She rolled her eyes, refusing to comment, already scrolling through access reports and comparing them against badge authentication times. Her mind stayed stubbornly on task, even as something deeper kept tugging at her attention.
Robert ‘Bobby’ Jenkins.
She had slept little last night, telling herself it was the unfamiliar bed. The annoying sound of the humming of the air conditioner. The fact that audits were always brutal on REM cycles, and it always took her a moment to settle into a new place. It was the normal first night away jitters. Yeah, that’s what she kept telling herself.
But then she knew it really wasn’t. Not the way her chest had tightened every time she replayed the look on his face.
She pushed the thought away and zoomed in on one of the perimeter cameras, checking blind spots near the service corridor. Silver Security had done a solid job reinforcing coverage that hotel security missed, but she liked to verify things herself. Trust, but verify. It was practically tattooed on her soul.
Roman spun lazily in his chair. “You ever get the feeling someone’s about to make your day weird?”
She arched a brow as she looked over at him. “Every day. That’s why I work in threat modeling. We live in the world of weird.”
He grinned, bobbing his head. “Fair.”
She toggled to the main casino floor feed, watching the early crowd trickle in for a quick chance at lady luck—conference attendees with lanyards flipped backward, tourists clutching coffee cups and cups full of coins, and a few gamblers who clearly hadn’t gone to bed and probably needed a shower. She made a mental note to avoid those individuals.
Her gaze tracked movement automatically, cataloging patterns, noting posture, watching hands, looking for anything out of place or suspicious.
Routine.
Predictable.
And then Roman leaned forward abruptly. “What is this idiot doing?”
His voice shattered her thoughts as he pointed to the screen.
She glanced down, giving herself a mental shake, and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve seen him before. He seems to be looking around, taking in the sights.” But then something seemed off. The man had dark hair and was wearing a suit with a casino badge attached, rather than a security uniform, which told her he was probably floor security instead of the guyworking the entrance. “Maybe just doing a walk-through? Check the employee records and see who he is?”
Roman thumbed through the files on his tablet, humming some showtune as he did.
She continued to watch the man, her suspicions growing more alert the longer she stared at him. He scanned the area, but not in that security man kind of way, where he was looking for people scamming the casino. Instead, it looked more like he was making sure no one was watching him, and he wasn’t casual about it.
“What are you looking for?” she asked as she stared at the monitor.
And then the man looked at his phone. She could see someone’s head on the screen, but she couldn’t make out who it was or any of the person’s features. The man would look at the phone and then glance around the floor.
“All right, scratch that,” she said. “Whoare you looking for? Roman, does the casino have a search out for anyone at the moment?”
Roman glanced at another screen, then shook his head. “No. Everything’s quiet with everyone focused on the summit.”
“Then what is this guy up to? Because he’s obviously looking for someone.” She leaned closer, hoping to get a better angle on what the man was looking at on his phone, but he had it angled enough to make it impossible.
“Our mysterious security dude isn’t listed on their employee files.” Roman leaned back in his chair and pointed to the man on the screen. “There’s no match in the records.”
She sighed. “Then we better tell Ray he has someone on the floor pretending to be on his team.”
Roman chuckled. “That’ll make his day. I think all this computer summit shit’s been boring the hell out of him. Hedoesn’t strike me as a guy who likes computers or those who use them.”
She smiled as she kept her eyes on the screen. “Well then, he shouldn’t have given up being a state trooper for life in the air conditioning.”
“I hear the pay’s better here. He can keep himself in that mint gum he’s always chewing.”
She laughed as she shook her head, but chose not to comment.
Roman spun in his chair after calling the Director of Security Operations and letting him know about the possible impostor. He slipped his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers as he stared over at her, his brow furrowed.
“So, why don’t you want this guy to know you’re really you?” he asked, returning to the question from yesterday as if they had never stopped talking about it.
