Once he pulled off, I was glad mine was already locked in place.
We came out onto the road behind the club like Proctor was running from someone, or should I say bullets. There were fewercars back there, but still enough traffic to slow things down. He leaned on the horn, impatient, forcing cars to shift like he owned the road and was letting them use it.
“Get the fuck out of the way. I’m ready to get to my shit.”
He cut through gaps that barely existed, jumped the curb, rolled half onto the sidewalk, horn blaring as people scrambled out of the way. It should’ve scared me, but it didn’t. If anything, it was kind of funny the way he moved like someone who left something on the stove and couldn’t get back fast enough.
Maybe he was trying to get me there to see if something was still in my system.
It was not. I was just using him for the access. The ease.
Proctor finally hit the freeway and then sped up until he pulled up to The Palms Casino Resort, and I leaned forward, looking out the window, my eyes traveling all the way up until my neck had to tilt back.
“I thought you said we were going to your condo. This is a hotel.”
“I see you are not educated about Vegas,” he said calmly. “The Palms has hotel rooms, Airbnbs, and condos all in one. Most of these units are privately owned. I live on the second-to-top floor, and my son owns the one on the very top.”
“What does your son do if you don’t mind me asking. You just said he owned a penthouse at the Bellagio too?”
“He does a lot. Most importantly, Nina Francis.”
The valet stepped up to the driver’s window, interrupting our conversation.
Proctor climbed out, handing over the keys without breaking stride. We followed behind, wobbling slightly, moving in a loose line as we entered the building.
Once we got upstairs and stepped through the front door, I stopped with my eyes now shifting in every direction.
The condo opened up wide and clean, polished floors stretching out beneath soft lighting that made everything glow warm and expensive. Floor to ceiling windows framed the city like a backdrop, and the place felt lived in without being cluttered. Nothing about it screamedsecurity guard, and everything about it confirmed what I already knew. Proctor was much more than just a guard. He was Vegas royalty
The way he moved at the club, and the way people listened at the pool, all made sense now. He had power with money behind it. Lots of fucking money to be exact.
As I walked further in, my eyes caught on a large mural hanging along the wall. It was of a man standing in front of a massive mansion, hands in his pockets, posture confident, and unbothered. I recognized him instantly because this was the same man Cyn had left with earlier.
Tania stepped up beside me, looking at the same picture I was.
“Proctor, why do you have a picture of him in your place?”
She always asked what everyone else was scared to.
“That’s family,” Proctor replied.
“Oh. I see you love your boss.”
He smiled without turning back.
“Yeah, I do. He’s a good boss, but I love him mostly because he's my son.”
He walked off like he hadn’t just dropped something heavy into the room.
I stared back at the mural, my chest tightening as everything clicked. The resemblance hit me all at once because they had the same bone structure, the same quiet dominancein their faces. It was crazy how the mind worked. Before that moment, I hadn’t noticed it at all. Now I couldn’t unsee it.
Proctor disappeared deeper into the condo, leaving us standing there like we were supposed to already know where to go.
“Make yourselves comfortable.” I heard his voice echoing from wherever he disappeared to.
“This is fuckin nice,” Tania whispered, running her hand along the walls, and every surface we passed by that she probably shouldn’t even be touching.
We drifted toward the kitchen, wide-eyed at the full bar, stacked up neatly.
