Page 96 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“Do you vote for him?” I asked.

“I can’t; I’m not a citizen. But I would if I was.”

Dinner was delicious. Witt didn’t say any other dumb shit, so his teeth stayed intact for him to enjoy the meal, and Dr. Blaylock entertained us with stories from his diving days, such as the time a colleague of his decided to relieve himself underwater, only to remember—too late—that he was wearing a dry suit rather than a wetsuit.

One week of the trip left, and maybe I’d even miss this life when I returned to Vegas.

CHAPTER 33

COLE

“Everything okay?”

Thursday morning, and Cole had woken at six to head to the market on Dreadhaven with Bella—their last chance to stock up on supplies before heading farther west toward Skeleton Cay, and he should have been happy because another successful charter was drawing to an end. In a week, he’d have earned enough money to cover his living expenses in Vegas for six months, plus he’d be able to pay theCrosswind’s slip fees until he managed to return home again.

But in a week, his relationship with Bella would change to something more distant, and he liked it just the way it was.

Now he carried a box of soft drinks, water, and juice up to the sundeck, partly because the cooler needed restocking, but mostly because Bella was up there and he couldn’t stay away.

“Oh, go fuck a porcupine,” she said, and he froze at the top of the stairs. Her phone bounced off a cushion as she tossed it beside her. Cole had a feeling he shouldn’t havebeen privy to the conversation she’d been having, even though he’d heard barely anything at all.

“You okay?”

“Fine,” she said.

Uh-oh. “What’s up?”

“I just said I was fine.”

“Yeah, you did, and that’s bullshit. I might be a man, but I’m not a fool.”

The look on her face said she wasn’t entirely convinced of that, and she huffed. But she did answer.

“It was a friend in Vegas.”

“A friend? That conversation didn’t sound very friendly to me.”

“She isn’t in my good books at the moment.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No.” A month ago, Bella’s “no” would have meant the end of the conversation, but today, she gave a heavy sigh and continued, “The friends who are helping out with work while I’m away won’t tell me how things are going.”

“You think they’ve messed up? Upset a client?”

She snorted. “No.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“They want me to relax and forget real life for a month.”

She rolled her eyes, but Cole couldn’t see the issue.

“Isn’t that living the dream? If someone would take the mess at the Galaxy off my hands for a month, I’d kiss their damn feet.”

“I don’t like being kept out of the loop.”

Being kept out of the loop was Cole’s goal in life. He longed for a time when he could go half a day without getting a call from Nancy or Perry or another member of the team. This morning, a kid had taken a shit in the larger of the two pools. Or so everyone thought. After the staff had cleared the area and offered a thousand apologies and vouchers for complimentary cocktails, it turned out theoffending turd was made from plastic and a teenager had dropped it in the water for a joke. At least, that’s what Perry suspected. A group of three boys had been sniggering by the door as they watched the chaos.

---