Page 22 of Hell Bent

Wait.I looked at the other guy, who’d said almost nothing. A good 6’3”, extremely handsome, and more than extremely well built. Scruff on his gorgeous jaw and chin, and a Portland Devils ball cap under the hard hat. I’d never seen a guy that good-looking who wasn’t a model or an actor. Or?—

Oh, man. You’re kidding. There couldn’t be two men in Portland who looked like that. I said, my heart sinking, “You’re Harlan Kristiansen.”

“I am,” he said. “You’ve keenly penetrated my disguise. You don’t have to sound so disappointed about it, though.”

“You’re an NFL player,” I said. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have, uh, practice or something? Isn’t it the season? The football season?”

“Please don’t jump all over me like that in your eagerness,” Harlan said. “It’s beneath your dignity. Practice is overfor the day, and I’m an investor, like the man said. Nice to meet you.”

He stuck out a hand, and I pulled off my work glove and shook it, feeling like an idiot. “But why are you—” I looked between him and Sebastian. “Oh. Investor’s day out or something. OK. I didn’t know you were an … an investor, I guess, Sebastian. You were wearing a flannel shirt!”

Sebastian looked amused, and Harlan looked more so. Howard said, his voice sharpening, “I said answer questions, not ask them. You said you had some,” he told Sebastian. “Go ahead.”

He said, “Do I get your number this time?” Whichreallymade Howard stare at him. Howard didn’t say, “I guess there reallyissomeone for everyone,” but only because Sebastian clearly had money.

He was wearing jeans! He drove a regular old SUV! How was I supposed to have known he was a rich guy? I wasn’tlookingfor rich guys! Why did I keep running into them?

Harlan, of course, laughed. Great. I told him, “Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are,” then told Sebastian, “You looked me up. You know my name.”

“I did,” Sebastian said. “There aren’t many women whose first names are ‘Anastasia Alix.’ It wasn’t hard. Not to mention the—” He cleared his throat. “Other thing.”

Harlan said, “See, I knew I should bring you along. Entertainment value all the way. I can’t wait to hear this story.”

“If you don’t have questions about the job,” Howard said, “we should probably head back, let Alix get her work done.”

He turned, but the other two guys didn’t. Sebastian, in fact, planted his feet and said, “I didn’t get an answer to my question.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” I said. “You do not want my number. This is who I am.This.I’m not playing dress-up this time. This is the real me.”

“I know,” he said. “And I want to get to know the real you. OK, you won’t give me your number. I’ll give you mine instead.” I hesitated, and he said, “Come on. Aren’t you just a little bit curious?”

“Fine,” I said, trying for lofty amusement at all the wealthy, good-looking men vying for my attention. Since they were mythical, I didn’t succeed, but I tried. I also pulled my phone out of my pocket, unlocked it, and handed it over. “Only because I need to get back to work. And I want to know what happened to the dog.”

He didn’t answer, just typed something into my phone and handed it back. “Call me. We’ll have dinner. We’re good at that. I’m leaving town tomorrow for work, but I’ll be back very early Monday morning. Oh. I guess that’s Christmas. If you’re not doing anything on Christmas …”

“I have the silver dress,” I informed him, “which I’m not wearing in winter in Portland. I also have jeans and a hoodie. No clothes have yet arrived. Could be they’re burned after all.”

“Then I’ll have to take you in jeans,” he said. “I think I can just about manage it. Call me.”

10

AT LEAST NOT A HEROIN ADDICT

Alix

“Dude,” Royce said, when I’d climbed down into the trench again and moved up to the next section. “That was friggin’ Harlan Kristiansen!” He didn’t say “friggin’,” but you get the idea.

“I know,” I said. “Help me move the tugger.”

That didn’t distract him, because even as we were hauling the thing, he was asking, “Why is Harlan Kristiansen on our jobsite?”

“Investor,” I said. “It was some kind of rich-guy field trip.”

“You should’ve got a selfie with him,” he said. “I would’ve.”

“Sorry Howard didn’t ask you, then.” I kept on with my adjustments. “And don’t you think that’s a little undignified?”

Royce blinked at me through the rain. “Huh?”