Page 6 of Mine to Protect

“What’s the name of that company?”

“Florida Five Star,” she said. “Shouldn’t I be giving all this to your brothers?”

“I’ll make sure they have it. Anything else they may need in a formal statement, they will ask you for it.” Rhett shifted closer. “We’ll work together, but I can do some things they can’t.”

“I would think it would be the other way around.”

Rhett chuckled. “Their badge restricts them in some ways. For things to hold up in a court of law, it must be by the book. I get to skirt those laws. But I have to be careful. It’s a fine line.”

“Don’t you have to first believe my brother is missing? And then don’t I have to hire you?” She kept coming back to the original phone call the hotel had supposedly made—which it turned out they hadn’t.

That bothered her. Because if a clerk hadn’t called her to come and get her brother’s things, who had? And why?

He took her hand. “First, based on what we saw back there, the way the place was torn apart, and the fact that all his stuff was left behind, we all believe something isn’t right. And not just because of the counterfeit money. He could have picked that up anywhere.”

“I don’t understand why the hotel would call me and then lie about it.”

“My brothers will investigate that. As will I. Which brings me to my second point. You’re not paying me to look for your brother. I want to help you. Besides, my brothers will be asking for my assistance anyway. It’s how my family rolls. Like when I was in Key West doing that favor for Emmett.”

“Thank you. But I insist on paying. That’s howIroll.”

“We’ll talk about that later.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across her cheek. “I’m very sorry for the circumstances, but it is good to see you again.”

She had to admit, it was more than good to see him. She held his gaze for a long moment, unsure what to say.

Or what to do.

His tongue made a broad stroke across his plump lips.

“We’re going to find him and his girlfriend.” Rhett squeezed her biceps. “I’m not going to rest until we do.”

“Hey, Rhett.” A woman’s voice rang out from near the side of the hotel. “I need to speak with you.”

“I’d better go see what my mom wants,” he said. “You hang tight right here. I’ll be back shortly.”

She grabbed his hand. “I’m scared for him.”

“I wish I could tell you not to be.” He stood and strolled toward his mother.

She turned and stared off at the sun in the bright blue Florida sky, trying to project her thoughts as strongly as she could to her brother. “Please, Chris. Let me know you’re okay.”

* * *

Rhett’s motherhad two modes.

Cop.

And chief of police.

There was no fucking in-between.

Growing up, he’d been held to a higher standard than every other kid in Lighthouse Cove and, frankly, it’d sucked. He and the second youngest brother, Miles, rebelled against that authority the most. Rhett had been the first one to get a tattoo. He’d been the first one to grow his hair longer than police regulation and absolutely refuse to get it cut.

He’d used his pool-cleaning money to buy a motorcycle when he was sixteen, and his mother had grounded him for life.

Rhett never did anything that would get him into too much trouble, though. Sure, he’d stolen some beer from his parents’ fridge, and he’d smoked a little weed in high school, but he’d learned at a very young age how to walk that fine line between being a rebel and actually doing something his mother would have to arrest him for. However, he moved out once he hit eighteen. He’d needed breathing space. He was the son that needed to make all his own decisions. While his eldest brother followed in their father’s footsteps, and three of his brothers were cops, Rhett had needed to do something different.

But notthatdifferent.

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