‘Invitation only.’
Bee frowned out the overly tinted window of Liliana’s diamond-white Mercedes-AMG GT Coupé and surveyed the busy dock on the Hollywood Intracoastal waterway. Sure enough, a sign out front proclaimed the casino ship closed for a private party. ‘Shouldn’t be too hard.’ She checked her teeth in the visor mirror. ‘You ready?’
Adam left the car as an answer, fixing his black bow tie and walking around to open her door. He offered her his arm, and she placed a hand on his elbow, twisting her lips into the barest of smiles.
They sauntered into the well-dressed crowd waiting in lines to board the ship. Security guards were checking invitations at the two points of entry on the docks.
She nodded at the couple walking in front of them.
He grunted in reply.
She let go of his arm and pulled a tube of lipstick out of her silver clutch. Bee applied the lipstick as she walked, her pace faster than the couple. Once she was in front of the woman, she dropped it on the dock.
It rolled under the woman’s shoe, and she tripped. Her male companion grabbed her to keep her from wiping out. He stopped so suddenly that Adam bumped into him.
‘Sorry, mate,’ he said, but the man waved him off.
‘Are you all right, darling?’ he was saying, and Adam walked to Bee, already waiting in line.
He held up the two invitations he’d lifted out of the man’s jacket against his chest.
She patted his arm like an owner praising a puppy’s first outside piddle. ‘Good job.’
‘I especially liked the “mate” part,’ Malika said over the comms. ‘Are you in character as an Australian tonight, Mr Gage?’
Adam wiggled his finger in his ear. ‘This thing’s gonna drive me nuts.’
Bee grinned and moved up the ramp. ‘Malika or the earpiece?’
‘What do you think?’
They neared the first security checkpoint, and Adam offered her his arm again. ‘You ready for the easy part?’
She sagged forward. ‘Oh for— Ugh.’ She took his elbow and forced a smile for the security guard. ‘You had to jinx us, didn’t you?’
Behind them, the couple they’d stolen from were bickering. ‘You had the invitations, Chad! Don’t tell me you forgot them!’
‘I didn’t forget them, darling. They were right here. I swear, I had them in my pocket!’
Adam handed over their stolen invitations, whole face bright with suppressed laughter, and set his hand on top of hers. ‘This is gonna be fun.’
‘I’ve never actually been in here,’ Bee said as they boarded. ‘So, you got any info?’
Malika mmhmmed and a picture of the ship appeared in Bee’s eye.
Adam rubbed the corner of his.
It looked in the picture as it did from her real-world perspective: a cruise ship shrunk down to fit inside canals.
The picture changed to blueprints and Malika narrated the tour she forced them on. ‘There are about six hundred people on board at a time, between guests and crew. One fancy restaurant that requires reservations. Two different buffets, both operating during the lunch and dinner trips. There are three levels available to guests. The first one, the one you’re on, is the gambling floor. One up and you hit the food options and a couple balconies. The life rafts. And the top floor is open air, bands play, old people dance. Not a bad way to spend your rent money.’
Bee looked around with a deep pout. No one manned the tables.
‘No gambling at the dock, I see.’
Adam said, ‘Well, not gonna case the joint standing here.’
At that, she motioned behind them with her chin. ‘And yet there are the offices. I can see six cameras from right here.’
Half his mouth opened in a grin. ‘I got seven.’
‘Of course.’
‘Let’s go check out the rest of the ship.’
‘After you, Mr Gage.’
Adam winced, braced himself. ‘Malika, can you show me the fastest way up?’
‘I want eyes on Banks,’ Bee added. ‘I need him at my side tomorrow or Alvarez is never going to take me seriously.’
‘Yeah, yeah. You guys get to do the fun stuff. I might’ve liked to dress up and gamble. Eat some fancy food.’
Adam must have got directions to the stairs because he started walking away from where most of the patrons waited for an elevator.
‘You can order room service,’ Bee said. ‘Lynch’s card is on the room.’
‘We’re gonna make him pay for our food too?’
She held on to a banister and followed Adam up the skinniest flight of stairs she’d ever seen.
‘He thought he could negotiate for my affections – plus, wedding ring in the pocket, remember? He deserves it.’
Up on the top deck, a band was playing to a crowd of people who were more interested in their first round of drinks than dancing.
