“People dreaming of revenge possess a long memory,” he told her. “And the Serranos never tolerate betrayal of any kind. They’ve killed for less. Before his son took over the familybusiness, he would have had to swear to get their type of justice for his father.”
The elevator reached their floor, and the doors slid open. She stepped out first, Donovan right on her heels.
“I still say staying here is a bad idea,” he said as he followed her, taking a quick glance up and down the hallway. “You’re putting yourself unnecessarily at risk. We need to get you somewhere safe until we figure this out.”
“We’re surrounded by security from three different teams, including mine,” she told him. “And some of those are former SEALs. I think we’re about as safe as we can be, don’t you?”
“Famous last words,” he muttered as she reached for the doorknob to the security room.
As soon as she stepped inside, Roman rushed her. “Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to be here an hour ago.” And then he came to an abrupt stop as he glanced at Donovan, his brow rising. His gaze dropped to the badge at the man’s waist. “And I see you still have company. And he wears a badge.” He glanced at Delaney. “So, what’s going on?”
The surveillance room always felt colder than it should have, as the fluorescent lights buzzed overhead like insects drunk on static. Every wall held a bank of screens, black-and-white feeds spooling silently from every corner of the casino like ghost stories waiting to be told while men sat and watched, already looking bored out of their minds.
Delaney sighed. “That’s a good question, but one I can’t answer right now. Tell me how it’s going here?” She stood stiffly with her arms folded, eyes narrowed as she raked her gaze over the screens.
Roman looked at the marshal for a moment longer, then turned to Delaney, shoving his questions to the side for the moment, thankfully. “Well, I asked Director Boudreaux again about the man we saw yesterday, and he doesn’t recognizehim. He’s not on the security staff here. Or match any of their contractor files.”
“And he’s not with the Silvers,” she said. “We just left there.”
Roman’s brow pinched. “You were with the Silvers? Why?” He glanced back at the marshal, and it was clear he wanted to ask if it had to do with the man at her side, but he kept the question to himself.
“We needed to ask them something,” the marshal told him, arms across his chest.
Delaney said nothing else, hating being caught on her heels and the sudden feeling she had that she was now someone’s prey. “So if he’s not one of the director’s men, he’s either someone’s ghost…”
“Or someone’s investigator,” Deke muttered, finishing her sentence for her. “And we shouldn’t be talking about this here.” He glanced around the room at those sitting at desks, letting her know without coming out and saying it that the room had too many ears.
Roman shoved his hands into his pockets as he glared at her and the marshal, obviously not wanting to let the matter drop. “You two gonna stop tap dancing and tell me what the hell is going on? Why are we concerned about this guy?”
Delaney felt her head tilt to the side a bit. “When did we see that man pretending to be one of the casino’s security personnel?”
Roman shrugged. “As the summit was beginning the other night. Why?”
She shot a quick glance to Deke and then back to Roman. “Do we have a picture of him?”
“I think so.” He turned to the computer, and hit a few keys. A second later, the man appeared on the screen from where he stood staring out at the people playing slots. “Here you go.”
She took the picture, glanced at it once, and then passed it to the marshal. She wouldn’t know who it was no matter how hard she stared at it. After all, she was only sixteen when they whisked her family away. Deke, however, knew all the players.
The marshal took the picture, studying it, but not for long. “Leon Ortega,” he said with a low hiss. He shook his head, growling as he glanced back at Delaney and gestured for them to move further away from the others. “He came up under Alberto. Started young. A delivery boy of sorts. Messenger. That sort of thing. Moved up through the ranks until he became one of Berto’s enforcers.” He handed the picture back to Delaney. “I hadn’t realized he was so close.”
“What makes you say that?” she asked.
“Unless he’s here for some other reason—and I seriously doubt that he is—he had to have been close to be here so soon after Jenkins ran your name.”
“Someone ran your name?” Roman asked, bouncing his gaze back and forth between them. “Jenkins? Who is—?” Then his eyes widened. “Wait. You mean that man who confronted you Thursday? Why would he run your name?”
This was getting out of control fast. Enough people knew her secret now, and she didn’t want to put Roman at risk by telling him the truth. And it would surely put him at risk. From everything Deke had told her about the Serranos, they would stop at nothing to get to her family and punish them, even if it meant hurting those close to her. She would not allow that to happen.
“Have you checked for him again?” the marshal asked Roman.
Her partner shook his head. “No. I passed it off to Ray and left it in his hands. If he’s seen the man again, he hasn’t told me.”
“We need to find out,” Deke said. “If he’s still here, then we have to find him.”
“But why?” Roman asked. “What the hell is going on, D.? Why do I suddenly feel as if I’m missing something important?”
Deke turned to her. “We can’t stay here. You know that, right?”
