Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“What? I’m sorry, you’re cutting out.”
She twisted a little, and the static went away. It seemed best if she leaned into the signal. “Grad student?”
“Oh, yeah, he was clean. No police records of any kind. He’s in the US on a student visa, and it’s perfectly in order. The only thing he’s got is an eviction notice on his apartment, but he’s been applying for campus housing. Do you want me to go deeper? I didn’t check into his family. The household staff checked out, too. All good.”
“Who’s listed as household staff? Is there a Mateo? He’s a recent hire,” Tessa explained.
“I don’t remember. Hutch did…” More static. “I don’t have it in front of me, but I can send you the files when I get back to the office.”
Ah, MaeBe could send them, but Tessa wouldn’t be able to receive them until she had a strong signal. Or she could sneak back here and try to get a connection long enough to download the files. She would have to try. She didn’t exactly have another choice. Or she could catch a boat back to the mainland and download the files there.
But she didn’t want to be that far away from David. If she left the island there was a chance something could go wrong and she wouldn’t be able to get back.
“It’s right beside you, Kyle. You don’t need mine,” MaeBe was saying. “Your cell phone is on the table beside you. Right by the meds you are absolutely going to take. Okay…wants to talk to you.”
How long did she have before she needed to get back? They’d been locked away in the library, but someone would miss her if she didn’t return soon.
“Hey, Tess. You have to watch David like a hawk. He gets distracted by shiny objects.” Kyle came over the line loud and clear.
“He’s not that bad. He’s intense when he’s studying a subject he enjoys,” she replied. A subject like her. She could still feel his hands on her body.
“Shit. Now I owe MaeBe ten bucks.”
“For what?” Tessa asked.
“You slept with him.”
It was a good thing she wasn’t standing in front of Kyle because she could feel herself blush. “You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do, because you’re defending him,” Kyle explained, and she wondered why it was now that she seemed to have found the perfect spot because every word was clear. “I wasn’t being an ass. I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before you left. David sees the best in everyone. He’s naïve and he’ll miss cues. You have to watch out for him. Eduardo Montez isn’t his father. The business he runs has some unsavory connections, but I don’t think they have anything to do with David or I would have called off the trip. That said, I still want you to watch him. I don’t like the timing. This trip came up fast.”
At least they were talking about the job now. “I thought it had been planned for a while.”
“They talked about it for a while, and Eddie always came up with excuses. Then all of a sudden it was the perfect time,” Kyle explained. “Right as David’s spring break was coming up. Keep your eyes open.”
“Okay. I’m going to try to send you some pictures I’ve taken around the estate of some of the staff. It’s probably nothing, but put them through our facial recognition,” she said. She was running out of time, and she’d finally gotten an excellent signal. “I’m texting them to MaeBe’s phone as soon as we hang up, and I’ll try to get back here tomorrow to pull down the files she’s sending me.”
She wasn’t sure she had enough time to do both. She wanted to make sure the names on Hutch’s list were the correct people working in the house now. It seemed like there had been some recent changes.
“Hey, Tessa,” Kyle said, his tone softening. “He’s a good man.”
Yep, they were back to being uncomfortable. And yet she couldn’t hang up on him. Something had changed between her and David the night before, and even if she still walked away, there would always be something intimate between them. If…she was starting to use the word if. “I know that.”
“Look, I’ve known something was going on in his head for weeks, but he didn’t talk to me about you until the day you two left. He’s crazy about you. He might not seem like it, but he is.”
She couldn’t do this. “I’ve got to hurry.”
“Did you ever think that the reason that voice inside told you to break things off with Michael was because you were waiting for David?”
What the fuck had happened to Kyle? “Did you hit your head?”
“It’s the meds,” Kyle replied. “They fuck with a guy’s brain, which is why I’m not taking any more, and no, you’re not going to shove them up my ass. Language, woman. MaeBe’s feisty. All I’m saying is I know you’re all wounded and shit, but my brother’s worth the risk, and he needs someone like you.”