Adam and Bee accepted champagne from a passing waiter and hung out near the railing to watch the ship depart. And to scout all the guests on the deck of course.
The song ended and the band reset. The lead singer, a shorter man with dark, slicked back hair wearing a well-tailored black tux and a bright yellow bow tie, took the mic out of the stand and began to sing.
Well, croon.
He crooned in a beautiful voice that would’ve made Ricky proud.
Not Martin. The other one. That would never let Lucy in the show.
‘What’s Ricky’s last name?’ Bee asked.
‘Martin,’ Malika answered in her ear.
‘No. The other one.’ Bee stared up at the stars for answers. ‘You know. The one that was in black and white.’
She could hear Malika’s look in the silence.
‘For some reason, I’m thinking Ethel, but that can’t be right.’
‘Ricardo.’ Adam drained his champagne, licked his teeth. ‘Ethel was the neighbor.’
Bee snapped her fingers. ‘Right! That’s who the singer’s reminding me of.’
‘Yeah, he’s good.’ He cleared his throat. ‘You wanna dance? It’ll be a minute until they open the tables.’
She pressed her smiling lips together. ‘Yeah, that, um, that’d be fun.’
‘OK, you two do you,’ Malika said. ‘I’m gonna order room service.’
Adam offered Bee his hand, and she took it, her dumb smile taking full control of her face. He led her to the outskirts of the dance floor, then his hand was on her waist. She could feel it through her dress, warm above her hip. So large it covered her whole side.
Bee tried to pretend she wasn’t hyper-aware of the feel of him against her. That she wasn’t in awe of how gently his hands held her when she’d seen what he could do with them.
She held her clutch over his shoulder, behind his neck, and regretted not flinging it into the ocean when he asked her to dance. It had only had lipstick in it, to begin with, and she’d dropped that on the dock.
But then again, it was Yves Saint Laurent.
And it did complete her look, Jessica Rabbit though it was.
Adam pulled her closer. She squeezed his fingers and let him. It would be out of character to not enjoy this moment of closeness, so damn it, she was gonna enjoy it.
He smelled much better now, like dandruff shampoo – for all his luscious locks – and a hint of Liliana’s father’s cologne.
Bee curled her arm around his shoulders. His hand slid to the small of her back. Every time he exhaled from his nose, it puffed against her cheek.
She would only have to shift her face a fraction and her lips would be on his.
Adam must’ve had the same thought. He moved his face towards hers, temple brushing temple.
Bee’s heart thudded against her breastbone.
‘You know what this reminds me of?’
His question sparked the memory of the last time they’d danced cheek to cheek, under the stars, while a short, well-dressed man crooned in Spanish.
‘I liked Ibiza,’ Bee said.
He grinned. She could feel his stubble against her skin. ‘It was a good job. Well, the first half.’
‘Yeah.’ The tip of her nose ghosted along his jaw. ‘The second half wasn’t my favorite.’
He caressed her back, a slow, soft circle obviously meant to torture her. ‘Nobody likes being the bait.’
‘I don’t mind being the bait. Getting stuck in the trap with the mark is another story.’
‘Hey, I took a bullet for that mistake, in case you forgot.’
Bee shook her head. ‘If only forgiveness came that easily.’
He chuckled, low in his throat, and she watched the muscles move in his neck.
Once again, she thought about tossing the clutch into the Atlantic. At least then she might be able to sneak a touch of him.
She didn’t think he’d let her run her fingers through his gorgeous mane, but she was willing to sacrifice Saint Laurent to Trident if it meant she’d get to tug on it.
‘I haven’t been back,’ he said, and his voice pulled her out of her daydream. ‘I thought about it. A lot. But it didn’t seem right.’ He shrugged. ‘Not without you.’
Her heart stopped its assault on her bones to unleash hell on her stomach.
Why did he make her seasick?
Bee pressed her cheek against his to gather her courage. ‘You never called.’
It might have been her imagination, but his steps faltered a tiny bit.
‘I waited. After you got out of the hospital, I thought …’ She chewed her lip. ‘But you didn’t call. And Os said he reached out to you for a few jobs, but you turned him down. I tried calling, but the number I had for you was disconnected. I figured you changed your mind.’
