Page 37 of The Game We Played

My heart stutters in my chest. Fuck. Is this dangerous? I can’t let Alaia be in danger. I don’t care how much she wants to be a serious journalist. I’m not allowing her to be in danger.

She snorts. “Rob the bank? No one would dare.”

“Bank robbers dare to rob banks all the time.”

“Not theSmuggler’s Hideaway Savings and Loan.”

“Okay. I’ll bite. Why not?”

“It’s haunted.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Haunted?”

“Yep. During Prohibition, theSavings and Loanwas flush with cash. Thanks to all of the smugglers using the island to store their stash and their ill-gotten gains. A few mainlandersdecided to rob the bank. Mainlanders never learn.” She rolls her eyes.

“Anyway, they swagger into the bank thinking they’re going to walk away with tons of cash. Ha! As if the smuggler grapevine hadn’t clocked them the second they arrived on the island. The members of the police force, who admittedly were mostly actual smugglers at the time, hurried to infiltrate theSavings and Loanposing as clients. The second the would-be bank robbers arrived, the police captured them.”

“This is an interesting story but it doesn’t explain why no bank robber would dare to rob theSavings and Loan.”

She holds up a finger. “I’m not finished.”

I motion for her to proceed.

“One of the bank robbers wasn’t immediately captured. He started shooting up the place. One of the bank tellers was hit and died.”

She grins up at me. “Here’s where it gets interesting. Her husband was a smuggler and he was out to sea at the time. No one knows what exactly happened, but the legend claims he felt his wife die and threw himself overboard, unwilling to live without her. He drowned and now he haunts theSavings and Loan– daring anyone to do harm to the bank where his wife died.”

“A ghost is haunting the local bank?”

She lifts her brow. “You don’t believe me? There are ghost tours. In fact, we should do one for our next date. You might want to wear a diaper, though, since most people piss their pants when Wally shows up.”

I growl. “I’ll go on the ghost tour, but I’m not wearing a diaper.”

She shrugs. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

We turn the corner and reach the boardwalk. “Is it always this crowded?”

She smirks. “Nope. We’ve reached the incident.”

A woman screams and sprints our way. “They’re everywhere. Save yourself.”

I stare after her. “What’s everywhere?”

Alaia points to the ground. A crab scurries by. “Floyd had an accident.”

I scratch the back of my neck. “Is Floyd another seal that lives on the island?”

“Nope. Floyd is a fisherman who’s notorious for forgetting his boat keys.”

“I…I don’t know what to say. I’m confused.”

“Come on. I want to get the story before all of the evidence is cooked. Literally.”

She tries to push her way through the crowd. But it’s impossible since everyone is charging toward us. Good thing I have experience fighting my way through oversized men who want to tackle me to the ground.

I step in front of her. I lower my shoulders and make my way forward. Alaia clings to my hand. I enjoy being her frontman, protecting her.

And protection is needed since none of the tourists are playing any of the boardwalk games or lingering at the boothsin the craft fair. They’re either running toward us or standing on tables screaming.