Page 53 of Colton's Last Resort

“How’d you manage that?”

He chuckled because she meant it more as a ribbing than an insult. And she had a point. “Beats the hell out of me.”

“Is she joining you tonight?” Valerie asked.

“I hope so,” he said, looking at the doors—as if he couldn’t wait for Laura’s arrival.

Who was he kidding? He’d glanced toward the doors half a dozen times already. “She’ll have a martini, dry. I’ll have a Corona and lime.”

“Coming right up,” she said as she built his beer. “You arrived just in time, if you ask me. The boss doesn’t burn the candle at both ends. She’s too smart for that. But word is, she’s broken up about what happened.”

“You’re right.” He tried to think how to broach the subject without drawing eavesdroppers into the conversation. “You never forget the shock when something happens like that. I lost a friend of mine a few years back. It’s tough.”

Valerie passed the beer to him. She grabbed a cocktail shaker for Laura’s martini. “I don’t think anyone who knew Allison will get over it.”

Noah folded his arms on the bar. He allowed his shoulders to droop over them. “I don’t think anyone ever really gets over it. I’ll never forget what I was doing when I heard the news about my buddy.”

“I won’t forget either,” Valerie replied. “I closed the bar that night same as always. It was close to the weekend, so it was open later than it is on weekdays. My roommate woke me up the next morning with a phone call from Laura. That’s who hired me and everybody else. If there’s a staff bulletin, she makes sure everyone knows about it. Even those of us who aren’t scheduled to come in until later. That must’ve made things harder for her—having to call around and deliver the news to all the staff.”

Noah nodded. He made a mental note to track down Valerie’s roommate and confirm that she had been home around the time of Allison’s death.

“I’m glad she has someone,” Valerie mentioned as she poured the cocktail into a martini glass. She topped it with an olive. “You’re a real sweetheart for being there for her.”

He flashed a smile. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Is your band coming to Arizona soon?” Valerie asked. “I’d like to check it out.”

“I’ll have to check our schedule,” he said. “We’re taking a break right now. We’ve been touring for a while.”

“Enjoy it while you can,” she advised. “Nobody knows more about burning the candle at both ends like a genuine rock-and-roll superstar.”

“I’m no superstar,” he said.

Valerie leaned toward him over the bar, lowering her voice. “Her stepmother showed up this afternoon.”

He searched his memory files for a name. “Glenna?”

“That’s the one. Made quite a scene at the front desk. I hear there’s trouble with her father, too. She and her brothers turned down his request for a loan. Now he may be out for blood.”

Lifting the beer to his mouth, he made a noncommittal sound.

“That’s how the old man operates, from what I understand,” Valerie said, easing back with a shrug. “He never gave a hoot for his kids. But when the chips are down...”

“How else do you expect an eel to operate?” Noah groaned.

Valerie laughed. “Hey, it was nice to meet you.”

He dipped his head. “Nice to meet you, too.” Backing away with the drinks, he let her move on to the next customer. He saw the empty table in the back corner and made a beeline for it.

Laura arrived moments later in another fur-trimmed jacket—this one camel-colored. It looked as soft as he knew her skin to be. The hem floated around her knees. She stopped to speak to Valerie for a moment, then let a guest snag her attention. She passed around smiles and assurances in a manner any PR representative would have admired.

The smile didn’t dim when she found him lurking at the back table. “I’m behind schedule,” she said when she reached him. “I apologize.”

“No need,” he said, standing to take her coat as she slipped it from her shoulders.

Her bare shoulders.Christ, he thought, seeing the delicate ledge of her clavicle on display above the off-the-shoulder blouse. Every lover-like thing he could have said seemed too real. Too sincere.

You’re a knockout...

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