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G rayson put his feet on the railing and tipped his chair back. The night was balmy, only a sliver of a moon, so stars glittered in a black velvet sky. A storm was brewing in the distance, stirring up the ocean. What he loved most was the sound of the waves crashing on the sand.

As soon as he’d opted out of the military and returned home, he’d gone house hunting for a place on the beach. The minute he’d seen the two-story, pale green-and-white house on stilts with a copper-and-green tin roof, he’d fallen in love with the outside. The landscape was natural to the beaches of South Carolina…sand, a dozen palm trees scattered on the lot, sea oats and swamp sunflowers. It was a low-maintenance landscape, just what he wanted.

He’d been disappointed at the inside, which was outdated, but no problem. A great contractor who got his vision for the interior, eight weeks and a few bucks…and voila! He had his dream beach house.

“This is the life,” he murmured as he took a sip of his beer. Except he was sitting on his deck by himself. He bet Harlow would love it here. Maybe he’d invite her over one day. The impression he had was that she didn’t have much of a life. Did she have any close friends or family?

He’d had a date tonight that he’d canceled. Wasn’t in the mood. Not just that, but it wasn’t fair to take one woman out when his mind was on another. He sighed as he lifted the bottle to his mouth.

Why her? His type of woman was outgoing, ready to have some fun and no more interested in having a relationship than he was. Yet, here he was, unable to stop thinking of a woman who was as timid as a mouse, delicate, maybe a little needy and carried a whole lot of baggage.

If she knew the things he’d seen, the things he’d done, she wouldn’t look at him with those soft, innocent eyes again. He didn’t like the idea of her being afraid of him, and she would be if she knew what he was capable of. The faster he got her reunited with her son, the faster she could move on with her life, and he with his.

His phone buzzed, Cooper’s name coming up on the screen. “Yo.”

“You home?”

“I am.”

“Great. I’ll be there in five.”

“I’m around back.” After disconnecting, he went inside and got two beers and a large can of mixed nuts. He was kicked back in his chair when Cooper came around the corner of the house.

“Honey, I’m home.” He jogged up the steps.

“All is right in my world now,” Grayson muttered.

Cooper eyed the table next to the chair he plopped onto. “Knew I could count on you, sweets, to have a beer and snack ready for me.” He let out a contented sigh. “Can I live on your deck?”

“No, you cannot, sweets . It would be like having a puppy I’d have to feed and pet.”

Cooper laughed. “Well, at least I’m house trained.”

“Still a no. Tired of your apartment already?”

“Not so much the apartment but there are people.”

“There are people? How very odd.” But he understood. After the life they’d led, having people in your face was the last thing you wanted.

“Hardy-har. I took the month-to-month rental thinking it would be okay for a while, until I was ready to find a house. I didn’t think I’d be ready the first week I moved in. There’s an elderly woman on my floor who wants to set me up with her granddaughter. The dude next door wants to be buddies. I went down to the pool the other day, and before I could blink, three bikini-clad women were competing for my attention.”

“Oh, the horror.”

“Right?” Cooper dug his hand into the can of nuts and grabbed a fistful. “I didn’t think I’d want to live on the beach. There’s sand, and it gets into everything. But sitting here, listening to the waves, and with the breeze cooling my face, I think I could overlook a little sand. Want to help me find a house?”

“Sure. I have a great Realtor I’ll set you up with.”

“Cool. So, I found Miss Etta Jankowski, and we had an interesting talk.”

“I’m all ears.”

“We bonded over tea, and I was given permission to call her Miss Etta. I hate hot tea.”

“Your sacrifice is noted. What did Miss Etta have to say?”

“She was born in that house eighty-seven years ago and still sharp as a tack. Her children grew up in that house, her husband died in his sleep in that house, and all she wanted was to live out the rest of her life where all her memories were. She got out a Bible, put her hand on it and swore that she mailed her property taxes the year the tax office said she didn’t. I believe her.”

“Me, too, and that’s just wrong.”

“She told me the name of her neighbor who she swears had the same thing happen to him. George Pickens. She said they were both taken advantage of because they’re seniors and neither have families to look out of them.”

“We need to find Pickens.”

“I plan to. After that newspaper article, Miss Etta received anonymous letters warning her to shut up about her house being stolen from her or else. She told me that it was dangerous for her to be talking to me about all this, but that they could just take their ‘or else’ and shove it where the sun don’t shine. I really like her. She’s got spirit.”

“Where’s she living now?”

“In an efficiency apartment in a not-so-great part of town. It’s all she can afford, and even that’s a stretch. The sad thing is, her house was paid for, and the property taxes on it were minimal. Because the house was seized, she didn’t get anything for it. I sneaked a peek in her fridge when she went to get her Bible, and, Gray, it was about empty.”

“What can we do to help her?” Even though they hadn’t cheated her out of her home, they couldn’t stand by and not do anything.

