CHAPTERSIX
Jade was a surprise. Just when Wyatt figured that he had her pinned down, she went and surprised him even more. Her admission of wanting to sleep with him had rocked him. Thrown him off, even.
Hell, he’d been thinking of just that since he’d seen her at the pool. Okay, from the moment he’d been given the assignment. There was something about her that drew him in. Something he couldn’t put a finger on. Yet.
It had been obvious when she came back downstairs that her parents had told her what he was doing at their resort. The look in her eyes was a mixture of anger and betrayal.
The truth was, he’d half expected her to know long before she got to the resort. It wasn’t his place to tell her, nor was he going to cause a scene because they had told her.
Part of him was relieved that she knew. He hadn’t wanted to start something with her while she’d thought he was something, or someone, else. Not that he’d had issues with keeping who he was from others while he’d been on a job in the past.
But the last few days he’d spent flirting with her and getting to know her, he’d understood that there wouldn’t have been any coming back from it if he’d kissed her while she’d believed he was just a bartender.
His eyes moved to her lips as he thought about what she’d do if he kissed her now. How would she react? Would she even allow him near her now that she knew the truth?
“Feeling better?” he asked her after she was quiet for a moment.
“I’m still mad at you, if that’s what you’re asking.” She took another sip of her water.
“I think you can understand my position,” he said, as he finished up his steak. She didn’t answer and continued to eat. “Or not.” He shrugged. “Either way, I’m here to do a job. You of all people should understand just how important that job is.”
She sighed and set her fork and knife down. Then she slowly nodded her head. “Yeah, I do.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Is there anything more you’re keeping from me?”
He thought about all the information he had stored in his head. Information about her employees and guests. People she probably trusted.
“No,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Who do you suspect?” she asked after a while.
“Do you want the short list or the long one?” he joked.
She shrugged slightly. “How many are on each list?”
He thought for a moment. “Close to a hundred on the long one and less than a dozen on the short one.”
Her eyebrows arched up. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “Why does that surprise you?”
“It’s just… I would think that you’d have it narrowed down even further by now. Tina Harlow was taken almost six months ago now.”
It warmed his heart, the fact that she knew the name of the last child who had been taken from the resort.
“Five months and ten days,” he supplied.
The side of her lips curved up slightly. “Okay, so what is the plan?” She tucked her legs under her and scooted forward.
“Nope.” He shook his head. “This is where you get off the ride.”
She shook her head vigorously. “No, no, no. I’m in.” She pointed to his chest. “No matter what you think, this is far more personal than you can imagine.”
He stilled for a heartbeat, remembering the charred remains of his younger sister. Remembering how he’d found them after…
Suddenly, Jade’s hand was in his. “Or maybe you do. You lost someone too,” she said softly. “I’m sorry, I… didn’t think.”
He shook the memory off and sighed. “We all have our reasons for doing what we do,” he said softly as he looked down at their joined hands.
“Come on, let’s get some air,” she said suddenly, pulling him up. He started to clean the plates up, but she waved him off. “I’ll take care of that later.”