by Brenda Novak
Flipping through the papers, Blane found the address the girl Amy had written. To his relief, she lived right here in Las Vegas. He read the address to Manny. “Go here.”
“Why are we visiting your ex?” Kade asked.
Blane ground his teeth. “Because,” he said, “I should probably meet the woman I just divorced, don’t you think? The pregnant woman?”
No one replied. A wise move, considering Blane’s mood.
“Have you gotten my audition yet?” Mannie piped up as he drove. “Because you promised.”
“Yeah, about that,” Kade began, and Blane grimaced. He knew that tone. Kade was going to try and squirm out of it. “I may have…exaggerated a little when I said I knew a guy.”
“I knew it!” Mannie yelled, slamming a hand on the steering wheel. “I knew I couldn’t trust you, that you were lying to me! That’s what my mom always tells me. She says ‘Mannie, you can’t just believe what people tell you. You gotta think for yourself.’ But do I listen? No! And now I’m hauling your asses around along with a dead body stinkin’ up my car—”
“Stop already! Enough!” Kade’s yell cut through Mannie’s diatribe. “Jesus H. Christ, Mannie. If I’d known you’d have such a tantrum, I’d have waited until we stopped.”
“Is that a short joke?” Mannie demanded. “Only little kids throw tantrums? Because that’s totally offensive—”
“It wasn’t a joke! I was just saying!”
Blane rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands, rubbing his throbbing head. Kade and Mannie’s yelling at each other was making him want to throw himself from the car. Unfortunately, he’d have to squeeze through a six-inch opening to do it.
“Shut up!” he exploded when he couldn’t take any more. “Just Shut. Up. Both of you.”
They clammed up, thank God, just as Mannie pulled into a little subdivision. He drove slowly, reading the numbers on the rows of tightly spaced ranch-style homes, until he stopped in front of one.
“This is it,” he said.
“Let me out,” Blane told Kade, who obliged. Once he was out of the stifling back seat, Blane headed for the door. Kade followed.
“Pretty sure I can handle this on my own,” Blane said over his shoulder. Kade kept walking.
“Yeah, probably. But considering the surprises we’ve already had today, it’s not a bad idea for me to come along. Just in case.”
Blane wasn’t going to argue. He had a point.
The doorbell was a melodious chime and Blane waited, pushing his fingers through his hair and belatedly wishing he’d changed his shirt. It would’ve been nice to feel more put together to greet his…ex-wife. Shit.
The door swung open and he steeled himself, feeling Kade at his back and standing slightly to the side.
There was a split second where Blane saw the gun leveled at him, then Kade tackled him to the ground.
Chapter Four
In seconds, Kade was up and launching himself through the doorway. Blane heard someone grunt and the sound of bodies crashing to the floor.
Adrenaline iced his veins as he jumped to his feet. If Kade was hurt…
But Kade had the weapon in his hand and was pointing it at someone. The sunlight blinded Blane to the dimness inside the house as he stepped inside.
“You’d better talk fast on what the fuck that was for,” Kade snarled. “I’ve had a real shitty morning and you just pointed a gun at my brother.”
He was talking to a guy who was about his height but slighter in build. A little on the thin side, the guy had on jeans and a faded T-shirt and he was gazing malevolently at Kade as he swiped blood from his lip.
Behind him stood the girl, Amy, looking scared. Her face was pale and her eyes wide with fear.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” she stammered.
“I thought you said it was over with this guy,” the unknown man growled.
“It is, Tommy, I swear. I don’t know why he’d come here.” She shot Blane a look, as if he was supposed to know what that meant.
“You usually just point a gun at whoever comes to your door?” Kade asked.
“When it’s some dude who wants to take away my woman and my baby, yeah,” Tommy retorted.
Blane was utterly confused. He held up his hands. “Okay, everyone, just…stop. Kade, put down the gun.” Their gazes met for a moment. Together, they could handle Tommy if he decided to act like a dick.
“You don’t mind if I keep this, do you?” Kade sneered, lowering the weapon and thumbing the safety before tucking it into the back of his jeans. Tommy’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t reply. Perhaps he recognized the danger radiating from Kade, a hard edge that set off self-preservation instincts in those who were wise.
“Listen…Amy,” Blane said. Everyone looked at him, waiting, as he tried to figure out what the hell to say without giving away the fact that he remembered nothing. Finally, he said, “We got married last night.”
“It was a mistake,” Amy blurted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re a great guy and all—”
Tommy snorted in derision. Blane ignored him.
