The Hero She Deserves - Page 63

You’re getting ahead of yourself, Lane.

He wandered around the cottage and set up his cameras. They’d alert him to any movement.

Back inside, Hollis was bent over the laptop, her brow furrowed. She didn’t even hear him approach.

“How’s it going?”

She jumped. “You scared me.”

“Sorry, but you should have more situational awareness.”

She waved a hand at him. “I’m going over Vander’s intel on Reuben. The guy’s so shady. Why do so many people work with him?”

“Money and power. It hides the worst of it.”

“Why are some people so horrible?” she murmured.

Those old memories bit at him. “I have no answer for that. But I do know there are good people out there too.”

Her lips quirked. “Over a decade in the movie business made me lose hope.” Her gaze locked with his. “You made me believe again.”

Hollis rubbed her aching eyes.She’d been staring at the screen for way too long. Her computer skills were a little rusty. To be honest, she didn’t spend a lot of time on a computer.

The remnants of dinner sat at the end of the table. Sawyer had brought some fish with them in a cooler bag, and cooked it with a coconut sauce. It had been really good.

She looked over at him. He was on a second laptop, and the glow of the screen made shadows on the dips and hollows of his rugged face.

She got a funny sensation in her stomach. She had feelings for him. She’d never felt so close to someone so quickly before. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as a tickle of nerves skittered through her. She’d only known the man a week, but it felt like far longer.

There was no way he’d like life in LA. She couldn’t imagine him there. She remembered that nightmare he’d had. He’d suffocate in LA. Hell, she liked the city, and sometimes she felt like she was suffocating.

She knew she was setting herself up for heartache.

One day, he’d be gone, and she’d be all alone. Again.

How about you focus on staying alive first, Hols?

“Did you see the photos Vander sent?”

Sawyer’s voice made her jolt.

“No.” She opened the email. “Photos of what?”

She’d been focused on Reuben. Vander’s team had dug up tons of details, and now she knew more about Reuben’s life than she’d ever wanted to.

“Not what, who,” Sawyer said. “Of possible hitmen that took the contract.”

Her belly shriveled to a sharp point. It was still hard to believe Reuben had hired someone to kill her.

Photos appeared on the computer screen. They were all of hard-eyed men, and one woman.

What kind of person killed for money?She clicked through them.

Then a face filled the screen. The man was older, with a long face and a cleft in his chin. His dark hair was threaded with gray. She froze, and just stared.

“Hollis?” The scrape of a chair. Sawyer’s hands rested on her shoulders and squeezed. “You recognize him?”

“Not exactly. I…never got a clear look at the man on the beach. The sun was wrong, and he was shadowed and wearing a mask. But I think I saw this man in Paia. Coming out of a shop wearing a horrible Hawaiian shirt.”