Chapter 6
Simon
Ibrushed the steam away from the mirror and stared into it as I scratched my beard. I really missed a cleanshaven face. Squeezing the beard cream into my hand, I rubbed it through the short hairs and hoped the moisturizer would help the itch.
Calli: Will I see you later?
I quickly washed my hands then removed a contact.
Calli: Knox is just about to leave. Let me shower, then I’ll be ready for you.
I stared at my eyes, now one brown and one blue, and shook my head. I should be disgusted by what she implied, but I knew Calli had an expiration date with Knox, and it was soon. Then we’d see where we were.
Calli: I’ll wear the little pink nightie you love so much.
She was fishing for a response, but I found myself thinking about Kenna. Of course, the Gateses would keep her attack quiet. It would be swept under the rug. The reputation of the hotel came first, above all else. Kenna would know that better than anyone and would totally agree in spite of the danger she was in.
I swiped the screen on my phone and studied the photo I’d secretly taken of Kenna at dinner. She certainly was gorgeous. She was a very strong woman and could handle herself; that was incredibly sexy in itself. She certainly caught the attention of men, even the waiter had drooled over her at dinner, but somehow, I didn’t think she took it in, or if she did, she ignored it. I wondered if Grim saw what I did, and that was why he hovered around her. He was her boss, but I wondered if there was some sort of fatal attraction there.
I popped out the other contact and leaned back to apply some moisturizing eyedrops to clear the sting. Vegas in the summer was dry and dusty, so I changed my contacts every twelve hours or so.
My phone buzzed and I huffed, as I knew Calli would hate it if I didn’t respond immediately.
“Hello, dear.”
“Hello, darling,” my buddy Kurt purred into the phone than let out a rough cough. “Meet me at the Mac.” He hung up.
I repeated his words, confused why Kurt was here. He didn’t often show his face, so I knew something was up. I dressed quickly and headed toward Mac. Suddenly, I remembered Calli’s text.
Simon: I just need to meet up with a client first but keep that nightie warm.
I checked in at reception and was given the key that waited for me. The carpet was being updated, and the horrible swirly pattern many of the older Vegas hotels had were being ripped out and hopefully burned.
I inserted the key and stepped inside the darkened room.
“We have a problem,” he grunted from behind his surveillance equipment. “Matt Myers is dead.”
Oh, shit.
“What?” I looked at him like he was crazy, and then the panic started to heat the back of my neck. “What? How? Wait, when?” My head spun. “Does anyone know?” I lowered my voice, unsure if anyone could hear me. This was bad for a few different reasons. Matt Myers was a close friend of Sonny’s. They were in business together, and their families were close. When Sonny discovered Matt was dead, he’d probably lose it. I wasn’t sure we were ready for that kind of wrath with all that was going on.
“Just me, you, and the off-roader who found him in the desert.” He looked into the telescope and continued to watch the rooftop across the way. “No idea what killed him. His body was too mangled, what with the vultures feeding off his flesh.”
Ew.
“And you’re sure it was him?”
“Yeah, looks as though he’d been out there a while. The vultures did a good job of destroying the evidence. I’m sure they weren’t the only animals that had a taste of him either. He had the tattoo, and there was just enough to trace it back to Matt.”
“Shit.” I sank into the chair and thought about what that would mean for our case. “Cameron’s going to lose it.”
“No kidding, and wait until Sonny hears the news. He’ll tear the city apart until he finds who’s responsible for Matt’s death.” He turned and faced me with tight lips, and I knew there was more. “Just to add insult to injury, Morey Ines is getting cold feet again.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve had my guys on him, and he mentioned to a colleague that he felt he’d gotten himself in a bad situation and wasn’t sure if he could go through with it. Apparently, one of his clients knew of the Devil’s Reach and warned him of the repercussions of going up against them.”
“Fuck,” I pinched the bridge of my nose, “this is bad.”
“I know,” he glanced at me, “so you better get his testimony fast or you’re up Shit Creek.”
I sat in silence while I let everything absorb. Normally, I could pivot and come up with a solution to things fairly quickly, but in that moment all I could envision was Vegas dripping in blood, with chaos and destruction at every turn.
“Now there’s one sexy woman.” Kurt whistled, now back behind his telescope. “How you haven’t hit that at least once is some self-control, my friend.” He handed me a pair of binoculars so I could look. I sat in front of the window and focused the lens on Kenna. “Did she mention anything at dinner about her attack?”
“No, but she wouldn’t say much with Cameron there.” I shook my head and felt bad for her.
“I’m sure in her line of work, she’s bound to piss someone off.”
“Not Kenna.” I lowered the binoculars. “She’s not like that.”
“You sound kinda sweet on her.” He gave me a pointed look.
“No, I generally just care about her well-being.” I cleared my throat. “I did call in a favor to Johnny. Hopefully, he can find me something from that night. You know he’s amazing at tracking phones, even if they are burners.”
“I see,” he grunted. I knew he didn’t like it when I worked outside the two of us. “Well, I’m sure if there was something to find, he’ll find it.”
“Let’s hope.” I gave a tight nod and focused back on the task at hand.
“Here, I got ears too.” He handed me an extra set of headphones. “There’s a lot of noise, but he’s working on it.”
I spotted him and watched as he moved closer to Minnie.
“Careful,” I said into the mic. “Where Minnie is…” I stopped talking as Brick came up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “They’re very protective,” I reminded our ears and eyes at the party.
“What Harley Davidson drinks a damn mojito? At least in public?” I muttered to Kurt as I took in the drink our informant sipped on. “Jesus, at least lose the straw.”
I focused my binoculars on Kenna, who had changed into a tight leather dress with ties holding the garment together on the sides so you could see her skin. She definitely was off the clock as she made her way toward the bar. Grim didn’t hide the fact that he watched her. If Kenna was trying to blend in at a biker party, she did anything but. I was sure there wasn’t anyone there who hadn’t noticed her.
“You think Grim and Kenna?—”
“They’re like oil and water.” I cut him off, but the more and more I watched them interact, I was starting to second guess myself.
“You sure about that?”
“Kenna wouldn’t risk her career for someone like Grim Gates. She’s smarter than that.”
“Right.” He smirked. “Oh, look who’s arrived.” He turned up the volume as Trigger walked over to Grim and they seemed to look toward us.
“Anything?” Grim asked.
“We have another problem,” Trigger grunted.
“Oh?” Trigger handed him his phone, and his face fell as he looked at it.
I was amazed at how clearly I could see what was going on. The sound wasn’t the best, but I could make out what they said.
“What’s on that phone?” Kurt yelled into his mic. “Get me eyes on that phone!”
“And risk my throat getting slashed?” the informant immediately snickered back. “No, thanks!” Grim handed the phone back to Trigger. I knew we were out of luck.
“I knew this was going to be bad,” we could hear Grim say. I stared through the binoculars at him. His posture was that of a powerful, majorly pissed off man. “This,” he pointed to the phone, “is about to change everything.”
“Fuck,” Kurt hit the table, “we only have so many opportunities!”
“There’ll be more,” I assured him. “We’ve got all night.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Kurt yelled into the radio, “lose the damn drink, Olly!”