Page 191 of Menace in Vegas

“She should be.”

I glance toward the hallway where she and Daltyn disappeared a few minutes ago. “He hasn’t left her side since he got here.”

“Nope.”

“Do you think she knows?”

Connor’s lips twitch, but it’s not a smile. “I think she’s trying really hard not to admit it.”

I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. “I hate this.”

“Me too.”

“But I’m glad we’re together.”

His arm tightens around me. “Always.”

A moment of rare silence settles over the room. It’s almost peaceful.

Then Gram clears her throat. “If we die tonight, I just want you both to know I left a copy of ‘Lust on the Bayou’ in your suitcase.”

I exhale slowly, trying not to laugh. “Thank you, Gram.”

Connor closes his eyes. “Please let the power come back on before she starts the audiobook version.”

91

CONNOR

The storm stops just before dawn. But the silence it leaves behind is worse than the thunder.

It’s too quiet. Too still. Like the sky’s holding its breath.

I step onto the porch, Daltyn close behind me. The air reeks of wet palm trees and tension. The ground’s soaked with puddles, broken branches, and slick mud everywhere.

We scan the area.

Nothing is out of the ordinary until Daltyn tenses and points. “There.”

Fresh footprints streak through the mud just beyond the edge of the bungalow. The pattern’s erratic, like someone was pacing. Circling around the bungalow. Some lead toward the dunes. Others double back.

I step closer, jaw tightening as I trace the indentations in the wet sand. “Landon,” I mutter.

Daltyn nods. “He was here.”

My fists clench. “He’s taunting us.”

“Or planning something worse.”

Before I can respond, the door creaks open behind us.

Gram steps outside in a robe covered in embroidered sea turtles. Her flip-flops squelch as she crosses the porch, holding what looks suspiciously like a breakfast margarita.

“Well,” she announces, chipper as ever. “I’m going to check on my bungalow. See if my vibrator floated away.”

I don’t even react anymore. “Did you just say your vibrator?”

“Storms are brutal on silicone,” she says, matter-of-factly. “And I left the batteries inside.”

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