Desperate for caffeine, Levi drank his in deep gulps that burned his tongue while they got Dominic a visitor’s badge and proceeded to the bullpen. Dominic was a well-known bounty hunter throughout the Valley, and the people they passed greeted him with smiles and nods and a fist bump here and there. Most were far more pleased to see him than Levi, with whom they worked every day.
“How do you make friends everywhere you go?” Levi asked.
“I’m nice to people,” Dominic said with a teasing note in his voice.
“I’m nice,” said Levi, though he wasn’t, not the way Dominic meant. Dominic was easygoing and gregarious and went out of his way to be friendly to everyone he met. Levi felt exhausted just thinking about how much energy that must take.
Shifting closer, Dominic murmured, “I think you’re very nice.”
Levi rolled his eyes, willing away his blush as they entered the bullpen. His and Martine’s adjoining desks faced each other; she was already at hers, and Natasha was sitting at his, with Adriana in a chair that had been pulled up alongside.
“Morning,” he said, setting his coffee down.
“Morning.” Martine looked up—and then even further up. “Oh, hey, Dominic.”
“Ladies,” Dominic said. “Good to see you both again.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while,” said Natasha, getting out of Levi’s chair. “Are you still bounty hunting?”
Levi didn’t listen to Dominic’s response, because he was distracted by Adriana. She’d frozen in her seat, staring at Dominic in pure terror. Her face was drawn and gray, her breathing shallow, and her hands gripped the arms of her chair so hard they were shaking.
Dominic noticed right after Levi did. He took a few subtle steps backward, putting more space between him and Adriana, and his body language shifted in a clear attempt to make himself look less threatening. His arms hung relaxed by his sides, his empty hands wide open.
“Well, I should get going,” he said, and even his voice was softer than it had been before. “I just wanted to stop in and see everyone, say hello.”
“You and Levi should come to dinner at my place again sometime soon,” Martine said. Her eyes glinted mischievously. “That is, if you’re done hogging him all to yourself.”
Dominic grinned. “I guess I can make an exception for one night. Just let me know when.” He touched Levi’s elbow and said, “Good luck with your case. See you later?”
Levi nodded. They’d never discussed acceptable PDA in the workplace—he wouldn’t have minded a brief kiss on the lips, but Dominic didn’t know that.
After a round of goodbyes, Dominic headed off. Levi, Martine, and Natasha exchanged silent glances, all of them aware of Adriana’s anxiety but uncertain how best to address it.
“Adriana, do you want to go talk in the room we used yesterday?” Levi finally asked.
Startled out of her petrified state, Adriana mumbled agreement. He gestured for her to go first, then looked back over his shoulder as he followed. Natasha made a call me gesture, and he sent her a thumbs-up in response.
As soon as the door closed, Adriana said, “Who was that guy?”
“His name is Dominic Russo. Have you met him before?”
“No.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “He just—he looks a lot like somebody I used to know. Is he a cop too?”
If she hadn’t been in so much distress, Levi would have laughed. “Uh, no. Definitely not.” He sat on the couch and observed the way she hovered at the edge of the room, hunched in on herself. “He’s my . . . my boyfriend.”
Okay, so maybe he and Dominic hadn’t agreed on that particular label yet, but he needed to humanize Dominic for her, and he wasn’t about to break down their entire romantic and sexual history to a teenager.
Adriana didn’t look surprised—people usually assumed Levi was gay—but she did frown. “You’re not afraid of him?”
“Why would I be afraid of him?”
She shrugged one shoulder, her arms tightening around her chest. “He’s a lot bigger than you. It would be easy for him to hurt you.” Averting her eyes, she said, “Make you do things you don’t want.”
