Page 1 of Island Guardian (Brookwell Island #7)

Chapter One

Carefully balancing a tray of drinks, Rhett Ellington wound his way through the crowded Pelican Pub, deftly avoiding any disastrous collisions. To his visitor’s eye, it seemed as if the entire population of Brookwell Island was here for tonight’s trivia game.

His sister, Harper, had warned him it would be a crush and—foolishly—he’d shown up anyway.

As promised, he hadn’t interfered with her team.

Hadn’t even gathered a team to compete against her, though he’d been tempted.

Few things in his life gave him the same immense satisfaction as riling his little sister.

Instead, he behaved himself, hanging out near the dart boards with a few friends of his own—old and new. And when Harper’s team had come out on top, he’d picked up this round to celebrate their success.

Reaching the booth, he set the tray down. Three women eagerly claimed glasses of wine, leaving behind his bottle of beer and a white wine spritzer. Their fourth, Trina Bollani, had left the table sometime between his taking their order and returning with it .

He fought against an urge to be offended.

She generally didn’t care for him much, but by some tacit agreement, they managed to be civil for Harper’s sake.

He wasn’t sure exactly when or how Harper and Trina had become best pals, but it was already obvious the woman would be a permanent member of his sister’s inner circle.

Everyone in the pub was buzzing about the success of Harper’s team. With good reason. So far this season they’d won every match. Between them, there was plenty of brain power, and quite a diverse collection of life experience, no matter which members of the group showed up.

Tonight, Harper and Trina were joined by Nina Reynolds and Lila Upton. Nina and Lila had been raised here on the island, and both owned businesses on Central Avenue.

Even though Trina hadn’t returned, he raised his beer and toasted the team. “Congratulations!”

It wouldn’t kill him to repeat the gesture when she came back to the table. This entire endeavor had been an effort to show Harper that he could be warm and friendly, even toward the woman he considered his nemesis.

Trina was a lot of things, most of them good, to an objective observer. If asked, even he would agree she was an asset as the manager of the historic Inn on Brookwell Island. Unfortunately, he struggled to maintain an impartial detachment for more than a few minutes at a time.

He was grown, with a list of accomplishments to be proud of and yet, a glimpse of her could still toss him back to his college days.

Specifically, the year he and Trina butted heads during an elite hospitality internship in France.

It had been an unparalleled pressure cooker and she’d shown him up at every opportunity.

And if he shared those stories with his sister, she would only call him petty and tell him to grow up. Rhett couldn’t remember the last time he was in the mood for such a lecture .

“Where is Trina?” he queried.

Although the drinks were definitely to celebrate, he also hoped to get some feedback from the four women on some special package ideas designed to cater to a girls’ night out crowd.

He wanted to create options that would draw more locals to the Ellington Cove resort he managed in Key West, Florida along with all-inclusive packages that would make the resort an enticing destination for long weekends or full vacations.

As hospitality professionals, he could knock around ideas with his sister anytime, but he’d heard Nina often planned “girl weekends” for her friends.

He’d like to get more insight from the customer viewpoint to help him fine tune the package details and price points.

Harper glanced around. “She’s probably caught up in a conversation.”

Seated across from them, Lila looked around that area of the pub for their friend. “Everyone has taken a shine to her and wants her to feel at home,” Lila explained. “We probably pester her too much when she’s out living her life.”

Nina laughed. “I don’t regret a thing. She’s finally come on a couple of girl weekends,” she explained to Rhett.

“And we all know how those go.” Lila grinned like the Cheshire cat with valuable intel.

Rhett was clearly missing the inside joke, but he didn’t push. He was thrilled to see his sister so happy.

The trivia team flexed a bit from week to week depending on kids, husbands, and other commitments. From what he’d heard, Harper and Trina were the anchors of the group, showing up consistently to have fun and test their knowledge against whatever topics the host came up with.

He couldn’t remember the last time his sister had been this relaxed. And good for her, developing a true friendship with Trina after seeing each other infrequently as kids when their parents got together .

