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“I believe that.”
Her patience snapped. “Thenwhatis this? Why follow me at all? I am not your thief.”
“What did the woman want?” A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“World peace?” His expression grew stormy. Too bad. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”
She stalked over to the kitchenette. The long counter had a sink, coffee pot and microwave tucked up against a small refrigerator. Plates, bowls, and drinkware occupied the open shelving and a dishwasher was set into the lower cabinetry. Pulling open the fridge, she found bottled water and took one for herself. “Water?”
“No, thanks,” he declined. “Just tell me what she said, Lila.”
She twisted off the cap and took a long drink of the water. He probably thought she was stalling. His opinion didn’t amount to much right now. “It was small talk,” she said. “About the island. She wasn’t my contact or co-conspirator, she was atourist. We get those here. She didn’t mention stolen goods or potatoes. Why won’t you drop this? At the very least you could leave me out of it.”
“I can’t.” He took off his shoes as well. His feet were bare. She’d seen him barefoot on the boat more than once, when he was off duty and relaxing. That was different. This was… This was her room, her space. Her cheeks were on fire again.This felt way too intimate and completely wrong while he was interrogating her.
“What are you doing?”
He pulled out his phone, sparing her a quick glance. “Getting comfortable.”
“Why?” She watched, waiting as he seemed to check his messages. This wasn’t happening. She couldn’t cope with him a minute longer. “Get out.” She crossed the room, grabbed his elbow and tried to drag him to the door.
Tried and failed. He didn’t budge.
“Travis, you need to go.”
He shook his head. “You need me to stay.”
What? She’d never said anything of the kind. Aside from what she now realized had been all-too-real responses to his displays of fake affection, she hadn’t once encouraged him. Hadn’t so much as batted an eyelash in his direction. He had no reason to think sheneededhim.
“Lila, you’re in danger—”
“Wrong,” she cut him off. “This is a dead end.”
“—and it’s my fault.” He held up his phone.
She was staring at a photo of the woman he’d been asking her about. “What is this?”
He guided her to the couch and with a gentle nudge, she was sitting down. “I’m sorry, Lila. I had no idea it would go down this way.”
She’d never heard this tone from him before. A mix of regret and determination. She didn’t care for it. Not at all. What a shock to learn she preferred his stoic almost over confident tone. Horrible scenarios flashed through her mind, but none of them made any sense. So what if he’d uncovered the worst secrets in her childhood? She’d been a kid. Her parents had been the criminals. And she was so far removed from it now. “You said you believed me.”
“And I do. I had doubts,” he confessed. “Some things you said yesterday raised red flags.”
Because she’d let down her guard. More accurately, being close to Travis eroded her normal defenses. Either way, she knew better than to reveal so much to someone like him. A man with an unshakable moral compass and experience identifying sketchy people.
Not that she’d spent much time doing sketchy things herself, but clearly something from her parents had rubbed off.
“And today?”
“Well, today…” His voice trailed off and he pushed a hand through his hair. He moved back, taking a seat in the chair. With elbows braced on his knees, he explained. “Today, when that decoy didn’t move, I thought it could be because you’d managed to stash part of the theft before I caught you.” He winced. “Or maybe you’d warned off your partner.”
She didn’t bother protesting. What was the point? Clearly, he was going to think whatever he wanted to think. Lacing her fingers together, she refused to give him any further ammunition. He’d either explain and leave, or she’d take herself to Gram’s house and get her luggage later. Gram had enough connections in town that it wouldn’t be a big problem.
“But you don’t have a partner. You’re not the thief.”
Nice of him to finally get the message. She watched as he shoved to his feet and started pacing back and forth in front of the window. “The agency put a researcher on this to help me out. We’ve been trying to ID this woman since I noticed her tailing you.”
Lila would’ve felt stupid for not noticing she was leading a short parade, but she’d been focused on the joy of being home. Home with Gram. Herrealhome. Where she’d been safe and stable. She hadn’t seriously had to worry about being followed in years.
