Page 131 of Blue Moon

EMMY

“How are things going?” Black asked softly. “Do you need me there?”

We’d arrived at Casa del Gato half an hour ago. Elene was still sleeping, so we’d put her in a guest room-slash-holding cell until we worked out what to do with her.

Did I want Black here? Yes, absolutely. I missed him every second I wasn’t with him. But did I need him here? Did I need him here enough to pull him out of Spain, where he had a black-market arms dealer in his sights?

“Nah, I have Dan and Pale.”

“Should I be jealous?”

“Relax, Hawaiian shirts don’t do it for me. I’d be more likely to go for one of his girls.”

“Not helping.”

Winding up my darling husband was so much fun, although I was only half-kidding about the girls. I was pretty sure at least one of them was bi, and if I hadn’t switched to monogamy, then maybe I would have gone there.

“I’m only here for the case, Chuck. And it’s going…not great. The asshole is always one step ahead. He’s smart, he knows the city, and he’s had military training.”

“My money’s still on you. No man can hide forever. There’s going to be a thread that leads you to him, and when you find it, you need to pull on it hard, then use it to strangle the motherfucker.”

“And don’t get caught. Yeah, yeah, understood.”

“How’s Ryder holding up?”

Good question. Of all the folks on my team, he was the most fragile. I’d picked up on it during the interview process, and a deep dive into his background confirmed my suspicions. But he also had an uncanny knack for compartmentalising. At home, he moped, but when he came to work, he performed as well as anyone else. It was only in the past few months, when the personal and the professional had collided, that we’d experienced a problem. That was why I’d given him the space he needed to get himself sorted out. Maybe some would call me a soft touch—not many, because I’d punch their fucking teeth out—but I cared about my people. Ryder was a good man. And Luna… Yeah, she could be the human equivalent of fingernails on a blackboard, but deep down, she wasn’t a bad person.

“Ryder’s shaky at the moment, but as long as we get Luna back in one piece, he’ll be fine.”

And Luna made him stronger.

“Any time you need to talk…”

“Yeah, I know. Always by my side. Love you, Chuck.”

“Always and forever, Diamond. Give my regards to Ray and Jette.”

“Will do.”

All we needed was a thread. I was about to check in with Dan when I heard a commotion from the first floor—second floor, if we were speaking American—that sounded like wild animals in pain. I ran up the stairs with Tulsa and Dice right behind me.

“This is all your fault!” a woman shrieked, and I groaned inwardly as I recognised the voice.

“Let go of me! You’re crazy!”

For a woman who’d bitched something chronic about Luna when they first met, Caro sure was going to the wall defending her. In a large, airy bedroom, she had Elene face down on the bed, a knee in the small of her back as she tore at her hair.

“You stole all her money, and it’s me who’s crazy? You’re the reason she had to take that job. You’re the reason she came back to Vegas, and you’re the reason Ryder had to leave her on her own.”

Tulsa, who was the tallest of us at nearly six feet, wrapped her arms around Caro’s waist and pulled while Dice pinned down Elene, and I tried to pry Caro’s fingers loose.

“You’ve made your point, okay? You can let go of her now.”

“Oh, you think? My friend is still missing.”

“And while we’re here stopping you from committing murder, we’re not out looking for her.”

Storm appeared and began to help me with Caro’s fingers.

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