Page 20 of Ms. Fortune
I cleared my throat and tried to get the conversation back on track. “What was it about your previous job that scared other women off?”
I was curious what he’d fixed that would send someone running for the hills. With that face and body, it must have been fairly awful for his lovers to let him go without a fight.
“You ask me to fix things like burned-out lightbulbs and leaky toilets. I used to fix things like dead hookers and gambling debts to the tune of millions. Rich people get in just as deep, if not deeper, than those lacking funds. The difference is, their screwups affect things like the national economy and the stability of an entire nation’s infrastructure. They pay a ridiculous amount of money to make problematic things go away, and I rarely said no to a mess that wasn’t mine.” His bright eyes dimmed, and a sour look crossed his face. “Cheating spouses. Blackmail. Drug addiction and human trafficking. Embezzlement. Leaking trade secrets. Manipulation of different political factions. Bribery. Sabotage. You name it, and I’ve had my hands in covering it up or bringing it to light.”
He must’ve been prepared for the look of bewilderment that crossed my face because his expression turned serious and his gaze went cold.
“I drew the line at anything that hurt the vulnerable. I only took those types of assignments if it was to uncover who was behind them and ending their very profitable corruption. I refused to cover up anything that made innocent individuals, and any child, nothing more than a tool used for personal gain. That was a boundary I’d had to set after several years of watching rich people get away with things they absolutely shouldn’t. The longer I worked for my former boss, the more I tried to avoid any situation with a major power imbalance.
“When two billionaires want to duke it out and get one over on each other, who cares if there’s a winner or a loser? But ifthat same billionaire goes after a single mother, living paycheck to paycheck, simply because she’d turned him down for a date”—his eyes narrowed, and I could see that he was thinking of something that didn’t sit right with him—“then there’s a problem.
“My former boss did a good job of knowing where my bottom line was. We only butted heads occasionally when I turned down an assignment. But it was getting harder and harder to keep that line defined. There are more and more awful people in leadership positions, and they do not give a fuck who they hurt or what laws they have to break to stay exactly where they are. When my boss left politics, I knew it was time for me to retire.”
I blinked rapidly and tried to process all the information he’d just laid at my feet. I thought he was incompetent. He wasn’t. What he was, was deadly.
I didn’t know if I wanted to run away from him and call the sheriff or give him a high five for having a working moral compass in such a hostile environment. No wonder he wasn’t afraid of me. How could I stack up to the level of maliciousness and evil he’d dealt with on the daily? I questioned how anyone could make it out of that environment with a scrap of humanity intact.
“How did you end up on the mountain? What brought you to Blue River?”
“I’d been here before on a job. Wealthy people love to have second or third and fourth homes they hardly ever visit stashed away in expensive mountain towns. They’re the perfect place to slip away with your mistress or to have covert meetings you don’t want anyone to find out about. Despite that visit being distasteful, I liked this area very much. I’d hitchhiked across the country because I’d left everything from my old life behind. Including a luxury sports car that would have been useless on these roads anytime it rained or snowed. My ride dropped meoff at the base of the pass, and I just started walking. On that previous trip, I’d stayed at a charming little ski lodge. The man and woman who ran it were the kindest people I’d ever met. I thought I’d stop in and see how they were doing.” A sad smile touched his lips, and his expression softened. “I was sorry to hear that they’d passed away. I’ve seldom come across such genuine concern and care from strangers.
“It was a mere coincidence that you picked me up and brought me to where I’d unconsciously wanted to go. When you started talking about needing a hand with everything around the property, I offered before my brain could catch up with my mouth. I was pleasantly surprised to find that being kindhearted ran in the family.”
Stunned, I struggled to get my head around the revelation that he’d been here before and liked my favorite humans enough to return. It was a little like stepping into the twilight zone. How did he always catch me off guard?
I snorted and dragged my hands through my hair. I didn’t know what to do with myself. “No one has ever called me that. Usually, they say I’m mean or problematic. I told you, my luck doesn’t make me any friends.”
