Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Tyler
That piece of shit Blue axed is one of the assholes who hurt Mira?
Motherfucker.
They issued me a wand and I have a permit to use Mace while in uniform, but I’d like to take this guy with my bare hands and fuck him up. The only thing holding me back is that if I lose my job, I can’t look out for Mira in this cesspit.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter to the ceiling. Deep breath.
Mira peels her shoulder off the wall. She holds her head high, but her eyes are glossy and frightened. “It’s fine. He’s gone.”
Fuck, it’s not fine. She’s not fine. I’ve never seen Mira so scared. The only time I’ve seen her this way was in the woods and right now. Goddammit.
I go to reach for her, but she steps away, walking shakily down the hall. She glances back in the direction of the asshole who frightened her, before steeling her features and knocking on a door. A woman greets her and she enters the office, the door closing behind them.
I turn toward my charge, anger burning inside. I’d like to rage all over this guy, but I need to keep a cool head.
I jog to catch up to him and slap a hand on his shoulder. “Easy, buddy. Not going anywhere without your armed escort.” I’m not really armed, but I wouldn’t mind using my wand on his kneecaps.
He glares at me, then stares ahead.
“What’d you say your name was again?” This fucker needs to be put behind bars for what he did to Mira.
“Didn’t.”
Easy enough to get the information from Blue. “That girl back there?” I say. “Stay away from her.”
Asshole gives me a crooked grin. “She’s not your type. Too much spunk. Girls like that enjoy a strong hand.”
I squeeze my fists together until my knuckles crack. I thought this position would be the perfect way to make sure Mira was safe, and I was right. Look who popped up on her first day—the very guy who made it necessary for us to live together.
Even if this guy hadn’t hurt Mira, I could use an excuse to bash something in.
The guilt I carry over Colorado, living with Mira—they have me wound up tight.
Add in this fuck, and taking out pent-up aggression while performing my “job duties” doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
Maybe this is the perfect job for me after all.
I assess the dude. He’s not as tall as I am, but he’s bigger in the shoulders. “Your hands go anywhere near her and I’ll remove them. From your body.”
Asshole chuckles. “Big threat.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye.
“That little girl you’re protecting got herself into some serious trouble.
If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from her.
Nothing good comes from hanging with girls like that.
But don’t worry. I’ll take good care of Mira when the time comes. ”
I pull out my rubber wand and crack the back of his knees.
Asshole crumples to the ground, laughing. “Good one, buddy. You forget where you’re working? That stunt will have you walking the plank too.”
Fuck, I forgot about the security cameras. I don’t bother to look around. Doesn’t matter. Worth it. “Get up and keep walking.”
He chuckles again as he ambles to his feet. My detainee doesn’t make any more inciting remarks as I escort him to the exit, but he looks over his shoulder as he walks out the glass doors. “I’ll be sure and tell Mira you said hello the next time I see her.”
Keep it together. I let out a slow breath.
He’s taunting me. I’m more intelligent than that, not some Neanderthal. I need to plan how I’m going to deal with the threats to Mira’s safety. Getting fired from the job that allows me to keep an eye on her will not help.
Pretty sure my mom would have a conniption if she knew I was working at Blue.
She spent most of her adult life slaving away at the casinos to keep me and Cali in clothes.
This is not where she expected us to land when she put us through college.
Fortunately, I doubt Mira will keep working at this place after her run-in with Asshole this morning.
The girl has a death wish, but she’s no dummy.
Though I’d feel a hell of a lot better if I could see her and confirm it.
I haven’t seen Mira all day while they’ve put me through the rest of my training for the position.
So far, my boss is steadily introducing me to just about everyone. For some reason, people find it fascinating that a biologist with a master’s degree would choose to work as a crap-dollar-an-hour security guard. Personally, I don’t see what the big deal is.
“This here’s the security depot, also known as security central.”
My boss, a fit, middle-aged guy with one of those handlebar mustaches, takes me inside a double door off the corporate offices. These are the only two doors in the entire corridor, with the exception of an emergency exit at the end of the hall.
I check out the cavernous space. Security central is right.
It looks like the central brain of the CIA.
Hundreds of television screens large and small show every inch of the casino, but not the executive floor.
Apparently, few cameras reside up here, the majority being reserved for gaming, which is why I didn’t get fired for whaling on Asshole in the hallway this morning.
A dozen people man the security stations, communicating through microphones attached to headsets.
The air in here is charged, as if the extra electrical equipment has thickened it with current.
I was prescreened for everything under the sun when they hired me.
They also gave me a long talk about the rules for the casino staff, but I’m given another lecture by my boss about confidentiality and gaming policies.
“So this is where we’ll work?” I ask.
My boss erupts in a loud hoot. “Oh, man. You’re a funny one. No, man, no. This place is for techies. You and I are strictly ground crew. Digging through the trenches.” He jabs me in the rib. “Come on. I’ll show you your territory.”
When they gave me the position of floor guard, I’d hoped they meant upstairs on one of the actual floors, but apparently the title stands for “casino floor.” We walk out of security central and my boss takes me on a circuitous route through stairwells and private doorways; I might actually need a map to find my way back.
The more I consider Mira, the more I worry this day won’t be her last at Blue. It would be just like her to keep the job despite the danger it poses. And if that’s the case, I need a backup plan.
“What did you think about what I said earlier?” I ask my boss. “Think they’d give me detail in the corporate offices?”
“Nah, man. Why would you want to be there? Gaming is where the action is. Or the suites.” He waggles his eyebrows. “A good prostitution bust is what you need to break you in.”
What the…? “Yeah, man, that sounds cool”—not—“but I heard there’s action among the execs.”
My boss glances over. For all the easygoing demeanor he projects, I get the feeling he’s pretty damn astute. “Be careful there, buddy. The corporates pay us. No good comes of talking smack.”
He opens the door to the casino floor. The sound of slot machines drowns out our footfalls on the carpet with buzzers, bells, and sirens.
“No, man—” Great, I’m here a few hours and I’m already starting to sound like this guy. I’m trying to blend, though. “That’s not what I mean. I heard there was a bit of a crackdown on people messing with the waitresses.”
My boss winks at one of the cocktail waitresses. His face hardens as he looks over knowingly. “Drake Peterson. Always hated that guy. Fucked with my girl, Kendra.”
“Ah, man, that’s low. So you know why I’m thinking there might be a need.
I got my own girl at Blue. She works in corporate.
” Total lie, but I’m willing to use any angle, and the girlfriend story looks like it could be a winner.
“That’s where I heard the guy worked. It would be great to be around and know she’s okay. ”
“I hear ya, I hear ya. But see here, they haven’t requested extra heat on the exec floor.”
Extra heat? What are we, special ops?
“I gotcha, but maybe we can be proactive. Ask if they could use the extra muscle.” Yup, I said extra muscle. I’m a security guard now.
My boss slaps me on the back. “Good one, Morgan. I’ll ring up the powers that be, and check it out. The more armed mass they request, the more my rank increases—you know, with all the subordinates working for me.”
I nod, attempting a meek expression. My boss likes his control, but he’s a good guy. “You know, I escorted a dude out this morning for Ms. Tate, the human resources director—you wouldn’t happen to know that guy’s name, would you?”
“Ronald something. Short-termer.” My boss nods to a group of bellboys a few feet away, who I’m assuming I’m about to be introduced to.
“Well anyway, Ms. Tate might be a good person to contact. She seems to appreciate what we do.”
“True that, man. True that. She’s new here, but she’s a good egg. I’ll check it out. In the meantime, let me introduce you to more people.”
With any luck, my boss will be successful and I’ll work closer to Mira. For protection, nothing else.