Hot Winter Nights (Heartbreaker Bay #6)(72)

She wobbled and he righted her. With a smile, he took her hand and headed toward the offices, suddenly distracted by a rhythmic sound of applause that didn’t fit in with the deserted grounds.

“What the—” she murmured and in unison they switched directions and headed toward the bingo hall. The shades on the windows were drawn, and from the outside looking in, it appeared to be as dark as the rest of the place.

Except for one of the five windows on the west wall where they stood showed the slightest sliver of light at the bottom where the shades weren’t quite lined up with the windowsill.

The applause had stopped, but a minute later it came again.

“Why are they doing bingo on the sly?” she asked.

Lucas shook his head and then stilled as he heard someone coming, footsteps light. Unafraid.

Two seconds later, an elf came down the path. She was at least seventy, and both smoking and coughing at the same time.

“Shirley,” Molly said. “Hey. You’re working tonight?”

Shirley stopped and blinked. “Yes. Why aren’t you on the bus with the others on your way to Reno?”

“I’m working tonight too,” Molly said easily.

“Oh,” Shirley said. “I didn’t realize. Only the . . . special elves are working tonight.”

“That’s me,” Molly said brightly, not missing a beat. “A special elf. So the bus . . . with the other elves . . . it’s Reno bound?”

“Yes,” Shirley said. “It’s their bonus for jobs well done.”

Molly nodded. “Is Janet around by any chance? I needed to chat with her.”

“She’s around,” Shirley said. “With Santa, last I saw. They’re very busy tonight, as you can imagine. I’d steer clear.”

“Sure,” Molly said. “Steering clear. So where do you want us?”

Lucas wasn’t surprised at how well she was handling herself, but he was hugely impressed and wished Archer and Joe could see her in action. They’d stop trying to clip her wings.

“Well, you’re both quite late,” Shirley said, looking at Lucas. “And you’re not in costume.”

“Yeah, sorry,” Molly said smoothly. “We had a fight.”

“Honey, you don’t fight with a man who looks like that.”

Molly slid Lucas a glance and he went brows up. She narrowed her eyes slightly. “We were fighting over money. I think I should be able to get a wax job whenever I want. He’s being tight with the credit card.”

“A girl’s gotta have her wax jobs,” Shirley told Lucas. “I assume you’re the muscle the big boss has been bitching about not being at the back door. But you gotta wear the costume. He’ll freak if you don’t.”

“He shrunk it,” Molly said, giving Lucas a sideways glance that might’ve been humor. She was enjoying this. Which meant she was every bit as nuts as him. “Don’t get me started with how he does the laundry,” she told Shirley. “Do you have a spare? In the offices, right?” She met Lucas’s gaze for a moment.

Shirley nodded and jerked a chin for Lucas to follow her. Hating every second of this, he turned and gave Molly a don’t-you-dare-get-dead look.

She winked at him.

Damn. He loved her. Hard.

Shirley led him to the offices, which were empty, and went hands on hips. “Wonder where Louise keeps the men’s costumes?”

Lucas’s gaze locked in on the floor beneath Louise’s desk, and the very corner of the flash drive still thankfully resting there. “Uh, maybe in that closet?” he asked pointing toward what he hoped was a storage closet.

Shirley shrugged and headed that way.

Lucas bent down and scooped up the flash drive, shoving it into his pocket just as Shirley turned and looked at him.

Lucas affected a bored look and glanced at his watch.

Shirley tossed him two costumes. One looked to be a child size, the other possibly a man’s medium. Great.

“Better hurry,” Shirley said. “You’re late. Boss hates that.” And then she turned her back on him.

He stared at her. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to change. Duh . . .”

He held up the costume but no miracles had occurred in the past thirty seconds. Shit. The male elf costume was the same color and material as the female version, but at least it was shorts instead of a minidress. Short shorts. The top was loose enough and hung just slightly past the waistband of the most ridiculous, asinine shorts he’d ever seen.

They fit him like he was auditioning to be a 1980s wrestling celebrity, and he was not happy as he stuffed his gun in the back of them, which only made the shorts even tighter in the front. But there was no way he was walking about this Stephen King book come to life place without his gun. He was still trying to arrange his junk in the front of the shorts when Shirley turned back around, looking disappointed that he was covered up. “Hmm,” she said with an approving nod. “It works on you.”

If by working on him she meant clinging to his every inch like Saran Wrap, then she was correct. It worked.

“Let’s go before the boss has a coronary,” she said.

“Where is he?”

She gave him a funny look. “With his brother in the bingo hall, along with everyone else. Someone’s got to watch over the elves. He likes to personally check on everyone.” She left in front of him.