Chapter Twenty-Two
Milo
Remo and I were still in the mystery woman’s room, searching, waiting, when we heard the distinct sound of a fire alarm.
It was Remo who told me it was Frank’s casino.
I rushed over, watching hundreds of people flood onto the Boardwalk.
I tried to scan for Roe, but there were just too many people moving too quickly.
“Shit,” I said, looking over at my cousin.
“Well, let’s hope it doesn’t burn the fuck down. That’s months of work down the drain,” he said, too tired even to muster any emotion for that potential outcome.
Whatever happened, or didn’t happen, with Dom’s case, someone needed to force him to catch a few hours of sleep.
He might be the boss, but even the boss was human.
I was just about to suggest he go ahead and take a nap on the mystery woman’s damn bed when the call came through.
The second I heard her voice, I was already running.
When Remo heard that Frank was onto her, he’d somehow assembled two more men to get in the cars with us as we flew through the now-busy streets toward the abandoned parking lot.
I figured she was just scared.
Just traumatized by a confrontation.
Until she walked out of that fucking booth.
And I got a look at her gorgeous face, already swelling, already bruising.
I’d been pissed off plenty in my life.
For myself.
For my business.
For my Family.
But everything paled in comparison to the molten rage coursing through me as I reached for Roe and pulled her carefully against me.
“We can’t go to the hotel or my place,” Roe said when she convinced Remo not to peel out of there and go put a bullet in Frank’s head.
“Yo, reserve us a room at Harrah’s,” Remo demanded, looking back at his little brother. “It’s far enough away from shit that we should be good,” he explained at my look. “And we can get her what she needs there.”
With that, we piled back into the cars, but Remo drove mine and his brother took his, letting me sit in the back with Roe’s head on my chest and her legs draped over mine.
“Are you hurt anywhere other than your face?” I asked.
“No,” she whispered. “But my head really hurts.”
“What were you hit with?”
“A really big fist.”
The growl rumbled through me before I could stop it.
“I’m okay.”
“You’re not. But you will be,” I assured her, my hand sliding up and down her back as the hotel loomed up ahead.
It really was far away from the Boardwalk and everything else in the heart of Atlantic City. It was close to the bridge and acted like its own all-in-one resort.
We climbed out of the car and I wrapped an arm around Roe, tucking her face against my chest so no one looked too hard at her.
She and I kept moving forward toward the elevator bank while Remo paused to actually check in.
Within five minutes, we were at the top floor in a waterfront suite with a living room, kitchenette, and sweeping views.
It was nice, done in creamy shades and blues, looking modern and clean.
I could practically hear Remo’s thoughts as he looked around, how he wanted to renovate the rooms at Frank’s place to make it fresher.
“My brother is bringing up ice packs, a first aid kit, change of clothes, and medicine. Over-the-counter and the good shit,” Remo said as I brought Roe with me over to the couch.
“I thought you weren’t hurt anywhere else,” I said, noticing her bloodied knees.
“Oh. Yeah. I forgot. I kind of got… trampled. A little.”
“The fire alarm.”
“Yeah.”
“We can wait to talk until after we get meds in you, if you want,” I assured her as Remo sat across from us in one of the barrel chairs.
“No. No, I think I need to tell you now.”
I shared a look with Remo.
I was getting to know him well enough to see the tension around his eyes, but I doubted Roe clocked it.
“Okay. We’re listening.”
“I got off stage and was grabbed from behind in the hallway. Someone carried me to some room I’d never seen before. And when we got inside, the pit boss was already there…”
“She’s working with them?” Remo asked.
“No. No, they’d beaten her. Badly. She was trying to take the blame for me,” Roe said, eyes watering up, but she blinked the tears away. “I, um, I tried to stall by kind of… picking at Frank. And it worked for a while until the guy who attacked me got angry.”
“So Frank wasn’t running shit,” Remo said.
“No. I have no proof, but I think he’s in debt to their bosses. For a shopping addiction.”
“Makes sense,” I said, thinking of the paperwork she’d snapped a picture of.
There hadn’t been anything outwardly criminal there, but the receipts were for a shit ton of crap he likely didn’t need. And there was a second mortgage on the hotel.
“Then, um, the guy got fed up and started to hit me.” Her voice was detached, and I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not as she recalled the events. “But Frank got called away. And, well, our odds were better.”
“You fought them off.”
“I think she did more of the work. She had that heavy door lock you gave me. And she… she didn’t hold back when she was slamming them over the heads with it.”
“How hard? We looking at bodies?”
“I don’t think so. I didn’t check, but I don’t think so. Then we just… ran. She set off the fire alarm. And she took the lock with her. But the crowd of people separated us. Is there a way to make sure she is okay? I don’t want them to find her.”
“Already on it,” Remo said, typing away on his phone. “Don’t worry. From what I know about her, she’s smart. She won’t be stupid enough to go home after that. But we will track her down and make sure she’s safe.”
“Thank you.”
“Got nothing to thank me for. In fact, I owe you an apology.”
She shook her head at that.
