Chapter Seven
Riley couldn’t eat.She could barely keep still. The only saving grace she had going for her was a walk on the beach, alone, with the wind in her face, her feet in the sand, and the cold Pacific sliding over her toes every now and then.
Josh had convinced her to return with him to Redwood Cove. The only reason she did was because he promised they would do some detective work after he took care of his dad and made arrangements to have another caretaker come.
Riley considered herself a strong woman and felt she could handle just about anything. She was finding she didn’t have nerves of steel.
So many questions filtered through the haze that had settled in her brain. Who was the woman Liza had been arguing with? Was it the same woman who had ransacked her apartment? Why would she leave in the middle of the night? Who were the men from Boston?
In all their phone conversations, Riley couldn’t recall one in which Liza had sounded scared. She certainly hadn’t mentioned Stefano Moretti or anyone who was giving her trouble.
Riley wondered if the client Liza had met with the day before was the same one she’d been arguing with in her apartment. Because Liza had given no indication that she would leave Riley hanging at the airport or that she might have to work while Riley was visiting. In fact, she’d been as overly excited as Riley was to spend time together.
The wind whipped around as a wave crashed along the shore. Riley jumped out of the way but not fast enough. Water splashed high, catching the edge of her capris.
On top of everything else, she had kissed Josh. She’d actually kissed the man, and boy, did she enjoy that. His lips were smooth, albeit she could feel him tense. She had no idea what had come over her. It had felt as though she’d had someone behind her, pushing her into him. She wasn’t usually forward with men. Yet Josh was breaking that mold.
Riley’s phone rang as she was heading back to the inn. “Hey, Ross.”
“Are you okay? You sound like something happened.”
Her brother knew her well.
“We can’t find Liza. We think her apartment was broken into. I’m worried out of my mind.”
“I’m getting on a plane,” he said without hesitation.
Riley pushed her hair out of her face. “You can’t just take off from your job.” Ross worked for a private boarding school where the elite sent their kids to live and study for the school year. Ross was in charge of the boys’ dorm, and it was time for kids to start returning for the fall semester.
“You let me worry about that.”
She stopped on the deserted beach and dug her toes in the sand as she looked at the inn in the distance. “Josh is here with me. He’ll protect me.” She knew that was what her brother wanted to hear, and it was true. She trusted Josh implicitly.
“Where are you staying?” Ross asked.
Riley hadn’t told him she was actually sleeping in one of the bedrooms in Josh’s house, or rather Josh’s father’s house. Not that she was keeping it from him. When she’d spoken to Ross yesterday, she’d thought she would be staying at the inn or a hotel close by. But she didn’t lie to her brother. He would know if she did anyway.
“The Redwood Cove Inn is booked as are all the hotels around here. So Josh’s dad had an extra room for me at his house not far from the inn.”
“I don’t like any of this.” Ross sounded as nervous as her stomach was feeling.
“Me staying with Josh’s father, or Liza?”
“You out there all by yourself with a stranger.”
“Josh is the ex-Navy SEAL you’re so enamored with. Don’t worry.”
Silence stretched over the line. Riley started for the inn again.
“You like him. Don’t you?” Ross asked as she heard boys shouting in the background.
“Where did that come from?” He was spot on, but Riley didn’t necessarily want him to know it.
“Sis, I heard it in your voice when you said he would protect you.”
“Sue me, then,” she teased. “He’s a nice guy, but I only just met him.”
So what?asked the little voice in the back of her head.
