Chapter 17

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

Josh had said little during the ride to the clinic. Every so often, he'd looked at Maddie and shook his head as if this was all her fault. She had words she wanted to unleash on him, but she held back. She was too angry to talk to him right now.

At the clinic, a doctor cleaned up her cuts and put bandages on them as she sat in a private room that smelled of rubbing alcohol and lemon disinfectant. She was given the all-clear to go and told that her accident could have been much worse.

He didn't have to tell her that. She already knew. Her life had flashed before her eyes.

As the doctor had worked on her, Josh had stared at his phone as if being here bored him. Once in a while, that strange, mysterious look fluttered through his gaze—one that was full of secrets.

Enough was enough.

As soon as the doctor left the room and as they waited for a nurse to bring some paperwork, Maddie turned to him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." He looked surprised that she'd spoken as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

Her hands dug into the thin pad of the examination table. "You seem preoccupied, and please don't tell me you're not because I know you are. Every time you look at your phone, you practically age ten years."

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. Maddie waited for him to deny her statement again.

To her surprise, he said, "I didn't want to burden you with anything. But the truth is I think we may have a corporate spy at the retreat."

"What?" Certainly, Maddie hadn't heard him correctly. Of all the things she'd thought he might say, that wasn't one of them. "Are you serious?"

"I'm serious. I think someone here works for a competitor, and they're trying to get their hands on proprietary technology we're developing."

"Why would you think that?" That was a big accusation to make without some serious evidence to back it up.

"There's scuttlebutt in the tech world that Blue is developing something new also and that it's similar to the new product we're about to announce. Our plans for this new technology are top secret. The only people who know the details are top level executives." He ran a hand over his face. "I've had a bad feeling in my gut for a while about this."

"Are you sure it's not just fear talking?" She shifted on the crinkly paper covering the examination table.

A flash of irritation flitted through his gaze. "Six months ago, I found out someone we'd hired was using a false name. That they worked for Blue. That they were trying to work their way into the good graces of one of our VPs to find out information."

"What?" Why hadn't Maddie heard about this? If there was one thing Josh loved talking about, it was work.

"We kept the incident under wraps," Josh explained. "Obviously, we fired the mole. Even though we pressed charges, we've been able to keep what happened quiet. We don't want people to lose confidence in our company and decided to keep the matter quiet instead."

She supposed that made sense. "So you think Blue still might be trying to get their hands on the details of this product so they can create their own version? And you think this new corporate spy could be someone who's here as a spouse or plus one?"

"We vet everyone we hire so I can't see it being someone on the inside. But just in case, I'm having one of my guys dig deeper into the couples on the retreat. I want to know how long they've been together, what their past jobs are, if they have a criminal record."

Maddie's eyebrows flew up. "You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course." His expression hardened as his mind seemed to shift to work problems.

Brody's image filled her mind. He was someone's date. So was Bree. Could someone like Brody or Bree be a corporate spy?

Maddie just couldn't see either of them being guilty. They seemed like salt of the earth people, not the viciously driven types.

"I also have people tracking Derek."

Josh's statement jerked Maddie from her thoughts. "Derek, the man who'd been fired? Why are you having him followed?"

His gaze continued to darken. "I need to make sure he doesn't follow us here to start trouble. Right now, he's still in New York, so we should be good. But I can't take any chances."

Maddie tried to control her reaction, to not appear dumbfounded at his paranoia—and that was exactly what she felt like: dumbfounded. Derek would have to be really angry and unhinged to come here to Kauai and exact revenge.

Josh's theories sounded outlandish, but maybe they weren't. She knew the stakes were high.

"I had no idea you were this worried about this new proprietary technology," she finally said.

Josh locked his gaze on hers. "There are people who would kill to get their hands on it. We stand to make billions if the launch is as successful as we believe it will be."

His words stretched through the air until a chill shimmied through her.

The tech world really was a cutthroat business, wasn't it?

But was it cutthroat enough that someone was willing to turn innocent people into casualties?

Maddie knew the answer to that question was a resounding yes.

Maddie arrived back at the resort, unable to shake her embarrassment. Word of what happened had probably already spread throughout everyone attending the event.

Truly, she shouldn't have come to Kauai. She should have pulled the Band-Aid off and broken up with Josh before the event—and not let him persuade her otherwise.

She'd been trying to do the right thing, but the lines felt murky. Though she wanted to spare Josh any heartache, maybe delaying the inevitable was only making things worse.

She paused in the lobby and glanced in the mirror. Her eyes widened at her reflection.

Red dirt coated her hair and skin. Her pink shirt now looked orange. A bandage covered her right bicep, and numerous scrapes could still be seen.

Why hadn't Josh told her how horrible she looked?

"You're back!" a female voice called.

Maddie turned to see Bree and Fowler walking toward her holding slushy tropical drinks with pineapple wedged on the rims. They'd both cleaned themselves up since the UTV ride and looked presentable.

Maddie, on the other hand, looked as if she'd just been rescued from underneath rubble after an earthquake. She didn't usually care about appearances, but her looks right now would draw entirely too much attention.

Bree peered at her with concern. "Are you okay? We've been worried."

"I'm fine." Maddie waved a hand in the air, trying to make it seem like the accident hadn't been a big deal. "Just embarrassed."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Fowler frowned and pushed his glasses up on his nose. "That's terrible what happened to your side-by-side."

It was . . . but equally as terrible was the fact that her fiancé had bailed and left her to fend for herself.

Maddie kept those words silent.

"I should have reacted quicker." She shook her head, realizing how lame her words sounded. She was just making excuses for Josh, and she hated herself for it.

Fowler stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Look, I'd want to know this if I were in your shoes."

"Know what?" A wrinkle formed between her eyes.

Fowler shifted. "There's a video of the incident going around."

"What?" Maddie's voice rose, and she glanced around to make sure no one had heard her. She glanced at Bree for confirmation, and her friend nodded.

"Who took a video?" she whispered.

"I heard it was that woman Logan—the pretty blonde," Bree said.

"Logan?" Maddie repeated. "But in order for someone to take a video of that, they'd almost have to know what was going to happen in advance."

As she said the words, sick realization pooled in her stomach.

Had Logan known? Had she done this in order to have Josh for herself?

Someone could have slashed the tire, though their guide gave no indication of that. He seemed to think they'd brushed against a sharp rock or something.

"She said she was filming the excursion to use in a promotional video and just happened to have her camera on Record when your tire popped and you started careening down the hill," Bree said.

"Is she showing it to people?" Please say no . . .

Bree frowned, and Maddie had her answer.

"Thanks for letting me know." Maddie let out a long breath.

She'd have to think more about that later. She was certain Josh would be furious if he found out one of his employees was showing people a video of what he'd done. It would make him look bad.

"Anyway," Maddie murmured. "To change the subject . . . are you guys going to be at the luau tonight?"

"Of course." Bree perked up. "We wouldn't miss it."

"I'm going to save seats for everyone, okay?" Maddie said. "You two—along with Adrienne and Brody—are the only ones who seem normal at this whole event, and I'm going to lose my mind if I have to plaster on a fake smile very much longer."

"We would absolutely love to sit with you," Bree said.

"Perfect."

When she looked up and saw Detective Kalani walking into the resort, she knew her injuries and that video were the least of her problems.