Las Vegas Nights. Cat Schield

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СКАЧАТЬ on her outside door, making Scarlett’s heart jump. Had Logan followed her back to the hotel intent on picking up where they’d left off in his driveway? If so his timing was terrible. Her hair was wet. She wore no makeup. The only thing sexy about her at the moment was that she was naked beneath the robe.

      For several seconds she stood paralyzed with indecision. A second, urgent knock roused her. She crossed to the door and flung it open.

      “About time,” Violet said, holding up a bottle of Tiberius’s favorite Scotch. “It’s been a long, horrible day and I need a drink.”

      “Ditto.” Harper eyed Scarlett’s attire, then peered past her into the suite. “We’re not interrupting anything, are we?”

      Scarlett laughed, but it had a queer edge to it. “Hardly. And you’re right about the day. It was crazy. I’ll get some glasses.”

      The three sisters settled onto the comfortable couch in Scarlett’s living room, each with a glass of amber liquid. Scarlett enjoyed being sandwiched between her sisters, treasured their closeness. Growing up an only child, she’d always longed for siblings. Now she had two.

      “To Tiberius,” Violet pronounced in solemn tones.

      “To Tiberius,” Harper and Scarlett echoed as they all clinked glasses.

      “How did it go with Logan’s niece today?” Harper asked as Scarlett refilled her glass after tossing back the first shot.

      The alcohol had left a line of heat from her throat to her stomach, a different sort of burn than she’d felt when Logan had kissed her. “She’s great. Wants to be an actress. Her family is horrified.”

      Violet frowned. “There are far worse professions.”

      “Not if you listen to Logan,” Scarlett muttered. “He’s convinced I’m going to corrupt Madison with my evil ways.”

      “Stop exaggerating.” Harper was always the voice of order and reason. “You rub Logan the wrong way because it amuses you.”

      Scarlett couldn’t deny it so she shrugged. “I’d rather rub him the right way, but he made it plain from the start that I wasn’t his type.”

      “Is that why he stares at you so much?” Violet regarded her over the rim of her glass. “Because you’re not his type?”

      Harper patted Scarlett’s hand. “I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re every man’s type.”

      “Not every man.” But few were immune. Until today she’d believed Logan was one of those. Correction—until tonight. The kiss earlier that day had been about proving a point. Tonight’s kiss had been...intimate. As if the only thing on his mind was connecting with her. Scarlett shook her head and put a stop to such fancy. Turning to Violet, she said, “Something weird happened today. John Malcolm stopped by with an envelope for me from Tiberius.”

      “Tiberius’s lawyer?” Harper sounded perplexed. “What was in it?”

      “A key to a storage unit.” Scarlet eyed her younger sister. “Did you know that Tiberius kept files on a whole bunch of people?”

      Violet shook her head. “What sort of files?”

      “From what Logan told me, they’re filled with a whole lot of secrets.” Scarlett was still having a hard time taking the whole thing seriously.

      “Interesting.” Harper leaned forward to look at Violet. “He never mentioned this to you?”

      “Not once.”

      “How do you know all about this?” Harper asked.

      “Because Tiberius left me his files.” Scarlett nodded when she saw her sisters’ surprise and confusion. “Crazy, right? At least that’s what Logan thinks is waiting in the storage unit. We’re going to go and check it out tomorrow night.”

      Violet grinned. “You and Logan?”

      “Apparently he thinks the files are too dangerous for me to have.” Scarlett ignored her younger sister’s smug look. “The files are all he’s interested in.”

      “I’m sure.” But Violet didn’t look the least bit convinced.

      “Is it weird that he gave them to you?” Harper asked.

      “Maybe.” Scarlett rolled her empty glass between her palms. She’d consumed the two drinks too fast. Her head felt light. Her blood hummed through her veins. “Tiberius and I talked a lot about Vegas history. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be opening the Mob Experience exhibit next month. He gave me the idea, encouraged me to pursue it and most of the items on display were either things he’d collected or were donated by people he knew.”

      “He loved that you listened to his stories,” Violet said. “I was more interested in the future than the past.”

      “I was fascinated.” Scarlett’s throat closed up. “He brought Las Vegas to life for me.”

      Seeing Violet struggling with her sadness, Scarlett wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulder. Five years earlier, when she’d found out she had two half sisters living in Las Vegas, Scarlett had worried they would be angry that she’d been included in Henry’s contest to decide who the future CEO of Fontaine Resorts would be. After all, what did she know about running a hotel or a multibillion-dollar corporation? But to her delight, they were as excited about having her in Las Vegas as she was to be there.

      “How did it go with your mom today?” Scarlett asked.

      “About as you’d expect.” Violet offered a wan smile. “She’s taking it hard.”

      Tiberius might not have been Suzanne Allen’s first love, but he was her longest and best. Even though she’d never married the hotel owner, she’d lived with him for twenty years.

      “Was she any help with the funeral arrangements?” Harper quizzed, dropping her hand over Violet’s and giving a sympathetic squeeze.

      “You know my mother. She can’t make decisions on the best days.” Violet gave a wry smile.

      “Do you have a date for the funeral?” Scarlett asked.

      “Not yet.”

      Harper frowned. “That’s strange.”

      “Not so strange,” Violet said. She heaved a giant sigh. “There’s something I haven’t told you. There’s something suspicious about Tiberius’s death.”

      “Suspicious?” Scarlett echoed, goose bumps popping out on her arms as if someone had touched the back of her neck with an ice cube. Logan’s earlier concerns no longer seemed amusing.

      Harper looked as worried as Scarlett felt. “I thought he had a heart attack?”

      “He did, but they’re waiting for some toxicology results to come back from the lab. The investigating officer told Mom they think Tiberius’s death might have been from an overdose of digitalis.”

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