He laughed again and reached out a hand so that the back of his fingers brushed over my cheek. “Anybody saying that shit to you has never spent any time around someone who isactuallymean and problematic. There’s nothing wrong with you, Lucky.”
I fought the urge to lean into his touch. Instead, I moved away and muttered, “If that were true, I wouldn’t have unnamed enemies trying to destroy my life’s dream.”
Sensing that I wasn’t willing to prolong the deeply personal and poignant moment, he said, “Speaking of that, if I’m not fired, there’s something in the cabins that I want to show you.”
I frowned, following him through the door of the A-frame he’d been working on before I interrupted him. I didn’tcomment on firing him or not. We both understood there was already a tenuous agreement between us. If I sacked him, it would be like I was admitting defeat and couldn’t handle the complicated feelings he aroused within me. And while every warning system I had in my body was shouting at me to retreat, it wasn’t in my nature.
My heart was a barren wasteland and inhospitable. Even if Risky thought he could brave the cold at the moment, he would get sick of winter.
Inside the cabin was clean and shiny. The updated décor was chic and modern, and all the finishes were high-end. Now that I’d put so much into having them updated, I could charge double what my grandparents had in the past. If they really took off and stayed booked throughout the season, they would make enough to cover all the yearly expenses of the lodge. The rooms inside the main building would just be extra income I could spend on fun stuff instead of survival. That was, if I managed to make it to the busy season without getting shut down.
Risky took his cell and flashed the light over the smoke detector and one of the lamps. He showed me an outlet that didn’t look quite right, and an addition to the expensive coffee machine that hadn’t been there when I set the system up.
“Cameras. They’re everywhere, and not hidden very well. I checked this cabin and the next one. Both have illegal surveillance set up in them. I can’t tell if they’re wired up and transmitting, or if they’re all for show, but the second a guest finds one …” He trailed off, and his expression went stark and serious.
“The lodge will be shut down, and I’ll be looking at invasion of privacy charges—or worse, if a family with children is involved.” I swore and lifted my hands to tug on my hair in frustration. “How long have these been here?”
He shrugged. “Hard to say. I’ll check the new security footage to see if there’s anything on there from the last couple of weeks, but it’s unlikely. The cabins are far enough from the main building that anyone could come in and out of them without us noticing them. They could’ve been here since before I moved in. And these are only the ones we can see. There’s equipment we need to get our hands on to make sure there aren’t any hidden ones that can come back and bite you in the ass down the road.”
“This is getting to be too much.” I pulled on my hair again and willed back the burn of tears I felt in my eyes.
Fighting a battle with an invisible enemy was exhausting. Punching the air was so unsatisfying, and losing the war I’d never asked to take part in had me grinding my back teeth to dust.
I looked at Risky and asked, “You aren’t doing this, are you?” When he had rattled the long list of misdeeds from his previous employment, I’d belatedly realized a handful of those offenses applied to my current predicament. “If you are …” What? What would I do if I’d let the enemy this close? So close that I could still taste him and feel his lingering heat.
“I’m not this sloppy. And I don’t move this slowly. Plus, I’m retired.” He watched me with an indescribable look in his eye. I couldn’t tell if he was disappointed that I’d asked or that it had taken me this long to ask. “I’m not saying those real estate developers don’t keep the numbers of other people in my line of work on hand, but I promise, none of them have mine. I told you I like this place, and I liked your grandparents.” His tone lowered, and I felt him trying to harness his overwhelming presence. “Believe it or not, I’m on your side, Lucky.”
I wanted to trust him, but my judgment was all twisted up and tied in knots because of my unwanted attraction to him.
“My side is the losing side, Risky. You might want to rethink that choice.” I sighed and looked around the cabin, angry thatyet another place that held such precious memories for me had been violated and defaced by whoever was out to hurt me. This was definitely worse than a physical injury. “If things keep going at this rate, I’m going to lose everything.”
