That remark had him jerking his feet from the water, but he didn’t stand up. Instead, he kept his knees bent and spread his legs, aiming his crotch toward the pool.
“I bet I could be like him in other ways too. Maybe better, even.” He licked his bottom lip, tucking it beneath the top one.
I swam to the side of the pool and pulled myself out to sit on the edge, keeping distance between us. I’d heard all I wanted and couldn’t believe this guy was a breath away from offering himself to me. I stood and walked a few steps to gather my robe and shoes. His eyes stayed on me.
“Don’t go.” He laughed playfully. “I’ll behave. I’ve had a little too much to drink, and well…you look damned fine in that bikini.”
I took in a long breath, leveling my glare. “Your uncle wouldn’t like the way you’re talking to me.”
“Maybe he won’t like the way you’re talking to me.” He stood to his feet as I wrapped the robe tighter and tied the belt. Harbor closed the distance between us, positioning between me and the house. I stepped back, but couldn’t go far enough to get away without stepping into the pool. “He might not like the way you pranced around in that skimpy bathing suit. I’ve heard he’s a man that doesn’t like to share.”
That last comment was a dig about his father, I was sure. But he wouldn’t know I knew anything
about that, and I wasn’t going to say a word against his dead father, not even to defend Gabriel. “I’m sure he knows better.”
“Confident, I like that. I’m sure all of his old girlfriends were the same way once. At least this time he’s picked a fighter.” The way he talked about the dead women sent chills down my back. I wondered if they’d fought off their attacker, and noticed Harbor didn’t have any visible sores or scratches.
I held my arm out to get around him, but he put himself in front of me as I stepped forward, right into his body.
“Oops, excuse me.” His hot breath tickled my nose with the scent of beer, but that wasn’t what had me nauseous.
When his body bumped into mine, it was like a thunderbolt hit me, and a memory from the hotel flashed before my eyes. I knew him. It wasn’t the fact that he resembled Gabriel at all.
The day I’d left Gabriel’s personal suite and went down to my own room after the police came, I’d bumped into someone in my hallway. It ha dbeen a brief moment, but I’d caught enough of his face to know that it was Harbor. He’d been in Las Vegas. No wonder his mother hadn’t known where he was.
Without another word, I pushed myself away from him and bolted into the house. His laughter rolled across the expanse behind me and sent chills up my spine. We had another suspect, but I wasn’t sure Gabriel would believe me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gabriel
My call with Mason had been interrupted when the guard shack called to warn me about Harbor. They’d let the kid in, and I assumed he’d go straight to his mother. I had no choice but to call Mason back and finish our business, but I’d been chomping at the bit to go find Luna and take a swim with her.
I’d seen the bikini in her suitcase back at the honeymoon suite. She’d left the thing open, its contents spilled in a heap, and the bright-blue and white had been obvious against all her other muted tones.
It was easy to let my mind wander as Mason rambled on, but when he mentioned the LA case and how the detective had gotten Tammy’s supervisor to admit why she was let go, it grabbed my attention. “What did she say?”
“She admitted that part of the problem they had with her was the fact that she was spreading lies about dating the owner, but that wasn’t the only issue. She’d also been coming in late and had even been caught going through another employee’s work locker.”
“Wow, why would she keep saying she dated me? Did she try to get special treatment? The supervisors would have all known better, and if they hadn’t, they would have asked, especially if they were going to fire her.” The girl sounded like a real piece of work, and I couldn’t imagine anyone thinking I’d date someone like that.
“They didn’t want to bother you with it because they knew it was a lie. But there was something else.
“She had been seen with another man who worked in a different department, so they are trying to locate him to see if he knows more. The dispatch manager didn’t know who he was, just that they both worked for the company. It’s been a while since she was let go, so it’s going to take some time to find him, if he even works there anymore.”
With the fact that I’d laid off several workers from a few different departments over the past year, that could make it even harder.
Suddenly, Luna rushed into my room with wet hair still dripping from the pool and slammed my door behind her. Horror filled her face.
“I’ve got to go, Mason. Call you later.” I ended the call and dropped my phone to my desk as I rose to my feet.
She met me halfway across the room and fell into my arms. My first thought was that she was hurt or that something had happened to her friend or father. “Tell me what’s wrong!”
Her hands shook as she took my hands, and by the chatter of her teeth, she had to be freezing. I led her to the loveseat across the room and grabbed the throw blanket off the back of it to wrap her in. “Luna, tell me!”
“Harbor. He...” I couldn’t tell if the fear was from something that happened or the idea of telling me about it. I nodded to urge her on. “He was in Vegas.” She kept her eyes hard on mine, and as the words sank in, I shook my head.
“Why would you think he was in Vegas? Did you overhear something?” She could have overheard Sandra talking to him, or perhaps he’d told Judy. He’d always liked the woman, and they chatted like she was his mother more than Sandra when he was around.