I needed to find my PI notebook-not for keeping track of cheaters and murderers but to write down all these unfamiliar names. It would take me years to remember who everyone was and their backstories. Once I unpacked my printer, I'd have to make a cheat sheet of information. I hated not knowing all the details.

The island boasted only having four hundred families, but there were spouses, kids, grandkids, and even great-grandkids. I had so many more background checks to run.

"Keep us posted. Vonnie really loved the decorating scheme, so we hope it works out," Broadrick said, giving the back of my arm a little push when he mentioned the decorating scheme.

What did he mean by that?

"I'll call as soon as she signs," Larken said with a genuine smile and then, with a little wave, stepped out from her spot on the sidewalk and walked past us.

Broadrick's phone buzzed, and he checked it quickly. "Dalton just grabbed us a table at the pizza place."

"You invited Dalton?" I accused. Who said we could invite Dalton? He was still on my annoyance list for the way he treated my friend Braisly. And other reasons. I blew a small bubble with the piece of gum in irritation.

"Vonnie, he gets hungry, too," Broadrick said as he grabbed my hand and we continued toward the pizza place.

I restarted letting our hands swing between us. "Yes, but he has a kitchen."

It was bad enough that Broadrick worked with Dalton, and I had to live on the same island as him, but now we had to share dinner too?

"Come on. Let's get you some breadsticks to make you feel better," Broadrick said, picking up the pace.

I walked a little faster, too. "With ranch dipping sauce."

He chuckled, and we turned the corner into a little walkway. "With ranch for dipping."

Broadrick stopped in front of the restaurant and held the door open for me. The simple metal door didn't make a big impression on the outside. It almost seemed out of place for the fancy businesses of the island. If we were in any other city in the world, I'd expect to be walking into a warehouse or meat factory.

"This is Delaney's?" I asked as I walked inside and then stopped with my mouth hanging open for a full twenty seconds. "Okay. Got it."

The outside wasn't much, but it all made much more sense past the front door. It looked like we stepped into a scene from The Godfather. Or at least they both hired the same decorating crew. The walls were tall with dark wooden paneling on the bottom and painted mauve above. Cut-outs and old-style cameo family photos broke up the large space, each piece covered in fake flowers.

"Wow," Broadrick said, taking it in with me.

I stepped in front of him to scan the large square dark wood tables with a few patrons seated in them. The chairs looked like they came from a wedding reception hall from 1997 with their taupe padded seats.

"Are you packing?" I asked Broadrick in a whisper.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why?"

"I want to be covered in case a gunfight breaks out."

Dalton, with his hair in a fresh clean cut, waved to us as he approached. His black polo shirt stretched along his muscles, and he puffed his chest out as he walked. How annoying.

"Ha-ha," Broadrick said without a hint of real laugher as he walked toward his comanager.

He pulled my chair out for me, and I gave Dalton a quick wave as we sat. They'd placed menus at our seats, and I opened mine to scan the items. I'd already reviewed everything online while researching the island, but it's possible something sounded better in person.

"Yuck. I can't believe the truffle pizza is real. I hoped it was an April Fool's joke." Something was wrong with America. I closed my menu and placed it back on the table.

Dalton snickered. "Did you see the price tag? Three thousand dollars, and it only serves two people."

"But they fly it in from Italy," Broadrick added with a headshake and then laid his menu on top of mine. We had full water glasses in front of us, and he moved one closer to me. With these prices, I was definitely sticking to water.

"Well, if they're flying it in." I let the sarcasm drip from my words. The people on this island were out of their minds. The best pizzas came from biker bars and out-of-the-way pubs.

Dalton sipped the dark liquid from his glass. "Pizza should be cheap. That's the point of pizza."

We all nodded. It might pain me to admit it, but I agreed with the man. Probably the first and last time we'd see eye to eye on anything. I stretched out my gum over my tongue, ready to blow a bubble, and then remembered where we were. Shit. I had gum. Where was I going to throw it away?

The waitress, a bubbly blonde with bright blue eyes and a black shirt that was two sizes too tight, approached our table. Dalton widened his eyes at her, but Broadrick kept his gaze on the two people coming in from the street. "Are you ready to place your order?"

