Dammit. I thought I’d scrubbed hard enough.
I tapped into the earpiece that was threaded up my polo until I heard the click. “I’m taking a smoke break.”
I didn’t smoke. But everyone else did, so why shouldn’t I get a fucking break too?
Someone grunted over the line, acknowledging my statement.
Instead of heading through the casino and out the back door, I walked out the front and down the sidewalk.
My chest tightened as I kept my head down and quickened my pace. I couldn’t be gone too long, but ten minutes wouldn’t hurt.
The Shore was only two blocks away, and I knew the buildings well enough to know exactly which alley to slip through to get down to the ocean without having to use a beach access.
The soles of my boots scraped across the sand-sprayed asphalt before silencing in a soft squish.
The ruckus from neighboring casinos, restaurants, and theaters was loud as ever. Beachgoers packed the Shore. But, in my mind, it all went away as I neared the water.
I didn’t have long, so I turned left, heading away from the crowds. Thankfully, the only silhouette out this way was small, sitting on the edge of the dry sand as she stared out at the waves.
I recognized her immediately.
Spotting Amelia Hawthorne sitting on the outskirts of the devil’s lair should have been my sign to turn around and go back to work. She was the Eurydice to my Orpheus. I wanted to drag her away from this hell, but fixating on her would damn us both.
I wasn’t a glutton by nature, but if there was one thing I indulged in on occasion, it was punishment.
“I have to say. . .” I spoke loudly as I shoved my hands in my pockets, so as not to startle her. “I’m a little surprised to see you.”
Amelia didn’t turn. She stayed exactly as she was, sitting stoically in the sand. Her bag was beside her, mostly empty from the looks of it. Probably a little cash to start the night, but nothing substantial.
I lowered down, taking the patch of sand beside her. “Breakup finally hit you?”
She just stared blankly at the horizon. The lingering remnants of sunlight illuminated her porcelain complexion in hues of gold, changing her eye color from blue to green. “Huh?”
“The cheating ex-fiancé and maid of honor?” I knew it was all bullshit, but I was feeling generous tonight.
“Oh,” Amelia said as she blinked the stupor away. “Right. Yeah.”
I had never seen someone look so heartbroken, and I regularly watched people gamble away every penny they had to their name.
But mixed in the heartbreak was resolve. She was tired. She was broken. But she wasn’t a quitter.
She had shown up again today, even after I’d sent her away time and time again. And she wasn’t even doing it for herself.
That’s what got me. She cared deeply; enough to protect someone else at great cost to herself. Once upon a time, I had believed in that kind of sacrifice too.
Did I still believe in it? In the idea of something greater than myself? These days, the idea of working to protect the greater good was a fucking pipe dream.
But Amelia believed in it. That’s why she was here tonight, on the beach, summoning up the courage to play another round.
After a moment of silence, Amelia began to gather herself. She took a deep breath, stretched her feet out, and exhaled. “Are you going to try to scare me away again?”
“Yes.”
Amelia scoffed. She should have been scared. But more than scared, I wanted her to besafe. I wanted her to be fully aware of the gravity of the players she was dealing with. I wanted her to leave her brother to his own demise and get the hell out of Dodge.
Joel Hawthorne hadn’t learned his lesson. I had been keeping an eye on him, tracking his digital footprint. He wasn’t the choirboy Amelia thought he was. He had serious problems—ones that would likely require professional intervention. Amelia shouldn’t have to pay for his sins, but it seemed she was willing to.
“Why won’t you just leave me alone?” she sassed, even though I knew it was all an act. “And what the hell was your deal, dragging me into the closet? I should have pepper-sprayed you.”
