Page 41 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

Clyde glanced at me and then looked back to Cole. His unasked question was clear: how much should he say in front of me?

“I don’t have any secrets from Bella.”

Way to make a girl feel guilty.Because I had a million secrets, and I intended to keep them.

Clyde cleared his throat. “We did have a system that gave full coverage, but that system reached the end of its natural life a couple of years ago. The software wasn’t supported anymore. Management was unable to free up the budget for a like-for-like replacement, so now we have a slimmed-down version.”

“Isn’t that a false economy?” I asked.

“Our current eye in the sky still covers the important areas.”

“Basically the casino floor, the bars, and the check-in desks,” Cole added.

Damn.

Cole found me a seat and a glass of water, and we settled in at a monitor. Having a man take care of me felt disconcerting. I’d spent my whole life being self-sufficient, and the idea that I couldn’t fetch my own drink if I wanted one was…insulting. And suspicious. What was his ulterior motive? Surely, he’d realised by now that I didn’t require coddling to put out.

Dusk assured me that there were men out there who genuinely cared about more than sex or state secrets. Of course, those men still did dumb things, like becoming Hollywood megastars, for example. Dusk had loved Marc, and perhaps she still did, but their lifestyles had ultimately proven to be incompatible.

We’d been skipping through footage for nearly an hour when Cole jabbed a finger at the screen.

“There. I think that’s him.”

Clyde replayed the clip, and I squinted at the unremarkable white guy at the edge of the shot. Average height and build, brown hair. His face was only visible for a moment, and the resolution, like everything else in this place, was shit. Fingers crossed, Echo had some whizzy software that could enhance the picture. After she’d finished laughing about the lack of a security system, obvs.

“Make sure you keep a copy of that clip,” I told Clyde.

“Should we give it to the cops?” Cole asked. When had I turned into a fucking consultant? In a way, it was good that he turned to me for advice, but I also had to be careful. A writer of obituaries wouldn’t be expected to know too much about security systems, law enforcement, or attempted-murder investigations, even if a number of her subjects had come to unpleasant ends.

And did we want the LVMPD involved? On the minus side, they screwed a lot of things up. On the plus side, Echo had a backdoor into their servers, so it would be likegetting free labour. And maybe one of the cops would recognise the asshole?

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt, but don’t get your hopes up. My friend Shelby’s ex-boyfriend broke into her place and took her TV, and they didn’t arrest him even after he sent her a text message bragging about it.”

Cole pulled a face. “Reminds me of home.”

“The police in San Gallicano aren’t fit for purpose?”

“The new police chief only cares about getting on TV, and rumour says half the officers will take a bribe. Is that the same here?”

“Not the bribery part. It’s more that they’re overworked and underpaid, and that’s turned into a vicious circle. The criminals grow more powerful and put pressure on the politicians, and budgets get cut even further. The cops who are left end up scared and do even less, and then you have the bad apples who get into policing for the wrong reasons. At least, that’s what I’ve read on the internet.”

“My sister’s neighbour got murdered three weeks ago,” Clyde chipped in. “Boom.A gunshot in the middle of the night, and they still haven’t caught the guy.”

Cole squeezed my hand. “How do you feel about moving to San Gallicano?” he joked, his voice tight. At least, I thought he was joking.

“Sometimes I have to meet clients in person, and the commute would be tricky.”

He leaned down to kiss my hair, and I stiffened. Why did this man have to be so damn nice? I couldn’t afford to like him any more than I already did. He was meant to be a one-night stand. What was I even doing here?

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, I promise.”

Right now, he was the danger.

He was the man who could hurt me.

Since Bastian’s death, I’d clung to one rule—if I didn’t give my heart to anyone, they couldn’t break it. One losswas enough. I’d built a wall around my emotions, and my life depended on me keeping that shield intact, but Cole was chipping away at my defences, and I couldn’t stop him. Not without walking away. And that would leave him vulnerable. Exposed to the enemy.

Bastian’s death had caused me many sleepless nights, but that was mainly because I used to lie awake, cursing my own stupidity. If I had to arrange Cole’s funeral, I’d be angry for a whole other reason.

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