Page 26 of Ms. Fortune
“My truck is gone.” I sighed and lifted my non-injured hand to rub between my eyebrows. “We’re going to need to figure out a way home.”
“I’ve already taken care of it.” Risky narrowed his eyes at me before I could ask what he meant. “The truck driver let me look at the dashcam footage before handing it over to that worthless sheriff. Do you have any idea how close you came to being flattened, Lucky?”
I closed my eyes and shuddered. The sight of that trailer sliding toward me as I careened toward the edge of the road would haunt me forever.
“I know.” I whispered the words and avoided looking into his furious golden gaze. “Did you guys find any more cameras hidden around the property?”
I wanted his attention off my near miss because I didn’t know how long I could withstand the heavy emotions emanating from him in my weakened state. I already lost my head around him. If he kept aggressively caring about me, I might take my heart out of the deep freeze and offer it to him as a snack.
“No more cameras. Zowen thinks they were hastily placed in the cabins in obvious locations to alarm guests. He said they weren’t even transmitting footage anywhere and were definitely not the work of a professional.”
I heaved a relieved breath. “That’s awesome news.”
He hummed in agreement, but popped my tiny bubble of relief mercilessly with his next words. “I had him look over the rest of the systems you use for reservations, collecting payments, running payroll, and ordering. There were glitches in all of them. Nothing you would notice right away. A missed delivery here. A double charge on a credit card there. The reservations system would have collapsed on the first day of winter. All your existing reservations would’ve vanished, and any incoming ones would’ve switched to different days as soon as you tried to save them. Zowen said it was a pretty sophisticated system hack. It would’ve been catastrophic if he hadn’t found the changes before business picked up.” Risky shook his head and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. His frustration was palpable. “He left a secure laptop for you to run everything off of for the time being. If he says no one can access it, I believe him. He’s got another job he’s committed to, but once he’s wrapped it up, he’s going to come back and shore up all your digital defenses. He also helped me dial in the cameras and suggested a company to hire for installing a full-blown security system.”
I groaned and rubbed my forehead even harder. “I can’t afford any of that.”
“Can you afford the fallout from thousands of negative reviews and angry guests? Not to mention the loss of income from hundreds of faulty reservations, or the legal ramifications of a major data breach. You need to consider every security measure at your disposal. As for Archer, don’t worry about—”
I cut Risky off before he finished the sentence. “He owes you a favor, right?”
Risky shrugged. “Not in the way you’re thinking. We’re friends. We help each other out. He’s doing this because I asked him to.”
“And you asked him to help for nostalgia? Because you have fond memories of the lodge and my grandparents?” The question was more pointed and sharper than I’d intended it to be.
The dark-haired man merely lifted his immaculate eyebrows and muttered, “Something like that.”
Convinced my ears had heard what I wanted them to when he called himself my man, I changed the subject. “Why did you ask the sheriff about poker?”
A flash of surprise crossed his dour expression. “You heard that?”
I couldn’t nod, so I hummed an affirmative sound.
Risky grunted as he moved to stand closer to the side of the bed. His gaze drifted over my sorry state, and his frown grew even darker and more menacing.
“That old man clearly has it out for you. If he’s not interested in doing his damn job, I figured I would make it so he had no other option than to work for that easy paycheck. I told you my previous job was all about fixing the mistakes others had made. I’ve got a solid eye for the type of person who probably has something they don’t want the rest of the world to know about. The sheriff fits that mold perfectly.”
My confusion must’ve been obvious because his harsh expression finally gave way to a slight smile.
“He likes to gamble, but he sucks at it. He owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to the local casinos and a couple of different bookies. Not sure how the people of Blue River would feel about their elected law enforcement official using public funds to pay off personal debt. I just wanted to make sure the sheriff understood his secrets weren’t as safe as he thought they were.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
Risky chuckled. “I thinkdiabolicalis what you meant. It’s more accurate.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the doctor, who hurried to tell me my wrist was badly sprained, but there was no evidence of a break. After he used Steri-Strips to close the wound on my forehead and told me which pharmacy to pick up my prescriptions, he sent me home with orders to rest and keep my wrist elevated above my heart when I lay down to reduce the swelling. He reminded me that I should follow up with my regular doctor if my head continued to hurt or if any serious signs tied to a head injury started to appear.
Risky held me close as I gingerly navigated the way to the exit of the hospital. As I was standing at the entrance, waiting for Risky to drive around and pick me up, the sheriff walked up to me and gave me a narrow-eyed look. He opened his mouth, his white mustache practically vibrating off his lip as he restrained himself from whatever he originally wanted to say. He grunted and lifted the heavy belt around his waist in aggravation.
“When you feel up to it, come by my office and give me your rundown of the accident. I don’t suppose you know who was driving the SUV that tried to run you off the road?” He shook his head. “Identifying whatever’s left of the driver is going to take a long time. That’s a right mess up there on the mountain.”
I snorted and ignored his dirty look. “I have no idea.”
“Are there that many people who want you dead, Lucky?” The sarcasm in his voice was thick as mud. “And what about that sketchy handyman you’ve got working for you? Where did you find him?”
My snarky reply died on my lips when a shiny, brand-new red pickup truck pulled to a stop directly in front of me. The sheriff and I watched as Risky came around the hood to open the passenger door for me. I didn’t bother to ask where he’d found the pristine truck on such short notice because I was getting used to him being a magician and pulling more than a rabbit out of his hat.
He gave the sheriff a disdainful look, and the old man instantly backed down and continued on his way into the hospital. It was interesting to watch the man who always tried to lord his power over others be instantly humbled by his own unethical behavior.
