Torie, who was past drunk and into dangerous, turned to Candy. “Do you think this is all fun? Sleeping with him, teasing him, throwing it in my face?”
Candy’s smile saidyesandnoat the same time. “I think this is Catalina. We all play to win.”
“Play with your own toys,” Torie insisted.
“Then stop leaving yours out,” Candy said.
“Go home,” Tosh told Torie, calm as a locked door.
“You’ll want me to stay when she’s done with you,” Torie said, voice shaking. “You always do.”
He didn’t rise to it. He just looked at Lorenzo, and Lorenzo, who’d been stirring the soup all night with expert heat, turned off the burner with a nod.
“Last round,” he announced, sliding shots that looked like amber warnings. “Never have I ever wanted someone else’s ending.”
Nobody drank.
Which meant everybody did.
Lorenzo smiled, satisfied and a little sorry. “Church is over.”
They drifted in different directions—Torie out the door, Candy to the jukebox, Mary to the shadowed end of the bar where grief could sit without eye contact. Cass exhaled like she’d been holding her lungs hostage. Harmony felt the island take notice.
Zach stood, tossed a bill on the table, and wiped the lipstick from his cheek with the back of his hand. His gaze found Harmony’s for the smallest second—cool, assessing, layered with questions he didn’t say aloud.
“Be careful,” he said.
“Of the dark?” Harmony asked.
“Of people,” Zach answered, and then slipped away.
Harmony let out a slow breath. The door chimed, and two people walked in, laughing as they headed to the bar. Harmony smiled as they took the stools beside her. Ziad, the pilot who flew in and out weekly and kept his cards close. Aurora, who’d been on the island longer than most, and knew more secrets than she’d ever spend.
“How long are you staying?” Ziad asked as Lorenzo set a drink in front of him.
“Not too long,” Harmony said. “Just enough time to stir up trouble.”
“That sounds about right,” Aurora said with a smile.
“It gets boring if there’s not a little drama,” Harmony added.
“I prefer to stay out of any and all drama,” Ziad said.
“That’s probably the smart move,” Harmony told him.
Aurora tipped her glass toward the front windows. “Smart is staying off the deputies’ radar for a while. They’re twitchy.”
“Evans?” Harmony asked.
“Evans plays good cop,” Aurora said. “Duong plays bad cop. Ciscel just . . . watches.” She shrugged. “He’s been in here more this week than I’ve seen in months. Makes notes he doesn’t share.”
Harmony’s pencil stilled for a heartbeat. “Maybe he’s thorough.”
“Maybe,” Aurora said. “Or maybe he’s looking for something the rest of us don’t see yet.”
Harmony let that settle, then chose to shift the air. “How are your adventures going, Aurora?”
Aurora sighed. “Work keeps me busy, and life keeps spinning. I’m still searching for Prince Charming and can only find toads with big warts.”
