2. Don’t Let Them See Your Next Move
Fuck.
Before I could speak or move, the little thief was out of her chair and gone in a blur of long black hair.
“What’s—” Miles started, but I didn’t have time to explain.
Blowing past him, I got into the hall just in time to be stopped by a crush of senior citizens heading toward the bus pickup.
Not wanting to ram through and risk breaking old people’s hips, I rounded the group and slammed out the exit.
More seniors and tour groups filled the sidewalks. Not seeing her in the crowd, I ducked between two of the buses and scanned the street.
No sign of her.
Damn.
When Miles approached, I knew she’d put two and two together and run. I just hadn’t anticipated her being so fast.
For a tiny—and probably malnourished—thing, she could move.
Going back inside, Miles waited in the hall. “Was that the girl?”
“Woman,” I corrected—though barely.
She was still young.
Far too young for me.
When Miles and I had spotted her skirting the room, we’d thought she was a minor trying to sneak onto the gaming floor. She hadn’t been interested in the slot machines. Instead, I’d caught her nearly imperceptible wallet swipe.
“I looked away for a second, and you were gone,” Miles said. “What happened?”
“I brought her to get some food.”
He slow blinked. “She stole from a guest, so you rewarded her with lunch?”
“She stole so she could eat. Then she nearly passed out. It was feed her or call an ambulance.”
“You sure she wasn’t playing you so you wouldn’t call the cops?”
People could be human-shaped piles of garbage who lied as easily as they breathed—especially if it meant saving their own asses. I knew when someone was lying straight to my face, but her tears and pain hadn’t been bullshit.
My sunshiny thief was starving—and not just from a day or two of not enough food. She was skin and bones with dark circles under her haunting blue eyes. When I’d held her wrist, I’d had to keep my grip loose for fear of grinding the bone to dust.
It was a safe bet she hadn’t eaten anything of substance for a long while.
“Positive,” I said, without a hint of doubt.
“That changes things.”
“What things?”
“I was coming to tell you the man with the wallet filed a complaint. He’s demanding to see the security footage so he can press charges.”
That fucker.
I knew the cameras and angles like the back of my hand. There were two that would capture the area perfectly and one that would be obstructed but still show enough. “Have you watched the footage?”
“Not yet. I came to see if you knew where she was.”
I wish like hell I did.
“What’d you tell him?” I asked.
“The truth. I need to speak with the owner first.”
“I’ll talk to him.”
Maximo Black—my boss and closest friend—may have been a hard-ass, but he had a soft spot for the broken. His wife said he collected strays, and she wasn’t wrong.
“Make it fast.” He started to walk away before turning back. “I’ll call you if I see her again.”
I nodded, but I already knew he wouldn’t. Neither of us would.
She’d dance into hell before she returned to Moonlight.
Not stopping totalk or bullshit with anyone, I quickly made my way through Sunrise. It was one of four—soon-to-be five—Black Resorts properties. Taking the private elevator up, I paused to knock on my boss’ door.
Before Maximo met Juliet, I’d have let myself in with barely a knock. But with her in his life, I knew better.
Walking in on my boss and his wife wasn’t an experience I was anxious to repeat.
“Come in,” Maximo called.
Even if I didn’t want to see them making the beast with two backs, I was glad to see his wife on the couch.
Juliet had lived a rough life before Maximo. If any of us could understand the mystery woman’s motives, it was her. I doubted I would need the backup, but it was good to have it.
Maximo tore his gaze from her to look at me. “What’s going on?”
Starting at the beginning, I told them about the woman, the wallet, her hunger, and how she’d almost passed out. I finished by relaying what Miles had shared. “And now the man wants the footage so he can press charges.”
Maximo’s face was its usual unreadable throughout it all. “Have Miles?—”
“You can’t give it over,” Juliet interrupted with a sad shake of her head. “That poor, poor girl.”
“Dove,” Maximo warned, but she didn’t heed it.
“She was starving.” Juliet got up and paced. “I remember what it was like to be hungry, but at least I had some crappy food. I can’t imagine how much pain she must be in.”
