"How is your brother, by the way?”
"I would imagine he's hungover and probably remedying that with a little hair of the dog."
“Is he staying out of trouble?”
She gave me a curious look. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him?”
“Is he staying with you, or has he taken up a more permanent residence in Coconut Key?”
“He’s staying with Wade at the moment. I can’t imagine he’ll be here long-term. Shane could never sit in one place for too long.”
“Prison must have been exceptionally hard for him.”
She gave me a look. “It was.”
"Tell me about his conviction.”
“You ran background on my brother. Don’t you know?”
“I want to know what’s not in the file.”
Her eyes narrowed, trying to see where I was going with this. “You always investigate your friends?”
“When there’s a reason.”
“You have a reason?”
“I have a hunch, and I hope I’m wrong.”
"What’s your hunch?”
I took a deep breath. "I know Shane did eight years for burglary. Ripped off a club owned by Tony Conti. I think your brother’s lucky to be alive."
"Why is that? I mean, I can think of many reasons why he should be dead. But what's your theory?”
"I looked into your brother’s case. It seems Conti was the kind of guy that people didn’t steal from. Your brother always did have questionable judgment. But as fate would have it, Conti suffered a fatal heart attack a week after the robbery. Otherwise, I think Shane would have gotten shanked in prison.”
Riley sighed. "That's my brother. He's got nine lives, and he's used up 11.”
"Now I'm pretty sure he didn't do that heist alone, but he kept his mouth shut and did his time. I also find it coincidental that Wade bartended at Conti’s club.”
Riley took a breath, a little tense. "Are you interested in me, or my brother?”
I chuckled. "Maybe I’m interested in both. For different reasons, of course.”
“Of course.”
She took a sip of her cosmopolitan. "I guess I should bring Amber her drink. It would be a great opportunity for you two to meet.”
Riley didn't move.
"What if I like it here?”
"What if I don't?”
"You're free to leave at any time.”
She didn't.
