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I could also sense her disappointer
Oh, Bria tried to hide it, but the e just below the calli in her eyes whenever she looked at me and in the way that she stiffened and her hands clenched whenever I was near her Bria bla her, and part of her wanted to lash out at me, even hurt me the way that the Fire eleet past her anger, trying just as hard as I was, but neither one of us seemed to knohat to do or say to the other
More than once, I’d thought about apologizing to my sister for who and what I was, for what she’d suffered because of ood Fletcher had always said that apologies were just empty words, and that actions were all that really ht, I couldn’t think of what I could do or say to e this chasm that still stretched between us
"But mostly, I miss Callie," Bria continued
The Callie in question was Callie Reyes, Bria’s best friend since childhood When Finn had first broached the idea of a vacation, Bria had iested Blue Marsh Apparently, she’d been dying to coo to Ashland The last few days, Bria had talked nonstop about her friend and how ain The two of theether in between Callie’s work schedule - plans that Bria didn’t include me in That had hurt more than I’d expected, but at this point, I’d do anything to make my sister happy - even let her spend our vacation with someone else
"I can’t wait to see Callie," Bria added "And I can’t believe she went and got engaged without uy first She seems really crazy about him, but I need to check hiht My best friend can’t just marry anybody, you know Callie’s always been there for me, especially when my parents died I want to uy"
"Of course you do," I said in a light tone, trying to match herforward to ht and really get to know each other"
Silence Once again, I felt that anger rolling off Bria - this ti to butt into her plans
"Sure," Bria said, several seconds too late to be believable "That sounds like fun"
An aard silence filled the car, dihtness of the day Bria hit the replay button on the radio, but she didn’t sing along this ti wheel, and she sped up, as if she noanted the drive to be over with as soon as possible
I sighed, putthe wind could whip led e, turned off the road, and steered the car through an open iron gate that was set into the old plaque on one of the gateposts read The Blue Sands est 1899
We traveled along a curving driveway made of smooth white cobblestones for the better part of a olf course spread out like an elinted like bronze diaht Copses of peach, pecan, and palh the thick, humid air shimmered in waves that seemed to match the steady rise and fall of the ocean
The Blue Sands hotel was sandwiched in between the golf course and the beach The structure soared an impressive thirty stories into the salty sea air, its white stone facadethe outer wall and the cobblestones we’d just rolled over Wrought-iron balconies curled around the various floors like ropes of metal ivy, while the roof wasthe beautiful seaside vista
I concentrated, reaching out withto the stone of the hotel Sun-blasted, sand-crusted, and alcohol-soaked hts and actions of the thousands of people who had stayed here over the years This was a place where people came to take in the sun and sea air, with a bottle of coconut oil in one hand and a freshly made mojito in the other The easy, breezy sounds weren’t unlike the clogged contenth the brick of the Pork Pit
Bria parked the Aston Martin at the end of a long line of cars waiting to be whisked away by the scurrying valets, and we got out of the convertible I pushed ainst the sun’s brilliance,around us The olf clubs, hopping onto carts to be shuttled out to the back nine for their gairlfriends ere all tanned, trimmed, and toned to within an inch of their lives The valets and bell to keep everyone happy and earn their tips for the day
"We’re staying here?" I asked "This is a little ht be on vacation, but that didn’t uard I’d killed plenty of people in Ashland and beyond, and I wouldn’t put it past any of my enemies to try and track me down here The Blue Sands wasn’t exactly low-profile
Bria shrugged "Well, it was my idea to come down here for the weekend, and Finn asked rew up on the island It’s the fanciest hotel in Blue Marsh You kno he is"
Finnegan Lane loved the finer things in life Actually, love wasn’t a strong enough word for his devotion to his own comfort and luxury - obsessed was more like it My foster brother always had to have the best of everything, whether it was the latest Aston Martin car, a vintage wine, a decadent, outrageously expensive gourmet meal, or a slick new suit that fit him just so
"The hotel has one of the best spas on the East Coast," Bria continued "As soon as I told Finn that, he made the reservation"
"Of course he did," I s extended to pah in hisfroes Soirl than I was
A valet came over, took the convertible key from Bria, and opened the trunk for a belle brass cart The bellman huffed a little when he lifted out my suitcase, and it thumped down onto the cart with an audible clink-clink-clink, like I’d filled it with loose change that was rattling around inside His eyebrows drew together, and he looked atwhat I had in olf clubs," I chirped in a bright voice "Both sets I like to be prepared"
I’d never played golf a day inwhile ere here Although I wasn’t above using one of the clubs to bludgeon someone to death, if the situation called for it
The bell Behind his back, Bria pulled down her sunglasses and narrowed her eyes at ave her a serene sht that I would leave my silverstone knives and the other tools of my bloody, violent trade back home just because we’d come to the beach for a few days, well, she didn’t know ht depressed me ht in Bria’s nas Finally, twenty ain as he heaved my suitcase onto the bed Bria tipped hi the door on his way out