Page 33 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
Taking Risks
Pierce
Istare at the screen on my lower left, following Sloane as she leaves the private room reserved for the casino’s high rollers and walks past the bar of the general gambling area, the one with all the slots and the cheaper tables.
Not that anything in here is even remotely cheap, this isn’t Atlantic City and there aren’t any pensioners or bored housewives gambling pennies and getting drunk on the free booze. Here the penny slots are ten bucks minimum bet and I haven’t seen anyone that didn’t arrive in a supercar or by helicopter. The women are dressed in designer clothes, the men in tailored suits and Rolexes. But it’s no surprise, the cheapest room at this resort runs at about five thousand per night, so that definitely keeps the general public away.
Sloane leaves the casino and her image appears on the screen on my upper right as she scans her key card and presses the button of the elevator that heads to the private penthouses, reserved for the owner and his special guests. When the elevator doors slide open, the door to the casino opens again and Vance and River come out, following my little bitch inside. She presses the button to the top level, the one that opens directly into the Imperial suite, the owner’s private apartment.
Vance says something to her but I can’t hear what, as the elevator’s CCTV doesn’t have audio.
Since I convinced Van Der Beck to let me be a part of his security detail, by informing him of the threat Vance and the Barrington brothers pose, I upgraded all the surveillance systems in the penthouses but I couldn’t do anything elsewhere so as not to make the chief of security too suspicious.
It wasn’t easy to convince the billionaire crook to trust me but after I gave him evidence that Vance and the FBI are onto him and using my family’s connections in the White House to prove to him that I wasn’t just a social climber, he opened the doors to his resort and gave me pretty much free rein around here.
Obviously, I’m being careful not to reveal myself until it’s time for the reckoning that little bitch and her bunch of criminals have coming to them. Right now I’m a ghost and I plan to use that to my full advantage. At the end of this, I’m going to have Sloane back and I’ll go to Vance and Walker’s boss with the solution of this whole case.
Sure, I went rogue but this was the only way to do what needed to be done without stupid rules getting in my way and without having to wait for orders before acting. I’m sure that my superiors will be able to appreciate my initiative once I serve them the Avengers gang, Van Der Beck and Kronin on a silver platter.
The images on the screen attract my attention again: the elevator’s doors open into the Imperial penthouse and Sloane and the two men walk right in. They pause in the huge, gaudy living room area and Vance takes control of the situation. I feel rage mount inside me at the way the blond special agent takes my woman’s hand in his and squeezes it. A look passes between them and she rests her head on his shoulder for a brief moment.
Well, I have news for you asshole: when Sloane saw those Facebook messages about my death, she fucking cried.We’ll see if she cries when you die, I bet she won’t. My Sloane and I have a love that overcomes everything, even death and even a bunch of idiot jocks who kidnapped her and took her away from me. We’re meant to be. Sure, she needs a firm hand but what woman doesn’t?
But the moment between Sloane and Vance is over quickly and he spurs into action. “Ok, I think we need to take a look at VDB’s study. We need to understand what’s making him work with Kronin. And if he’s selling Schiller’s corporation, we need to find his books. Not the doctored ones the FBI seized during the investigation that saw Royce’s dad convicted. His real books, the ones that must keep a ledger of all the money he embezzled.”
Sloane intervenes. “Yes, that should be our priority. It would be enough to put VDB behind bars, right? And it hopefully would exonerate Royce’s dad.” Vance nods at the interruption but I shake my head. That insolent little bitch! She’s gotten some real bad habits while she was away from me. She’ll really need to learn her place, I think adding another thing to the list of all the shit those assholes will have to pay for. Sloane knew better than to interrupt when a man was speaking. But those two are hanging on every word she said as if she were so fucking smart. Losers, women are there to please us and need to be controlled. Nothing good comes out of allowing them freedom.
Vance considers Sloane’s words and nods. “Sure, it is a priority but remember that my bosses want Kronin. The deal is that we get both him and VDB. I hate to have you spend any time with that weirdo, baby, but the latest report that I received is that what the Russian is selling isn’t the weapons themselves. Those somehow have already been smuggled into enemy territory. But for those weapons to be used, they need activation codes and that’s what Kronin has. We need to find out where he keeps them and when they are going to be passed onto their buyers. But right now, we’re here, so let’s look at VDB. I’ll look at his desktop in his study and any other electronic devices he might have there. Can you look in his filing cabinets and anywhere in the room that looks important?”
Little bitch nods and the bastard that used to have the man bun, the one with all the tattoos, asks what he should do.
“Rivs, you’ll be our lookout. We should have some time before VDB is able to leave that bathroom downstairs but just in case he or Alicia are here, you need to stall them and text me.”
So Vance sits at VDB’s desk and starts typing on the computer’s keyboard, while Sloane begins rifling through a filing cabinet. I’m sure that computer must be password protected but I heard rumors about Vance’s hacking skills. Apparently the guy was going to law school but he minored in computer science, this is why he scaled the ranks so quickly after he left the military. Several minutes pass and River is sitting on the couch in the living room when a pale VDB stumbles into the room, supported by his fiancée.
They both freeze when they see the intruder but VDB seems too sick to even care and runs into his bedroom, probably directly to the toilet. Alicia Barrington seems surprised to see the tattooed scumbag and when she asks what he’s doing there, the man apologizes to her.
“I came here to say sorry for the whole ‘Stifler’s mom’ incident.”
Alicia smiles. “It’s ok, River. I can’t say that I’m not disappointed but you could’ve told me that you batted for the other team, you know?”
I can see River’s fingers frantically moving on his phone screen as he pretends to check a text. “Uhm, I haven’t exactly told my family yet, so I would appreciate it if you could avoid outing me.”
I lose interest in the conversation happening in the living room and focus on the study, where Vance looks at his phone and lets out a string of curses. Ah, Sloane, how low you have stooped. These guys lack the class that you deserve. Even the brothers are so nouveau riche, that it’s almost embarrassing.
“Baby, we need to leave now! VDB and Alicia are back.”
I smirk when I see him realize that there are only two ways out of that study: either through the door they just came in from—and that would totally get them caught by Alicia—or the balcony.
Vance might be an annoying pain in my ass but he isn’t stupid, so he parts the curtains and then slides open the full-length window that leads onto the balcony and after walking all the way to the side where a narrow ledge runs from the Imperial suite to their own suite’s balcony and he offers his hand to Sloane.
* * *
Sloane
“Baby, we need to leave now! VDB and Alicia are back.” I follow Kaden outside onto the wide balcony of the Imperial suite, sliding the window shut behind me. I don’t even notice the hot tub and the patio furniture we pass as Kaden runs to the side of the balcony swinging a long, muscled leg over the wrought iron railing and extending a hand to me as he’s perched on the concrete ledge.
The ledge is barely wide enough for his feet and granted this isn’t a skyscraper, we’re on the fifth or sixth floor, but it’s still fucking high. It’s still high enough that if we fall, we’ll plummet to our deaths. Or get really, really hurt. Like totally fucked up. I take two hesitant steps toward him, swallowing the huge lump of fear that is suddenly gripping my throat. Maybe I should go back into that room and take my chances with Alicia and VDB. It’s surely preferable to this.
