The Man I Want to Be (Under Covers)(12)

"That," Kilos said behind her.

Bryan laughed, then exited the hotel, the turn-style door spinning as he went.

Kenna cut across the lobby, dodging luggage carts, families checking in  with young children and dogs, and one disgruntled older man who claimed  he missed his golf game after the hotel purposefully gave him a faulty  cart because his wife told them to. She had one objective in mind.  Convince Bear to take her along when he looked at that video.

She headed straight for the regular push door. Pressing her hands  against the glass, she thrust herself outside. Bear wouldn't be  difficult to find, given his overly tall and wide frame. Throwing a  glance to her right, all she spotted were luxury vehicles, an empty  bellhop station, and a few golf carts. To her left was the stone walkway  that she'd used to get to the beach last night, a fountain with an  intricate water feature, and a row of palm trees that led to the pool.  But no Bear.

Damn it. How did he disappear that quick?

She dropped onto the side of the marble fountain and huffed out a  breath. Okay, regroup. He could hide all he wanted, but she'd corner him  later today at one of the wedding festivities. For now, she needed to  do something to help her cause.

Scanning her surroundings, she thought about the thief and what he would want with the ring. Why he would want it.

He couldn't do anything until he got off this island …

Her eyes focused on the small sign pointing toward the ferry, and she rose to her feet. The ferry was the only way to leave.

It was about ninety degrees at eight thirty in the morning. As she  started down the stone walkway, her flip-flops snapping against the  bottom of her feet, sweat dripped down the center of her back. Her lungs  burned from the exertion, but instead of cursing herself, this time she  used the uncomfortable sensation to fuel her. She let her adrenaline  take over and propel her faster. She prayed whoever had taken her ring  hadn't left the island yet.

The hot summer sun pierced the crystal-blue ocean water, casting a  reflection like diamonds. The water was peaceful, as was this part of  the beach. Serene. No boats coming in or going out. Beautiful boats of  all sizes were docked around the area, waiting for their owners to  return and take them out for a ride.         

     



 

Kenna approached the end of the pier where a small white hut sat with a  poster of the ferry cost and schedule. She scanned the schedule for  today. The first one was due to leave in thirty minutes.

A twentysomething guy with shaggy blond hair lounged in a chair inside  with his bare feet kicked up on the table in front of him, head dropped  back, and eyes closed.

"Excuse me," she said through the open window.

No response.

"Yoo-hoo," she said.

Nothing.

She pounded on the side of the building.

The young man jolted forward, bare feet smacking the ground, and looked  around as if he expected a sequence of depth charges to detonate on the  pier. Once he realized he wasn't in immediate danger, he took a deep  breath, adjusted himself properly in his seat, and looked at her.

A long, slow smile crept across his face. "Hey, babe. How can I help you?"

Babe?

"I'm assuming you work here at … " She drew back to read the sign across the top of the building. "The Bay Bee."

"That's right." He leaned an arm on the table in front of him. "You need  a private, one-on-one tour out on the open sea?" His eyebrows wagged up  and down.

Might as well go for it. It was the only thing she had going for her at the moment. "Well, that depends."

He blinked a few times, obviously not expecting his crude tactic to work. "On?"

"On how helpful you are."

"Babe, I can be as useful as you need."

Of course he could. "What's your name?"

"Finn."

"Well, Finn, I need to know how important you are."

He looked at her like he didn't understand her statement.

"I need a favor," she clarified. "And I need to know if you're the guy to do it."

"I can handle anything you need me to," he said, and she got the sense  they were talking about two very different things. "I'm the boss. For  today at least." He said the last sentence out of the corner of his  mouth, which didn't give her much confidence in the plan.

She eyed him a moment. His white T-shirt with a large blue marlin on the  front pocket of his chest, his board shorts, and tanned skin. "Okay,  Finn. I'm looking for a man." He grunted at that. "Because he stole  something from me."

Finn's posture immediately tensed. "What did he take?"

"A ring. It means a lot to me. I need to get it back."

