“I have work to do.” Someone to kill. It was the only thing I was good at.
Bastian stepped closer and I steeled myself for an argument.
Then both his and Nash’s cellphones beeped. Both men cursed.
“We have a security issue,” Bastian said, pulling out his phone. Nash rose, doing the same.
“Go.” I took a few steps back. “I need to get back to my laptop. I have plenty of research to do.”
“I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he murmured.
I nodded. “Bye, Georgie.” I nodded at Nash. “Thanks for dinner.”
I felt Bastian watching me as I left the restaurant.
CHAPTER 20
BASTIAN
Iunlocked the penthouse door and strode inside. The security issue had taken longer than I’d hoped. We’d had to deal with a group of young cheaters hoping to win big at my casino’s expense.
The cheaters all seemed to be getting younger, and trying out fancier, newer technology.
I’d helped to scare the shit out of them, and then, Theo had handed them over to the police. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be trying to steal from any casinos anytime soon.
“Lark?” My voice echoed in the living room.
She’d seemed off at Styx with Georgie and Nash. Not herself.
“Lark?” My jaw clenched. The laptop on the coffee table was dark, and her notes were strewn around. There was no Lark.
I already knew, but I strode toward the bedroom looking for her.
All I found was the faint scent of a thunderstorm.
“Fuck!”
I swiveled and headed for the elevator. I yanked my phone out.
“Boss.” Theo’s deep, raspy voice answered. “Our cheaters are now guests of LVMPD.”
“It’s not that. I need you to activate that new tracker for me. The one I had put in the bracelet clasp.” Right now, I was damn glad I’d given her the bracelet. She wasnotgetting away from me.
“Roger that.” I could hear the tap of the keyboard. “You lost your girl?”
I grunted and the elevator whizzed downward. “How do you know about her?”
“Nash mentioned her. Said she’s tiny, but dangerous. He didn’t seem thrilled.”
“Just find her.”
“Shit, she’s in the Blade,” Theo said.
I mentally cursed. The Blade was West Tropicana Avenue, specifically the stretch between I-15 and Decatur Boulevard. It was a high prostitution area, among other crimes.
“Bastian, that’s a bad end of town.”
“She can handle herself.” But worry nipped at me. I wasn’t worried about the area. I was worried about what she was up to.
