Page 37 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

Lucy McCall… Lucy McCall… Cole pictured the curvy brunette who worked in the Library. Which was a bar on the second floor—Uncle Mike’s idea of a joke. Men could tell their wives they were going to the library instead of out drinking, and it wouldn’t even be a lie. Anyhow, front of house, Lucy was always smiling, but she looked exhausted whenever Cole saw her in the break room. Fuck. Bella’s arm fell away as he pushed himself up to sitting. He was too tired for this. Too tired and ill-equipped to survive in this world he’d been dragged into.

“A car hit her?”

“She dove between two parked vehicles to get out of the way, but she landed wrong. Her arm’s broken. The bone was…” Cole heard Perry swallow. “The bone was sticking through her skin.”

“Where’s she at now? Didn’t her shift finish at eleven?”

“She’s in the ambulance. Maybe at the hospital by now. We were overrun by bachelor parties tonight, and she volunteered to work extra hours.”

Cole’s mom had always said that life was a balance, and she’d been right. Every time something good happened, the bad rode in to counteract it. Take tonight, for example. Bella was in his bed, but now he had an injured employee and another smear on the Galaxy’s reputation to deal with.

“I’m on my way,” he told Perry.

Except he wasn’t. He was halfway out of bed when he remembered he’d drunk three glasses of wine with dinner, so he wouldn’t be driving anywhere. A DUI would be the frosting on the cake this month.

“What happened?” Bella asked, rolling onto her side to watch him. Damn, she was beautiful. A curtain of shiny brown hair framed delicate features, and when she wasn’t writing, she must have spent time in the gym because she had the body of an athlete.

“An accident at the Galaxy. Do you have the number of a local cab firm? I drank too much to drive.”

“You don’t have an Uber account?”

“Uber isn’t a thing in San Gallicano, and I’ve been driving Uncle Mike’s car since I got here.”

“Want me to drive? I only had half a glass. It’s not a stick shift, is it?”

“It’s an automatic. You don’t mind?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”

“In that case, I’d be grateful.”

Even with the cast, Bella moved smoothly as she rolled out of bed. Unlike Cole, she hadn’t slept naked. After the second round, she’d put on her panties, and his disappointment that she was covering up was quickly eclipsed when she pulled on one of his T-shirts before she climbed back into his bed. Seeing her like that brought the word “mine” to his lips, and he wasn’t talking about the outfit. But he kept his mouth shut. Bella had made it clear she wasn’t looking for commitment, and he didn’t want to scare her off.

She donned a pair of baggy blue jeans, and rather than switching out his oversized shirt for her own tank top, she just knotted it at her waist. For the first time ever, Cole considered sticking around in Las Vegas long-term.

“Aren’t you getting dressed?” she asked. “I thought we were in a hurry?”

Fuck, he’d been standing there like a fool.

“We are.”

“Where are the keys? I’ll get the car out of the garage.”

Five minutes later, they were on the road. Bella drove the old Prius swiftly but precisely, staying mostly within the speed limit, and she obviously knew the city well because she didn’t turn on the satnav or ask for directions. When they arrived at the Galaxy, it was clear where the problem lay. On the top floor of the parking garage. The flashing red-and-blue lights gave it away.

The parking garage had six floors, and guests had two options. They could either exit via the first floor and enter the Galaxy through the main lobby, or if they had a room card, they could use that to open the door to the fourth-floor skybridge. The sixth floor was reserved for staff use, and employees usually exited via the skybridge and took the elevator or the stairs to their vehicles.

Bella drove up the ramps a little too fast for comfort, but Cole kept his mouth shut because in his experience, women didn’t like to be criticised. Besides, she’d managed to keep the Porsche in one piece, hadn’t she? Its paintwork was pristine. Once she’d parked on the edge of the chaos, Cole jumped out of the car.

“Sir?” a young-looking cop asked, but without an actual question to follow.

Perry was leaning against a car beside a pool of vomit, and Cole made a beeline for him.

“This is Cole Gallagher,” he announced, relief evident in his voice. “He’s the boss.”

Was it possible to resign from your own company?

Cole steeled himself as a tall, forty-something Black man in an ill-fitting suit strode in his direction. Judging by the way everyone moved from his path, he was the guy in charge. A detective?

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