“Why can’t she?” Roman asked, his voice rising. He glanced back at Delaney. “Just what the hell is going on? Are we giving up on this job?”
However, before he could answer, Director Boudreaux stormed into the security room like a thunderhead ready to destroy everyone in his path, his presence loud even before he opened his mouth. The door slammed against the wall as he strode in, eyes blazing as he focused his gaze on Delaney. The walkie clipped to his belt hissed with chatter he ignored, and everyone in the room who worked for the man quickly found something to occupy themselves and avoided eye contact with their boss.
“What the hell’s going on in my casino?” he snapped, voice sharp enough to slice drywall. “You bring in a federal marshal without so much as a courtesy call? You’re even meeting with Silver Security behind my back. This was supposed to be a private contract review, not a goddamn raid. So what the hell’s going on?”
Delaney crossed her arms over her chest as she faced the man, Roman stepping to her side, hands on his hips.
However, before she could answer the director, Deke stepped in front of her. “She didn’t call me, and my presence here has nothing to do with your casino. Delaney’s an old friend, and I heard she was in town, so I thought I’d pop by and say hello. No need for a courtesy call for that, so smooth your hackles.”
By the look on the director’s face, he wasn’t buying it. Tension buzzed through the room like static off a live wire. Someone shifted, and chairs creaked as people tried to pretend there wasn’t an explosion about to go off behind them. Raylooked ready to bite someone’s head off and use the skull as a trophy as he glared at the marshal, and Delaney could see the man debating whether or not he wanted to believe him.
And then, like timing ripped from a screenplay, the door burst open again as Blaze rushed into the room like a tornado in human form. His hair was a mess, as if he’d just run his hand through it too many times, his jaw tight, eyes sharp and focused, and he looked like he’d walked straight out of a war zone and into someone else’s fight.
“Elvis said I’d find you here,” he said as he locked eyes onto Delaney.
She felt her brow pinch. “I’m sorry. Elvis? Really?”
Blaze gave a curt nod. “Yeah. He knew you’d be here.”
“Elvis is dead, kid,” the director said, still snarling. “And this ain’t Vegas.”
Blaze looked at him, confusion pinching his features. “He’s what? What hap—?” He shook his head. “No, not that Elvis. Our Elvis. Bobby Jenkins. Elvis is his call sign.”
Delaney scoffed. “Why am I not surprised? Some things never change.”
“Who’s this?” Roman asked, hands on his hips, still bewildered and now growing annoyed. “Someone tell me what the hell is going on. Please.”
Delaney simply gave him a curt nod, keeping her attention on Bobby’s friend. “What happened?”
Blaze glanced at the marshal, then back to her. “I went back to see if anyone followed my second search. And there was another ping.”
The room went still.
Blaze reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small notepad, flipping it open and scanning the contents. “It happened an hour ago. Same search terms. Delaney Rhodes. Whoever’s watching this network was just waiting for anothertrace to run, it seems. I should’ve checked for it after I found the first one. Whoever’s chasing you isn’t just curious. They’re determined. Focused.”
Deke ran his hand through his hair. “Shit.” He turned to Roman. “We need to find Leon and quickly.”
“Who’s Leon?” the director asked.
“Yeah, who is this guy?” Roman asked as he turned back to the computers, taking a seat this time.
“He works for the Serrano crime family,” Deke said as he followed Roman over to a bank of monitors. “He’s the one you let pretend to be a security guard yesterday.”
Ray bristled. “What the hell do you meanIlet him pretend? I didn’t let anyone do a damn thing.”
“Didn’t stop him either.” Deke said as he stood behind Roman’s chair, arms folded over his chest, ignoring the director.
“And you’re sticking with the whole ‘just visiting a friend’ shit?” The director crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.
“But how did they get someone here this fast?” Blaze asked.
“Get who where?” Roman asked as he spun in his chair and stared at Delaney. “I need some help here. What’s going on?”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t tell you everything. But this guy isn’t good for my health. We need to find him.”
“We need to get you out of here,” the marshal repeated. “That’s what we need to do.”
Ray spun on them, hands slammed to his hips. “What the hell have you brought into my casino? Enough of this cloak and dagger, whisper whisper, hush hush bullshit. I want to know what the hell’s going on, and I want to know now.”
