Page 85 of Hard Luck (Blackstone House)

“Well, if they come back to San Gallicano, my house will be up for rent.”

“You’re leaving Emerald Shores?”

“Not by choice.”

“The hotel in Las Vegas?”

“Unfortunately.”

“I went to Vegas once, did you know that? A friend’s bachelor party when I was much younger. The place was too loud for me. Too busy. Where do you live, Bella?”

“Vegas.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” It wasn’t clear whether he was apologising for insulting the city she called home or commiserating with her for having to live there. “Do you have family keeping you in Nevada?”

“I have a lot of friends.”

“You’ve never considered somewhere quieter?”

“I like to stay busy.”

“Young Cole stays plenty busy here. He’s built up a thriving business with theCrosswind. It’s a shame a family emergency got in the way, but family’s important, son. Never forget that.”

“I won’t.”

Cole wished that someday he could call Bella family, but with her acting so indecisive at the moment, that was nothing but a pipe dream.

CHAPTER 29

JEZEBEL

“I’m calling for an update,” I told Ari.

Another day, another pile of stuff to chop. I’d served fruit salad for breakfast, and I was grateful Marcel was far, far away because he’d laugh his ass off if he saw me playing waitress. Right now, I was stretched out on the sundeck—yes, I was wearing sunscreen—bored out of my mind.

The first day had been okay—I’d taken a quick look through our guests’ luggage and found little of interest; assembled my gun and duct-taped it to the roof of the vanity in the bathroom, under the sink; and toured the boat to work out its weak spots. The swim platform at the rear was vulnerable to boarding, Cole didn’t bother to lock the door to the engine room, and there were no anti-piracy deterrents. Not so long ago, Priest had told us about a friend’s new yacht. TheBlack Diamond—yes, the same guy owned the hotel and clearly had no originality—came equipped with a multi-fin stabilisation system to keep the deck level, an armoured pilothouse and engine room, anti-missile defences, lasers, and enough weapons to mount acoup in a small country. Cybersecurity was another risk area on yachts these days, but when I’d innocently asked Cole about that, he’d just looked at me, puzzled.

Anyhow, that was yesterday. Today, I had time to kill and no good target.

“Uh, so things are going good,” Ari said.

“And yet you sound hesitant?”

“We’ve made some progress.”

“What kind of progress?”

“Here’s the thing. I’m not allowed to tell you.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m paying the bills. What happened to regular reports?”

“So, you’re in San Gallicano. Sin or Alexa would be terrifying enough on their own, but they’re both breathing down my neck. Dusk too.”

“Alexa’s there?”

“Not in person, but she checks up on me every couple of hours.”

“What about me? Am I not terrifying?”

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