“So you didn’t want to get married?” Blane asked. This was getting weirder by the minute.
Amy looked at Tommy. “Can we have a minute?” she asked, adding in an undertone, “I told you he was in love with me. I want to let him down easy.”
Blane’s brows shot up at that, but he kept his silence, waiting until Tommy had left the room, though not before sending a suspicious glare Blane’s way.
“What’re you doing here?” Amy hissed, the moment Tommy was out of earshot. “I told you that it worked. You didn’t have to come to my house!”
“Listen,” Blane said, deciding he’d have to come clean. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t remember anything about you, much less why I’d marry you.”
Amy stared at him, jaw agape. “For real?” she finally asked.
“For real.”
“Wow. Okay, well, then here’s the short version. You and your friend here were playing the slots and he was hitting it big. Like really big. But I guess you got bored or something because you went to the bar to have a drink. I was bartending and I was upset because Tommy and me were gonna get married, but he got cold feet and broke up with me. So I was crying and you asked me why and I told you the whole story.”
None of it was ringing a bell for Blane.
“And you got mad about it, said Tommy was an asshole to desert me and his kid and leave us high and dry. So you said you’d marry me instead.” She gave kind of a sheepish shrug, staring up at him, and apparently completely oblivious as to how insane that sounded.
“I know you’ve got a thing for being the hero to a damsel in distress,” Kade said, “but damn. That’s a bit much. Even for you.”
No shit.
“And you just decided to marry a complete stranger?” Blane asked. “You had no idea who I was. I could’ve been some serial killer for all you knew.”
“Really? That’s what you find objectionable about this?” Kade asked. Blane ignored him.
“I wasn’t going to stay married to you—” Amy said.
“Told you,” Kade muttered. “Shoulda got a prenup.”
“—I just thought that if Tommy saw me with another guy, marrying another guy, maybe he’d get jealous and decide we should be together after all.” She smiled brightly. “And it worked!” Her grin faded. “But he kinda got in a fight with you when he found out. So…sorry about that.”
Blane scrubbed a hand over his face. What a clusterfuck. “The marriage isn’t legal,” he said. “I wanted you to know I took care of the paperwork.”
Amy brightened. “Good! Then me and Tommy can get married right away!” She gave Blane a hug, her pregnant belly getting in the way, but she tried anyway. “Thank you,” she blurted. “If we have a boy, I’m going to name him after you.” Then she seemed to rethink that, glancing down the hallway where Tommy had gone. “Maybe not your
first name, but I could use your last name—Kirk—and just tell Tommy it’s a Star Trek thing.”
Blane forced a smile, giving her an awkward pat on the back. “That’s great,” he said, gently disengaging from her hug.
Kade was already handing her a card. “Be sure to send us the birth announcement,” he said. He glanced at Blane and must’ve read the murder in his eyes, because he changed the subject real quick. “So what happened after Tommy showed up to save the day?” he asked her.
She shrugged. “Me and Tommy left. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Blane heaved a sigh. This was going nowhere. “Okay. Well, good luck and we’ll just be on our way.”
He headed for the door, but she stopped him.
“Oh wait! I do remember something!”
Kade and he both turned back.
“There was this guy. He was Asian—Chinese maybe—he was talking to you when we left,” she nodded at Kade. “I remember thinking it was weird because he had four security-types with him, all huge and in black.”
Péng, Blane guessed.
“Thanks, that’s helpful,” he said. “Take care of yourself.”
“And don’t forget to let us know about little Blane, Jr.,” Kade added. Blane shoved him none too gently out the door.
“Let’s get out of here, Mannie,” he said once he’d squeezed back into the car.
Mannie obliged, stepping on the gas. The car took longer than it should have to speed up, the additional load of Blane, Kade, and Ray weighing it down.
“Should I get out and push?” Kade asked.
“Fuck off. It gets good gas mileage,” Mannie retorted.
Blane worked the wedding band off his finger and pocketed it. “We’ve got to get rid of Ray,” he said. “I’m sick of sharing space with a corpse.”
“Time to go visit his partner,” Kade said. “He owes me money. Hope we can get past his security while toting a dead guy.”
“What guys are you talking about?” Mannie asked. “The same ones you were trying to get away from at Cirque?”
Blane remembered now what Mannie had said about how they’d met him. “Yeah, maybe,” replied. “Did you see any of them?”
Mannie nodded. “Yeah. There were four of them, tracking you guys.”
That jived with what Amy had said about the number of security guys flanking Ray’s partner.
