by L. P. Dover
He shrugged. “This is more important. I only lost two hundred anyway.”
“Thank goodness it wasn’t the ten grand. You might need it.”
Jason followed my gaze. “I wonder who that is.”
“I don’t know, but we need to find out. I say we test the waters a bit.”
A mischievous gleam twinkled in his eyes. “And it looks like they need more players. Come on,” he said, taking my hand. We walked casually toward the table and there were still two spots left. “Wish me luck.” He placed a kiss on my cheek, his stubble brushing against my skin.
“Good luck,” I stuttered as he walked off, taking a seat at the table. So far so good.
“Isn’t he just sex on a stick?” a voice called out from behind.
More like a pain in the ass. I turned to see the woman who walked in with the men. Her blonde hair was pulled high into an elegant updo and being the age she was, she looked amazingly fit in her tight green dress and tan skin.
“Are you two married?” she asked, looking down at my hand.
Putting on a fake smile, I shook my head. “No, we’re not.”
“Engaged?”
I chuckled. “No, nothing like that.”
Her eyes went wide. “Oh, I think I get it now. I apologize. You’d think I’d be used to it by now. These men are always looking for a good time. You’re not one of Chatfield’s girls are you?”
I shook my head. “I’m on my own. She doesn’t seem to be taking on any new talent at the moment.”
She pursed her lips. “I think it’s because some of her girls went missing. I’m not sure what’s going on though because I still see some of them around William’s friends. All I can say is it’s a dangerous job. You never know what kind of bloke you’re going to end up with.”
“Trust me, I’ve met my fair share of interesting men.” Jason, of course, was one of them. Clearing my throat, I pointed to the table. “I assume you’re married to one of them over there?” I asked.
She nodded. “Going on thirty years now. He’s the one with the white hair, wearing the blue shirt,” she said, pointing at the man I hoped Jason could get close to. The other two were younger and more military looking. “No matter how many whores, excuse the word, sweetheart, try to get close to him, he’s never let me down. His friends, on the other hand, I can’t say much for.”
“I would hope he’d stay faithful to you. You’re stunning,” I admired, glancing up and down her body. “Not many women can maintain that kind of look.”
Her smile widened and she held out her hand. “I think I’m going to like you. My name’s Diane Randall.”
I took her hand. “Aylee McFadden.”
“Well, Aylee, I think we need to get a round of drinks.”
The pot was five thousand dollars and six of the men had already abandoned the game. It was now between me and the three men Aylee and I were watching. The time had come for the river card which happened to be the last round of dealing. With the cards on the table and the two I had in my hand, I had a full house. The only plays that could beat me would be a four of a kind, straight flush, or a royal flush. The chances of the latter two were slim.
“Check,” the older man with the white hair said. He stared at me with a hint of arrogance but also curiosity. The man had to be pushing sixty years old. The other men followed suit and checked. Now it was up to me. If I checked, that meant no one had to pay money for that round. But if I put money in, they had to in order to stay in the game.
It just so happened I was in the mood to take chances. “All in,” I announced, sliding eight grand into the middle of the table.
“Fold,” the big, burly guy said. From the looks of him, I’d say he was security detail. He had that air about him with his oversized muscles and shaved head, most likely ex-military. The other guy looked the same way. It only peaked my interest in finding out who the man in the blue shirt was. Once the other big guy folded, it was down to me and Mr. Blue.
Smiling wide, he pushed his chips into the pot. “Call.” He turned over his cards and showed the table his flush of hearts. The men with him grinned and waited for me.
“Good hand, but not good enough.” I flopped my cards down and smiled wide.
The man in the blue shirt bellowed out a laugh and clapped his hands. “Fantastic! What’s your name, my boy?”
We stood and I shook his hand. “Jason Avery.”
“Well, Mr. Avery, I’m Will Randall. And these two,” he said, waving his hand at his mammoth friends, “are my bodyguards, Butch and Tom. I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”
Butch and Tom held out their hands so I shook them. “Good to meet you.” Then to Will I said, “No, you most likely haven’t seen me. I moved here about three months ago. So far, I’m enjoying it.”
He chuckled. “From what I’ve seen, I’d say so. What exactly do you do?”
I glanced around the casino, grinning. “I left an accounting job in Chicago and came here to try my luck. I was sick of sitting behind a desk. But I have to say Sin City’s been good to me.”
“It’s been good to me too,” he replied.
“So what do you do that would require bodyguards? You must be an important man.”
He chuckled. “I’m the CEO and owner of Randall Industries. I deal with real estate development, entertainment, music, you name it. I wear many hats.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Oh, it is, or I wouldn’t be doing it.” Glancing over his shoulder, he found Aylee and the other woman sitting on one of the plush sofas, drinking. “Let’s say we join our women for drinks before starting another game? You up for that?”
“You’re on.”
He slapped me on the back. “And then tomorrow, you can come back and we’ll do it all over again.”
“Sounds even better.”
“I think the night was very productive,” Aylee claimed. “After talking to Diane, I seriously think we need to find Madame Chatfield and have a chat with her. Do you know where she lives?”
