Page 9 of Island Rescuer

As Knox considered that ploy, the idea took root and he reassessed that short list of names they’d come up with.

“Knox?”

He jerked around at the sound of his name, relieved to see Bruce jogging his way. “Hey, Bruce! Everything good?”

Bruce nodded. “She’s settled. Got time to take a walk with me?”

“Definitely.” Knox fell into step beside the man who was both friend and mentor. As simply as possible, he explained what he’d seen on the bridge.

Bruce swore. “I knew something was up, but she didn’t say a word.”

That worried Knox too. “I called in the plates, then followed her rather than the reckless driver,” he continued. “I don’t see the car here. Or anyone hanging around who doesn’t belong.”

“And you won’t,” Bruce said, his voice stern. “I’ve increased security on the property. There’s a guard posted at the head of the drive now. Guests are verified before they’re allowed to get close. Out here for employees, I’ve got someone on the cameras at all times and someone else does a walkthrough every twenty minutes.”

“No wonder I’m breathing easier,” Knox said. But it didn’t lift the burden. Not entirely. He still felt pressured to keep Harper safe from the source of those messages. “She hasn’t mentioned anything to you?”

“Still nothing,” Bruce grumbled. “She did give me her ticket to the author event on Brookwell this summer.”

“Yeah, they won big tonight.” He smiled to himself. She was remarkably beautiful all the time, but when Harper was happy, she was breathtaking. And nothing made her happier than when her friends were having fun.

“You haven’t heard anything about a rift in any of her relationships lately?”

“What relationships?” Bruce shook his head. “The girl should get out more, but she doesn’t seem to trust anyone but family these days.” He sighed. “I’ve come up dry, even after going back through her appointments for the last three months. I’m not seeing any red flags.”

Knox slid a look at him. “How’d you manage to review her schedule without tipping her off?”

Bruce huffed. “I convinced her assistant it was a standard security protocol.”

According to the file, her assistant had been around for several years. “She didn’t get suspicious?”

“Audrey? No way.” Bruce tucked his hands into the pockets of his windbreaker. “She’s clean. Practically family.” He winked. “And she likes me.”

Knox ignored that last bit. Audrey was at least a decade older than Harper, widowed, with a teenage daughter. Of course, Harper had folded them both into the Ellington family.

He couldn’t see one of her adoptees turning on her. She somehow cultivated loyalty without even trying.

He was a prime example.

“Harper does have a tendency to expand the clan,” he said, thinking out loud.

“True enough,” Bruce murmured. “She isn’t as close to Audrey as she is with Hannah and Sonya. It’s a different dynamic, boss to employee. Audrey doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind and I’ve never seen them at odds. Harper treats everyone on the staff well, on good days and bad.”

Knox couldn’t argue. Harper was a sincerely kind and conscientious person. Those traits were only magnified in her business dealings. Whenever the going got tough, she led the way, whatever the struggle required. He credited her parents for setting the example and making integrity the core of her personal foundation.

Unlike his parents, who believed any method was valid if it kept them at the top of the heap. In business, on the golf course, or at the garden club. Laser-focused on besting everyone, they didn’t let ethics get in the way. The line between right and wrong had been blurry during his childhood. Although he’d gleefully and willfully acted out and found plenty of trouble on his own, he was forever grateful that those incidents allowed him to forge a new path separate from his family notoriety.

“Tomorrow’s schedule has changed,” Bruce said. “She’s got someone special coming in. Friends of the family. Big real estate developers. I’m not sure what kind of deal is in the works, but it sounds like they’ll be handling the early discussions during a deep-sea fishing charter.”

Weird. Harper wasn’t typically involved with acquisitions of land or property. He immediately wondered if she was being groomed for a new position. “Are you going along?” Harper did like to fish, something he’d always found both surprising and delightful.

“Wasn’t invited this time.” Bruce smiled. “She’ll be fine.”

Despite Bruce’s confidence, Knox wasn’t as convinced. Not after the stunt on the bridge. The way things stood—with Harper having no idea he was assigned to protect her—he had zero chance of joining the party.

“She’ll be fine,” Bruce repeated.

“You know the folks coming in?”

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