Levi had to close his eyes to deal with the powerful surge of rage that tensed his muscles and turned his stomach. He took a moment to collect himself, not wanting Adriana to think his anger was directed at her. Only when he was sure he could control his voice did he say, “You’re right. Dominic could probably hurt me a lot if he wanted to. But I trust that he won’t. In fact, I feel safer with him than anyone else. You know, he once saved my life twice in one week.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He got hurt himself both times, just because he was trying to protect me.” Levi leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I understand if his size makes you uncomfortable, but I can promise you that he’d never harm either you or me for any reason.”
“I . . .” Adriana exhaled heavily and dropped her arms. “I guess I didn’t really think he would. It’s just the way he looks—I wasn’t ready for it. I didn’t mean to offend him.”
“You didn’t,” Levi said firmly. “I’m sure that’s not the first time Dominic has gotten that reaction, and he’ll know how to handle it. He’d be more worried about making sure you’re okay.”
She moved to the chair next to the couch, perching on the very edge of the seat. “I’m fine. Would you tell him I’m sorry?”
“Of course.” He let the silence drag out a bit, but when she didn’t volunteer anything more, he said, “Natasha told me you wanted to speak with me about my case?”
“Yeah.” For the first time, Adriana looked him straight in the eye. “I lied to you yesterday.”
“About what?”
Rather than answer his question, she said, “Natasha and I talked for a long time last night. She told me that you’re a good man and a good cop. You guys are doing a lot to help me even though you don’t have to, and I don’t want to be the reason somebody gets away with murder.”
She fell quiet then, and seemed to be working up the nerve to continue. Levi waited.
“I didn’t find that credit card Downtown. I found it on the Strip.” Tears welled in her eyes, and she bowed her head. “It—it was in a Dumpster where I was looking for food.” Letting out a sob, she covered her eyes with one hand. “I didn’t want to say anything because I was embarrassed.”
“Hey.” Levi put his hand on the arm of her chair, though he was careful not to touch her directly. “There’s no shame in doing what’s necessary to survive.”
She shook her head, crying quietly, her hand still hiding her face. He handed her the tissues and then sat with her, not trying to rush or console her, just making himself available in case she wanted to tell him more.
After a few minutes, her tears slowed. She blew her nose and wiped her eyes before lifting her head with new resolve. “The card wasn’t by itself, either—it was in a wallet, a nice one. I took that and one other card and all the cash and then left the wallet there.”
“There was cash in the wallet?”
“Yeah, almost two hundred bucks. I already spent it all; I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” said Levi. “I talked to Dr. Hensley’s wife yesterday. There won’t be any charges.”
In fact, he’d been pleasantly surprised by how sympathetic Hensley’s wife—Dr. Clarissa Northridge—had been once she learned of Adriana’s situation. She’d volunteered to simply pay the credit card charges herself, so there would be no question of legal action.
“Oh,” Adriana said, blinking. “That’s good. Thank you.” She scrubbed the back of her hand over her face. “Um . . . the wallet wasn’t the only thing I found. It was in a big paper shopping bag from Macy’s with a bunch of other stuff—a cell phone, a laptop, a tablet. It had all been smashed to pieces, so I just left everything there.”
Levi sat back. As he’d anticipated, Adriana’s statement blew any robbery motive out of the water. The murderer wouldn’t have destroyed Hensley�
��s valuable electronics and ditched cold hard cash if they’d been driven by monetary gain.
“Where was this Dumpster?” he asked.
The location she gave him was a short, easy walk from the Mirage. She had found the bag on Sunday, so the Dumpster had most likely been emptied by now, but they’d send an officer out to be sure.
“Thank you, Adriana,” he said, after he’d jotted down all the details. “You’ve been very helpful.”
“You’re welcome.” She’d stopped crying by now, though she still clutched a wad of tissues in one tight fist. “Will I have to testify in court or something?”
“I doubt it. Your official statement should be more than enough.”
“Natasha said she would try to find a way for me to stay in Las Vegas.” Adriana picked at the tissues she held, shredding them into bits. “I’m at a group home right now, but she’s trying to get me transferred to the foster system here, so she can make sure everything’s okay.”
