Make You Mine Read Free Page B

valve.”
    “Shit.” Now that was a problem. The city wasn’t exactly overflowing with steam engine mechanics, or spare parts for an antiquated machine designed in another century. “Can he get it fixed in time?”
    Alex shrugged. “Probably, if you make it worth his while. You know how it goes.”
    “Yeah, I know,” Marc grumbled. “Offer a twenty percent bonus for his crew if they get it done by next week.”
    “And the Gaming Control Board called,” Nick added. “They’re auditing last year’s income statements, and they said there’re a couple pages missing from the general ledger.”
    “That’s no biggie.” Marc’s sister could handle that. “I’ll have Ella-Claire fax them over.”
    “Yeah, but the Mississippi permit still hasn’t come through for the Texas Hold’em tournament.”
    “Son of a bitch.” Marc was going to need another shot.
    Licensing was an unholy nightmare when
Belle
crossed state lines, but nothing aboard the boat drew as much income as the casino. Nothing. And tournaments doubled their cash flow, because the participants tended to gamble damn-near around the clock. He’d bent over backward to book that event. Without those earnings, they were screwed like—well, like the jazz singer they no longer had.
    Marc pointed to Nick and said, “This takes priority over everything. Drive up there yourself and make sure we get that permit. Turn on the charm—do whatever it takes. We won’t cast off without it.”
    “Want me to go now?”
    Marc nodded at the door. “I wanted you there five minutes ago.”
    “It’s just . . .” Nick hesitated. “There’s more.”
    Marc slid his tumbler to Pawpaw for another pour. “What is it?”
    “Daddy called,” Nick said.
    “And?”
    “He wants you to bring on Worm. Said to start him off busing tables.”
    “And who’s going to look after him?” Their little brother wasn’t a bad kid, but fourteen-year-old boys had a way of gravitating toward trouble, and Worm was no exception.
    Instead of answering, Nick tipped back his beer.
    “Let me guess,” Marc said, accepting another shot from Pawpaw. “He expects us to do it for him.”
    “The boy’ll be fine,” Pawpaw promised. “Just like when y’all were that age. Family takes care of their own.”
    Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one responsible for keeping
Belle
afloat—both literally and figuratively. Still, it could’ve been worse. At least Daddy hadn’t asked him to hire Beau. To say there was bad blood between Marc and his older brother was like calling Mount Fuji an anthill.
    Marc tossed back his whiskey and wiped a hand across his mouth. “Fine, but we need to keep him busy. I want that boy so worn out, he falls down dead in his cot each night by eight.”
    “That won’t be hard,” Alex said, “considering we’re short staffed.”
    “What?” Marc’s backbone locked. “Since when?”
    Pawpaw laughed and gestured at Marc’s empty glass. “Remember when I said you were gonna need that hooch? This is why. That shoddy employment agency that Alex used to hire the cleaning crew got shut down for forging work visas.”
    Marc pushed both palms against the air. “Hold up a minute.” Everything had been fine when he’d left yesterday. “When did all this happen?”
    The three shared a quick glance, and Pawpaw guessed, “’Bout thirty minutes ago.”
    “It was the damnedest thing,” Alex said. “Like a shit storm blew into town and opened up right on top of us. It all happened at once.”
    “All of a sudden,” Nick added. “When it rains, it pours.”
    “Half an hour ago?” Marc whispered to himself.
    Wasn’t that about the time he’d crossed paths with Allie Mauvais? That’s what he got for standing on the same side of the street with her. Maybe her great-great-grandma’s spirit knew all the filthy things he’d wanted to do with Allie.
    “We’ve got to have a full cleaning crew,” he said, “or this trip won’t last long.” In such close