Part 8 (1/2)
Sarah reached out, grabbed her arm as she started to rise, and attempted a smile. ”No, really, thanks. It's not that bad and I don't take pills of any kind.”
”Ever? Not even vitamins or aspirins?”
”Nope. None. Ever.”
Ivy looked at a loss, and Sarah felt like an ogre for always putting the young woman on the defensive when she was just trying to be nice. She made an attempt herself, changing the subject.
”I'm sorry. I just need to sit for a while. But thank you. How are you doing?”
Ivy seemed taken by surprise at the apology and the inquiry, her brow creasing before she smiled, her eyes lighting up.
”Oh! I do have news! I have a date.” She said the word proudly, beaming.
”With the kayak instructor? Jim?”
Ivy nodded enthusiastically. ”I b.u.mped into him last night, in the office, and we got talking, and then, boom, he just asked me out. I was such an idiot, I couldn't say anything for like five minutes, but he was so nice. He didn't seem to mind how dumb I acted.”
”You're not dumb. And you're not an idiot. Don't talk that way.”
”Oh, I know, in general. I'm smart enough for college, and smarter than a lot of folks. But I always get so tongue-tied around guys, and especially around him. He's just so...I get s.h.i.+very whenever I look at him.”
Her voice had gone all dreamy, and Sarah felt a surge of uneasiness, a reminder of days when she, like Ivy, had been unsuspecting of what men were capable of.
”Are you sure you should go out with him, Ivy? Alone? Maybe you should make it a group date until you know him better.”
Ivy's eyes shadowed, and the furrow in her brow returned. ”Why, I'm sure he's very trustworthy-he's been working at the resort for several years, and Karen says she trusts him implicitly.”
Hmmm. Shows how much Karen knows, Sarah thought sourly as she remembered Jim's flirting the day before. She was sure the guy had only one thing in mind when he looked at Ivy, fresh, innocent and ripe for the picking: easy target.
”Listen, Ivy...I don't want to burst your bubble, I really don't, but be careful around Jim. Have some fun, but don't let him charm you into anything you don't want to do.”
”Like having s.e.x, you mean?”
Sarah was surprised at the girl's candor, and relieved-maybe Ivy wasn't as naive as she'd thought. As naive as she had once been.
”Yeah, for one.”
Ivy's cheeks stained with a light pink, and she leaned in toward Sarah. ”I haven't done that with anyone yet. Not all the way, anyhow. But isn't it better to have a guy who's older for your first time? Maybe he knows more, you know, what to do?”
”Could be. But I met Jim and I just have a feeling you should be careful.”
Ivy drew back. ”Really? Why?”
”He just seems kind of...you know, like a guy who gets around. He flirts, a little too much.”
She smiled. ”You mean in his lessons. He's always like that. It's just part of how he puts people at ease.”
Sarah fought the urge to roll her eyes. She hadn't felt at ease when Jim was sliding his hand up her calf the day before. The guy was a shark.
”Ivy, older guys know things, true, but take it from me, older women know a few things, too. I'm just saying, be careful with him. Don't let him use you.”
Ivy's eyes clouded over, and Sarah stood, putting her hand on her shoulder. ”I know you have a crush on him but believe me, he's not as trustworthy as you think.”
Ivy looked up, a few sparks in her eyes now. ”How can you know? You don't even know him!”
Sarah sighed. ”I've known plenty of guys like him. Believe me, the more you keep your distance, the better.”
With that, she smiled thinly and walked toward the stairs. The talk with Ivy about men using women had fired up her ire toward Logan. She would go about her day, but not before she had a few words with him first.
LOGAN OPENED one bleary eye, looking up and seeing only the ceiling. G.o.d, he was still dressed and still on the floor, where he'd finally spent hours working once he'd broken back into the wireless connection. He didn't even remember falling asleep, though it couldn't have been all that long ago. His laptop had fallen into sleep mode as well, the screen dark, a small, bouncing basketball the only indication the machine was on at all. He had to pack everything up before it was discovered by housekeeping, but first he needed to clean up. one bleary eye, looking up and seeing only the ceiling. G.o.d, he was still dressed and still on the floor, where he'd finally spent hours working once he'd broken back into the wireless connection. He didn't even remember falling asleep, though it couldn't have been all that long ago. His laptop had fallen into sleep mode as well, the screen dark, a small, bouncing basketball the only indication the machine was on at all. He had to pack everything up before it was discovered by housekeeping, but first he needed to clean up.
He stood slowly, cursing the fact that at thirty-four, he'd left the flexibility and stamina of his twenties long behind. His back protested painfully as he walked toward the bathroom. Shower. Hot water. Food.
Sarah.
The basic needs occurred to him one by one, the last one making him frown as he stripped and stepped into the spray. He'd wanted to bring her to bed with him last night, pull her through the door and repeat what they'd done on the beach-and more-until he couldn't walk for other, better reasons. But he wasn't here for a fling. Sarah was great, and he wanted to spend more time with her, but it was going to be a daytime affair-his nights were spoken for.
And he'd made some good progress. He'd definitely tracked the names of two of the missing women to the gaming company's master list-now he just had to find out which boat they'd been on. Melanie had been missing for almost six months, but these other two had only been missing for two.
There were only two s.h.i.+ps that made port at Norfolk and Virginia Beach. He'd spent the better part of the night trying to break into the company computers, but it was far beyond his capabilities to get through their security. He'd been banging his head against a brick wall for hours before he'd finally lost his connection and had fallen asleep while trying to get it back.
But the evidence was mounting, and he knew the next step was trying to get on board the s.h.i.+p. However, doing that would be tricky. He had no jurisdiction here, let alone out there where none of the laws applied. That was a snag he hadn't quite counted on. But if he could get out there, get some solid evidence, and bring it back- A loud knock on the door startled him out of his train of thought, and he hurried out of the bathroom. His laptop and the papers lying all over the floor had to be hidden away.
”Just a minute!” He let the towel drop, scrambling to shove everything under the bed. He would put it away properly once he got rid of whoever was knocking.
Wrapping the towel securely back around his waist, he opened the door, surprised to find Sarah-looking a bit riled-on the other side. Her blue eyes flashed, first with anger, then with something else as she let her gaze drift over him. His body responded with a quickening that was almost embarra.s.sing.
”Sarah.”
”Logan. You just got up?”
He ran a hand through his hair, feeling awkward and half-aroused. He glanced back at the bed to make sure nothing of what he'd kicked underneath showed from where he stood.
”Yeah, I'm sorry-were we meeting?”
”No. We weren't. Forget it, sorry to bother you.”
Her voice was cold and she started to turn away when it hit his sluggish mind that she thought he was giving her the brush-off. He'd parted ways with her last night-when it was clear she wouldn't have said no to spending the night together. And then he'd failed to show up this morning. Now he was acting like he barely remembered her. He couldn't blame her for being p.i.s.sed. He sighed, holding his hand out to her and opening the door a little wider.
”I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm just groggy.” When she didn't reach for his hand he moved forward, catching the door with his heel, standing close to her. ”I was up late, couldn't sleep and then overslept this morning. I thought it was housekeeping at the door, and just didn't expect to find you there.”
She seemed to bristle at that, stepping back. ”Fine. I'll leave you alone, then.”
He snagged her hand. ”C'mon, come in. It'll take me a second to throw some shorts on, and we can go get some food.”
”Already ate.”
He tugged her hand, pulling her up close against him.