Lucky Flash: A Lucky O'Toole Novella (The Lucky O'Toole Vegas Adventure Series) by Deborah Coonts Read Free Book Online Page B

were before we’d slept together—best friends.   I missed that part so very much.
    “If you’re looking for anything edible, you won’t find it in there.   Only thing in there are a couple of interesting lab experiments and some seriously wonky vegetables.”
    The door eased shut on silent hinges.   “That drawer in the bottom is mislabeled.   It’s not a crisper, it’s a rotter.”
    “Everything dims with time, even hurt.”
    That subtext hit me right in the heart.   I chose to ignore it.   Abandoning my pride, I succumbed to his obvious ploy.   A low moment but justifiable: deprived of food, the beast could get ugly.   “Are those your mom’s coconut oatmeal?”
    “And they’re great.”   He spewed a few crumbs, then wiped them into his palm and tossed them in the sink.   “Bet you can’t eat just one.”
    “I bet you’re right.”
    I dove in as Teddie hid his gloat pouring me three fingers of Wild Turkey.   The man could read me like a book, putting me at a disadvantage considering I never had a clue exactly what he was up to.   I straddled a stool, easing closer to the cookies—culinary crack.   “Tell me about Dig Me O’Dell and Smooth Sound Downtown Records.”
    The question clearly hit him from left field.   In that fraction of a second before he regained his equilibrium, I could tell he was hiding something.   “What do you want to know?”   He easily modulated his voice, piece of cake for a crooner.
    “Anything off about them.   Any sour notes?”
    “Why?”
    Yep, hiding something.   “They’re sponsoring a scavenger hunt.   Got a bunch of crazies running around town looking for music memorabilia.   Seems odd for a player the caliber of Dig Me O’Dell.”
    “First I’ve heard of it.   Sounds a bit out of character for O’Dell.   Are you sure?”
    I thought about Johnny Pismo.   He reeked of desperation.   Desperation made normal men do interesting things, and Pismo was far from normal.   “No.   And I can’t figure what’s in it for O’Dell and the record label.”  
    Teddie pursed his lips as his eyes slid from mine.   “Couldn’t say.”  
    “Couldn’t say or don’t know?”
    “It’s a strange time in the music business.   Solid ground is shifting like quicksand.   Digital threw the old paradigm out the window.   Songs are selling for pennies a download.   Music producers used to bundle some pretty bad songs with the popular ones on an album and make the listeners buy the whole thing to get the tracks they wanted.   Not anymore.   Every song has to be a winner, or it doesn’t gain any traction.”
    “So why’d you really come back?”
    A pained expression rippled across his perfect features.   “I told you.   I came back for you.   You’re not going to believe it, and the timing of all of this certainly undermines my story.   But, in the interest of all cards on the table, they cancelled the tour.   Bookings weren’t good enough.   Sell-through a bit down.   And somebody in the middle ran off with the take.”  
    “Interesting.”
    He reached a hand across, capturing mine and breaking a perfectly stellar cookie.   “That has nothing to do with us.   I swear I came back because I love you.”
    I could tell he believed what he said.   Too bad I couldn’t.   “You came back because you needed a job.   I’m just a side bet.”   I snagged another cookie and popped it into my mouth.   Teddie’s mom might not have been able to raise a good man, but, damn, she could bake one hell of a cookie.   In the balance of the universe, that pretty much evened things out.   “Go home, Teddie.”
    “Side bets have the worst odds but the biggest payoffs.”   He gathered up the tin, pressing the lid on.
    “Leave the cookies.”
    He gave me a long stare, then did as I asked.
    No matter how much I mistrusted Teddie, no matter how much he’d hurt me, the room always felt smaller, colder when he left.   Why did loving the wrong