11. Eleven #2
This was a thorny situation. Ruby had a lot of power when it came to the casino.
She was not technically Kyla’s boss. That didn’t mean she couldn’t give Kyla a hard time.
“It’s nothing,” I lied, making up my mind on the spot.
“Ronan is there now, and that’s uncomfortable because he blames me for his secret coming out. It’s not a big deal, though.”
Olivia looked confused. “Why would he be upset about that? Zach and Rex are fine with it.”
“I’m not sure they really were at first,” I argued. “You saw them. They were convinced he was up to something nefarious.”
“I love how you use the word ‘nefarious’ in normal conversation,” Ruby said with a laugh.
I didn’t respond to that. “Things seemed tense for a few days after they found out.”
“And now?” Olivia prodded.
“Now, they seem fine.” In fact, they seemed better than fine. I’d seen Ronan having a drink at the sports bar with Zach and Rex more than once over the past two weeks. “Actually, they seem to be friends now.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ruby leaned back in her seat, considering. “I can see that. Ronan seems pretty low-key. Well, other than that incident with the bridal party.” She turned to me, her eyes sparkling. “What the hell was that?”
I struggled to find a correct answer. “They were out of control,” I said finally. “They weren’t listening. They were demanding Ronan give them specific cards. There were slaps flying around.”
“I heard about the slaps.” Ruby looked tickled. “I think the slap gets a bad rap. Sometimes, they’re just funny.”
“Yes, I totally agree,” Olivia drawled. “I’m thinking of slapping somebody right now.” She gave Ruby a pointed look then focused on me. “What about Kyla? Are things better with her after I made her toss out all the things in your file?”
I knew better than to tell the truth. “They’re fine,” I lied. “She only swings through the lounge once an hour.”
“If she’s difficult, let me know,” Olivia insisted. “I’ll have a talk with her.”
How could I explain that tattling was not going to make things better with Kyla, despite Olivia’s best efforts? “Things are great.”
“Other than Ronan,” Ruby said.
I shrugged. “Our relationship is pretty much nonexistent. We talk about things that are important for work but otherwise ignore one another.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Olivia pressed.
I gave her a look of surprise. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” Her shoulders hopped, and she suddenly looked innocent. “I just thought that maybe you still had a crush on him or something.”
I was scandalized … and offended. Yeah, I was offended to the n th degree. “I did not have a crush on him.”
Olivia made a protesting sound. “How can you say that with a straight face?”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Okay.” Olivia let loose a little snort laugh.
“Is that not the truth?” Ruby asked. She looked legitimately curious.
“When we were in high school, Tallulah had the worst crush on him,” Olivia replied in a conspiratorial whisper, as if I couldn’t hear her.
“That’s a lie,” I countered. “I didn’t have a crush on him.”
“She would follow him around and loiter in the gym after basketball practice,” Olivia said. “She would make cow eyes at him.”
“Did he return the feelings?” Ruby asked.
“No.” Olivia’s lips curved down. “Unfortunately not.”
“I did not have a crush on him,” I growled out. I hated where this conversation was going.
“It’s not a big deal,” Olivia said. “I had a huge crush on someone when I was that age too. It didn’t go well for me either.”
Now, it was my turn to be incredulous. “Are you going to sit there and pretend you’re not currently married to your crush?” I demanded.
“Oh, right.” Olivia deflated a bit. “Maybe that’s not a good comparison.”
Ruby laughed as if her sister-in-law had said the funniest thing in the world. Then she focused on me. “Ronan is good-looking. If you like him, it’s not a big deal.”
“I don’t like him.” I was firm on that and determined to change the subject. “I’ve never liked him.” In defense of what felt like relentless questioning, I looked up … and found a familiar figure skulking around the edge of the bar and heading toward the stairs. “Isn’t that your father?”
Ruby swiveled quickly, her eyes following my line of sight.
She scowled when she spotted Ryder. “What the hell is he doing here?” she complained as he scurried up the steps.
He was running faster than anybody his age had business doing when stairs and limited lighting were involved. “Do you think he’s hiding from us?”
“It kind of seems that way, doesn’t it?” I mused. I hadn’t seen Ryder Stone since I’d left him locked in the storage room. “Has he been back at the casino since that first day?”
“Not that I know of.” Ruby was grim. She had no love or respect for her father. That had fallen by the wayside a long time ago. “The thing is, if he has stopped by, Rex wouldn’t volunteer that information. I have to ask him daily.”
“He would lie?” That didn’t sound good to me.
“Not lie,” Ruby replied. “He just wouldn’t volunteer the information. He wouldn’t want me to worry, so he would keep the information to himself, if he could.”
“Zach is the same with me,” Olivia said.
“I’m not all that worried that Ryder would want to hurt me or anything, but I am the one who uncovered his financial misdeeds.
Zach doesn’t want me getting worked up. He’s desperate to keep me calm even though he doesn’t realize that I recognize exactly what’s happening. ”
“So what is he doing here?” I asked Ruby.
“I don’t know.” Ruby was thoughtful as her gaze moved up to the ceiling, as if she could see through it and ascertain who her father was meeting with. “I can’t very well go up there and spy, can I?”
She might not be able to do that—if somebody recognized her, the news would spread—but I could. I slammed down the rest of my drink. “I’ll be right back.”
Ruby called out to stop me, but it was too late.
I checked the Chandelier on every floor but couldn’t find him.
One thing that did catch my attention was the exit to the skywalk that allowed walkers to pass Las Vegas Boulevard above Strip traffic.
Maybe Ryder hadn’t been meeting somebody at the bar.
Maybe he had been trying to cross over to the Stone.
If so, why? All the doors were being monitored.
What, exactly, was his plan here? Whatever it was, I knew it wouldn’t be good. Not for any of us.