“Do I have to be worried that my purse is still in the room?”
“It’s not ideal,” I told her, but softened the words with a hand rubbing down her spine. “But it’s not the worst thing either. You do work there. So long as those guys aren’t dead, I think it’ll be fine.”
“Is there anything you can tell me about these guys?” Remo asked.
With that, Roe described both men to Remo, who showed no signs of whether he recognized them or not.
“It’s okay,” he said when the knock at the door made Roe jerk hard. “It’s just my brother.”
With the supplies on hand, I got to work cleaning up her knees as she used the instant ice pack on her head.
“Has there been any news on Dom?” she asked.
Fuck.
Could the woman be any more selfless?
She’d been attacked and beaten by a grown-ass man.
But she was still asking about Dom.
“Not yet,” I said, giving her leg a rub.
“I’m sorry I had to take everyone away from—”
“I’m gonna go ahead and cut you off right there. You have nothing to apologize for. This happened to you because of me.”
“It wasn’t like I was conned into this. God, my head.”
“Why don’t you help her get changed and into bed? Turn off the lights. Then we’ll talk,” Remo said. “I’ll be back.”
He and his brother headed out, and I reached for Roe, pulling her up into my arms.
“I can walk, you know.” But she leaned against my shoulder.
“You’re gonna need to let me take care of you. It’s the only way I’m not gonna be eaten alive with guilt.”
“I’m okay.”
“You don’t need to keep saying that,” I said, lowering her onto the edge of the bed. “It’s alright to feel like shit when you got punched in the face.”
“In that case, I kind of feel like shit.”
“We’ll see what we can do about that,” I said, leaving her for just a second so I could get the bags Remo’s brother had brought. “Looks like he hooked you up. He’s got a good eye for comfort shit, considering he doesn’t have any sisters.”
“Didn’t you say his mom has some health struggles? Maybe that’s how. Is there something comfy to wear?”
“Looks like he got you pajama pants and this sweater. Holy shit, is that soft.”
She took it, rubbing it against her sore face and letting out a little whimper.
“Got socks made of the same material too. And a blanket. You’ll be in a cocoon of comfy.”
With that, I helped her shimmy out of her tight dress and stockings, then slip into her new outfit, before covering her with the blanket.
“I know you have things to do, but can you hold me for just a few minutes?”
She had some pain meds (the good kind) working through her system. She was probably already getting sleepy.
So I toed off my shoes, climbed on the bed, and pulled her into my arms.
“Oh!” she said, shooting up. “Whoa,” she added, pressing her palm to her aching forehead.
“What’s wrong?”
“Alley.”
“Your cat?”
“What if someone hurts her because of me?”
“Okay. I will have Remo send someone over to get your cat and bring her somewhere safe until we figure out what we’re doing.”
“Soon?”
“As soon as Remo comes back, I promise.”
“Thank you,” she said as she rested back against me.
Just two or three minutes of stroking her hair had her body going lax against me.
I heard Remo come back, but I held her for another minute or two before sliding out from under her and walking back into the common area to find Remo sitting at the dining table, a tray of coffee in front of him.
“I need someone to go get Roe’s cat. She’s worried someone might hurt her.”
“I can do that.”
“You have somewhere to stash her?”
“She can stay at my place. Someone’s always in and out of there to take care of her.”
“Thank you. I know there’s a lot of shit going on, but I think your ass needs to catch an hour or two of sleep.”
“I’ve gone longer without,” he said, reaching for a coffee.
“Tell me what you need.”
“I need to find Dom. That other shit, with Frank, with the people I suspect he’s in debt to, that can wait. But I need to find Dom and know he’s safe.”
“Where is your head on that?”
“The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it was the woman. So I got men in her room. But she hasn’t been back. Have one of my brothers tracking down someone who can do some facial recognition.”
“So you’re doing everything you can right now.”
“It’s not enough.”
“It’s all you can do.”
“I located the pit boss. She’s getting moved to a safe house for the time being. She ain’t happy about it, but at least we don’t have to worry about her for the time being.”
“Are you stretched too thin? Do you want me to call my brothers down here to have some extra hands?”
“If we don’t hear from Dom tonight, I’ll call Luca myself.”
“Okay. What can I do?”
“I want you here, keeping her safe. These guys are vicious. And they’re going to be extra motivated to find her now. You’re strapped, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think they’d be messy enough to bring a shooting to a hotel with the level of security there is here. But I want to be prepared for any possibility.”
“Alright. I’m heading out,” he said, draining one coffee, then reaching for another. “Figure your girl will be out cold for a while, so I’m stealing this. Keep your phone charged. Think shit will be coming in fast now.”
With that, he was gone.
On the one hand, I felt guilty. I wanted to be out there helping.
On the other, though, I wanted to be exactly where I was.
I made my way back into the room, plugging in my phone, then climbing onto the bed with Roe, just holding her as she slept, half watching the TV and half watching the damn bruises on her face darken with each passing hour.
As they did, I knew down to my fucking marrow that the bastard who did it had to pay.
And I wanted to be the one to cash in.