I ordered a personal margarita pizza for a whopping thirty dollars. Yeah, we were never eating here again. The boys ordered, and then Broadrick tacked on an order of breadsticks for another fifteen dollars.

"With ranch to dip them in, please." He smiled at me as he said it.

The waitress' smile grew, which annoyed me even more. The whole place annoyed me. "Of course. That will be right out."

"Before I left the office, I found Cary crying again," Dalton said.

Broadrick shook his head and pursed his lips. "I'm not sure she's a great fit for the job. She's too nice."

"Who's Cary?" I butted in to ask. I really didn't like not knowing everyone. Two more chews to my gum and then I had to find a place to toss it.

"She's our secretary. You missed meeting her this morning," Dalton said, taking another sip of his drink. "With us being new, everyone on the island wants to figure out who we are. They've called in with a lot of questions and a few demands."

Hmmm. The secretary was already having problems. That didn't bode well for her, but it did for me. I shoved my straw in the glass and swirled it around, moving the ice cubes. "I'm just saying I'd make a great secretary. There'd be a no shit policy. I'd tell all these rich people just where to go."

Dalton's lips turned into a straight line, and Broadrick narrowed his eyes at me in his "not funny" expression. "Yeah, that's exactly why you're not the secretary."

"What? That's discrimination." The gum lost flavor fast, and it quickly became a chewy ball of nothing in my mouth. And how did they hire a secretary without letting me look over the résumés?

"No, that's smart business," Dalton said.

I unfolded my wine-colored fabric napkin and placed it on my lap, snapping it over the table. "I don't think a discrimination lawsuit is smart business, but whatever."

"I think she's having issues adjusting to the island, and she hasn't made any friends yet. It might be nice if you stopped in and said hi to her sometime."

None of us spoke. Besides the clatter of dishes in the back kitchen, our table was silent.

"Wait." I paused to give them time to stop me. They didn't. I shoved the gum to the side of my mouth. Why didn't I spit this out before we came into the restaurant? "Are you two telling me to befriend someone?"

Normally, they were constantly harassing me to stay away from anyone new. I was still half surprised Broadrick hadn't locked me in our hotel room to keep me from mingling with folks.

"There are ground rules, of course," Broadrick said.

I held up my hand. "Ground rules to making a friend?"

"Ground rules for maintaining peace on the island," Dalton finished for him. Why did it seem like they'd planned out this speech before dinner? Was I being played?

"Guidelines, really," Broadrick said, and if he started quoting Pirates of the Caribbean, we were going to have an issue. "Only five of them."

"Uh-huh. What are these five guidelines?" I flattened my gum out on the roof of my mouth. Why did I even put a piece of gum in my mouth before coming to dinner?

Dalton held up a single finger. "No breaking and entering into anyone's private residence."

"Or hotel room," Broadrick said.

His accomplice nodded. "Or place of business."

"Oh, my word. I get the point. What else?"

He popped up another finger. "No bribery."

Ohh, that might be a tough one. How else did anyone get anything done? If he planned to enforce that one, I'd stick my gum in his sock as punishment for this conversation.

"No, leaving the island without at least letting me know you're going. It's for safety more than anything," Broadrick said.

Hmm. I didn't love it, but it didn't seem that bad. I chomped on my piece of gum, still scanning the area for somewhere to chuck it. "Fine, but I'm not telling you where I'm going."

"No weapons of any kind-guns, knives, throwing stars." Dalton faked throwing something at the far wall.

Broadrick watched the fake item impact the wall. "Sharp sticks, anything that might cause harm."

I narrowed my eyes further until I could barely make out their faces. "You guys are getting annoying."

"The last one-and most important," Dalton said, "no meddling in security business. We are here to protect the residents of the island, and we can't do that if you're working over us."

"Wow, that's a nice list you two came up with. I hope you have space on your couch, Dalton, since Broadrick is going to need a place to sleep tonight." Where the hell was I going to put this damn gum? There wasn't anything disposable on the table.

Broadrick chuckled. I did not.

The perky waitress-who I found triple annoying now-approached our table with three plates of food. Saved by pizza. I leaned over, grabbed the gum from my mouth and stuck it in the corner of my napkin.