Page 79 of His Lair
I fast-forward the video again and see them being dragged into my mother’s suite. She is then carried out. Unconscious while some asshole had her slung up on a shoulder. I watch him go through the stairwell.
“Are you okay?” Lailani asks.
“Ah, yeah… Come on, I need to go find Louie and sort this out.” I take hold of her hand and guide her away from the suite. I have no idea where my mother is. “Whoever took her is going to reach out soon and demand something,” I say.
“They will,” Lailani agrees. “You know I can find her. I can help.”
“I know you can, but I’m not ever going to ask that of you,” I tell her. I might know she’s capable, but I will never ask her to take a life for me. And let’s be honest, if she were to try to find my mother, one life wouldn’t be all that needed taking. “I’m going to find the asshole who did this, and I will make them pay.”
“Okay.” Lailani checks something on her phone as the elevator takes us down to the casino floor. “I’m going to go find my dad. He was with John getting their suits.”
“You’ve seen John?” I ask her.
“He was in my dad’s room this morning. My dad mentioned us dating. I downplayed it, but I don’t think John bought it.”
“Why would you downplay us?”
“Because I don’t need that asshole knowing how connected we are. I don’t need my dad to become a pawn in his twisted schemes either,” she explains.
“I’ll come with you…”
“No, you need to go and talk to your friends, find your mother. I will be fine.” Lailani pushes up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to mine. “She’s going to be okay, you know.”
“I know,” I tell her.
I don’t want to let her out of my sight, but I know I can’t follow her around like a lost puppy. I do, however, noticeEmmanuel’s sidekick tailing her as she walks away, though. He gives me a slight nod before turning his focus back on Lailani. Why the fuck is Emmanuel having Lailani shadowed?
When I walk into my office, everyone is here. Louie, Carlo… and E. I look to him immediately. “Why is Paz following Lailani around?”
“You noticed that, huh?” he says.
“Another man watching my girl? Yeah, I fucking noticed. Why?” I repeat.
“Because she’s my friend and I look out for my friends.”
“What do you know that I don’t?” I press him.
“I’ve told you everything I know about Santiago,” Emmanuel says.
He did tell us that Santiago is planning to come in hard on our turf. He’s set up camp just outside of town with a hundred men. Louie has already sent out an army of our own guys. It hasn’t happened yet, but within the hour, that camp will be nothing but a fireball.
“What do you knowabout Lailanithat you’re not telling me?” I clarify.
“She might have killed one of Santiago’s guys in her suite this morning,” E admits, albeit reluctantly.
“Might have?” I raise an eyebrow. “Who? And what the fuck were they doing in her suite?”
“My guess? They wanted to take her, but couldn’t. So they took your mother instead,” Emmanuel says.
“Has anyone made contact yet?” Louie chimes in.
“Nothing.” I shake my head and turn on the screens that span the wall.
“They haven’t left the building. I’ve watched every exit and no one has left with your mother. We have people combing the place. We will find her,” Carlo tells me.
“Okay.” I flick to the stairwell by her suite.Where did the guy go? What floor did he take?
I find the footage and follow him down three flights before he exits the stairwell and enters the elevator. And then there’s nothing. The elevator doesn’t descend or rise. It appears to go nowhere.
