Page 19 of Dark Horse

“Am I stupid for getting into this situation? I mean, it’s going to backfire somehow, right?”

“As long as you think he can be discreet, it honestly sounds perfect. You get your money. He gets his feet. He’s hot, has disposable income, and he keeps your secrets? What’s not to like there?” When she puts it like that, it’s hard to argue with.

“I don’t know. It just seems risky.” I sigh.

“Less risky than taking feet pics for hundreds of guys who could be creeps,” she counters, playing devil’s advocate.

“I suppose that’s true.” I nod.

I could trust Grant. His loyalty to my brother had beenunwavering, and even if we don’t see eye to eye on much, he would never try to hurt me. Not on purpose. Even with the rival bar situation, it’d been a natural thing for him to do. He ran a casino and a resort. The place having a bar just made sense. We’d both thought, and I’d hoped, it wouldn’t have any effect on my sales.

“So if it were me then… I’d do it. Too many upsides to worry about the slim chance of a downside.” She shrugs. “Simple economics.”

“This is why I need you for advice.” I smile at her practical assessment.

“I’ve got you. I’m guessing this is vault?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to tell Hazel. Not right now. She’ll feel guilty, and I just want her to enjoy this wedding and have fun. Bristol too. She’s got a lot on her own plate, and I don’t want to drag her into my moral dilemmas.”

“Fair enough.”

So that was it then. I had the Marlowe good girl stamp of approval to go forth and take naked pictures for Grant Stockton in exchange for keeping the bar out of the red and Hazel’s wedding celebrations on track.

SEVEN

GRANT

I’min a disgruntled mood today. I’d gotten less sleep than I wanted because of the event we had last night, and I’d woken up way too early and stared at the ceiling wondering what the fuck I was doing with Dakota. I glare at my phone, wondering if I should just tell her to forget everything.

I put her off last night. Told her I needed sleep because of how late it was and how long the day had been. It wasn’t a lie, but I also wanted some time to reconsider my decision. It had been a rash one prompted by her tears. I couldn’t stand to see her cry like that, knowing she works as hard as she does and that the new bar we opened is probably contributing to her problems just like she said. Everyone likes the pretty new thing. Some of her regulars will drift back after the shine wears off, but it may not be in time for her to right theship.

She also wasn’t wrong about this fucking wedding costing a small fortune. I had a veritable army descending on the hotel in a few weeks to put on what I have to assume is the biggest event Purgatory Falls has ever seen. Everyone in our extended family and Hazel’s, at least a dozen of his teammates, and a handful each of friends, acquaintances, and business associates were all going to make their way to see the two of them get hitched again. Their first wedding had been modest, and Ramsey’s insisting on making this one perfect for her with all the bells, whistles, and pre-wedding events.

So I can’t blame Dakota for being overwhelmed. There’s probably an avalanche of to-dos and expenses that she’s struggling to shoulder while she plays maid of honor to Hazel’s unhinged bride of the year. But the way she’d been trying to solve it was dangerous. The same way she tries to solve every problem she has—by herself with very little forethought to what happens if things go tits up. Or what she’ll do if her gangster landlord finds out and leverages it as blackmail against the debts she owes him.

I feel a whisper of guilt trickle down my spine. I rarely feel anything. It’s all business to me. But with her, I feel something less cold—call it obligation to her brother, a tinge of humanity in my blackened heart. As much as I’m desperate to teach her a lesson and make her learn it the hard way, there’s a hint of reluctance on my part. Probably because when I stopped seething with rage, I started wondering if she could manage talking to me the same breathy way she did to those men, and I was curious if she’d be brave enough to send pictures if I forced her hand.

“You look deep in thought.” Levi enters my office with the same stalking silence he always does and sits down across from me.

“I’ve got a big fucking problem on my hands.”

“Dakota?” He smirks. We know each other too well after all these years working together.

I nod.

“The site’s deleted, and I assume you reamed her ass out thoroughly over it. So what else is there to solve?” His brow furrows in question, and he pulls his glasses off to clean them with the edge of his shirt.

“She needs the money. The money I seized from her and then some.”

“Ah. And you’re thinking of loaning it to her because you always have a weak spot where your former ward is concerned?”

“I don’t have a weak spot. I have an obligation to Jesse.” I give Levi an unamused look. They weren’t as close as we were, but Levi treated him like a brother too.

“I think you fulfilled that obligation a long time ago. What she does now isn’t your problem.”

“Well. In all the fucking mess that was yesterday, I made it my problem.”

“How so?”

---