just long enough that it seemed friendly, not flirty, and stepped back. She couldn’t help her smile, though. She hadn’t liked being at odds with him.
And that was the most surprising part of the afternoon.