As a matter of fact, I did. “We can check out her place tomorrow and see if she leaves. The last time I followed her, she ended up going to a fucking toy store. And I’m not talking Toys R Us.”
Aylee laughed. “I had you pegged wrong, Avery. I thought you’d be into the butt plugs.”
“Butt plugs, no. But I’m open to almost anything.” I skimmed my finger across her neck. “I bet you have a secret collection of giant cocks stashed away somewhere.”
“If I don’t have time for the real thing, what makes you think I’d have it for the fake ones?” she grumbled.
I shrugged. “I’m a guy. It’s fun to imagine.”
“Okay, moving on. What do you think about Will? His wife was really nice. I didn’t get any bad vibes from her.” Back to business as usual with her stubborn brow.
“And I didn’t get any from Randall,” I said, agreeing with her. We had hoped Will would elaborate on who his friends were, but he didn’t. “Are you looking up information on him?” I asked, glancing over at her across the room.
She was sitting in the large, brown leather chair in the corner with her laptop on her thighs. “How did you guess?”
“Because I’m doing it too. Let me know what you find.” I stared at her profile, enjoying the way she concentrated on the screen, her bottom lip being pulled between her teeth. Once we’d gotten back, she’d changed out of her dress and put on a pair of shorts and tank top with her hair pulled high in a ponytail. She was sexy in her dress, but nothing could beat how fucking hot she was now; it was distracting.
Her gaze lifted and strayed over my way and I couldn’t help but smile at how I made her shiver. “You’re welcome for tonight,” she stated, jutting her chin in the air.
“For what?”
“For being vigilant. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have seen Will or his people.”
I snorted. “I would’ve seen them eventually. I can’t help it you were drooling over Butch and Tom.”
<
br /> “Fuck that,” she exclaimed, throwing a couch pillow at my head. I ducked behind my screen and laughed. “Why can’t you tell me thank you?”
I reached for the pillow and threw it back at her. “Stop gloating and I will,” I backfired. She made a face, thinking I couldn’t see it. “You sure do have a temper to go with that red hair, don’t you?”
“Only when I’m around you.”
Shaking my head, I smiled; I liked her fiery temper. If only I could get her to loosen up a bit. The chances of that were slim to none. From the information on the computer, Will Randall was basically a celebrity in Vegas. “I got a lot coming up on Randall,” I said.
She got up and sat beside me on the couch. “So have I. I did a search on Google and about a gazillion links popped up. It said his company is one of the biggest in the world.”
“I see that.” He was probably one of the richest men I’d ever met. “Do me a favor and look up stuff on his wife and family? I’m going to look at his company. He said he dabbled in a lot of things. I wonder if fucking hookers is a part of his daily regimen.”
Aylee shook her head. “I don’t think so. Diane said his friends frequently partake, but that he doesn’t. She was pretty certain.”
I snorted. “It’s possible, but it wouldn’t surprise me if a guy like Randall didn’t have him some side-pussy. Men like that cheat, sweetheart.”
She turned her computer my way. “You don’t know that. He looks happy with his family in these pictures.” I looked over to see him smiling with his wife and two daughters. Anyone could smile for the camera. “His wife also has a charity that helps autistic kids. It’s dedicated to one of their daughters. On the outside, they look like good people.”
“You and I both know that doesn’t mean shit.”
She sighed. “I know, and it’s disheartening. Diane and Will actually seem like good people. I enjoyed talking to them tonight.”
I did too, which was shocking. The more time we spent with him, the more I’d get an idea of his character. Aylee closed her laptop and set it on the coffee table before heading into the kitchen. She shuffled around and then the smell of popcorn wafted through the air.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m hungry. I saw a box of popcorn in here earlier.”
“You gonna share?” I asked.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
She didn’t answer, choosing to focus on her task. Once the popcorn was done, she poured it into a bowl and sat down beside me, being a tease. I tried to grab a handful but she smacked my hand. I had a feeling she was waiting to hear something from me first. “Please,” I begged, leaning in to get a better whiff.
She shook her head and stuffed her mouth full. “Nope.”
I bit my lip and watched her lick the salt off her fingers. Holy fuck she was killing me. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are?”
Eyes wide, she choked on her popcorn and coughed, gasping for air.
I patted her on the back, trying to contain my laugh. “You all right?”
“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting you to say that.”
Keeping my gaze on hers, I grabbed a handful of popcorn. “I’m not always an arrogant jackass, Aylee. With that being said, thank you for being vigilant tonight. I know that’s what you wanted to hear.”
“Do you mean it?” she asked.
Smiling wide, I tossed the popcorn in mouth. “We might end up being a good team after all.” The problem was, I was beginning to want more.
“So far so good,” I said, stretching my calves. Jason’s voice was in my ear as I ran in circles up and down the street in front of Madame Chatfield’s estate. She lived behind a large, wrought iron gate in a mansion three times the size of my uncle’s bed and breakfast.
“You doing okay? Not tired yet?”
I knew he could see me, but I couldn’t see him. “I’m fine. Just hoping I’m not running around like this for nothing.”
“Your effort is not going unnoticed. You should wear those shorts more often.”
Lifting my hand, I fixed my ponytail and flipped him off.
