Read Online Then You Hide by Roxanne St. Claire - Free Book Online Page B

“He did the ‘drop into the islands, drop out of life’ thing, and I’m trying to coax him back home. He’s been down here a month, and he’s more of a workaholic than I am, so it’s time for…” She hesitated at the look on his face. “What is it?”
    “His name is not Clive. It’s Jason Brooks.”
    Jason Brooks? Would Clive travel under a fake name? “Did he tell you that?”
    “No, but it is our job to know the name of every guest, to be certain their drinks are charged to the proper room.” He indicated the photo on the bar. “He is Jason Brooks, a guest in the Palm Grove villa, one of the private cottages on our property.”
    “Maybe he was staying with Jason Brooks. He’s traveling with someone, and they could have put the room under either name.”
    “No.” He shook his head. “That man is Jason Brooks. I am certain of that.”
    But he could be wrong; he didn’t work the front desk. “Was he with anyone when he was here?”
    He hesitated, then shook his head. “Not that I noticed. But he spent a lot of time…” He held up his thumb and pinky to his ear. “On the cell phone.”
    That would be Clive.
    The bartender nodded to an older couple who’d just taken seats, then placed a drink menu in front of Vanessa. “Do you drink gimlets as well, Miss? I make the best.”
    “No, thank you. Can you just tell me when he checked out?”
    “He did not check out. He has not been here for a while, but he is still registered in the villa.”
    “He is ? Where’s the villa?” she asked eagerly. “How do I get there?”
    He shook his head. “I’m sorry. You may speak with the concierge, but I doubt they will take you there. Palm Grove guests are our most private, and it is not resort policy to disturb them for any reason.”
    “I understand, but he’s my friend, and these are extenuating circumstances.”
    He inched toward the other customers. “I’m sorry. Our guests demand privacy, and we give it to them.”
    As he walked away, she said to herself, “If the guests demand privacy, then why did you just tell me his name and villa?”
    “That is an excellent question, ma’am.”
    She spun around and blinked into electric-blue eyes, slack-jawed. He couldn’t have. He couldn’t have.
    “The bathroom window.” Wade pointed to her. “Not original, but you get points for sheer nerve.”
    “How did you find me?”
    His smile was lazy, and a little bit victorious, as he used his pointed finger to close her mouth gently. “An eleven, huh?”
    Stella . “I’m gonna kill that woman.”
    “Don’t be too hard on her. You left a trail that a blind man could follow.” Brushing her bare legs with those still-crisp khaki pants, he slipped onto the next barstool and gestured to the picture. “Sounds like you’re making progress.”
    “You were listening?”
    “I was just a few feet away.”
    Heat and chills clashed over her skin at the thought. “For how long?”
    “Let’s see. I picked you up somewhere around…Hurricane Hill? You took that hairpin turn a little too fast, don’t you think? Considering you probably don’t drive much in New York, and if you do, it’s on the other side of the road.”
    He plucked the stirrer from her glass and bobbed the lime with it. “I thought you hated limes.”
    “What I hate is being stalked.”
    “I’m not stalking you.” He removed the straw and slipped it between his lips. “What? No vodka?”
    She turned away from the unwanted impact of seeing the straw slide into his mouth. “Listen, I can’t help you. I have to concentrate on one problem before I jump into another. I need to find my friend. For the time being, I’m not going to meet Eileen Stafford or these other women—”
    “Only one so far. We’re still looking for the other.”
    “Whatever,” she said, trying not to let that new information take hold of her heart. “Like I said, I’m busy with something else.”
    She sneaked a peek at him, just in time to catch him sucking