Page 25 of Island Guardian (Brookwell Island #7)
Chapter Sixteen
In the dark, Rhett stared at the ceiling for a time. He was a husband. That absolutely had not been the plan, yet here he was. Married and actually happy about it. Beside him, his wife slept soundly.
He was content and awestruck at the same time. This was so much more than he’d thought life would give him. More than he thought Trina would offer.
She’d shocked the hell out of him in the kitchen, asking to make their marriage real in every sense of the word. And though she’d been cautious at times, it turned out they were wildly compatible in bed too.
Who knew?
Well, he’d suspected. And he’d been prepared to wait a long time for her to become interested enough or bold enough to ask for more than hand-holding and sweet kisses.
Rolling over, he snuggled closer and tried to get some sleep. Tried to think about something other than the legal, physical, and emotional variations of a marriage. He’d meant what he’d said about putting their own definition on their relationship .
So why did he want to tell her he loved her?
Were all those murmurs about the “boss’s whirlwind romance” during the reception getting to him? Was it simply bubbling up from a lifetime of watching his parents express their feelings for each other?
He cared about her. He respected her. He worshipped her body. But it had to be too soon to actually be in love . He must be caught up in the romantic story they were showing the world so neither of them would be pressured anymore.
In just a few hours they would return to Brookwell and face his family, her friends. There would be a lot of questions to answer. They should make time to tell her folks. Better to get ahead of it than letting them find out through social media or some other gossip channel.
He was dozing off to the soft sound of Trina’s breathing when the classic phone on the nightstand rang out. He’d deliberately left their other phones out in the kitchen so no one would bother them.
He couldn’t remember it ever ringing before. It was only active because this was actually a hotel room. Reaching over, he picked up before the noise woke Trina.
“Ellington.”
“It’s Marino. From the security office.”
Rhett was on his feet and headed for the closet for clothes when the phone cord stopped him. Tony Marino was a Guardian Agency liaison to the Cove. The partnership offered a stronger presence and peace of mind for everyone in and around the property—guests included.
“I’m on my way down.”
“No need,” Tony said. “The research team emailed a report to you and when you didn’t respond to the email or a follow-up call, they called me. Apparently whatever it is is urgent enough to interrupt your wedding night. Sorry about that. ”
“No worries. Thanks, Tony.”
“You’re welcome. Give Mrs. Ellington my apologies.”
“Will do.”
He replaced the handset and sat there a minute. Trina hadn’t moved, but he knew she was awake. “Tony sends his apologies.”
“Hm.” The mattress shifted and the sheets rustled as she moved closer. “Security office, right?”
“Your memory is astonishing.”
“Yours is just as good,” she deflected. “What’s the problem?”
Resigned, he turned on the lamp. If necessary, they could sleep in and delay the flight back. Possibly catch another nap on the plane. “Let’s go find out.”
He was tempted to just go get his laptop and bring it into the bedroom. Not the first time he would’ve worked from his bed. But now it was their bed and he didn’t want anything outside to come between them here.
He pulled on a pair of workout shorts while she slipped into a fluffy spa robe and followed him to the main room. Seated close on the couch, he opened his laptop and quickly found the email.
He paused before he opened the message. “I warned you the Guardian Agency security teams wouldn’t let Gallo’s antics slide.”
“I remember. And?” she prompted.
“And during the staff meeting I asked them to dig a little deeper.”
“Hm.” She didn’t sound pleased. Started to move away from him.
He rested a hand lightly on her thigh. “Not about your past,” he said. “About his present.”
She relaxed under his hand, frowning thoughtfully. “Go on. ”
“His comments and grandiose assumptions bothered me.” Along with everything else about the guy. “Long before he poked around at the Ellington properties.”
Her gaze fell to the rings on her left hand, the only jewelry she wore at the moment. It made him feel possessive and proud and countless other emotions he didn’t want to dwell in for too long.
After a moment, she nodded, coming to some decision. “You’ve kept them waiting long enough. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it.”
“Do you have any idea how strong you are?” It was one of her most attractive features.
She rolled her eyes. “High praise before we have any details. Go on.”
He opened the email from the research team and they read through it together.
The extra manpower team he’d asked for was being supervised by Travis Upton, Max’s former partner.
The report was comprehensive as they followed Gallo all around the Lowcountry yesterday from the moment he left his room at the Inn.
He’d poked around Brookwell businesses on Central Avenue and walked around the marina.
Apparently, bored with tourism, he’d gone into Charleston.
He spent thirty minutes each at two different banks, had lunch with a real estate agent, and played a round of golf with a well-known business investor.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Trina said. “My mother says he does business with many people, but one main reason she wants him to marry me is to get me back home. What does he need with bankers and real estate in America?”
“I’m curious how he got on the investor’s calendar so quickly. That guy is constantly in demand.”
“Maybe he didn’t,” Trina said, lips pursed. “He showed up days earlier than planned. Is it possible he set up these appointments earlier?”
“It’s the most logical explanation.”
Her smile bloomed, then faded. “What’s all of this?” She pointed to the bullet points below the surveillance report.
Rhett skimmed the intel and understood the urgency. “Financial report.” None of it was good. “He’s bankrupt, or close enough.”
“No,” Trina lurched back and stared at him in denial. “That can’t be right. My parents would know. They wouldn’t shove me at a man with such poor prospects.”
“But they’d shove you at a man who hurt you?”
“I never told them,” she snapped. “They wouldn’t be so excited for me to marry Luca if they knew the truth. About either issue.” Her chin came up, daring him to contradict her.
He didn’t dare. In fact, he believed her. “Good to know. I really want to like my in-laws.”
She blinked. “Of course you do. You’re a good man. And they will like you too.”
Though she didn’t say it, the “eventually” came through loud and clear.
Rhett quickly shifted back to the pertinent issue before he gave up on the report in favor of showing her the wonders of sex on a couch.
“For the sake of argument, let’s assume the report is accurate. You know him better than I do. Better than the team currently tailing him,” he reminded her. “Would Gallo be aggressive about marrying you to solve his money problems?”
She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly. “I haven’t spoken with him in years, so my data might be skewed.”
“Tell me anyway,” he urged.
With a twist of her lips she began, “He’s always had a precise vision for his life. Timelines and targets for career achievements and personal milestones. If something has unraveled—business or money—yes. He would hide the facts and go to any extreme to fix it. Even marry me.”
Rhett didn’t care for the way she tacked that last bit on as if she were a consolation prize. “Good thing that option is off the table, Mrs. Ellington.” He was rewarded with a big smile. “Let me share our thoughts with the research team and we can get back to sleep.”
She stayed, reading over his shoulder as he replied to the email. She didn’t even protest when he requested they continue to monitor his movements and any changes in the banking.
He almost added a request for a protection detail on Trina, but decided it would likely upset her. Besides, he had no intention of letting her out of his sight until Gallo returned to Italy.