The front door opened and the woman stepped out. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Ben reached for his weapon but she no longer held one. She’d put on a jacket and held a set of keys.

“And you are?” Ben asked.

She took her time locking the house behind her before facing them again. “The person who owns this island.”

Chapter 24

Connor wasn’t sure how they made it back to the Lodge but the woman—and she still didn’t divulge her name despite repeated requests from Ben—insisted they talk there.

They sat in a small private dining room off the entry that Connor hadn’t even known existed until that moment. Since the tables weren’t set and no one came in and out, he guessed no one used it. But he and Maddie sat at a round table meant for a much larger party, with the woman on the other side. Ben being Ben, he manned the door.

Sylvia came flying around the corner and into the room. “What was so urgent that . . . Jenna?”

“You two know each other?” Ben asked as he straightened up and closed the door behind Sylvia, trapping them all inside.

“For a long time. She’s the . . .” Sylvia’s voice trailed off and she didn’t look inclined to finish the sentence.

Connor was tired of all the secrecy on Whitaker. The weirdness was cute at first. Now it made him want to yell. “Owner of Whitaker. Yeah, she told us that part before she suggested we all head to the Lodge to talk this out.”

Sylvia looked around the table. “Talk what out?”

“Wait a second.” Maddie held up a hand as she watched Sylvia take the seat next to this Jenna person and cross her legs as if they were all having a calm conversation. “You knew who the owner of Whitaker was and never said?”

Ben made a noise that sounded like a groan. “Good question.”

If Sylvia noticed the iciness in Maddie’s voice or the question in Ben’s, she hid it well. “Those aren’t my answers to give.”

“No, they’re mine.” The woman none of them except Sylvia knew finally piped up. “It’s part of the deal. We talk about island business. Sylvia votes my proxy on the Board. I get to keep my privacy.”

That sounded like a convoluted mess to Connor. “Does that make sense to you?”

“I have my reasons, which aren’t your business.” The woman shrugged. “But the one thing people on this island appreciate is privacy about their pasts.”

“Including you?” Maddie asked.

“Including me.” The woman didn’t flinch from Maddie’s barking tone. “So, why did you break into my house?”

Sylvia’s leg fell and her boot thudded against the floor. “You did what?”