“I was thinking about that on the way over. What if we buy a small condo in Faberville in a better part of town as an investment and convince her we need a caretaker?”

“Funny thing, I’m in need of an investment.”

“Even funnier, so am I, and I bet Liam is, too.”

“No doubt. How about you find a place that actually is a good investment, then convince her to move into it?”

“On it. I also want to look into the tax office, see what I can dig up. Someone there made their checks disappear, and I want to know who.”

“I’d like to know that, too,” Grayson said. “If we can prove it and connect them to the Pressleys, we can go to the state’s attorney or maybe the FBI.”

“On behalf of Miss Etta, I’d love nothing more than to see that happen. What’s the latest with your client?”

“ Disturbing is the best word I can think of. Her ex has a tracking app on her phone, and he shows up at her apartment whenever she goes somewhere he finds suspicious. Which is any place outside of the grocery store or… I don’t know. Probably anywhere else.” He was getting angry again just thinking about Pressley showing up and getting in her face.

“That’s called stalking.”

“Yep. I’m going to her apartment in the morning disguised as a plumber to check for cameras or listening devices.”

“Why don’t you take me along as your assistant. It would be a good idea for her to meet me so if she sees me around somewhere, she’ll know I’m from Phoenix Three.”

It was a good idea, and his disappointment that he wouldn’t be alone with her was a warning that the last thing he needed was to be alone with her. “Okay. I’m borrowing a van from the dealership. We’re from Acme Plumbing. I’m Wile, and you’re—”

“Elmer.”

Grayson snorted. “I was thinking Sylvester, but fine, let’s go with Elmer.”

“I love Elmer. He’s a hoot.”

“Let’s just hope you’re not as clumsy with your gun as Elmer.”

Cooper slapped his hand over his heart. “Dude, you wound me.”

Of the three of them, Cooper was the best shot, but Grayson wasn’t about to admit that. “We’ll leave at nine.”

* * *

Grayson parked the borrowed van in a visitor’s space at Harlow’s complex. He and Cooper both wore ball caps pulled low and sunglasses, but since Pressley’s man had seen him, Grayson had also added a fake mustache to his disguise. While picking up the van at his Myrtle Beach dealership, he’d also borrowed uniforms from two of his mechanics who were close in size to him and Cooper.

“We look like the real deal,” he said as they walked toward her apartment with toolboxes, also borrowed.

Cooper eyed him. “You look like a cartoon villain with that mustache.”

“I think debonair is the word you’re wanting.”

“If you say so, Wile.”

They both scanned the area around them as they ambled along, two workers in no hurry to work. He didn’t see anything suspicious. When they reached her door, he knocked, and apparently, Harlow was standing on the other side, as it immediately opened.

“I understand you have a blocked drain, ma’am,” he said, then winked.

Her eyes widened as her gaze slid over him, and a little giggle escaped before she pressed her lips together.

“You’re from Acme Plumbing?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Wile, and this is my apprentice, Elmer.” They were standing outside her door, so he wasn’t worried they could be overheard if she was bugged.

There was that little giggle again as her eyes shifted to Cooper.

“Elmer at your service,” Cooper said with a bow.

“Nice to meet you.” Her gaze returned to him. “Please tell me you have a Sylvester working at Acme.”

“Sure do, but he’s the boss’s son and as lazy as a cat. We don’t allow him on a job.” It was the silliest conversation he’d ever had, but if it made her laugh and kept that light in her eyes, he’d be silly all day long. “May we come in?”

“Of course.” She stepped back.

As he walked past her, he caught her scent, which was interesting. Before today, she hadn’t had a scent, but now she smelled like vanilla and lavender. He wanted to bury his nose against her neck and breathe her in.

From what he’d learned and observed, he bet she’d stopped wearing any kind of perfume or scented lotions around the time she started hiding herself. This morning, she wore a pair of skinny jeans—which happened to be his favorite style of jeans on a woman—and a turquoise T-shirt that made her eyes pop, and her hair was in a high ponytail. She’d said she lost herself, and it seemed to him that she was beginning to find herself again. That made him happy.

“What drain is blocked?”

“Um…the bathroom drain?”

“Elmer, how about you check that out.”

“On it.”

Grayson leaned his mouth next to her ear. “We’re going to check for cameras and bugs.”

“Okay, I’ll be in the living room.”

Not liking the idea of Cooper being in her bedroom, he went there first. “Mistake,” he muttered at seeing her bed and imagining her in it. What did she wear to sleep in? If he’d asked him that question the same day he met her, he would have guessed a granny nightgown, one of those flowery cotton ones. Now though? Maybe something cute like those boy shorts women liked and a camisole. He shook his head to clear it from thinking of her in bed.

Her room was as opposite from what he would have guessed as could be. Three of the walls were painted a cheery yellow. The one behind her bed was a deep, matte red. He never would have put the colors together, but it worked.

