by Elise Noble
“I suppose. I mean, she’s happily married now, isn’t she?”
Married? Yes. Happily? Probably. Alaric nodded.
“So I guess I’m a little jealous. You seem to have better taste in exes than I do.”
“I can’t argue with that. And to answer your question, yes, Emmy replanted the vineyard without telling me. When your ankle’s healed, we can take a trip there and drink all the wine you want.”
Perhaps he’d even renovate the old house that came with it now he had someone to share it with.
“What about work?”
It was an excellent question. Alaric had long since come to the conclusion that there were more important things in life, but at the same time, he needed to earn enough to live on, and money had become more important now that his family was growing. He had to buy a house. Pay for a wedding. Keep a horse, maybe two if he somehow managed to track down Beth’s beloved Polo. Give Beth and Rune everything he wanted them to have.
“Yes, I guess we have to do some of that. Unfortunately.”
Beth laughed. “At least I can still type with my ankle bandaged.”
“I think you’ve earned a few weeks of sick leave.”
“Honestly? I’d rather stay busy. And don’t we still have a painting to look for?”
Emerald. The cursed painting that had started all this. At this particular point in time, Alaric was inclined to leave her to rot wherever she’d ended up rather than risk angering the gods again. But there was a tiny problem. He’d promised Harriet the reward money if they found that green-ringed bitch, and she desperately needed the cash.
“Do you think we should keep looking? Emerald’s jinxed. I don’t want to risk my future with you by chasing after a ghost.”
Maybe he could find another way to give Harriet the money? Emmy had mentioned that commercial production was starting at the vineyard this year—how much would that bring in? Alaric would gladly send Harriet every cent. But Emmy had also mentioned they’d found Dyson, and that made the decision even harder.
“I’ll agree that sometimes it’s better to cut your losses, but that painting’s always going to haunt you. And it seemed as though we were getting closer. How about having one last stab at finding it? At least then you’ll know you’ve done everything you can.”
“I feel like she sucks out parts of my soul every time I get close,” Alaric muttered.
“Well, I’ll just have to put them all back again.” Beth pulled him in for a kiss. “I love you.”
The front door opened, and Ravi, Naz, Judd, and Rune burst in. The men had taken Rune over to the games room in the big house in an attempt to take her mind off things. Judging by her smile, it had worked to some extent.
“Busted,” Judd said. “Get a room, mate. Ravi needs the couch back, unless you want to have a threesome.”
Ravi laughed, and Rune poked him in the chest, but Bethany went bright red. Interesting. Alaric’s mind flitted back to fantasy number three, and a seed of an idea planted itself. He’d meant it when he said he’d give her anything she wanted. Although for the first time, he also understood Black’s insane jealous streak. At least he had that sapphire ring back on Beth’s finger now.
“Okay, okay, we’re going.”
He carried her upstairs despite her protests, then got her a drink while she dressed for bed. Or rather, didn’t dress. When he slid in beside her, she wasn’t wearing a thing. Be still his twitching dick.
Or maybe not. Beth palmed him through his pyjama pants, and the temperature in the room rose a notch.
“Are you sure?” he asked. Keeping his hands off Beth had been hard, as had other parts of his anatomy, but he didn’t want to push her.
“I’m sure. But I haven’t been taking my pills for the last few days, so…”
Alaric almost suggested she didn’t bother taking them ever again, but it wasn’t the right time for that, not if they were continuing the search for Emerald.
“Bradley keeps the bedside tables well stocked. Flavoured or ribbed?”
“I have to choose?”
Oh, Beth. His filthy little temptress. He’d fuck her six ways from Sunday, Monday, and every other day of the week.
“No, sweetheart. You’ll never have to choose.”
“Been a hell of a week,” Emmy said over breakfast.
She had three cups lined up beside a pain au chocolat—espresso, Americano, and cappuccino.
“Got enough caffeine?”
“Why choose?”
That was going to be Alaric’s new motto. He could actually do with a coffee himself with the amount of sleep he hadn’t got last night. Just thinking about it made him yawn.
Emmy pushed the espresso in his direction. “Here. You look as if you need this more than I do. What did you want to discuss?”
“Emerald. You really found Dyson?”
“Yes, we really did.”