He pulled back far enough to look incredulously in her eyes. ‘Thomas Osbourn is a lying sack of garbage. I never changed my mind. You hear me?’ He bent his head until they were practically nose to nose, his eyes wide.
She could see the sincerity in them so clearly, she had to look away. He was a liar, she told herself. Him and Os both. Look where trusting liars had gotten her.
‘He told me things would get bad for you if I didn’t back off.’ His hand slid to her hip again. He felt so far away and far too close. ‘That was the last I heard from him until you burned all his bridges down. I never shoulda believed him,’ he said. ‘That’s on me.’
‘Lots of people believed him.’ Bee twisted her mouth into a sad smile. ‘That was kind of his thing.’
He held her hand tighter. ‘I thought, you know – I thought I was over it. It’s been so long.’ He shrugged and sniffed and looked away from her at the same time. And then his hand was on the small of her back again, pulling her in.
Other couples swayed around them. She could see them, see them holding each other, whispering in each other’s ears. One sweet blue-haired lady had her head nestled on her companion’s hunched shoulder. But Bee couldn’t hear them. She couldn’t hear the whispers. And she could barely hear the band play, barely hear the singer croon into the handheld mic.
Her blood rushed through her veins, buzzed in her ears.
She grazed her chin on his cheek and held her breath, willing her heart to slow down before she fainted on the dance floor.
‘I have to be honest with you.’ He held her tighter. ‘I thought I could use our history together. I thought I could take the money and run and that all those old memories, all those old feelings, they wouldn’t come back.’
Adam tilted his face towards her, so close she couldn’t see his eyes. All she could see was his stupidly square jaw and his annoyingly perfect cupid’s bow.
‘But they came back, Bee.’
He licked his lips, and her tongue darted out to wet her own.
She wished she’d brought a backup tube of lipstick.
‘It all came back.’
The music stopped. The couples around them parted to clap, and Ricky took a bow.
They stood still on the dance floor. Staring at each other. Bee couldn’t remember the last time she’d blinked.
She blinked four times.
Had he just confessed? Had he really just told her that he was planning on using her to get to Alvarez’s money?
Her swallow clicked in her throat. Bee took a deep breath and raised her eyes to meet his. ‘Did you really think I didn’t know?’
‘There you are!’
All emotion fell off Adam’s face. Bee let go of him. She turned around, confused, stunned. Uncertain.
But there they were.
Anastasia and Liliana, arm and arm, wine glasses half filled with Pinot Grigio in hand, dressed to the nines.
Bee laughed because there was nothing else she could do. ‘How did you guys get here? It’s invitation only. And I’m pretty sure you weren’t dressed like that when we left.’
Liliana shrugged. ‘My old man has a standing invite for this dinghy.’
‘Mega yacht,’ said Adam.
‘And every dinghy in the county.’ She slurped her wine, pinky up. ‘He’s very important.’
‘We gave the driver a show in my car.’ Anastasia winked. ‘He is not important.’
The band started up again, playing something fast. She drained her drink and gave Adam the empty glass. ‘Shall we dance?’
Liliana followed suit, leaving Adam holding two empty glasses. ‘We shall! Come, Beatrice. Let’s give these geezers a show!’
There was no point in protesting, so Bee did what she was told and followed the Anas to the middle of the dance floor.
She gave Adam an apologetic look on her way into the melee.
He popped a dimple and held up the wine glasses in salute.
‘So,’ Liliana cooed, grabbing Bee by the arm and spinning her around. ‘Things are going good?’
Bee tossed her head back and groaned at the ceiling. ‘I hate myself.’
Anastasia dipped Liliana low. ‘Don’t be so dramatic. You were dancing so close, how bad can it be?’
Bee swayed to the music, caught sight of Adam leaving the dance floor.
‘Look at his shoulders! How, how are they so – so broad!’ She wrapped her arms around Anastasia and spun. ‘I want to climb him like a tree.’
‘Hey, Bee,’ Malika said, her voice muffled like she was chewing something. ‘Comms are still on.’
Bee froze. ‘What? No, they’re not.’
‘Yeah, they are,’ said Adam.
Bee’s mouth fell open, and her stomach hit the floor, right between her medium-height silver Jimmy Choos.
That was it. She was going to fling herself over the rail.
The Anas trailed after her.
