I jolted to a stop as Charlie turned toward me, his other hand resting on my daughter’s shoulder. Our eyes caught across the casino floor. He smiled, triumphant. A dangerous feeling swelled inside me, livid and reckless. An irrepressible need to tear the skin from his bones.
“Look who I found wandering around the casino, all alone,” he drawled, his shit-eating grin twisted by his scar as he strolled toward me. The hard lines of his smile softened as Nick, Sam, and Vero broke through the crowd and rushed toward us.
Nick sagged with relief. Sam let out a nervous laugh as Charlie set the children down. They ran into my arms as I dropped to one knee, grabbing them by their fuzzy pajamas and holding them tightly, my skin numb with adrenaline.
Nick frowned at Charlie’s clothes. “What happened to you?”
Charlie waved him off. “Just a little car trouble. Nothing I couldn’t handle,” he said smugly. “Seems like I got back just in time. These two hooligans were just about to sweet-talk some nice old lady into giving them a dollar for the arcade.”
I tipped Delia’s head back, inspecting every inch of her as Vero scooped Zach into her arms. “What are you two doing down here?”
Delia pointed at her brother, quick to share the blame. “Zach woke up, and then he wokemeup. Daddy was gone and Nana was sleeping, and we were bored.”
“Yeah,” Zach said, mimicking his sister’s pout. He babbled animatedly about how Daddy hadn’t let him push the buttons in the elevator.
“You know better than to leave the room without a grown-up. You could have gotten lost. Or worse,” I scolded them with a shudder. After the last thirty minutes, I didn’t want to think about that.
“We were fine,” Delia said. “Charlie found us. Right, Charlie?”
Charlie grinned at me, as if he were waiting for some public display of gratitude. Vero held Zach protectively to her side.
“Thanks for wrangling them,” Nick said, slinging an arm over Charlie’s shoulders. “And thanks for taking Finn to her meeting tonight.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it. We had quite an adventure. Wouldn’t you say so, ladies?”
I gritted my teeth, my blood still boiling. Vero tucked her hair behind her ear with a stiff middle finger, making sure Charlie saw it. “It was full of surprises.”
Charlie turned to Nick. “How about you? You find this guy you were looking for?”
Nick shook his head. “It was a bust. His nephew pointed us in the right direction. We found Toscano’s hotel, but the guy’s a ghost. I still have no idea how Grindley or his boss are connected to Zhirov.”
Charlie clapped him on the back. “Maybe you can ask Feliks when you arrest him in Newark later.” Nick looked at his watch, as if only now realizing it was well after midnight, already Sunday. Charlie scratched his chest. “I’m going to head up to the room and get some sleep. It’s going to be a busy day, and I want to be fresh so I can keep a close eye on all my charges while you and Stokes are off hunting bad guys.” He stared right at me when he said it, a warning in his eyes.
Nick excused himself to call Georgia and fill her in while Sam went to find Steven to tell him the children had been found.
I held tightly to Delia as Charlie stepped close, holding Zach’s woobie hostage between us. “I believe you have something of mine,” he growled. Zach whined for the blanket. I reached to take it, but Charlie gripped it tighter. I glanced at Nick. I would only look suspicious if Charlie and I got into an argument now. I reached into my pocket for Charlie’s phone and dropped it into his hand, snatching the woobie from him.
Vero glared at him as he discreetly reached behind her and drew his Magnum from her pants. “See you two in the morning,” he said, slipping it quietly into his coat. “Don’t even think about leaving the hotel without me.”
Vero pressed Zach to her chest as we watched him go.
Delia sagged against my hip, her eyelids growing heavy. “We should get the kids to bed,” I said, stroking her hair as we walked.
“Finn, wait,” Nick called out, running to catch up.
Vero reached for Delia. “Come on, Dee. You can tell me all about your casino adventure on the way to bed.”
“I’ll be right up,” I told her as she shuffled the kids to the elevator where Sam and Steven were waiting.
Nick pulled me to him. My breath shuddered out of me as he held me against him, his lips warm against the top of my head. “You okay?”
I nodded into his chest. “Just tired.”
He drew back, brushing my hair back with his thumb. “I want to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For what I said this afternoon in the car. You were right. It wasn’t my place to get involved in your business with Sylvia. I was trying to help, and I overstepped. I shouldn’t have. This was supposed to be a quiet weekend away so you can unwind with Vero and your mom, and this whole thing with Feliks screwed that up. I shouldn’t have made it more stressful by pushing you to meet with your agent.” He dropped his hands, lacing his fingers with mine. “Garrett and I will be in Newark most of the day tomorrow, but I can ask Georgia to watch the kids, and Charlie can take you anywhere you want to go. There’s a spa at that fancy hotel next door. The lady at the front desk was telling me they have one of these special package deals going on. You know, massages and facials and pedicures and stuff. If you want, I could book you, Vero, and your mom some appointments there tomorrow, to make up for messing up the rest of your weekend.”