He chuckled. “I saw that.”
“Good. Time for lap four.” Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly and picked up my feet. I was in really good shape, but the Vegas heat was torture. Maine was much more pleasant. Lifting my shirt¸ I used it to wipe the sweat off my forehead; it was already burning my eyes.
“Stop, firecracker. The gate just opened. Be ready to get in the car.”
Leaning over on my knees, I caught my breath. “Ten-four.” It wasn’t long before his silver Nissan GT-R sped around the corner. I hopped in as fast as I could and buckled up. “You haven’t lost her, have you?”
“Nope, we’ll catch up.” Turning the car around, he sped off in the direction he just came.
“Are you sure it was her in the car?”
“Positive. I don’t think any of the escorts have white hair and wrinkles.”
“Never know. Chatfield might be exploring the possibilities of granny porn.”
Jason shivered. “Fuck that.”
We finally caught up to Chatfield and followed her down to the strip. “Where do you think she’s going?”
“Don’t know, but put this on,” he said, tossing a baseball hat onto my lap. “We don’t want her being able to recognize us.”
I put it on and tucked my hair underneath, making sure my sunglasses were in place. Once we got to the section of hotels, her car turned into Caesar’s and stopped at the entrance. She got out and headed inside while her car stayed in the front. “What are we going to do?”
Parking quickly, he grabbed his gun out of the center dash and holstered it under his shirt. “We’re going to take her for a ride.”
Securing the hat on my head, I turned to him. “Let’s go.”
Putting on a pair of sunglasses and a hat as well, Jason smiled and got out of the car. Chatfield’s chauffeur sat in the driver’s seat with the window down. He was an elderly man, probably in his mid-sixties. Hopefully, we wouldn’t give him a heart attack.
“What if she’s a part of what’s going on? This could blow our whole cover,” I said, rushing across the parking lot.
“It could, but I’m hoping with her being out of business it’s a good sign. We have to take risks. When I get in, hop in the back and be prepared. As soon as she gets in the car, I’ll get us moving.”
“Got it.”
We approached the car and the driver looked up. Jason flashed his badge and opened the door. “If you don’t mind, sir, I need you to move over, now.”
The driver held up his hands and moved over, his voice shaking. “Is something wrong, officer?”
“I just want to talk to Madame Chatfield.” Nodding at me, I got in and the driver turned a weary brow my way. “Please don’t hurt my lady.” He was genuinely scared.
“We just want to talk to her,” I assured him.
“She’s been so upset with everything going on. I don’t want her stressed any more than she already is.”
Jason snorted. “Take it easy. We’re the good guys here.”
The man still stared wearily at us. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for Madame Ronnie Chatfield to waltz out of the hotel. I moved over to the far corner of the limo so she couldn’t see me until after she got in. Before the driver could heed a warning, I jumped up and slammed the door shut, just as Jason took off.
Gasping, Ronnie clutched her chest, dropping her bag on the floor. “What the hell is the meaning of this? Who are you?” To be the owner of a well-known whorehouse, you wouldn’t suspect it by the way she looked. She was older with long, white hair, dressed in a chic pantsuit, and no doubt the product of extensive plastic surgeries. I guess she could afford it having over a hundred women and men under her belt.
“We’re just here to ask you a few questions. If there’s nothing to hide, there won’t be a problem. I’m with the FBI.”
Her gaze narrowed. “How do
I know that?”
I quickly flipped out my badge, putting my thumb over my picture and name. “Believe me now?”
She sighed and sat back. “What can I do for you? I already told the police everything I know.”
“Yes, but you failed to give them the names of your johns.”
Swallowing hard, she choked back a sob. “Believe me, I would if I could. The kind of men I deal with aren’t just your run of the mill crowd. They’re powerful. They would run me into the ground and take everything I have. The deals we make are basically written in blood. I can’t verbally tell you the information.”
“But someone’s killing your girls. Doesn’t that make you want to do something about it?”
Her eyes blazed. “I am doing something about it. I shut down my business so none of them could get hurt. No matter what I’ve done, it hasn’t helped. My girls are still disappearing.”
“Are they accepting contracts without your knowledge?”
“That’s what I’m assuming. Some of my girls don’t mind the added risk. They want the money. I saw on the news about that young girl from Vermont who was reported missing yesterday. Do you think she’s another victim?”
“We don’t know,” Jason spoke up. “From her stats, she doesn’t exactly fit the hooker profile. She’s an elementary school teacher here to have some fun with her friends. The killer doesn’t seem to want that type, but I could be wrong. It’d be good to have some names.”
She huffed. “I told you, I can’t verbally tell you. What part of that do you not understand?”
I studied her and then caught onto her clue. “Great, then I will just list off the names we have and all you have to do is nod when you hear one who fits the bill.”
A small smile splayed across her face. “Good catch, detective. Trust me, I want to see my girls safe again. I’ll do anything I can to help, but I have to play by the rules.”
“You’re killing me, smalls,” Jason grumbled from the front. “I never would’ve thought you’d be smarter than me.”
Ronnie snorted. “She’s a female. Of course she’s smarter than you.”
I held back my laugh; especially when Jason cursed to himself.