‘What is it?’ Liliana asked. ‘You look like you’re gonna hurl, and that shade of green with that dress makes you look like Christmas.’
Bee pulled the earpiece out and handed it to her, picking her pace up to a light jog. There were benches by the rail that were the right height to crawl under and wish for a quick death.
‘Hello?’ Liliana held the earpiece in front of her mouth to speak, moved it to the side of her face to listen. ‘Bee is busy right now attempting to curl into the fetal position. Might I take a message?’
‘Give me that.’ Anastasia plucked the comm with her index finger and thumb. ‘Who is this?’
It was too much work to bend down under the bench. Instead, she collapsed on top of it and held her head in her hands. ‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘I can take that back now. I am definitely not going to throw it into the ocean.’
Anastasia shook her head. ‘This bossy girl says not to give it back to you yet.’ She pushed the device into her own ear. ‘You are bossy,’ she said. ‘Do not screech at me, Bossy Girl. I am helping you.’
The music stopped, and the crooner took the mic in hand. ‘Thank you, thank you. We’re going to keep playing for you all, but it’s my pleasure to tell you that we’ve crossed the invisible line that opens up the gambling deck!’
The crowd applauded.
‘I hope you all win big! Buy me a drink, eh, big spenders?’
The band started up again, and half of the dancers made their way to the elevators.
‘See, there!’ Liliana waved her hand around. ‘Let’s go gamble. I’ve almost got the blackjack thing down.’
Anastasia shook her head. ‘It is too much math for me.’
Bee checked her wig. ‘It’s a hi-lo strategy. The math is very simp— OK, here, you sit next to me. We’ll go over it again.’
They headed to the nearly empty stairs Adam had led her up earlier, and she pretended she didn’t see the Anas’ fist bump behind her back.
The trick to counting cards was to not look like you were counting cards. Bee ordered a vodka soda, tipped the dealer well and flirted with the older gentleman sitting at the end of the table.
From there, it was keeping an eye on the cards that were being dealt, as well as the cards that weren’t. Lower cards were one, middle cards were zero, high cards were minus one. As long as she kept twirling her hair around her finger and giggling after each win, no one batted an eye when she raked in the chips.
‘I don’t get it,’ Anastasia snapped. She stuck the comm back in Bee’s ear. ‘I am trying to listen to Bossy Girl, but she is more difficult than the math.’
‘I am not bossy,’ Malika said. ‘Just smarter than everybody else.’
Bee smiled brightly and took a loud sip of her drink. ‘Don’t worry about it, darling.’
Liliana held her head up with an elbow propped on the black felt table. ‘Are aces high or low?’
Bee cursed through clenched teeth then laughed. ‘They’re crazy,’ she told the dealer, tipping him. ‘Practical jokers.’ She laughed again.
The dealer couldn’t have been older than twenty-one. He had an unusually small face, made more apparent by his blond hair, which was spiked with industrial-strength glue. He glanced at his tip pile, shrugged and kept his pierced mouth shut.
Bee breathed out a sigh of relief.
‘Can you go over it again?’ Liliana asked. ‘Is my goal to be at zero?’
‘What about the other decks?’ Anastasia pointed at the shoe. ‘He keeps using new cards!’
Bee clutched her forehead. ‘Flippin’ rubes.’
The dealer sighed. ‘You guys can’t blatantly count cards. Like, I’m not an idiot.’
Liliana rose as high in her seat as her small frame could manage. ‘I’m not counting the cards, sir. I’m keeping track of them. What, like it’s illegal?’
Bee reached around Anastasia to squeeze Liliana’s bicep. ‘Stop. Talking.’
‘No, this dude called me an idiot!’
‘I called myself an idiot,’ the dealer clarified. He shifted weight on his feet. ‘Actually, I said I wasn’t an idiot. You guys are being super obvious, and it doesn’t matter how well you tip, that’s not going to pay my rent.’
‘Obvious? Super obvious? How dare you!’
‘Calm down,’ Bee begged. ‘You’re causing a scene, and I’ve got kind of a thing to do here.’
‘Oooooh, you haven’t seen a scene!’ Liliana cracked her neck. ‘Do you have any idea who my father is? Hmm? Do you?’ She stood, somehow shorter than she had been sitting, and dug her bubblegum-pink acrylic nail into the table. ‘I get to do what I want on your dumb little boat, and nobody is going to stop me!’
