Page 58 of Blind Luck

“Maybe.”

Cheating had brought him to Vegas, and cheating was keeping him in Vegas. But if Rusty was drawing out the surveillance for personal reasons, that wasn’t fair to Erin.

“Do you want me to talk with him?” I asked. “Tell him we need to finish up on the job?”

She hadn’t wanted to do it in the first place, so I was surprised when she shrugged rather than nodding.

“I don’t mind staying on. Now that Alexa’s tracking Kelsey’s phone, we only follow her if she leaves the hotel or work. And I’m worried about her. Does that sound weird? She doesn’t seem happy to be here, and what if Galaxy Guy comes back?”

“It isn’t our place—” I started, but Dusk interrupted.

“You think she’s with him under duress?”

Erin bit her lip. “I’m not sure? She just didn’t look happy, that’s all.”

“Watch them. If she’s being pushed into anything she doesn’t want to do, you tell me and we’ll deal with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we’ll deal with it. But we do need to find out who the guy is.”

“I took photos and sent them to Alexa.”

“She hasn’t run them yet?”

“Not that I know of.”

“I’ll give her a nudge. She got sidetracked with the AceInTheHole thing, plus she’s been hopping around the globe, so she’s limited as to the amount of work she can do right now.”

“What’s AceInTheHole?”

“The crackpot who’s waging war against Cole. That’s their dark web handle.”

“I guess that’s more important.”

Dusk smiled at her, and it was a genuine, friendly smile. She seemed the most likeable member of Jerry’s team I’d met so far, although I’d never say that out loud. Even thinking it was risky because Alexa seemed as if she could read minds sometimes.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find him, and if Kelsey needs help, we’ll solve that problem too. I know what it’s like when a man abuses his power. Does anyone want more coffee?”

Oh, really?

She waved a server over, ending the conversation before I could pull on that thread. Yes, she was nicer than Jerry, but every bit as mysterious.

CHAPTER 19

RUSTY

“Tired?”

Erin yawned as she walked in, and she was carrying a takeout coffee cup the size of her head.

“Uh-huh.”

“Mav’s coffee machine isn’t good enough?”

“This is almost finished. Make me an espresso?” She used her free hand to rub her eyes. “Please?”

Over the days they’d known each other, she’d grown in confidence. She used to hesitate at the threshold, but now she marched right on in. Rusty realised he liked that. He liked that she was happy in his home. Well, Mav’s home. Rusty didn’t truly feel at home anywhere anymore.

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