Page 7 of Mine to Protect

Not like Miles, who everyone thought their mother would totally disown at one point when he continued tinkering with cars and not guns. However, that didn’t stop their mom from giving Rhett shit and fighting him every chance she got when he opted to become a private investigator. But that skill came in handy, and she’d hired him three weeks after he got his license.

“Hotel management is giving us their phone records. They are adamant that they didn’t call the sister.”

“Someone did,” Rhett said. “Did you find anything other than one counterfeit bill?”

“A couple of things,” his mom said. “There’s a business card in his wallet indicating that he works—or worked—at Florida Five Star.”

“I know. Shelby told me that.”

His mom tilted her head and arched her brow. That look meant one of two things. Either she was annoyed by his response, or she expected to know what she was eluding to and was he didn’t.

“I take it that’s important?” Rhett shifted his stance so he could see Shelby. She hadn’t moved from her spot on the bench. The sun hit her long hair, creating a shiny glow. She looked exactly as he remembered and was as beautiful as the most exquisite piece of art without being pretentious. During their time together, she’d often been slightly timid about their adventures, but she was always willing to try something new.

He’d loved that about her.

It saddened him that her soul still had that deep, gut-wrenching anguish he’d seen in her five years ago. Back then, he’d probably had it, too. He’d gone to Key West because Emmett had needed him to follow someone for a case. But the reality was, he was still dealing with a broken heart, and he’d just found out that his ex-girlfriend had gotten married. He’d been holding out hope that Krista would one day come back to him—for good—but when she got hitched, he’d had to face the fact that that part of his life was over.

Only he hadn’t expected to fall in love with Shelby, and in such a short time, and that had been utterly terrifying. When he realized what had happened, he did whatever it took to protect his heart—and that meant moving on and forgetting all about her.

Only, he never did. No matter how hard he tried, she haunted his dreams and seeped into his daily thoughts.

“Joe Staub owns it,” his mother said.

“Isn’t that the girlfriend’s uncle? Is that name supposed to mean something more?”

“He’s been tagged recently as having a possible connection to Hector Mortelli. There was one twenty-seven years ago, but he’s been clean. Until recently.”

Nowthatwas a name Rhett knew, and it wasn’t someone anyone should be spending time with unless they wanted to end up in prison. Or dead. “How recently?”

“I’m not exactly sure. It’s chatter on the streets. I’m trying to work through it, but you know I’ve been building a case to bring those assholes down.”

“Fuck,” Rhett mumbled. “So, our missing brother is dating the niece of a potential mob connection.” This would not go over well with Shelby.

Then again, he realized the woman he’d thought he knew in Key West, wasn’t the woman he was dealing with now.

“That’s the way it’s looking.” His mother stared at him with that intense gaze she got when she wanted the total truth and nothing but. “However, we don’t know the connection.”

And she had a way of making him tell it, even when he wanted to bottle it up and save it for later.

Or for never.

“How well do you know this girl?”

He swallowed. He and his mom had developed an understanding over the years. He often kept certain facts from her to protect the integrity of an investigation. However, he had no idea what the hell was going on with Chris, or if this was even criminal at this point. But lying to his mom right now didn’t seem like a good idea. He also didn’t have a good handle on Shelby or her family.

“I met her five years ago in Key West. We spent a few weeks together. That’s about it.”

His mother lowered her chin. “She’sthatgirl?”

“What does that mean?” He really didn’t need to ask that question because he knew, and he would have to have a conversation with one—or all of—his brothers. Sometimes, his family was just way too fucking close, which was odd because they were insanely dysfunctional.

“The one who had your head all turned around as bad as Krista. The one that helped you get over her but then—and the details are fuzzy because no one could tell me—you or her decided it wasn’t worth pursuing.” His mom took two steps to the right as if to block his view of the woman that occupied his brain. “And before you go getting pissed off at your brothers and start grilling them to find out which one told me, it took them a long time before they fessed up. And I had to bribe them—each and every one of them. And no one could give me the whole story.”

That didn’t necessarily make him feel any better, with one slight exception: both his parents chose to stay out of his business.

That was progress.

“What I don’t understand is why you continue having meaningless one-night stands when we both know you’re capable of a whole lot more,” his mother said, glancing over her shoulder.

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