“If that’s what she said, that’s what she’ll do. Natasha is an amazing social worker. She won’t let you down.” Levi stowed his pen and notepad in his jacket pocket and rose to his feet. “Are you ready for your meeting?”
“Yeah. I just need a minute.”
Levi was halfway to the door when he hesitated, overcome by a sudden impulse. He turned back and sat on the couch again; Adriana gave him a puzzled look.
“When I was in college, a group of men hurt me very badly—so badly I almost didn’t survive. I know what it’s like to feel helpless and to be ashamed of that feeling. But whatever has happened to you isn’t your fault.”
She regarded him in wide-eyed silence before saying, “You don’t seem helpless to me.”
“Because I learned how to protect myself,” he said. “How to fight back. I can help you do the same, if you want.”
A ghost of a smile crossed her face, small but unmistakable. “Yeah. Okay.”
What Levi didn’t tell her was that the assault had left him with a deep well of inner rage that had only grown as the years passed. He knew how to protect himself now, true, and he’d learned how to control and channel that anger, but it was always burning inside him.
And he was afraid that one day it would rise up and swallow him whole.
“So,” McBride said, studying Dominic from across her desk. “You’re a gambling addict.”
“Compulsive gambler,” he said tightly.
“Right.” She puffed on her e-cigarette. “And you didn’t think this was important information to share?”
“I’m under no obligation to disclose my mental health history.”
“True. But this is Vegas, Russo. It never occurred to you that this might become a problem? You can’t tell me you never ran into this situation as a bounty hunter.”
He shifted uncomfortably. Whenever his pursuit of a bounty seemed like it was veering into gambling territory, he just handed the assignment off to someone else. He should have known he wouldn’t be able to do the same here without drawing comment. As a bounty hunter, he worked alone; this was a large firm with over a dozen investigators working in cooperation. McBride had no legal right to know this about him, but he wouldn’t have been able to hide it for long regardless.
“If you’re planning on firing me, please just tell me now,” he said.
“Fire you?” she said with a snort that turned into a brief hacking cough. “For a mental health issue? No, thanks. I’d prefer not to invite a lawsuit, and besides, that seems like a shitty thing to do to someone.” She tilted her head. “Aubrey said you’re in recovery?”
“Yeah, two years now. I have it under control. I went to a meeting just this morning—”
McBride held up a hand. “You don’t have to tell me the details. Just keep doing whatever you’re doing, and make sure it doesn’t interfere with your work here.”
“It won’t,” said Dominic, dizzy with relief.
“That remains to be seen.” She leaned back in her chair, inhaled deeply, and blew out a thin stream of bourbon-flavored vapor. “Now, as far as the Rhodes case is concerned—”
He cut in hastily before she could get any further. “I made some progress there on my own, actually.” Knowing he’d have to prove his worth to get back in both McBride and Aubrey’s good graces, he’d spent all morning—excluding the hour at Gamblers Anonymous—working a hunch. “Rhodes isn’t having an affair.”
Raising her eyebrows, McBride said, “Aubrey saw him leave the casino with one of the women he’d met for dinner and take an elevator upstairs in the hotel.”
She hadn’t been able to follow them without compromising her cover, and they hadn’t engaged in any serious physical contact in sight of her camera, so while the situation was damning, it wasn’t the definitive proof they’d been looking for.
“I didn’t say he wasn’t cheating. I said he’s not having an affair.” He got out his phone, fingers tapping across the screen as he spoke. “Mrs. Rhodes told us she suspected her husband had a long-term relationship, a mistress or girlfriend, whatever term you want to use. But his behavior last night—a second phone, non-stop texting, removing his wedding ring, meeting a group of strangers in public . . . It gave me an idea.” He passed his phone to McBride. “These are Rhodes’s profiles on Whim, Blendr, and Pure, all under false names.”
“What am I looking at here?” she asked while she thumbed through the applications he’d pulled up.
