Page 32 of Island Protector

Sharon slanted a look toward Miles and all he could do was shrug. “Sharon Trumble and her great-nephew Bryce,” Miles supplied.

“What a pleasure to meet a friend of Miles’s. I don’t think I’ve seen you around town,” Sharon said.

“I’m on the road a lot. Regional work up and down the coast,” he explained. “Miles and I go way back.”

Miles managed not to blow apart the fiction his “friend” was spinning. Yes, he’d known Knox for a couple of years, not nearly long enough to qualify as “way back” the way the locals defined it.

Bryce, staring at Knox with more than a little awe on his face, tugged on Sharon’s hand. She bent down to listen as he whispered in her ear. After a beat, Sharon nodded once and straightened. “Go ahead,” she murmured.

Bryce puffed out his chest. “If you’re Mr. Miles’s friend, you can come to dinner tonight.”

Again, Miles thought maybe they should ask how Molly felt about more company, but technically it was Sharon’s home they would be visiting. Better to roll with the waves than fight.

“Hey, thanks,” Knox said. “That would be really great. As long as we figure this out quickly, I’m in. Okay?”

“Okay.” Bryce stuck out his hand to shake on it.

“We’ll just stay out of the way,” Sharon said. “See how things go.”

Miles really wanted to see Molly. He rocked back on his heels. “You can hang out on the dock. I changed up your favorite bench a bit. Bryce, you’ll want to check it out.”

“Can I?” he asked Sharon.

“Sure. I’ll be right behind you. Remember our rules.”

“I will, I promise,” he said, running down toward the water. He wasn’t allowed to sit on the edge of the dock without a grown-up next to him or a life jacket on.

“Go take a look,” he urged. “I turned it into a storage bench,” he explained. “You’ll find a nice cushion in there and a couple of life jackets too.”

“That is so thoughtful, Miles.” With a warm smile, she followed in Bryce’s wake.

He’d noticed she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the plain, weathered wood. And considering how much time she spent down here with her great-nephew, it was the least he could do for her.

With no chance of being overheard now, Miles joined Chief Caldwell and Knox in the workspace. They were both staring at the vandalism and the tension simmered, ready to boil over. “Thoughts or theories?” he asked.

“I’ll need a look at your security footage,” the chief said. “Gotta be our best lead.”

Miles tucked his hands into his pockets. “No problem.” Miles didn’t have anything to hide except the quality of the security. “I can send copies or let you go through it in my office.”

The chief turned and Miles found himself pinned by the experienced cop’s gaze. “Who did you piss off? And why is your friend involved?”

“More than a friend,” Knox said. “Technically his bodyguard. A low-key protection detail.”

Caldwell rocked back on his heels. “And I’m just learning about this because…?” He wagged a finger between them. “Don’t give me any “need-to-know nonsense, Moore. You ran a bit rough with the oldest Frasier boy when y’all were kids, if I recall.”

Miles watched Knox closely. Why didn’t he know his bodyguard-friend had personal history in this area?

“That’s right,” Knox confirmed. “We grew out of it.”

“Right.” The chief pointed at the boat. “If you brought trouble to my island…”

Neither of them needed him to finish that thought. “The goal was to specificallynotbring trouble here,” Miles said.

Knox edged forward, shielding him from Caldwell’s hard, skeptical glare. The move impressed Miles. “Chief, Miles did some unusual work for the Guardian Agency a while back.”

“The same group Jess works for now.”

“That’s right,” Knox confirmed. “Since Miles grew up in the area?—”

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