Emmy passed her tablet over, and Alaric found himself looking at a picture of the man who’d starred in his nightmares for eight long years. Killian Marshall. In the headshot, he didn’t look like a master criminal. Wearing a collared shirt and V-neck sweater, he looked like the guy who shovelled snow off his neighbour’s drive in the winter and barbecued for the grandkids in the summer. The caption framed him as a local philanthropist.
“Whoa. Not quite what I was expecting.”
“We got a bit sidetracked so we haven’t done much research yet, but Mack’s found out the basics. Marshall was born in Penngrove, but he moved away to attend university—he read Art History at Cambridge.”
“Smart guy.”
“Yup. Then he did a year as an assistant at Sotheby’s before moving to…care to guess?”
“Tell me.”
“Pemberton Fine Arts.”
“He worked for Beth’s old boss? You’re kidding?”
“I’m not.”
Fuck. Alaric put his head in his hands and groaned. “That old bastard Pemberton’s in this deeper than we ever imagined. If we’d just shaken him down in the first place…”
“It didn’t make sense at the time. And by following Hegler, we ended up solving a murder as well as getting Red After Dark back and finding Marshall. Plus Marshall only lasted a year at the Pemberton gallery. He worked for another dealer in New York afterwards—Jago Rockingham—and if I had to guess, I’d say that’s where he crossed the line. Rockingham was a major player twenty-five years ago, until…”
“He got shot in the head at his home one night,” Alaric finished. He’d heard stories about Rockingham from his former boss on the FBI’s Art Crime Team. Rockingham’s client list had included bankers, musicians, politicians, actors, heiresses, oligarchs, and the odd Mafia boss. He’d been larger than life, attending every party and opening the Big Apple had to offer, always with a different girl on his arm. The police classed the murder as a burglary gone wrong, but there were rumours he’d double-crossed one of his clients.
Had Marshall taken over the shadier side of his business?
“Wonder if Marshall had a hand in the shooting?” Emmy mused. “Or was it merely a convenient accident?”
“I guess that’s a question we’ll have to ask him. But I need to take a week or two first. Beth and Rune, they’ve been through hell, and I can’t just up and leave them right now.”
“I don’t suppose he’s going anywhere. You and Beth are really serious, huh?”
“I’m going to marry her.”
Emmy’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Wow. I’m really happy for you, both of you, but that’s…sudden.”
“It’s right.”
“Have you set a date?”
“Ten weeks, three days, and two hours. At least, that’s when I’m gonna put the engagement ring on her finger.”
“That’s very precise.”
“She said to ask her in three months. I have a countdown alarm set on my phone.” Alaric took a sip of coffee. Fuck, that was strong. “You and Black seem to be getting along again. Is everything okay now?
”
“He still has a few issues to work through, but he’s trying.”
Alaric had a feeling he was one of the issues. Black had been noticeably nicer to him since the fight, but he wasn’t going to put Emmy in an awkward position by mentioning it.
“I’m glad. We both deserve happiness, Cinders.”
“Sometimes, it feels like the universe is out to get us.”
Yes, it did, but sometimes, the sun shone down.
“You versus the universe? I feel sorry for the universe.”
Emmy drained her second cup of coffee and pushed her chair back. “Go be with your girls. Me and Black can start planning Operation Killian Marshall tomorrow.”
F.A.S.T.
I just wanted to take a moment to remind you of the symptoms of a stroke. By remembering these and acting quickly, you might save someone’s life:
F - Face drooping or numb. Is the person’s smile uneven or lopsided?
A - Arm weakness or numbness. If the person tries to raise both arms, does one arm drift downwards?
S - Speech slurred or hard to understand. Can the person repeat a simple sentence?
T - Time to call the emergency services if a person shows any of these symptoms.
You can find more information at www.stroke.org
WHAT'S COMING NEXT?
My next book will be Spirit, a Blackwood Security Christmas novella that slots in after The Scarlet Affair…
All assassin Emmy Black wants for Christmas is three days off work and plenty of junk food, but instead, she’s left dashing around the country when her assistant comes up with yet another harebrained scheme.
Five girlfriends, four Christmas wishes, three crazy days, two exes, one jet…
Will it be happy holidays or hell on earth?
For more details: www.elise-noble.com/spirit
And Alaric, Bethany, Sky, and Emmy will be back in When the Shadows Fall, the fourteenth novel in the Blackwood Security series…
From shot girl to assassin…
When eighteen-year-old Sky Malone left England to work for Emmy Black, she realised her new job wouldn’t be easy. After all, being Superwoman’s sidekick wasn’t a career you could half-ass.