The bedspread made him think of an abstract painting, a hodgepodge of yellows, reds, greens and black. On one wall was a photograph—enlarged to take up half the wall—of a woman with long honey blond hair holding the hand of a little boy, their backs to the camera as they looked out at acres of sunflowers. The woman had on a red-and-yellow sundress, and the boy wore red shorts and a yellow shirt.

Grayson tore his eyes from the photo to take in the rest of the room. She’d taken the colors from the picture of the woman and boy to decorate her room. On the opposite wall were dozens of framed black-and-white pictures, and he walked over to them. They were all photos of Tyler from when he was a baby up to maybe four or five. The kid was cute.

He was here to work, not pry into her life, so he turned away from the photos. It only took a few minutes to scan the room with his bug detector. It was a good thing for her ex that there wasn’t a camera or a bug in her bedroom. If there had been, Grayson would have been paying the man a visit tonight. Her bathroom was bug free, too, and he forced himself to not spend any extra time in there thinking of her in the shower.

The apartment was a three-bedroom, and he poked his head into the one closest to Harlow’s. Cooper was in there, running his bug detector over the furniture. Grayson marveled at the room she’d obviously decorated for her son.

“I want a room like this,” Cooper said.

Grayson chuckled. “Of course you do. I’ll get you a dinosaur bedspread for Christmas. You get the other room yet?”

“Yeah. It’s her office, and I scanned everything twice to make sure it was clean. Got the guest bath, too.”

“Good. You take the kitchen, and I’ll get the living room.” He hoped the rest of the house was clean so he didn’t have to tell her that Pressley had been spying on her.

“Who’s your friend?” Cooper said, glancing down at the cat chattering away as he rubbed his face against Grayson’s leg.

“Pretty sure this is Einstein. He’s been curious about the goings-on in his house this morning.” Curious and talkative. Like nonstop.

“He seems to have a lot to say.” Cooper bent over and tilted his head as if listening. “What’s that? No, sorry, I don’t have any catnip on me.” He stood and widened his eyes. “I think I’ve just been cussed out by a cat.”

Grayson hid his amusement as he shook his head. “Go finish up. We need to leave before we’re here so long that it looks suspicious.”

“Roger Dodger.”

“I seem to have picked up a familiar,” Grayson said on returning to the living room with the talking cat shadowing him.

“Aw, he likes you.”

She was sitting on the sofa with her legs curled under her and her laptop resting on her upper legs. When she smiled at him, his heart skipped a beat. That was not good. “We’re almost finished.” He circled the room with the bug detector.

“Find anything?”

“No.”

“Me, either,” Cooper said, coming into the room. “You ask her yet?”

“Ask me what?”

Grayson moved to the sofa and perched on the edge of it. “Would you be okay if we put in a camera that was only pointed at your door? We can hide it in the A/C vent. I’d be more comfortable if we could monitor your entrance. It will be connected to my phone, but I won’t be able to hear anything, and all I’ll be able to see is anyone coming or going.” He glanced at Cooper. “Show her how much space will be in view of the camera.”

Cooper walked to the door, opened it and stepped into the apartment’s hallway. “From here, to…” He came about three feet inside. “…to here. That’s all.”

“You really think Anthony might break in?”

“I hope not,” Grayson said. “But the more I learn about him, the more I wouldn’t put anything past him.” He needed to ask her about Miss Etta, if she knew anything about that, but they’d already been in her apartment too long. If anyone was watching, they’d be getting suspicious about now.

“You’re right to not trust him.” She sighed. “Yes, put the camera in. I’d feel safer with you watching my door.”

He was relieved he didn’t have to push her to let them install a camera. It didn’t take long to install a Ring camera, and as they were leaving, he said, “I have something else I want to talk to you about. I’ll call you tonight if that’s okay.”

“Of course.”

Unable to resist, he went to her, reached for her hand and gently squeezed it. “Everything’s going to be okay, Harlow. I promise.”

She peered up at him with those beautiful blue eyes. “I trust you.”

A lot of people had put their trust in him. His dad, his SEAL team, his Phoenix Three partners, his employees at the dealerships, but hearing her saying it, well, that was something else entirely. It was as if her trust in him was something sacred and fragile that he needed to protect at all costs.

He leaned in closer, his gaze locked on hers as he cupped her face and brushed his thumb over the soft skin of her cheek. When a throat cleared behind him, he dropped his hand and stepped away from her. Eff him. He’d almost kissed her, and he was sure she would have let him.

“Talk to you later,” he said, then strode out of the apartment without looking back.

“You didn’t tell me how pretty she was,” Cooper said as they drove away.

“Don’t be getting any ideas, Elmer.” If Coop dared to touch her, he’d have to kill his friend.

“You’ve got the hots for her.”

“Do not, so how about shutting up.”

Cooper just chuckled.