Page 30 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“Maybe you should start?”

“No way. I hate those things.” Awkward.Hope he never looks in my purse.“I also hate the idea of going back to work, but the Galaxy won’t run itself. The staff aren’t used to making decisions.”

“Most people would take the golf course money and run.”

“I couldn’t sleep at night if I did that. Maybe I can’t save the Galaxy, but I have to at least try.”

And I had to track down Jimmy. Because if he was the man who’d sent the thugs to Cole’s home, then the Galaxy wasn’t the only thing in danger of coming to an unpleasant end.

Fortunately, I knew just the woman to help me.

CHAPTER 11

JEZEBEL

“Are you in Vegas at the moment?”

“Uh, no?” Why did Ari sound so wary? “How did you get my number? Actually, don’t tell me. Alexa?”

Otherwise known as Echo. “Of course.”

I’d met Arizona Danner a little over three weeks ago, but she’d come onto my radar months before that when she’d begun dating one of my former housemates. She’d also been investigating him for possible fraud, which had led to drama all around, but she’d turned out to be a decent PI. And before she met Zach, she’d lived in Las Vegas, so she knew the city and its inhabitants better than most did.

While the Choir could carry out this investigation ourselves, the other girls were already picking up the slack after my injury. And most of our time was committed to Uncle Sam. We couldn’t maintain full-time surveillance. Plus our intelligence-gathering capabilities leaned toward terrorism, international crime, and matters of national security, not loan-sharking and local hoodlums.

“Why are you calling me?” Ari asked.

“Because I want to hire you.”

“What?”

“You’re a private investigator licenced in Nevada, yes?”

“Yes, but don’t you usually do that stuff yourself?”

“I do when I’m not accessorising with a cast.”

“Oh my gosh, what happened?”

“That’s confidential.”

“Right, I’m sorry. So, uh, what’s the job?”

“An acquaintance of mine has recently come into ownership of the Galaxy Hotel and Casino.”

“Yikes. Offer them my condolences.”

Yes, the Galaxy’s reputation had spread far and wide. “The finances are somewhat rocky, and there are question marks over the debt in the business. Possible loan shark involvement.”

“And you want information on the loan shark?”

“All we have so far is a first name.”

“Which is?”

“Jimmy.”

“There’s a Jimmy who works out of Chinatown, but he’s always been small time. What sort of sums are involved?”

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