‘Ladies, ladies,’ a male voice said from behind them.
Bee relaxed. OK, she thought, this’ll work.
‘Mr DiMarco,’ the dealer said, ‘these women are counting cards.’
Robert DiMarco, the operator of the casino ship, approached the table with open arms, his gold H belt glistening in the light. ‘Is this true?’ He caught Liliana’s eye first. ‘Ms Delgado, it’s good to see you again. But you know I can’t allow cheating. How would I make any money?’
‘Hold on a minute,’ Malika said. ‘Is our mark wearing white skinny jeans?’
Bee finished off her drink.
‘I’m not cheating,’ Liliana said. ‘I am gambling with my girlfriends.’ She gestured her whole arm at Anastasia and Bee. ‘And keeping track of what I’m doing isn’t illegal, last time I checked.’
‘No, but—’ He turned to look at the other woman and froze when he saw Bee’s face.
She grinned, soft and slow. ‘Hi, Banks.’
Robert ‘Banks’ DiMarco, Charlie’s second, was a smarmy fellow. There really wasn’t a better way to describe him. Average height, thin but toned, always dressed impeccably, a wealthy kid from New Jersey who’d befriended Charlie back when Charlie was the only child of a single mother who barely had two cents to rub together. Back when Charlie was the one taking orders, doing the grunt work. But then they’d grown up.
Then Bee had picked Charlie.
Now Charlie had the enterprise – criminal or legitimate depended on who you were asking – Charlie had the money; Charlie gave the orders. And Banks did his best to hide the fact that the jealousy drove him crazy, but Bee could see it in his false, easy smile.
It was the false, easy smile that he flashed her now. ‘Bee. It’s so good to see you.’
‘Well, I hate him already,’ Malika said.
‘Yeah, join the club,’ Adam groused.
Bee said, ‘It’s good to see you too. Been kind of an eventful few days.’
‘You two know each other?’ Anastasia asked.
But Banks ignored her. ‘Kevin, let these ladies do whatever they want. Ms Delgado, tell Martin I said hi.’ He offered Bee his arm. ‘You, uh, you want to talk? In private?’
She nodded, ducked her head and looked up at him from beneath her lashes. ‘Yeah, I’d like that.’
‘Ugh,’ came Malika’s voice. ‘This is hard to watch. Could you lay it on thicker?’
‘Gotta set the hook,’ said Adam. ‘Let her work.’
Bee hopped off the chair and held Banks’s arm tight. ‘Keep an eye on this for me?’ she asked the Anas, finally ridding herself of the empty clutch.
Banks led her through the gambling floor, barely taking his eyes off her, and patted her hand.
Then he left it there, on top of hers, uncomfortably clammy.
He ducked his head close to her ear. ‘I was so worried about you,’ he said. ‘I’ve been keeping tabs on Oliver. Alvarez is taking good care of him because he’s pretty confident he’s getting his money back.’
That was why Bee couldn’t risk a phone call. If Banks was keeping tabs on Alvarez, sure as the sun rises in the east, Alvarez was keeping tabs back.
Banks exhaled like he was in the middle of a yoga session, loud and mouthy. ‘But you know Charlie.’
‘Boy, do I.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘He hired a bodyguard to get me and Oliver out of the city. At least he had the sense to do that, I guess.’
He grimaced but said, ‘Well, you’re standing here, so I guess that means the bodyguard did at least half of his job right.’
She shrugged. ‘He’s a punch-up artist. Not much of a thinker.’
Adam said, ‘Thanks.’
‘But yeah, I’m here. And Oliver …’ The words were heavy in her mouth. ‘I’m going to get Oliver back.’
The hallway was empty except for a few security guards. Bee glanced over at them. They didn’t look like Cardello men, but it wasn’t like Charlie to not have his own guys near the money.
Why would Banks hire outside security?
‘I’m so glad to see you, I really am.’ Banks patted her hand with his clammy palm again. ‘But why are you here?’
‘Funny you should ask,’ Bee said, even though it wasn’t. It was kind of the whole point. ‘I have a business opportunity for you. If you want to hear it?’
He smiled, face still too close, and stopped at the door at the end of the hall.
‘After you,’ he said.
Adam said, ‘Reel him in.’