“I was wondering how long it would take you to get back to that,” she said, still not looking at him. The guy on the monitor moved off, his phone still in his hand. “Been killing you, hasn’t it?”
“Hey, I tried letting you make the right choice and simply tell me yourself,” he said with a weak shrug. “We’ve been partners for three years, and you do tend to keep things close while I’ve told you all about me, just like I said yesterday. I tired of waiting, though.”
She sighed as she made some notes on her tablet. “Which I wish you’d stop doing, especially your time with the ladies. Some things should remain, you know, private. Your secret memory to recall when you’re old and bald.”
“Hey, what makes you think I’ll be bald? I got a lush head of hair. And it’s not like you have any dating adventures to share.”
She turned to him, the tablet on her lap. “You go out enough for both of us. I feel sorry for those poor ladies.”
He chuckled as he glanced at her screen. “Hey, mystery dude is gone.”
She glanced up, noticing Roman was right. She reached for the controls, looking at the other security cameras, but the man wasn’t on any of them. “Maybe Ray picked him up.”
“Or maybe he just left.”
“How does a guy come in and simply start impersonating a security guard?” she asked, not really to Roman, but more as a thought exercise. “Surely, at some point, someone would have noticed him with the badge and realized he didn’t work there.”
Roman shrugged. “This place has over two thousand employees between the casino, hotel, and restaurants. I’m sure it’s easy to slip through the cracks. And not every employee will know all the others. Add to that how busy the place is, and it makes sense. Especially this weekend with the summit. Place is hopping.”
She supposed. Still, it made her question the hotel’s security even more. Like how did the man get his hands on a badge to begin with?
She sighed, thinking it was just something else to put in her report.
“What do you say we go grab a bite before this thing gets hopping?” Roman asked. “Then we can watch them go through their steps with the summit.”
She sighed, glancing once more at the monitor where the man had been standing. “Yeah, probably a good idea.” She shoved herself out of the chair. “Besides, I hear the lunch buffet here kicks ass, even if the breakfast sucked.”
“All you can eat,” he said. “Still my favorite four words.”
She shoved her tablet in her purse and slung the purse strap over her shoulder as she followed him out of the small room. There was no way she could tell Roman the true reason she couldn’t let Bobby know he was right and not going crazy. Ithad been an argument with the marshals when she created her company Obsidian Analytics to begin with. Donovan—Deke—had painted a gruesome picture for her if she stepped out of the small town where they had hidden her family, but while her baby sister was quite content sitting indoors and reading books all day, Delaney needed more. She needed a career, a life. Besides, it had been fifteen years. Surely whoever was looking for her mother had given up long ago.
But Marshal Donovan Ashland had reminded her that the Serranos had a long memory and an even longer reach.
As she grabbed a plate at the buffet line, she thought back to the Marshal, in his late-thirties when the man, two inches past six feet, had first introduced himself to a trembling, crying, and very pissed off sixteen-year-old. He was now in his early fifties and still looking out for her family. His once inky dark hair was now more salt-and-pepper, still military short, and his hazel-green eyes set deep in his weathered face were always looking around rather than ever focusing on one specific spot. He now walked with a slight limp thanks to an old bullet wound that had nothing to do with her or her family, and when he spoke, his voice now came out like gravel, which she knew had to be because of his love of rotgut whiskey, too cheap to buy the good stuff.
In the end, he had to let her do what she wanted. She wasn’t a prisoner after all. And for the past three-plus years, it had been great. He had insisted she keep her real persona a secret, though, using fake photos on the website, and her itinerary vague. And everything had been great until Bobby entered the building. Deke would have plenty to say about that in his gruff, no-time-for-coddling way. It was a conversation she was not looking forward to and knew she should have already called him. She simply didn’t want to hear his “I told you so” when she finally told him.
“You going to eat all of that, D?” Roman asked as he walked past her at the fried shrimp station.
She glanced down at her plate, the fog of her thoughts barely clearing as she saw the mound of random food she had stacked on top. Closing her eyes for a quick moment, she sighed and then turned toward her table. “Let’s find out.”
She sat down, and the server brought her a sweet tea. Draping her napkin over her lap, she simply stared at the full plate of food, wondering what half of it even was.
Roman chuckled as he sat down across from her. “That’s, um, an assortment of food. I’ve never seen you eat like that. What? Just couldn’t make up your mind?”
She grabbed her fork and stabbed into some fried rice. “I wasn’t even looking, to be honest. I guess my mind was… elsewhere.”
He leaned forward, fork in hand, as he stared at her, one brow cocked. “Wouldn’t be on that bulky dark blond tower of a man you refuse to really talk about, would it? You’ve been off-kilter since you saw him yesterday.”
She shoved the fried rice into her mouth, barely tasting it thanks to the white gravy that had flowed into it from her mashed potatoes. “I know it’s weird, but I can’t talk about it.”
“Too painful?”
“Too everything. But it’s also something I simply can’t talk about. I’m sorry.” She hated not being able to be open with him. It was part of being in WIT-SEC for so long that had become so ingrained in her she couldn’t risk letting it go. It could risk her family’s safety.
He made a slow bob of his head. “Part of that mysterious past of yours. I get it.” He leaned in even closer, lowering his voice. “But if you ever do need to talk to someone, I’m always here for you.”
She felt a soft smile pull at her lips. “I know. And thank you. I appreciate it.