He nudged her with his elbow. “This island looks good on you.”

“Thanks.” She beamed.

He always assumed his little sister had a big social life.

Until ugly recent events proved him wrong.

Still unsettled over how far off he’d been about her life and happiness, he made an effort to visit more, despite his commitments to the family interests in Key West. That meant hanging out in the greater Charleston area along with plenty of time here on Brookwell.

Fortunately, his team down at the Cove was the best. They worked well and made good decisions without his constant presence or excessive hand-holding. And he had the revenue numbers to back him up if anyone questioned his schedule or methods.

For years now, he and Harper had competed to show the best profits at the quarterly meetings. No one was handing out trophies or actually keeping score—other than the two of them. The friendly rivalry was mostly fun and everyone benefited from their consistently innovative ideas.

“I’d like to say the same for you.” Harper kept her voice low. “But I’m half-afraid you’re only here to get an inside track on the Inn.”

“That’s not it.” But admitting he wanted to stay close to her and the rest of their family only opened him up for more concern.

She scowled. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you it’s not going to come up for sale. Especially not with Trina at the helm.”

Of course it wouldn’t. The Inn management was structured differently. Trina answered to a community board. Every indicator pointed to her being their best and favorite manager to date. He was certain she was incapable of failing such an important responsibility.

He tried to keep his long-standing irritation in check. Naturally, Harper saw right through him. “Get that look off your face right now,” she scolded. “Whatever your issues are, Trina is incredible and more importantly, she’s a good friend.”

“Heard,” he assured her. “And that’s not why I visit.” He gave her his best smile. “ You are.”

She reared back. “You’re serious.” At his nod, she cocked her head. “I’m fine. Things are great. The wedding plans are humming along.”

“Fabulous news, all around.” He raised his beer to her. “To your continued happiness.”

“You’re up to something,” she accused.

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not,” he promised. “Did I interfere? I didn’t even gloat when you guys missed that one question about the Florida Panthers hockey team.”

Harper turned her drink in her hand. “Maybe this is one glass of wine more than I needed,” she said, giving him plenty of little sister side eye. “Maybe we should implement a no-boys allowed policy.”

“You’re mean.”

“Am I?” She batted her eyelashes with pseudo-innocence. “You must’ve taught me well.”

Laughing, the four of them chatted while he sipped on the beer, waiting on Trina. But she didn’t return. In fact, he didn’t see her anywhere in the pub. He didn’t like it. Something felt off. Maybe he was jumping at shadows and growing paranoid after Harper’s recent troubles.

More likely it was a side-effect of hanging out with Guardian Agency protectors at the boxing gym in Key West where he liked to train. Those men and women shared plenty of tales of assignments and heroics, filling his head with all the potential problems in any normal situation.

He didn’t look at the world with the same kind of trust anymore.

As a kid learning the family business of hotels and hospitality, he’d believed hotels were non-stop fun.

Once he was older, he realized there were plenty of pitfalls and many people abused hotel stays, indulging in activities they would never consider doing at home.

He still remembered the shock of tagging along with his dad for a meeting with the attorneys.

What an eye-opener that had been. He’d immediately understood the heavy responsibility of dealing with the public.

He wasn’t a big fan of his grim world-view these days. Had to be careful not to turn jaded or pessimistic. But the facts were there. Ugly stuff happened to good people.

“Let me text her,” Nina offered. “If someone is monopolizing her personal time it’ll give her an excuse to escape.”

Rhett took a breath and sat back. He was too restless. If he stuck around, Harper would pick up on it and pester him until he gave a satisfactory answer. Not a fun prospect, since he didn’t have one.

Probably best if he headed out and found a different group of women to interview about their travel preferences. “No worries,” he said. “Just make sure she gets her drink.” He slid out of the booth. “Y’all take care and have a good night. Congrats again.”

