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“You got it, kid. I’ll be here.”
My partner in crime is a trip and wiggles in her seat, causing me to laugh. “Do you want anything?”
“Vodka cranberry, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Not at all, and I’ll ask that they make it a double.” She laughs at this and I walk off, heading toward the nearest bar for a bottle of water for myself and a drink for my new friend. I’m halfway there when I feel a presence behind me that makes the hair at the back of my neck stand and a shudder rushes through me.
I’ve felt this before.
This uncomfortable.
It also smacks me in the face that I’ve been too busy having fun to remember why I’m here. Focus, Solimar. Don’t let Alejandro down.
Up ahead there is a bathroom and then a self-serve complimentary refreshment area that’s near the small employee-only entrance by the bar. I have no idea what’s behind the door, but I am betting that this is where he’ll want to push me through, so I change the direction and head toward a busier section of the room. The penny slots area is bombarded with players and I walk through them nonchalantly, stopping a waitress on the way toward the elevator bank.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
“Yes?” she answers with a smile on her face, yet she looks exhausted. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Not me, but my friend sitting at the Ghostly Adventures game down that row toward the back. She has on a yellow track suit and large oversized glasses—”
“Betty?”
“Yes! That’s her.” From the corner of my eye, I catch sight of one of Alejandro’s men. He’s off to the side and sitting at another slot machine near the entrance where I’m supposedly going to catch the elevator. “She asked for a vodka cranberry double, and please charge it to the penthouse floor.”
Before she asks, I take out my room key and prove I’m staying on that floor. She jots the order down and then gives me a pointed look. “Of course, ma’am. Do you need anything else?”
“I’m a bit hungry. Is there anything nearby you’d recommend eating?” Alejandro’s guy cashes out and stands, cracking his neck while looking at the machine next to the one he was on, weighing his options.
“Large meal or small?”
“Small.”
“Walk straight ahead and then turn right; there’s a small cafe there open twenty-four hours. It’s past the elevator bank and stairwell. Also, if you passed the Employee Only door, you went too far.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, and he’s watching.” It takes me a moment to understand what she means, but she’s talking about my husband and I’m not surprised that every employee here knows who I am. That’s something he’d do and pay heavily for their assistance. “Be careful.”
“Are you?”
“A friend of a friend’s girlfriend. Betty’s my grandmother.” The latter is said in a whisper so low I almost miss it. How long has Alejandro been planning this? Has Miguelino been closer than I knew all this time?
“Understood.” With a fake smile, the kind I spent years perfecting during my childhood, I walk off in the direction she suggested. There are a lot of people in the main lobby area toward the entrance, but as you head toward the cafe area, it’s quieter. So much so that it’s not difficult to hear footsteps following close behind, and I’m also not surprised that as I pass the elevators where no one’s waiting, a gun is pressed against my back and heavy breathing greets my ears.
“Walk, and don’t make a sound. Not a fucking word, dear niece.”
“What are you...” The words die on my tongue as he digs the muzzle deeper, and it hurts, the metal pushing against my lower spine.
“Staircase, now.”
“You’re making a mistake.” Tears spring to my eyes and my voice quivers. The fear in my voice is real, but not actual. No. I’m focusing on what he made me feel all those years ago to make this believable, because I have no doubt that if he thinks Alejandro is near, he’ll run.
“The mistake was yours, Solimar.” His lips are near my ear, his breath hot. Christ, I’m disgusted. “I’m going to enjoy killing that husband of yours while you watch, naked on our marriage bed. Now move. We have somewhere to be.”
My blood boils and my hands clench, and for the first time in my life, I understand what my husband feels every time someone threatens those he loves. Because our lives will always hold an edge of darkness and a dangerous balance where others want what Alejandro has created:
Wealth.