In Virginia, she finds every day is a battle. Against exhaustion, against her tall, dark, and grouchy mentor Rafael, and against the ghosts of her past. And as if that isn’t tough enough, after just two months, she’s flung into the middle of an undercover operation that leaves her fighting not only for her place on the team but for her life as well.
For more details: www.elise-noble.com/shadows
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END OF BOOK STUFF
Is it awful that my favourite scene in this book to write was the fight between Emmy and Black? I love it when characters have arguments. If I could only write one romance trope for the rest of my life, it would be enemies-to-lovers because it’s fun making people bicker and then so satisfying when they finally end up together. Oliver and Stefanie in Rhodium, Max and Lily in Roses are Dead, Iris and Marcus in Demented, Tai and Ren in Copper… Those books flowed the easiest.
Speaking of that fight, I think the initial version of Chapter 36 was the most controversial scene I’ve ever written—it was even more vicious originally, and half of my beta readers were like, “No way, he is not coming back from that.” So I decided to tone it down a bit. Will Black manage to redeem himself? We’ll see…
The main inspiration behind this book came from the world around us at the moment—politics seems to have polarised people around the globe. I never used to follow it, but over the last few painful years, it’s become impossible to escape the fact that some people really don’t have the temperament or the morals to make decisions on behalf of other people. Some countries have got lucky, but from America to Zimbabwe and almost everywhere in between, there seem to be some right twats in government. Fingers crossed the situation will right itself over the next few years or I don’t think there’ll be much of the world left. There. That’s more than I usually say about politics, and quite enough.
So, where else did I get ideas for this book? A while ago, I read an article about a car that was spotted in a lake in Florida on Google Earth, and upon investigation, it turned out that the driver had disappeared twenty-two years earlier on his way home. He was still inside. I figured that would be a perfect (temporary) resting place for Piper.
And if you’re wondering about Rune’s reference to Andi Manette, that came from Mind Prey by John Sandford. His Lucas Davenport series is one of my favourites.
The final part of Alaric’s story will be out at the end of the year, but before that, I thought we’d hop back in time a bit with a Blackwood Christmas story. I’ve wanted to write one for ages because when Bradley’s involved, you know it’s going to be chaos. Spirit will be out at the end of November :)
As always, huge thanks to the team that helped me with this book—to Nikki for editing, to Abi for the cover, to John, Lizbeth, and Debi for proofreading, and to Jeff, Renata, Terri, Musi, David, Stacia, Jessica, Nikita, Quenby, Jody, and Sandra for beta reading.
Chat again soon!
Elise
OTHER BOOKS BY ELISE NOBLE
The Blackwood Security Series
For the Love of Animals (Nate & Carmen - prequel)
Black is My Heart (Diamond & Snow - prequel)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is My Heart
Neon (novella)
Out of the Blue
Ultraviolet
Glitter (novella)
Red Alert
White Hot
Sphere (novella)
The Scarlet Affair
Spirit (novella) (2020)
Quicksilver
The Girl with the Emerald Ring
Red After Dark
When the Shadows Fall (2020)
The Blackwood Elements Series
Oxygen
Lithium
Carbon
Rhodium
Platinum
Lead
Copper
Bronze
Nickel
Hydrogen (TBA)
The Blackwood UK Series
Joker in the Pack
Cherry on Top (novella)
Roses are Dead
Shallow Graves
Indigo Rain
Pass the Parcel (TBA)
Blackwood Casefiles
Stolen Hearts
Blackstone House
Hard Lines (2021)
Hard Tide (TBA)
The Electi Series
Cursed
Spooked
Possessed
Demented
Judged (2021)
The Planes Series
A Vampire in Vegas (2021)
The Trouble Series
Trouble in Paradise
Nothing but Trouble
24 Hours of Trouble
Standalone
Life
Coco du Ciel (TBA)
Twisted (short stories)
A Very Happy Christmas (novella)
Books with clean versions available (no swearing and no on-the-page sex)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is my Heart
Audiobooks
Black is My Heart (Diamond & Snow - prequel)
Pitch Black
Into the Black
Forever Black
Gold Rush
Gray is My Heart