“They’re hookup apps for people looking for one-night stands. Really easy to use in Vegas, especially around the Strip, because of all the tourists flooding in and out.”
Dominic spoke from experience. Before he started dating Levi, he’d used Grindr all the time.
“So instead of the affair his wife suspects, Rhodes has been fucking around with a bunch of different women he barely even knows?”
“Well, this isn’t concrete proof—but yeah, basically. Sometimes people using these apps meet up in groups at first for safety.”
McBride barked out a raspy laugh. “That crafty little bastard. No wonder his wife couldn’t pin him down herself—she was coming at it from the wrong angle. So were we.” She tossed Dominic his phone. “Nice work, Russo.”
“Thanks. Think Aubrey will agree?”
“I’ll leave that to her to decide, but I think you’ll be fine.”
Ten minutes later, Dominic sat behind the wheel of Levi’s car, his internship safe but his mood no less grim. Though the urgent craving to gamble had receded, it had left potent shame and humiliation in its wake. He’d made an idiot of himself in front of a colleague, and then to make matters worse, Levi had seen him so pathetic and out of control. Levi, who was one of the strongest people he knew. How could Levi respect him now?
He rubbed a hand over his face. That was a ridiculous thought, but he couldn’t shake it. This . . . this failing was his biggest weakness and his greatest source of shame. It was the ugliest thing about him. He hadn’t wanted Levi to see it, but it was too late.
Right now, he was also facing one of the most threatening enemies of a compulsive gambler: free time. He wasn’t expected anywhere for hours, not until his bartending shift at Stingray tonight. Most people he knew were working, and he didn’t trust himself to pick up a bounty with his head all messed up. He could go to the gun range, but he’d never thought it was a good idea to fire a gun while upset.
There was only one surefire way to exorcise this stress. He started the car and headed for Rolando’s.
“Are you serious?” Levi snapped into the phone. He’d called Leila Rashid about Adriana’s statement, hoping she’d drop the charges against Diana Kostas. No such luck, as it turned out.
“Ruling out robbery as a motive doesn’t mean she didn’t kill him.” Rashid sounded calm, even bored. “We discussed this earlier. She could have made it look like a robbery to throw suspicion off herself.”
“You can’t really believe Kostas is a murderer.”
“It doesn’t matter what I believe,” she
said, now with a bit of an edge. “What matters is what the jury believes. Look, Abrams, I understand that cops rely on hunches and instincts to do their work, but your gut feelings aren’t admissible in court.”
“I—”
“I cannot drop the charges against Kostas until you build a solid case against another suspect. You know why? Because the very first thing a defense attorney will do is hold her up as the murderer to introduce reasonable doubt. People love to demonize sex workers. What they don’t love is to use their critical thinking and reasoning skills. So unless you give me hard evidence that exonerates Kostas and implicates someone else in a way so obvious a kindergartner could understand it, you’re asking me to trust that the jury will be comprised of rational adults instead of twelve random mouth breathers. I’m not willing to take that chance.”
By the end of her speech, Levi was sitting with his eyes wide and his mouth half open. Martine watched him curiously across their desks.
“All right,” he said after a moment’s delay. The truth was, he didn’t disagree with her logic. “I’ll bring you the evidence you need.”
“Great.” With that, she hung up on him.
He set his own phone in the receiver, stared at it, and then shook his head.
Martine laughed. “Yeah, she’s about as good with people as you are.”
Levi threw a pen at her; she caught it in midair. “There’s one major question we have to answer before we can go any further,” he said.
Nodding, she said, “Who was the primary target—Hensley or Kostas?”
“Exactly. Either Hensley’s murder was the goal and Kostas made a convenient scapegoat, or someone’s trying to frame Kostas for murder, and Hensley was just collateral damage.”
“I’d say the first explanation was a lot more likely if it wasn’t for the Rohypnol they found under her sink.”
“Let’s see what she has to say about it, then,” Levi said.
Trick Roller Page 8
