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She reached for her phone, hesitating. “Gram will hear about it.”
He stared at her while he waited for his assistant to pick up. “We’re reporting this. Not up for debate.”
“Travis.”
The tremor in her voice convinced him to hold the line on this. Someone had come into her suite and trashed it. A search, yes, but also some petty destruction for the sole purpose of causing distress.
Because he’d aimed the thief at her.
He had to protect her and shelter her from as much heartache as possible. He sighed. That meant sheltering Connie as well.
“Upton?” Connor’s voice in his ear only underscored his resolve.
“Yeah.” He wanted to tell Lila to sit down, but there wasn’t a place she could do that without disturbing evidence. She hadn’t yet seen that her clothing had been sliced to ribbons, her suitcase dismantled. “We walked into a tornado.” He gave Connor a brief rundown of the scene. “No sign of forced entry.”
“Keycards and fobs can be copied,” Connor said.
“I’m aware.” Travis swore. “I need you to get Jess Keller to Lila’s room at the Inn. Quietly.” As a former cop and with connections on the island, she’d know how to manage this without stirring up gossip that would get to Connie before Lila did.
Lila caught his hand, holding tight. When he looked at her, she whispered, “Thank you.”
“All right.”
He caught the hint of judgment in his assistant’s voice, and appreciated that advice wasn’t offered, only cooperation.
“Comb whatever feed you can find for any sign of the woman. This has to be her work.”
“On it.”
“Any chance you can arrange for fresh clothes? Enough for a few days, please. We can get toiletries from the Inn.”
“Done,” Connor confirmed. “I’m booking you into a different room now, under my name. Do me a favor and don’t take anything out of that room.”
“As if the cops would let us.” Lila’s fingers tightened. “But you’re worried about some kind of tracker?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll make sure we’re clear before we go,” Travis promised, ending the call. He wrapped Lila into a big hug. Nearly all of that crazy lust had faded. Another missed chance. He was focused on comforting her, even as he wished it wasn’t necessary. It infuriated him that this persistent thief had ruined what was sure to have been a mind-blowing physical connection.
“Jess Keller will be here soon. Connor booked a new room for us. We’ll go as soon as Jess clears us.”
“How?” She pressed back just enough to meet his gaze. “How did this happen?”
They’d covered this. “My fault,” he reminded her. “Back on the yacht, I made a mistake.”
“No.” She frowned and on reflex, he reached up to smooth the tiny lines away. “How did anyone get inside?”
“It’s easier than most people realize,” he said. “Would’ve been nice if she’d climbed in through a window and possibly been noticed by a witness,” he grumbled.
“What now?”
“I’ll take some pictures. Let’s try to determine if anything is missing without tampering with the scene.”
She folded her arms, glaring up at him. “We both know nothing’s missing.”
He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Maybe. Best to be sure. Um…”
“What?”
