Page 50 of Island Rescuer

“The arson investigator found the precise ignition point of the fire. With that information, Bruce figured out who got into your apartment to start the fire and when.”

“Someone was in my place?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “Dressed as maintenance staff. Once they have a name, it won’t take long for Jenna to find the connection to Walker. She already found two payments from Walker to a new associate within the last month. Most likely the guy who stole the car and harassed you on the bridge the other night. Possibly responsible for the incident on the boat too.”

“Seriously?” She pushed her sunglasses up on her head, pulling her hair back from her face. “How is Walker being so stupid? It’s not like he hasn’t had plenty of time to make a better plan.”

“I think ‘desperate’ is the word you’re looking for,” Knox said. “I’m guessing he made big promises on your name, completely expecting to charm you and win you over. But he failed and couldn’t deliver your name or your money. He must have been scrambling to come up with an alternate plan all this time.”

“Everyone thinks that I’m only in that role because of my name. But I do actually know what I’m doing. I’m not some empty-headed goose. I understand business.”

“Of course you do. Your parents worked hard to give you a future and they didn’t just hand out trophies for participation.”

She shot him a look. “I’m assuming you got that intel from Rhett.”

Knox nodded. “He told me a few things over the years. Plus, I’ve worked with Bruce for some time.” He steered the conversation back on course. “Like I said, Walker is desperate. You were his best hope for a fast influx of the money he needed.”

She muttered an oath. “I can’t believe I bothered to go out with him more than once.”

“How else are you going to get to know people?” he countered.

“Trina’s arranged marriage is starting to sound better and better.” She shoved her sunglasses back over her eyes.

“No way.” Knox couldnotbelieve that. “That’s archaic. When the hell is that happening?”

“It’s not official or anything. It’s just her parents making noises. They’re threatening to send over some good Italian boys for her to meet. They want her to settle down and be a mom.”

He was flabbergasted. “Does she want that?”

“We’ve gone off the rails here,” she said, laughing. “Is there anything I can do to prevent Landon from causing more chaos? You don’t think he’ll come after the Inn, do you?”

“No. The Inn should be safe.”

“Because I’m not there.”

“Correct.”

She wrapped her arms around her updrawn knees. “Should we move? I don’t want the Hargraves to have any issues because of me.”

“Walker doesn’t know you’re here. I’m not sure you noticed, but we took the long way back. Bruce had security tailing us. We weren’t followed when we came over the connector. Besides, it’s a whole lot harder for Walker to insert himself or anyone else here when it’s just the two of us.”

“All right. Good.” She seemed to relax. “You’re the expert.”

“I am, thank you.” He steeled himself for what he had to say next. “You should know Walker has ties to my parents.”

She gaped at him. “Oh my gosh. You’re serious.”

“Jenna located his cell phone in Georgia, but she caught him on a security camera not far from the resort at the time of the fire last night.”

“Desperate or not, that’s awful. What is his end game?” she asked.

“We’ll figure it out. We’ll find him,” he assured her. “In the meantime, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing.”

ChapterTen

Harper satwith the information Knox provided for the rest of the day. Uneasy, she settled for a phone call with Trina to sort out the best way to make amends to the displaced guests.

Trina had gone above and beyond to make everyone feel welcome, yet Harper felt it was imperative to make an additional gesture. With Trina doing the legwork at the Inn, Harper sent her apology, complete with fresh flowers from Island Bloomers and a special sailing tour guided by Miles Kearney.

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