The uncertainty she saw on Jason’s face was not about who killed Gus. But about how he wanted to answer her question.
Leland rescued him. “Professionals, Tayla. That’s all you want to know. Trust me.”
The pain on Leland’s face made her wish she’d kept her mouth shut. And he was right. She didn’t want the details. But she was glad they seemed to have a clue about Gus’s killer.
Knox held up a hand, like a third-grader with a grammar question.
“Yes?” Jason asked.
“What’s our main objective at this point? Finding Gus’s killer, or protecting Alec Drakos? And do we really wantto protect Drakos? All these characters are just after the items he stole.”
Jason leaned forward, his forearms on his knees. He still didn’t look half as tired as Tayla felt. “How far we want to go with Drakos is ultimately up to Eric. But my recommendation is that we investigate enough to tell Drakos who is trying to kill him. If Drakos wants to press his luck and keep all that stuff, we’re not going to sit around here protecting him.”
Leland set his sandwich down and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I’m surprised to hear you say that. I thought you’d be so fed up with Drakos that you’d want to toss him to those sharks.”
Jason pursed his lips. “It’s tempting. But we have to keep digging into this until we know who killed Gus. Because we owe that—”
Leland straightened. “I wasn’t suggesting otherwise. I’m not leaving this island until I’ve caught Gus’s killer.”
“We’renot leaving until Gus’s killer is caught,“ Jason said. He rubbed his eyes. Maybe hewastired. “I don’t know how Eric will want WhiteRock to proceed, officially. Because Drakos got himself into this, and I’m not protecting hismisdeeds—”
Knox balled up his napkin and tossed it on his empty plate. “But you want to go ahead and investigate these threats? To be able to tell Drakos who is trying to kill him? Why? He’s the one attracting the danger. Helping this guy doesn’t give me warm fuzzies.”
A corner of Jason’s mouth quirked up. “I want to have something to offer Drakos. We need some leverage with him.”
“Why?” Tayla asked.
His smile spread a little further. “Because I’m going to insist he move everything he owns out of the orphanage basement. If he wants any more of our help, he has to relocate his accumulation of . . . questionable legality. Its presence is putting those kids in danger. In exchange for that, we’ll at least tell him who’s out to get him. If nothing else, the kids will be safer. And if he decides toreturnall those items instead of hoarding them, we can help return them. That’s the only course of action that will stop the attacks. We’ll see how badly he wants to feel secure.”
Admiration for Jason exploded in Tayla’s chest.This man is amazing.
Then—out of fear her admiration was growing obvious to everyone in the room—she jumped up andstarted collecting dirty dishes, throwing a nonchalant “that sounds good” in Jason’s direction.
She busied herself in the kitchen. Wondering what Jason thought of her. And wondering why in the world she cared what he thought. She was beyond exhausted. Self-analyzing in a sleep-deprived state was probably a bad idea.
She returned to the dining table and retrieved her purse from where she’d placed it on one of the empty dining chairs. “Leland, I have to get some sleep. Want to walk me to my room? I’ll bolt my door tonight and—”
“No,” Leland said. “You’ll stay here. In one of the bedrooms. I’ll stay in the other. Jason will sleep on one of these sofas in the living room.”
She was so tired she almost didn’t care how bossy Leland sounded. But she did manage a stern glare—warning him not to talk to her like a child.
“And we will be across the hall,” Knox said. “If they snore, text me. Rowan and I can switch out with them.”
“I appreciate that,” she answered. She looked at Leland again. “I need my luggage.”
“Yes,” Jason said. “I’ll walk you to your room so you can get your things.” His voice was kind, not commanding.Something tender flit across his face. “Your uncle is right. You’ll be safer here.”
Yes. She would sleep much better knowing Jason—with all his muscles and Hollywood-fight-scene-moves—was just on the other side of the wall. He made her feel safer than the bolt on her hotel room door. But she didn’t dare utter that out loud. Instead, she offered a simple, “Yeah, okay.”
Tourists and hotel staff bustled around Jason and Tayla the entire walk to her room. With so many ears around, they made the unspoken decision to walk in silence. But it was a comfortable silence.
Jason sensed, somewhere along the way today, they’d progressed to a deeper level of trust. He hoped he wasn’t imaging that. Because the people targeting Drakos—and anyone protecting him—were ruthless. Skill level notwithstanding, anyone after Drakos’ ill-gotten gains posed a deadly threat. He would protect Tayla at all costs, but her cooperation would aid his effortstremendously.
There was one worry nagging his conscience. He hadn’t wanted to bring it up in front of the others, but as they entered Tayla’s room and she started gathering her belongings, he decided to take advantage of their moment alone.
“Tayla?”
“Yes,” she answered, tossing her toiletry bag into her suitcase.
