Page 12 of His Lair
I look over at him. “You’re not leaving, are you?” I huff out a frustrated breath. “Fine, let’s go. But we are getting Louie first.” I push up from the desk. There’s another reason I want to stop by the Royal Flush, and it has nothing to do with my friend.
As soon as we step through the door of Louie’s casino, I tell Carlo I’ll meet him in the office and head over to the front desk, where I find Lailani talking to a guest. She looks flustered, so I move around the counter and stand behind her. Not too close but close enough to overhear their conversation.
“I am the police. Give me the room number,” the asshole says, raising his voice at her.
Oh, fuck no.Just before I step up, he holds out his phone and shows Lailani a photo of Charlotte. I pull out my own phone and call Louie.
“This better be important,” he answers.
“Some detective is downstairs hassling the staff. He’s looking for your girl,” I tell him.
“I’ll be right down,” Louie says and immediately cuts the call.
I walk up and step in front of Lailani. “Is there a reason you’re harassing our staff?” I ask the asshole with the badge. I shove my hands into my pockets, along with my phone, so I don’t reach over the counter and smash his head into it.
Before the fucker can answer, Louie appears. “Is there a problem here?” he asks.
I stand on the sidelines, silent, as my friend exchanges words with the detective. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that Louie’s girl is a runaway bride.
Once the asshole leaves, or rather once he’s escorted out, Louie turns to Lailani. “Did you tell him she was here?”
“No,” she whispers, shaking her head while staring at the floor. Fucking hell, I want to wrap her in my arms and make sure no one ever fucking bothers her again.
“Good.” Louie’s tone is short, sharp, and every bit the cold-hearted bastard that he is. Then he turns to me. “Get Carlo. Meet me in my office.”
I nod and wait for him to walk away. As soon as he’s out of earshot, I look to Lailani. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Thank you,” she says.
“I’ll come back when your shift’s over,” I tell her. As much as I still want to reach out and touch her, I don’t. It’s not the place. There are way too many eyes on us.
“So you shacked up with a runaway bride?” I chuckle as I stroll into Louie’s office.
“Fuck off.” He grinds his teeth as he sculls what’s left of his whiskey.
“So this detective, he cheated on her? Fucking fool.” Carlo whistles. “Girl’s a solid ten.”
I look over at him.Does he have a death wish? Fucking idiot.
He must realize his mistake because he quickly adds, “Objectively speaking.” Then he lifts his arms, palms out. “Trust me, boss, she’s all yours.”
“That’s if you can keep her. She’s smart, that one,” I chime in.
“You think I can’t keep her?” Louie asks.
“Does she know who you are?” I counter. “She’s a good girl type. Doesn’t fit in with our world.” I don’t know if I’m referring to Charlotte or Lailani. I could very well be projecting my own issues onto him.
“She fits in if I say she does,” Louie grunts.
And I have to admit that maybe he’s on to something.If I say Lailani fits in with my world, then she does.Could it really be that simple?
“How’d it go with Justin?” Louie says, changing the subject to one we all prefer. Business, and one of the many fuckers looking to fuck with ours.
“Splayed him out. I’m expecting it to hit the media anytime now. Left him in an alleyway behind one of the Garcia restaurants,” Carlo answers.
The Garcias are trying—and so far,failing—to take over our city. We’d never let it happen, but the assholes are giving it their best fucking shot.
“Get anything else out of him?” Louie presses.
