Page 67 of Blind Luck

“Maybe he’s paying her plenty,” Maddie suggested. “He sure has the money. How much do architects make?”

“How do you know he has money?”

“His daddy owns the Neptune. Of course he has money.”

That’s where I’d heard the name before. The Neptune. His father was Stanley Fuller, the guy who wanted to buy the Galaxy and turn it into a golf course. A golf course…

Golf.

Clubs, balls, bunkers, greens, holes.

AceInTheHole.

Oh, hell. I needed to speak with Ari.

“I love you both,” I told Kina and Maddie. “But I gotta go.”

“What’s wrong with her?” I heard Kina ask Rusty as I hurried to the door.

“She’s had an eventful day. I should go with her.”

He caught up with me as I ducked into a quiet alcove, one with a couple of upholstered chairs that in no way matched the dusty blue-and-yellow vase sitting on a side table.

I dialled Ari.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“No? I mean yes, well, maybe? I have no idea anymore. Kelsey’s been meeting with Jace Fuller—you know, the guy whose dad owns the Neptune—and there’s no way she’s dating him. I mean, I said all along she wasn’t, but Kina says he’s an absolute creep, and why would she date a creep when she has a hockey player who’s quite nice by all accounts?”

“A good question.”

“And she’s here for work. She goes to work nearly every day.” Rusty leaned against the wall as I began pacing the tiny alcove. “Apart from a trip to the Grand Canyon with her colleagues, all she’s done is work and meet with an absolute sleaze. So the sleaze is probably part of work, so what’s she designing for Jace Fuller? Could be a mansion or something, but she worked on a tennis pavilion and an eco-hotel before. Sports and resorts. So I got to thinking, what if she’s been hired to design a golf course?”

“Do architects design golf courses? Isn’t that a specialist golf course designer job? I mean, it’s grass and sand bunkers.”

“Okay, the nineteenth hole. Rich assholes need a building to go drink in after they’ve finished playing with their balls.”

When I lived in Florida, I’d worked in a golf clubhouse for a few weeks, and let me tell you, those men were fond of putting their hands in places they shouldn’t be. If I’d had a dollar for every time a jerk patted me on the ass and called me “darlin’,” I’d have made a heck of a lot more money than they paid me.

“I guess it’s possible that the Fullers are doing some exploratory work, but there’s no guarantee Cole will agree to sell the Galaxy, especially with Jerry involved.”

“No, but there’s this dark web guy trying to scare Cole into paying back a loan he can’t afford and that might not even exist, and the dark web guy is called AceInTheHole.”

“So?”

“So, yesterday I mentioned the name to Rusty, about it being a poker term, and he said it was also a golfing term. And I didn’t even think.I didn’t even think.But then I saw Kelsey with Jace Fuller today, and I thoughtwhat if?”

Silence from Ari.

“It’s another term for a hole-in-one,” Rusty whispered, and without thinking, I reached for his hand. He squeezedmine back, and rather than keep pacing, I let him tuck me against his side. Instead of feeling trapped, I felt…protected? And also a little sad. Because the more I grew to like him, the closer we came to leaving Vegas. And what about Florence?

Finally, Ari spoke. “The Fullers have been on our radar all along, but there’s been nothing to tie them to events except Stanley’s offer for the Galaxy. And even the offer was a casual one. But if they’re pushing forward with the project and investing money… You know, you could actually be onto something.”

“You really think so?”

“We’re all fishing around in the dark here, and those pieces fit, albeit loosely. I’ll talk to Alexa and see if she can find more information on this golf course. Where’s Kelsey now?”

“At the Galaxy with Jace Fuller. They’re in the Library.”

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