SEVENTEEN - ROMAN
“We’ll have to take your car.” We strolled past security, making our way out of the casino. He nodded as we walked by. I did the same in return. “All I have is my bike.”
“Ooh. That could be fun. I haven’t been on the back of a bike in forever.”
I smirked at the thought of flying down the highway with Jameson clutched to me like a backpack. “I have no doubt it would be, but not tonight. Maybe some other time.” Though I was pretty sure it would never happen.
As we walked out, I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone in surveillance had spotted us and watched us leave, wondering where in the hell we’d be going. Jameson didn’t seem bothered, and I didn’t ask. If anyone did question us, I’d come up with some excuse on the fly.
We exited through a lesser-used side entrance that led out to a long, covered walkway that connected the casino to the parking garage.
The night was cool, with little to no humidity for a change, to the point I could see my breath in the air.
That was the thing about the weather in the south, specifically this time of year.
You might freeze your balls off one night and sweat them off the next…
more often on the same day. Tonight was one of those in-between nights where you didn’t do either.
We took the stairs down to the gated underground area reserved for two things: upper management and invite-only guests. Jameson’s cars were parked near the front under a sign that read RESERVED.
“Well, we have two choices. My Camry or my dad’s car?”
“You’re joking. Is this even a choice?” Elliott’s car was an Audi RS e-tron with over 600 horsepower and could top out at sixty miles per hour in three seconds. Jameson’s Camry four-door family sedan was gifted to her on her sixteenth birthday.
“Good thing I didn’t bring my keys, then.” She tossed me the keys and winked.
Little minx.
I felt like a fucking king sliding behind the wheel into the driver’s seat. The car was in pristine condition, not a speck of dust to be found on any surface. Not surprising since it probably hadn’t been used in months. “You’ll have to tell me where to go.”
“I’ll make it even easier on you.” She started typing her dad’s address into the navigation system. It popped up as HOME. “Just follow the green line.”
As I backed the car out of its spot, I noticed James already had her shoes off and her legs crossed with her feet tucked under her. She probably hadn’t been able to sit in peace and quiet while someone else drove her around and worried about the world in who knew how long.
“You ready, passenger princess?”
“As I’ll ever be. Let’s get this over with.”
We left the property and exited the highway, taking the off-ramp onto the interstate. I’d always wanted to drive this car since the day Elliott had it dropped off the back of the hauler. I didn’t know how much use he’d ever gotten out of it, seeing as he’d only had it for a few months.
One thing was sure: no one had ever taken it wide open.
Not like I was about to do. A car like this needed that every now and then.
The Audi accelerated with ease, hugging the curve of the road as we merged onto I-69.
We very quickly topped out at 110 by the time the lines on the road had straightened out.
I glanced over at James. Her lips were pursed, and she had a death grip on the seat at her sides. I let off the gas and set the cruise to 80.
“Something tells me you don’t take this car out much.”
“I don’t take this car out at all. I don’t need to.”
“You should try it sometime. It’s fun.”
“You’re crazy,” she said, keeping most of her thoughts to herself.
She probably wanted to tell me I was out of my fucking mind.
She wouldn’t be wrong. We rode in silence for as long as I could stand.
Eventually, I figured now would be the perfect opportunity to talk about what she’d done to me in the shower since she had nowhere to run.
“So, you gonna tell me what that was about back there?”
“What was what?”
“You know what I’m talking about. Don’t do shit like that because you think it’s what I want or I’m going to like it. I mean, I enjoyed the hell out of it, but this isn’t about me.”
“Who said I did it for you? Not everything is about you.”
“You’re the one with this look but don’t touch rule…or does that apply to everyone but you? Because we’ve already broken that rule. Twice.”
“What’s it matter to you if you enjoyed it so much?”
“Okay then.” Two can play this game. “When do I get to return the favor?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” I could practically hear her swallow down her emotions. She knew my head game was strong. Jameson hadn’t ever not come with me. She knew damned well what she’d be getting into…or missing out on.
She folded her arms across her chest. “I—you don’t. Not ever. Like I said, that wasn’t about you. It was a onetime thing. It won’t happen again.”