Finn's eyes were intent, direct. "What do you need me to do?"

"Has anyone left the island in the last twenty-four hours?"

He reached to his right for a clipboard. Flipping the pages up, he read  through what she assumed was a log of passengers. "Looks like Jake took a  family of five to the mainland last night around eight. Nothing else  since then."

"Do you have anyone signed up for today?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. Why?"

"I think the guy who took my ring is going to try to get off the island quickly. I need to stop him."

"What can I do to help?"

"If a man with dark hair and lean build wants a ride back to the  mainland, I need you to delay him. Here's my cell phone number. Call me,  please." She reached for the pen on the counter and wrote her number on  one of the brochures.

Nodding, Finn said, "Will do. And I'll alert Jake, too. He's coming in  around three to work the night shift. You can count on us."

"I really appreciate it," she said.

On her way back up the path, walking at a much more leisurely pace this  time, something caught her attention. Movement to her right. It had dark  hair, and from the looks of him, he was lean. Could be the thief! When  that realization registered, a zing raced through her and she kicked  into a trot.

She trailed him, leaving a few feet between them so he wouldn't get  suspicious. From the back, she couldn't tell if he was the man she'd  seen. He wore salmon-colored shorts and a white polo shirt with brown  leather shoes. He was heading in the direction of the resort at a  semi-rushed pace. Kenna picked up her speed to keep up with him.

But someone stepped in front of her, making her skid to a stop.

"Hey," Sammie said, with a hand on her hip. "Where have you been? I've  been looking all over for you. You didn't show up for the rowing  competition this morning. I was worried, so I went to your room, but you  weren't there."

"Oh, sorry," she said, glancing over Sam's shoulder at the man's  retreating back. "I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to come down and  take a quiet walk by myself near the water." She tried to step around  Sam, but her friend blocked her way.         

     



 

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, the fresh air helped," Kenna said. "Sorry to make you worry. I'm  going to go back and get something to eat and maybe lie down for a  little bit. But I'm not going to miss yoga this afternoon. I'm looking  forward to it." She took one step to the side, and Sam mirrored her  move.

"Good." Sam eyed her with a curious expression that made Kenna squirm.

"What?"

"Have you seen Bryan around?"

"Bryan?" Kenna said in a strained voice. She cleared her throat and  tried again. "No. I have no idea where he is." Not since he slept in my  bed last night, disappeared this morning, and was taunting me in the  lobby about twenty minutes ago.

Sam wore large shades over her eyes, but the way she reset her jaw,  Kenna imagined Sam's eyes narrowed. "He didn't show this morning,  either. I went to his room. He wasn't there. I thought maybe you two met  for breakfast or something."

Kenna laughed. It was harsh and fake. "Definitely not. Why would you think that?"

"I watched you guys talking last night," Sam said. "It seemed like you  were getting along. I don't know. Just a hunch, but I guess I was  wrong."

"Definitely wrong," Kenna rushed to say. "I'm not keeping tabs on him.  Do people think I'm keeping tabs on him? Because I'm not. If that's what  people are thinking, just make sure they know my days of keeping track  of Bear are long gone. Done. Finished."

Jesus, Kenna. Shut up!

Sam eyed her another minute, and it took Kenna every bit of willpower  she possessed not to blurt out everything that had transpired over the  last twelve hours. "Okay. Well, I have to get back. Make sure you check  the schedule so you don't miss any more activities."

"Got it," Kenna said. "I'm looking forward to everything."

"You'll be okay for the bachelorette party tonight, right?"

"Yes. Definitely not missing that. Don't worry."

"Good," Sam said with a smile. "Go rest up. I'll see you later."

"See ya."

Kenna waited for Sam to start back up the path before she followed. She  needed a minute to collect her brain. It had fallen out somewhere on the  way. Lord, she'd completely lost her shit at Sam's innocent question  about Bear. If she was going to get through this week and this  investigation, she needed to act like he was nothing more than an  occasional accomplice.