“Bingo.”
“The night someone murdered your parents in cold blood, only two eyewitnesses reported seeing others by your house.” Robin’s tone was sour. “A wolf-shifter, and a witch. The latter was passing through town, a tourist.”
“What was the wolf-shifter’s name?”
“Boris Pechinko,” Robin spat out, and my blood ran cold.
I’d seen the face that went with that name every day for the last five years. Boris was Sherwood’s head of security at the Oasis. He was theonlyshifter in a management position, and Sherwood kept the wolf-shifter close. Super close.
And now, I understood why.
My fists clenched so that my nails dug into my palms. “So, Boris killed my parents to keep my mother quiet?”
Robin shook his head. “I doubt that Boris was the killer. Your parents’ murder was too clean. In their animal aspect, wolf-shifters get carried away with their kills. Your parents wouldn’t have been left so . . . whole.”
I closed my eyes as memories of that terrible night came rushing back. My mother and father laying on the floor, their throats slit open. Blood everywhere. Their lifeless eyes staring back at me as I tried to rock them back to life.
Robin was right. Few wolf-shifters could resist playing with their kill after smelling blood.
I leaned back as the next obvious culprit came to mind. My breath stilled, and my brain whirred through a million questions.
“You think Sherwood actually did the deed.”
“I’m positive.”
“If that’s true, my question is the same as before. Why in the world would he employ me?”
“Maybe he felt bad leaving a child without parents. Or he wants to keep you close, so you’d never suspect him. Or . . .” his eyes raked over my face, “he still has a thing for fox-shifters.”
I took all that in. “He’s offered me a spot in his whorehouse many times. I thought it was because other supernaturals liked shifters, but now I wonder if it wasn’t more. Maybe he wanted me close—and to make my primal part more . . . prevalent. Then he could manipulate me.” I shook my head. Sherwoodhadcommented on my beauty before, but it all felt so convoluted. Did he really want me in that way? “But why wouldn’t he be more direct? He knows I’m single.”
“Vampires are hard to figure out. Especially those as old as Sherwood. They’ve lived so long; they see the world differently. But one thing is for sure—theylovepower. He might have just enjoyed keeping you in a lower position. Watching you, working out how he could get you where he wanted. They love the hunt almost as much as they love power.”
“Yeah . . .” I trailed off, overwhelmed. “Are you going to tell the cops? Because if you don’t, I will.”
Robin’s blue eyes sparked, and suddenly, I knew he had another plan.
“I want to turn him in, but first I think we could use this information—and your familiarity with the Oasis—for the greater good. I need someone inside the casino, Mar.”
I arched an eyebrow, not understanding. “The Oasis? I can’t work there anymore! I’m quitting—I’ll drive there today and do it.”
“I agree. I think you should quit,” Robin nodded carefully. “But not until we hit Sherwood where it hurts him most. I say we rob the casino to save the orphanage.”
Chapter Five
I pushedmy maid cart down the hallway, my gaze sweeping the area with each step. I’d always known that the Oasis had cameras—what hotel and casino didn’t invest in them? Still, I’d never realized how pervasive they were. Basically, until the moment that a guest shut themselves in the privacy of their own room, their every step was being watched.
My heart thumped hard as I caught sight of yet another camera.Surveillance will make a heist far more difficult.
Using my key card, I opened the next room I needed to clean. Unlike normal, I didn’t steel myself to come face-to-face with a disaster before entering the room. Thankfully, this room wasn’t terrible, only slightly dirty. I didn’t have the energy to deal with bachelor party shit shows and all the other nasty stuff I encountered. All my mental focus was being used to find a weakness inside the Oasis. A spot where Robin and his gang might infiltrate unseen to rob the hotel blind.
While most hotels in Vegas kept little money lying around, everyone on the hotel staff knew that Sherwood and Jehanne did. It didn’t make a lot of sense until you considered that they’d been alive for centuries and had seen a lot of shit go down. Real historical events that would chill anyone’s blood.
Jehanne openly spoke of the Russian revolution that exterminated the Romanov family. She’d been staying in the palace and had to grab as many valuables as she could as she fled. With those items, she bought her way out of the country. The royal sympathizers, who didn’t do the same, didn’t survive.
Although he wasn’t as open about his past, I could only assume Sherwood had seen equally horrific events. As a result, both hoteliers liked to have loads of cash on hand.
I slammed my hand down on the bed, relieving some of my anger that had been building up all day. Whenever I thought about Sherwood, I wanted to explode. Thankfully, he wasn’t at the casino today.
