Get Lucky by Lorie O'Clare Read Free Book Online Page B

appeared to be taken in the same building. He was hurrying out the door with large bags under his arms. The concerned, focused look on his face was captured by the camera.
    There were a handful of other pictures, a couple of her parents driving in a car. One was of her mother lying out naked, sunbathing on a beach. There was even a shot of London’s father with another woman, someone she didn’t recognize. They weren’t touching each other but standing very close and appearing to be having a very private conversation.
    The pictures that had been sent to London were odd in themselves. But it was the note, typed and not signed, that terrified the crap out of her.
    Say good-bye to your mother and father. You’re never going to see them again.
     
    It had taken over an hour to quit shaking after reading the cryptic message, and even then London remained jumpy. The elevator dinged before the doors opened onto the first floor and London jolted out of her thoughts. She stepped out of the elevator, studying the group of people walking together ahead of her down the hall. They turned to head for the dining room and one couple glanced her way. It took a moment to return their smiles.
    “Get a grip,” London hissed to herself, speaking under her breath as she hurried down the hall.
    Most guests recognized her and smiled, since she’d checked a lot of them in. There were other employees who worked the front desk and it was hard to remember the faces of all their guests, but that didn’t mean they didn’t remember hers. People smiled at her all the time when she walked around the lodge. It was her job to be a friendly face and return the smile, not to suspect and worry about anyone who gave her a moment’s attention.
    The note didn’t make any sense. And for the life of her she couldn’t figure out the pictures. Her mother’s hair was different colors in several of the shots, but that didn’t mean necessarily they were taken over any particular length of time. When London was growing up her mother often changed the color of her hair from one week to the next. It wasn’t until London was a teenager that she figured out her mother did it because she and London’s father were always wanted for one crime or another.
    If it weren’t the cops looking for them, it would be bookies or a member of the Mafia in whatever town they might be in. London figured her parents were always on the run because they were really bad at pulling off cons or committing whatever crime they did in whatever town they were in. She couldn’t even count how many times they’d moved while she was growing up, sometimes not staying in a town longer than a week. It never made sense that Jonnie and Ruby Brooke were never arrested.
    Apparently, now they’d reached the end of their line. Not only did someone have their number and was quite possibly closing in, but that person also knew London was their daughter and where she was. She tripped over her feet when it occurred to her it might be smart to pack up and move, relocate, so whoever was planning on taking out her parents wouldn’t come after her, too.
    Not that she’d committed any crime. London had never so much as shoplifted a candy bar. She didn’t cheat on her taxes. She’d never put down the wrong amount of hours she worked on a time card. It was an odd thing. Definitely not something she’d ever bragged about to a soul, but London was honest to a fault. She prided herself on not even lying. It wasn’t as if all of her honesty and her crime-free life would make up for her parents’ many misdeeds. London knew no matter how she led her life, it wouldn’t erase her parents’ sins. Somehow leading her life the way she did made her feel better about herself. It helped her live with her head held high, with the ability to smile and feel good about each new day when she opened her eyes in the morning knowing that in spite of coming from two terrible crooks, London Brooke was a good person.
    She