His eyes softened as they tracked his wife, though his jaw was clenched. “Stop?—”
“Being hungry with no food is like torture,” Juliet shared, lost in her memories. “It’s this ache that you can’t fill. Not with water or distraction or anything. It seeps into your dreams so there’s no break from it.”
“Juliet.” Maximo’s voice was soft but stern. It was enough to make her freeze. “Come here.” She did it immediately, and he pulled her onto his lap. “Can I finish a damn sentence now?”
She nodded. “Sorry, Daddy.”
He rubbed his thumb across his lip. “You will be once Ash leaves.”
Their interaction made my gut clench with envy. I didn’t want Juliet. Even if I did, she loved Maximo like he hung the moon exclusively for her each night, and he loved her enough to kill.
I’d have to be a masochist and suicidal to want her.
But I wanted what they had. An atypical relationship that was so smooth, so easy, it made it normal.
Because for them, it was. It was what they both wanted. Needed.
Grabbing his phone, Maximo touched the screen a few times before putting it to his ear. “Send me the footage with the girl.” He was silent for a few seconds. “Good.”
When the email came through, Maximo played it on one of the monitors that lined the wall across from his desk.
We watched from three different angles as the mystery woman brushed by the man. None of it showed her taking his wallet.
“You sure she even took it?” Maximo slowed the video and leaned forward.
“It was quick.”
I wondered again what kind of life she lived where learning to pickpocket with that skill level had been necessary. Her subtle sleight-of-hand work put Vegas magicians to shame.
“God, she’s so tiny.” Juliet’s focus and concern was on the woman, not the wallet. “Did she eat any food before Miles scared her away?”
“Part of a burger, some salad, and a handful of fries.”
She scowled. “That’s not enough.”
It wasn’t. Especially since she’d run off without the leftovers.
Focusing on the monitor, I watched myself talk to the woman, struck again by how beautiful she was.
Beautiful and broken and in need of someone to take her in their tattooed hands to keep her safe.
And would you look at that? My hands just happened to be tattooed—under the blood that coated them.
She walked away, and the angle changed again.
“Shit,” Maximo bit out before rewinding the footage.
I shifted my attention to watch what happened on the screen, not just the woman.
Taking a few steps, she dipped like she was picking up the wallet. But from that angle, it was easy to see there’d been nothing on the floor before that.
Making it clear the wallet had been in her hand the whole time.
Her theft had been undetectable. If I hadn’t made her return the damn thing, no one would’ve been able to prove she’d taken it.
Maximo echoed my thoughts. “If we share the footage of her walking by, they’ll want the footage of her returning.”
“I know.”
Juliet dragged her eyes from the paused monitor to her husband. “Does that mean you’re going to give it to them?”
Maximo shot his wife a look as he picked up his cell and dialed. When whoever answered, he ordered, “Delete the footage. I’ll have Cole wipe it from his backups so it can’t be retrieved.” He was silent for a minute. “Tell him that none of our cameras captured anything illegal, and to protect the privacy of our guests, we will not be sharing the footage. If he has an issue with that, he can take it up with our lawyers.” He was silent again. “Right. Yeah. Cole will be in touch.”
Juliet threw her arms around his neck the moment he ended the call. “I love you.”
“You’re not going to love me so much when I make your ass raw for thinking I’d turn that girl over.”
“I know.” His eyes narrowed, making her give him an innocent smile. “I’ll love you more.”
“I’ll call Cole,” I volunteered as I backed toward the door. I got the feeling Maximo wouldn’t have time for a while.
“Wait,” Juliet said as Maximo clicked off the monitors. “Forward the email to Ash before you delete it.”
Maximo’s brows lowered. “Why?”
“He likes her.” There was an unspoken duh in her tone.
Their eyes shot to me for confirmation.
I lifted a shoulder in a half-assed shrug.
I didn’t know anything about the mystery woman except she was strong, stubborn, too proud for her own damn good, and beautiful.
So fucking beautiful.
And she sure as shit needed someone to protect her.
Maximo clicked a couple of buttons, and my cell dinged in my pocket. “A little leverage goes a long way.”
I doubted I’d ever see the woman again. Even if I searched, Vegas was a big city with a constant rotation of people. I’d have better odds winning back-to-back jackpots than I would finding a woman who wanted to stay lost.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t look.