Boris’s scowl deepened, but he said nothing.
Carla turned her nose up at that. “And what else?”
“We’ll have to see. At the very least,youget to continue on with your lives.”
A thrill ran through Jack’s chest. A real chance to end the time loop. To move on. Coming from the yellow-eyed man, it almost felt like a guarantee. Squashing down hope, he reminded himself that he had no idea what they were dealing with. That ending the time loop might not be as easy as he’d hoped.
With the excitement came crushing disappointment. No more roaming around Hidden Cove with Carla. No more drinking with Boris. He’d have to go back to his job and work until he died, trying and failing to make the best of things.
At least he’d have Rainy, for however long she lived.
Fuck. Maybe hedidn’twant to carry on with his life. Maybe he’d be better off dead.
“How does that work?” asked Boris with a nervous glance around the lobby. It was still empty, but one never knew who might be hidden nearby.
“We’ll see if your methods are successful,” said the yellow-eyed man, shrugging. “So. What’s the plan?”
CHAPTER
FORTY-TWO
The plan was terrible.A frantic last grasp at hope.
“There’s no way we’re getting to Enzo without Ronnie,” said Carla, shaking her head. “I can’t lure one back to the house without the other.”
Jack wanted to throw up. The yellow-eyed man only nodded, as if in a meeting with a particularly longwinded a client.
Hours later, Jack found himself hiding in a guest room on Castle Drive beside a terrified Boris, listening for the roar of an engine.
The house was too quiet. Despite their confused protests, the servants were dismissed for the day. Carla waited alone downstairs, wearing a black dress, shiny heels, and light makeup. A golden bangle jingled alongside the watch on her wrist. Strapped to one thigh was a Glock. To the other, a hunting knife with a blade as wickedly sharp as her smile.
“I gotta look normal,” she’d told Jack only a few minutes ago. “But seductive. Trust me, if I’m too dolled up, he’ll know there’s something wrong.”
Jack contemplated her definition of ‘dolled up’. To his admittedly untrained eye, she looked like she was on her way to exact bloody revenge on an ex-lover at an exclusive restaurant. If he weren’t so intimidated by the current situation, he’d probably be into it.
Now, she paced downstairs, phone in hand. Her voice carried across the empty foyer, up the stairs and through the door. “Yeah, baby. You and Enzo? That’s fine, that’s fine… Yeah, I just need you to come by the house… Nah, I don’t want you to send Bobby…. Why? ‘Cause I wanna seeyou, baby. Is that so bad?” A long pause. “Alright, fine. Send Enzo then, if you’re really so busy… Yeah, baby, I love you too. I’ll see you later. Alright. Buh-bye.”
“Shit,” said Boris. He stood flattened against the door, ear pressed to the wood. Jack hovered at the jamb beside him, straining to listen. “Did I hear that right? Just Enzo?”
Jack frowned, drew away. “I think so. That sounds too good to be true."
“I’ll take any win I can,” muttered Boris. Sunlight caught in his curls, illuminated them like a halo. With his blue eyes and handsome face, he was practically angelic.
Deceptively angelic, thought Jack to himself, turning so that Boris couldn’t see his smirk.
It was almost surreal, seeing him outside of the hotel, wearing jeans and a grey t-shirt under a tattered flannel. He wouldn’t have looked out of place on a record sleeve, grungy and gorgeous and just sloppy enough to project an air of nonchalance.
In contrast, Jack wore his suit and clutched his satchel to his chest like it had the power to stop bullets.
“You remember how to load a gun, right?” asked Boris just as Carla thundered up the stairs.
The door flung open. Breathless, Carla entered. “Just Enzo,” she squealed. “He’s just sending Enzo!”
“What did you tell him?” asked Jack, bewildered.
“That I needed some help with a wine delivery.” She shrugged, cocked her hip.
“Oh.” Jack frowned, abruptly realizing that the truck he saw outside every single day probably belonged to the deliveryman. He’d never even thought to ask.
