Page 18 of Island Rescuer

Her shoulders tensed and her chin came up. “Yes.”

Waiting for her to explain was a challenge. Almost as hard as keeping his hands off her. He wanted to comfort her, to make promises, to cajole her into letting him whisk her off to a safe house on the other side of the world where no one knew her at all.

Her mouth moved to one side, then the other. The twitch was a small tell that gave her away whenever she was debating something. “Thanks for being here, Knox.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied as she hurried away, leaving him wondering what was brewing inside her head.

* * *

Two hours later, Harper felt almost human again. She’d been drinking water, glass after glass, breaking it up with some hot tea from the B&B supply. They’d been told to make themselves at home, but she was keeping a mental list—until they replaced her phone—so she could compensate the Hargrave sisters properly.

Knox had the groceries delivered and soon after, Lila and Travis showed up with two prepared casseroles, fresh-baked bread, a strudel, and hot barbeque sandwich plates from Benny’s. They hadn’t stayed more than a few minutes, just long enough to satisfy Lila that Harper wasn’t injured. Knox and Travis exchanged a few quiet words and then they were alone again.

Now, sitting beside Knox as he signed in for the video call, she shivered. Typical. He smelled too good and looked even better.

“Are you cold?” he asked, while he adjusted the camera settings.

“No.” She was on edge and unsettled. Although she respected Knox and his skills, while she’d been in the shower, she decided to ask for a different protector. Everyone claimed they wanted this to be as painless as possible. Cutting Knox loose was the best way to make that happen. Nothing felt easy when he was close. She struggled constantly to keep her thoughts and hands to herself. It wasn’t his fault she was so desperately attracted to him.

Living with him would be cruel and unusual punishment and she wasn’t the bad guy. Just the almost-victim. “Still shaky, I guess.” Not a total lie. The explosion kept rolling through her mind. Followed by Knox pulling her from the water and rushing her out of harm’s way. His hands had been strong and firm, an immediate comfort. Once she’d recognized him, she’d wanted to kiss him.

Just like every other time she saw him.

The others joined in, Gamble and Swann from what must be a conference room at their Chicago law office, and the researcher, Jenna, from an undisclosed location. She didn’t even have her camera on. Harper assumed that was standard, considering no one commented.

Sitting beside Knox, she listened carefully as he brought the others up to speed. They’d heard the quick and dirty version of events on the water this morning, during the drive to Hargrave Hideaway, but now they were trying to put it into context.

And they expected her to help. Starting to fidget, she tucked her hands in her lap. What would they do when they realized she had no idea who was behind this?

“Any helpful evidence is underwater now,” Swann grumbled. “Unless you found something Jenna?”

Her voice, warmed by a subtle southern accent, rolled from the speakers, “Still working on it. I’m combing through any and all security cameras near the dock. Logic says the explosives were small, triggered by a cell phone, and strategically placed near the boat engines. The captain and his crew are clear.”

“What about the folks on the responding boats?” Knox said. “Someone from that bigger vessel with the rescue inflatable?—”

“I heard you from the first text,” Jenna reminded him gently. “Still working on identifying all the players. Even with extra help it will take some time.”

No one mentioned those names, but Harper hoped they would keep her sister, Hannah, out of it. Same with her new brother-in-law, Connor. Her parents brought enough worry to the situation already.

“Someone wanted to be her hero,” Knox muttered.

Gamble agreed. “The theory lines up. Make trouble, join the rescue, stay close.”

“But why?” Harper interjected. “The messages on my phone weren’t at all heroic.” Now that she’d seen Knox’s heroism up close and personal, she couldn’t picture anyone else in the role. Even with the extra baggage that stemmed from her infatuation.

“That’s exactly the point,” Gamble explained. “We’ve seen this kind of manipulation before. The troublemaker steers you into a corner, then comes to your aid only to turn on you.”

A tremor of fear slithered across her neck. “I can’t think of anyone who would do this,” she admitted. “There are rivals in business, of course, but no one I consider an enemy.”

“She’s right,” Jenna confirmed. “Knox gave me his short list of potential problem-children. None of them were close to the resort or the dock in the past week.”

“Dangerous to plant an explosive device that far out,” Swann mused.

“The fishing trip wasn’t even on my calendar a week ago,” Harper said. “We’re sure this isn’t about someone else on the boat?”

“We’re sure,” Jenna said.

“Is Aubrey clean?” Knox asked Jenna.

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