He walked back to rejoin his future brother-in-law, Knox, who had conned Nina’s husband, Boone, into another game of darts. Looked like Knox was still kicking butt and taking names.

“I’m heading out.” He tossed what was left of his beer into the trash can in the corner.

Knox shot him a wary look. “What’s on your mind, man?” he asked as Boone stepped to the line for his turn.

“Nothing that wouldn’t spoil the mood,” Rhett replied.

“Don’t you ever stop thinking about work?”

Rhett snorted. “You’re one to talk.” When Boone’s darts were clustered near the center ring, Rhett gave both men a fist bump and went to the bar to pay his tab. Feeling generous, he also covered the tab for the trivia team.

And still no sign of Trina.

Unable to ignore his instincts any longer, he decided to track her down. He couldn’t explain why he was suddenly so desperate to know she was okay, but he didn’t fight it. At his car, he slid into the driver’s seat, but didn’t start the engine. He called the Inn and asked to speak with her.

The young woman who answered politely asked him to hold while he was connected. He shook his head. Rookie move, he thought.

Trina should know better than to be available for calls twenty-four-seven.

As the operating manager of a major resort, Rhett had specific office hours.

If Trina was smart, she’d have the same boundaries to safeguard her time.

Of course, she managed an inn on a touristy little island, so maybe he was comparing apples to oranges.

“Trina Bollani, how may I help you?”

Her voice sounded a little rough around the edges. “Hi.” Suddenly, he was at a loss for words. He shouldn’t have made the call until he’d known what he wanted to say. “This is Rhett Ellington.”

“Mm-hm. Yes?”

Had her voice cracked? Where was she? “Um, yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to check on you. No one seemed to know where you went.”

“You… What?” Her voice trailed off.

He couldn’t blame her for being confused.

His concern didn’t make sense to him either.

They weren’t friends, but lately he’d been trying to get along better for his sister’s sake.

As their interactions grew, he found himself increasingly eager for the next time he’d see her.

It was the strangest thing and not entirely comfortable to discover Trina was a fascinating woman and an expert in her field .

In the brief silence while he floundered for a reasonable reply, the rhythmic pulse of the waves meeting the shore registered. What was she doing out on the beach in the dark?

“Forgive me for disappearing,” she said, her tone way too formal now. “I got a call. Family. I’ll send the girls a text and let them know I’m okay. Thanks for checking in, Rhett.”

He looked around. Like so many places on the island, the Pelican Pub wasn’t far from beach access.

“You’re not okay.” He got out of his car and locked the door. “Where are you?”

“I beg your pardon.”

The prim, indignant tone in her voice should have warned him off. She was an adult. Her displeasure didn’t put him off, he’d adjusted to it during their year of study in France. All they’d done was irritate and annoy each other.

“What’s going on, Trina?”

“That’s really not your business.” She sniffed. “It’s a personal issue. Thank you for checking on me. Good night.”

He stared at his phone. Swore. She’d ended the call.

Challenge accepted.

He glanced around, having no idea what kind of car she drove.

For all he knew, she’d walked over from the Inn.

He scowled. The streets were too dark at this hour for that kind of nonsense.

Combined with the strappy little sandals she’d worn tonight, he dismissed the idea. Those weren’t walking shoes.

And he should not have any ideas about Trina’s footwear.

She was not a friend. And though she helped his family, she was not family.

Unless Harper had designs on adopting her, the way she had seamlessly folded her college roommates, Hannah and Sonya, into the Ellington family. He closed his eyes for a beat.

Those two women were definitely his sisters after more than a decade of sharing Christmases, countless brunches, and dozens of other events through the years. Something deep inside him rebelled at the idea of Trina joining their ranks. Now wasn’t the time for a deep analysis of that feeling.

Pushed by a persistent concern, he was jogging by the time he reached the nearest beach access and the boardwalk that spanned the dunes.

His feet sunk into the soft sand and he looked right and left. And then he spotted her, several yards away. She stood at the water’s edge, facing the dark waves under the glow of a pink moon.