Page 60 of Island Rescuer

First and foremost, she was a client. He was supposed to assess the risks and guarantee her safety. Instead, he’d let her dictate too many terms simply because he wanted her to be happy and comfortable.

“I’ll be fine,” she repeated. “It wasn’t a direct hit.” Tears streamed down her face.

“Come on.” He pulled her in close. “I’ve got you.”

* * *

Harper felt Knox trembling all around her. Or maybe that was just her fear quaking through her and into him. Either way, guilt swamped her. “This is my fault. I’m sorry.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” He guided her to take a seat on the bumper of the truck. A moment later, he was rummaging through her bag. “I’ve got your water bottle here to rinse your eyes. Just relax as much as you can.”

The cool water was a tremendous help and she gasped in relief. His voice was so gentle, his care for her so thorough, that she felt even worse. “You wanted to go after him,” she said.

“Sure, I did. But you’re more important to me.” He brushed a trail of water from her cheek. “Round two. You’re doing great.”

She’d have to take his word on that. “It’s helping. You really?—”

“Stop. This is where I need to be. You’re not just a job, Harper.”

“But I’m keeping you from doing your job.”

“Not even close.” He pulled off his button-down shirt and used it to blot the run off from her face and throat. “You know your sister, Hannah, is one of the best researchers at the agency.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Don’t you understand what she does? Most of the Guardian Agency’s assignments involve a single protector against the world for their client. We manage that because we have excellent researchers who help us out in the background. I called Jenna. She found Walker once, she’ll spot him again.”

“Okay, good.” She would be mortified if her sister knew what was going on professionally when Harper had kept it all locked down personally. That felt like a betrayal, even if it might have been necessary.

“Jenna’s local and knows the area. She’ll find him,” he repeated.

“I just feel terrible,” she said. “I know you want to get this guy.”

“We need to get this guy so you can get your life back,” he said.

She nodded. What would life look like once this crisis was over? It wasn’t as if she wanted to stay under this constant stress, but she suddenly realized when he solved the case, Knox would move on.

On to another assignment. Likely in another town. Leaving her just as alone as ever. More so after the forced intimacy of this past week.

That was probably what she needed to remember. She loved him and she needed to be grateful for this time, however short it might be. She’d been fortunate enough to spend several glorious nights in his arms now. But it wasn’t permanent.

She might want that with all her heart. That didn’t mean he was on the same page. He had obliterated any doubt about mutual attraction. The deep connection she felt when they were together, whether it was having coffee or being rescued, was undeniable.

Still, it had to be rushing things to suddenly start asking him to move in or to reassess his career path. After everything he had told her about why he had joined the Guardian Agency, she didn’t want that to become a wedge between them.

“Come on. Let’s get you out of here,” he said.

“And go where?”

“Back to Brookwell.”

“I suppose it sounds petty to say I want to go home. Especially since my home is gone.”

“It sounds normal. What you’re going through isn’t easy.”

“So you keep saying.”

“Harper, you’ve been in the public eye your whole life, and there have been times when security has been closer than others.”

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