Page 72 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

Mainly because I’d been chatting with T-Rex and Ari. Even with his capture, we weren’t much further forward, although we knew AceInTheHole must be moderately smart and connected to the criminal community. The dark web took effort to access, and you couldn’t find Amber Road via a search engine. The address—a long string of seemingly random letters and numbers—was passed from one dubious character to another, and it changed regularly. Innocent folks didn’t stumble across Amber Road.

“Get some rest. I’ll wake you when the food comes.”

“That’s it? Just ‘get some rest’?”

He kissed my hair. “Yeah, Bella. Rest. I want your coin pot to overflow.”

Cole kept his word.

He woke me when the flight attendants delivered food, and he gave me his cheese because he remembered that I liked it better than chocolate. I gave him my chocolate in return, and then I fell asleep again. It was strangely comfortable. I hadn’t realised how tired I was until I sat down in business class with the weight of the past few years on my shoulders.

And it wasn’t until a pilot announced our descent into Miami International that I woke up again.

“So have you made up your mind?” Cole asked. “Are you staying in Miami? Or flying to San Gallicano? Or heading somewhere completely different?”

I hadn’t made up my mind. Mainly because I’d been dreaming about him and the two weeks we’d shared. If I stayed in Miami, where would I go? What would I do? Echo wasn’t there, and I hadn’t booked a hotel room.

I could turn around and fly right back to Vegas, but then Demelza would kick off and I’d have to leave again pretty soon. Or I could drive someplace else in Florida and enjoy the bugs, humidity, and bad driving alone, but quite frankly, I’d rather pull out my own fingernails. Or I could walk up to the ticket counter and hop on a flight to who the hell knew where, but my options were restricted because the clothes I’d packed were tailored to the Florida climate. I didn’t even have a coat with me. Yes, I could shop, but I hated shopping. I left that to Marcel, and the clothes magically appeared in my closet.

So that left the Caribbean.

“There are plenty of hotels to suit all budgets on Ilha Grande,” Cole said as if he knew I was having a hard time making up my mind. “Five-star luxury, budget hostels, and if you need a place to stay for free, there’s a turtle sanctuary on Valentine Cay that takes volunteers as long as you don’t mind sleeping in a bunkhouse.” There was a long pause. “Or you can stay at my place. I won’t be there most of the time, in any case. I’ll be out on the boat.”

“You don’t need me in the way.”

“You won’t be in the way. I’m going to head over to Emerald Shores tomorrow and spend three days preparing theCrosswindfor her charter, then I’ll be busy with Dr. Blaylock’s party for the next three weeks. When I get back, I have four days to pack up my stuff so I can list the house on Airbnb.”

“You’re planning to stay in Vegas for a while, then?”

“I don’t think I have a choice. The situation at the Galaxy is far messier than I hoped it would be.”

“Where are you staying tonight?” I asked.

“With a friend. She has a sailboat, and she offered to give me a ride home tomorrow.”

“She?”

“Don’t worry, Frankie’s just a friend now.”

“Now?”

“I can’t say we’ve never been involved, but it was strictly a friends-with-benefits arrangement. If you need a bed for the night, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind you taking the spare room. I can sleep on the couch.”

Who was this Frankie and what did she mean to him? A hot bud ofsomethingunfurled in my belly. If I’d still been on speaking terms with Echo, I would have sent her a message the instant we landed and asked her to run a thorough background check on the woman.

Frankie.Even her name managed to sound cute and cheerful.

If I flew to Jamaica or Saint Vincent or the Bahamas, would he sleep in her bed? I really, really hated that idea. Which was ridiculous because Cole and I weren’t together and I didn’t do relationships, but I hated it, and I felt how I felt.

“Fine. I’ll come to San Gallicano.”

CHAPTER 24

COLE

If Bella ever let him meet her friends, Cole would definitely be buying them a round of drinks, and he also owed the airline a five-star review for seating them together.

Writing obituaries must have taken its toll because Bella was exhausted. He hadn’t been sure she’d rest when he suggested it, but she’d eaten a late lunch and then fallen asleep again, her head on his shoulder and her hand on his thigh as her silk scarf tickled his cheek. It was as if the past three days hadn’t happened. As if they’d never gone to the Sunrise Diner together and left alone. She’d slept through most of the flight to San Galli too.

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