Page 75 of Bait and Switch
“Just so you know now, you don’t say no to Claribel Delacombe, not ever,” Elton continued, ignoring Gabe’s panic. “But especially not when it’s her birthday.”
“Apparently not,” Gabe muttered. He shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to watch the ferry dock loom out of the mist.
Seconds later, the ferry bumped against the pilings. They had arrived at Piedras Island, and Gabe was seriously considering not getting off the boat.
“Come on.” Rising to his feet, Casey held out his hand. “Let’s get back to the car.”
He and Casey had been dating—for lack of a better word—since the day Eli Rizzi had been arrested on a variety of charges and John Stevens had ended his life. And Gabe was still having trouble getting used to Casey being therefor him.
Just as he’d never had relatives, he’d never had a partner who looked out for him. The relationship was still new, and Gabe had plenty of time to screw it up, but he knew he didn’t want to, which made everything infinitely more difficult.
Christ. Gabe would never have predicted it would be he who struggled with acceptance. Not acceptance, he corrected himself, withbelieving. Different from acceptance.
Every adult relationship he’d been in before, Gabe had known prior to them even beginning that they would come to an end. They always did, didn’t they? And yet, Casey Lundin didn’t seem to be going anywhere. What was he supposed to do with that?
Taking a breath that Gabe hoped Casey would understand was not reluctance but something different, an emotion he couldn’t name, he accepted Casey’s outstretched hand.
“Okay, but if it’s too much, I get to call Uncle.”
“Gabriel.” Gabe sighed. He did like it when Casey called him Gabriel. “We’ve got your back.”
Claribel Delacombe’sbirthday party was being held at some resort on Piedras Island. Apparently, the limited number of living blood relatives Gabe could claim all resided on the island, along with the dead and buried ones. With the exception of his mother. A quick search had revealed that The Brooch had begun its life as part of a lime mine operation and when that market failed early on, the owners had converted it into a resort for the well-off. The guest rooms were named after famous and not-so-famous Northwest artists, and the management seemed to lean hard into the vibe. They also had an award-winning chef on staff. That was a glimmer of hope anyway. He might at least eat well while being interrogated.
Still, Gabe was pleasantly surprised when they rounded the last curve in the road and he got his first glimpse of the resort basking in the rare January sunshine. There was a large three-story building as well as several other structures, all of which looked well-maintained with fresh paint and planters, just waiting for the weather to improve in a few months.
Something else also caught his eye.
“Is that what I think it is?” Gabe pointed toward the water where, between a few massive evergreen trees, he thought he spotted a lighthouse, but it was difficult to tell from the back seat.
“It is, indeed, a lighthouse. I’ve heard it’s supposed to be haunted,” said Casey.
Was that a skosh of wonder lacing his tone? Gabe peered over the seat at Casey. Did his Ranger Man have a romantic soft spot for lighthouses? It made sense to Gabe, seeing as Ranger Man was his own sort of human lighthouse, a beacon of sorts.
“Back in the old days, rumrunners used this area as a drop. Canada is literally a few miles that way,” Elton told them. “Supposedly, someone was left behind once, and it didn’t turn out well. But I can’t imagine that the smuggling stopped when the Coast Guard came in. I’d bet that the runners just became sneakier.”
“Okay, that is seriously cool. Can we go up into it? I hope we can.”
“I should’ve known that the less law-abiding aspects of your heritage would appeal the most.”
“Hey,” Gabe protested while Elton snickered. “I’m calling shotgun next time, old man.”
“Are you ready for this?” Elton asked once they were parked.
Gabe sighed, staring around at the beautiful grounds and various buildings. It didn’t look like it was going to kill him. “As ready as I’m ever gonna be.”
After a great deal of discussion back on Heartstone, Gabe had insisted they time their arrival with the beginning of the party. His reasoning was that he’d be able to blend in with the other attendees and be generally ignored. Surely there would be a lot of other guests. After all, Claribel was some sort of island matriarch if Elton was to be believed.
“You’re not being taken to the executioner, Gabriel,” Casey said with a chuckle.
“Fine.” Taking a final deep breath, Gabe stepped through the door Casey’d opened for them. Once inside, he blinked for a second, trying to get his bearings.
Alas, the older woman he’d met a few months ago was lying in wait. There was no other explanation for her beingRightThere. Gabe wondered if Elton had texted her from his new cell phone. If so, Gabe might have to lose it for him. Would she have a cell phone, though?
Focus, Chance.
“Ah, Gabriel!” Claribel said with fiendish delight as she moved toward him, an intricately carved walking stick clutched in one hand to support her and her free one reaching for Gabe.
Two men attended Claribel, one on each side. The one on the right was Shay Delacombe, whom Gabe had met previously, and the other could only be Niall Hamarsson. Except for the scowl, there was no denying the two shared similarities. And Gabe too. He may have wished he could deny them, but all he had to do was look in the mirror. He was, of course, the best looking of the three.
