Page 42 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

And nobody needed aKill Billremake in Vegas.

“I don’t recognise him. This is the only picture you have?”

With Cole at work, I’d hijacked Priest’s apartment again, this time to meet with Ari and Erin. Ari was a pretty blonde who’d ended up dating Zach Torres, interesting because he was a surfer and she was scared of water. But they’d ironed out the hiccups, and along the way, she’d met Erin, who appeared to have turned into her sidekick. Erin had the personality of an insect bite. If I had to spend a day with her, I’d probably end up in jail, but Ari seemed to have far more patience than I did.

That she didn’t recognise Jimmy wasn’t a surprise, but it had been worth asking, just in case.

“The Galaxy is suffering from a lack of security,” I said.

“And hot water,” Erin muttered. So what? Cold water was character-building.

“Is that how he was able to get into Cole’s office?” Ari asked.

I nodded and took a sip of my coffee. I’d swung by the Sunrise Diner on my way to the meeting and grabbed lunch for everyone. Ari was picking at a cheeseburger, and Erinwas shovelling fries into her mouth as if they were the last food on earth.

“Apparently, Jimmy knocked on the door and then walked in without waiting for an answer,” I said. “Twice. At least, he called himself Jimmy. We have no idea whether that’s his real name.”

“Tell me everything you know about the situation. Try not to leave anything out—even the smallest clue can be important.”

I glanced pointedly at Erin. “I’ll have to gloss over some parts.”

Ari sucked in a breath. She was smart, and she knew exactly what I was referring to.

“Okay, so I don’t think I want to know the detail on those aspects anyway.”

“Detail on what aspects?” Erin asked, then yelped, presumably because Ari had kicked her underneath the table. “Never mind.”

Ari took notes as I started at the beginning, from my initial meeting with Cole to Wednesday morning’s vehicular events. She’d also been at Brax’s wedding, so I didn’t have to elaborate too much on that part of the story, but I covered the break-in at Uncle Mike’s house, Cole’s quest to save the Galaxy from becoming a sand bunker, Lucy’s job with the Diamondback Devils, the possible Russian connection…

“So there are two possibilities? Either Cole is the target and Jimmy is our main suspect, or you and Lucy McCall were the victims of unrelated attacks, and Cole’s involvement is purely coincidental?”

“That’s about the shape of it.”

“What’s your gut telling you?”

It was a question I’d asked myself a thousand times.

“I think Cole’s the target.”

“Why?”

“Originally, I figured the hit squad was after yours truly because that was the obvious assumption, and it would have been a good place to catch me—I was slightly drunk, potentially naked, and definitely distracted. Plus I have a permanent bullseye painted on my back. But I’m not easy to hit. Not to brag, but if a person was serious about taking me out, they’d have sent a better team.”

“Also, the attack was at Cole’s property.”

“That’s stating the obvious. We’ve installed cameras to monitor the yard, but if we need in-person surveillance, we’ll have to use a vehicle. There aren’t any vacant rentals nearby.”

“You checked Airbnb?”

Did Ari think we were fools? “There are sixteen suitable properties listed for short-term rent, and they’re all occupied right now. We have a reservation two streets away from next Friday in case we need it.”

“We can’t ignore Occam’s razor. Cole seems the most likely target.”

“Which brings us to yesterday morning. The driver of the vehicle left a message for Lucy’s boss. She has two of those, but the incident happened at the Galaxy. If the message was for the Diamondback Devils, why didn’t they hit her at the Steel Horse?”

“Because fifty angry bikers would have chased them down, but I take your point. Assuming Cole is the target, we need to work out why. Is it due to his involvement with the Galaxy, which has been brief? Or did he annoy somebody unconnected to the hotel?”

“He’s only lived in Vegas for a few months.”

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