“Suit yourself.” We’d already made it through Hernando and were over halfway to Byhalia. According to the map, we were less than thirty minutes out from our final destination. “You’ll regret that decision later.”
“Hmm. We’ll see.”
We rode out the last half hour of our trip without another word to each other. I double-checked the location as I turned into the neighborhood with four minutes to spare, then ended the trip on the navigation and turned the display screen off.
Houses were decked out with fall décor, some Halloween.
One house had put out two gigantic skeletons at least twelve feet tall.
A few of the trees had started losing their leaves, peppering their pristine yards with decaying debris, which would no doubt be gone by midmorning by the time the landscapers had left.
Magnolia Estate was an antebellum-style home standing three stories tall in the front, with massive white columns flanking the top of a curved brick staircase that led up to the front door.
Above the columns was a balcony overlooking the front yard and golf course across the street.
The house was reminiscent of what you’d expect to see in a movie like Gone with the Wind.
When we arrived, I drove past the house and turned around in a cove around the corner.
Then, I parked across the street on the golf course side just out of view of the house, killing the lights on the car.
I had a clear enough view of the driveway and front of the house, except for the big-ass magnolia tree that blocked a lot of the side and back corner.
“Can you see anything?” Jameson asked as we parked. “’Cause I can’t see shit with that big-ass tree blocking my view.”
My initial thought was to be parked far enough away so that I could still see what I needed to and for Jameson to see as little as possible.
My plan seemed to have worked. “I can see enough. You ever thought about having that tree cut down? Or at the very least trimmed back?” Not that it really mattered.
According to her, no one was ever here or supposed to be.
I was just making conversation at this point.
“Yeah, I’ll get right on that. It’s right at the top of my to-do list, just behind not dying this weekend.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No, it’s fine. The tree probably hasn’t been trimmed in years. My dad always liked the privacy.”
“I wonder what the neighbors think about the house being empty for so long. Anyone ever ask you about it?”
“Pssh. The neighbors don’t give a shit about me or this house as long as the yard is kept up and the shingles aren’t flying off the roof.” She adjusted in her seat and stared at the house, a pensive look on her face. I wanted to ask what was on her mind, but I already knew.
“Are there cameras around?” It’d never crossed my mind until now that the house might be just as heavily monitored as the damned casino. Probably should have thought of that last year. Though after a few lines of white powder encouragement, nothing mattered.
“Yeah, but just on the front and back door. Nothing on the inside or side door.”
“They monitored?”
“No. At least not at the casino. Maybe on my dad’s old laptop.
It’s funny. This neighborhood was supposed to be one of the safest in Shelby County.
It’s why he said he’d chosen to build here.
Golf course on one side, privacy and security all around.
It was the only place where he ever felt normal.
Nobody ever asked what he did for a living, and we were never worried about anything happening to us here.
It was like we were normal here. Hmph. Ironic. ”
I didn’t know what to say to that. “Ironic it is, but I don’t think any of these people would be considered normal if you got to know them.”
“Maybe not.”
“I noticed you added quite a few cameras outside your office. What’s up with that?”
“I had them installed during renovations a few months ago. I thought one of the contractors was poking around my office when I had the place renovated. Nothing ever came of it, but it still left me with an uneasy feeling, ya know?”
“I didn’t see any of those new cameras on the feed.”
“Probably because only two of the cameras work. The rest are just for show.”
“You’re joking. So only two of those cameras work? Out of all of them?” I hadn’t sat and counted, but there were a lot more than just two cameras in that hallway.
“Yup.”
I wanted to bang my head against the steering wheel. What the hell was she doing? “What about in the surveillance room? I didn’t see the outside of your office on there.”
“Those are monitored remotely off the main feed. Hector has one of his men watching those separately.”
“Interesting. And are there any more dummy cameras on the property?”
“A few. Mostly at the exits. All the ones on the casino floor are original and functional. I didn’t need to add a hundred more camera feeds for surveillance to have to watch.”
“That explains a lot. Who all knows those are dummy cameras?”
She grinned. “Just me.”
“Jesus Christ.”