“So maybe not the best idea, to go there if we were running from them last night,” Blane said.
“We don’t have a choice. Why were we at Cirque de Soleil anyway?” Kade asked, frowning. “I hate shows.”
“You weren’t really at the show,” Mannie said. “It was after and the cast was hanging out, chilling. I think LeeAnne had a thing for you.”
“LeeAnne was there?” Kade asked. “No shit?”
“You know someone who works at Cirque de Soleil?” Blane asked. “Really? How?”
Kade shrugged. “I know a lot of people.”
“She’s our lead choreographer,” Mannie said, near reverence in his tone. “And damn good at what she does.”
“Yes, she certainly is,” Kade agreed emphatically.
Somehow Blane didn’t think Mannie and Kade were talking about the same thing.
“We still don’t know where the device is,” Blane said. “Though obviously you were using it last night.”
“Which is weird because I gave it to Ray. So why did I have it and why was I using it?”
“That must’ve been where all the money came from,” Mannie piped up. “In your room. Your winnings. Though I still don’t know how you got away with winning that much money without them knocking on your door this morning.”
“If they do, they’ll find a pretty pissed off goose,” Kade said, pulling out his cell phone. His grin abruptly faded as he swiped the screen, his expression turning grim. “Shit.”
“What?” Blane asked.
“Found out what happened to Liz and Brandy.” Kade handed the phone back to Blane.
On the screen was a photo of the two women. Both were bound, their wrists and ankles tied, and gags in their mouths. Still wearing the cocktail dresses from last night, they looked unharmed, but scared.
“Who sent that?” Blane’s voice was sharp.
Kade’s reply was succinct. “Péng.”
Chapter Five
They pulled up to a tall office building, the rays of the setting sun were blinding as they reflected off the glass. The name of the company was prominently displayed in glowing blue neon letters.
Mannie parked in one of the many vacant spaces. Though it was a weekend, there were still quite a few cars in the lot.
“Online gambling is open twenty-four-seven,” Kade said. “But without the free drinks.”
“What do you want to do with him?” Blane asked, nudging Ray. “Bring him in?”
“Might as well,” Kade said. “But let’s not say he’s dead just yet. How about…really hung over?”
“A pulse is required for hung over,” Blane replied, his tone dry.
“No one’s going to check his pulse.”
“He smells.”
Kade pulled off the cardboard tree that hung from Mannie’s rearview mirror and tossed it at Blane. “Rub this on him. He’ll smell piney fresh.”
Kade checked the gun he’d taken from Tommy, ejecting the magazine and examining it before knocking it back in. He tucked it into the back of his jeans while Blane climbed out.
“How many shots you got?” Blane asked.
“Seventeen.”
Somehow, they managed to get Ray up and out of the car, bracing him between them again. Mannie elected to stay behind.
“I just want my audition,” he said, giving Kade a hard look. “So you’d better be thinking of how to make that happen.”
“Don’t threaten me, munchkin,” Kade retorted.
“Don’t insult your ride, douchebag,” Mannie shot back.
A grin flashed across Kade’s face, then was gone.
“Just keep the Purple People Eater fired up and ready to go,” Kade said. Blane adjusted Ray’s sunglasses, leaving the neck pillow behind.
There were two security guards inside the lobby and they descended on Blane and Kade like flies.
“Bringing the boss-man home,” Kade told them, flashing a grin. “Rough night, if you know what I mean. But I swore I wouldn’t tell. What happens in Vegas…”
“Mr. Péng is looking for him,” one of the guys said. “Take him to the twenty-fifth floor. His office is there. I will inform Mr. Péng that he has arrived.”
“You got it.”
Blane felt their eyes on his back as they headed for the elevator, which thankfully was empty. Kade hit the button for the correct floor. Neither of them spoke, keeping their eyes straight ahead. Both men were aware there was a one hundred percent chance that a camera was recording them.
The elevator dinged and they hauled Ray down the hall to a huge office with his name on the door. Maneuvering around the desk, they finally flopped him down in the executive chair with its back to the windows lining the wall.
Kade arranged Ray’s arms on the chair and repositioned the sunglasses.
“That’ll have to do,” he muttered, swinging around as the man who had to be Péng walked through the door.
“It’s about time you got here,” Péng said. He was flanked by two men in dark suits. “I hoped the photo of the women would provide an added incentive.” His accent was thick but his English impeccable. He glanced at Ray. “Did you think I would forgive you double-crossing me, Raymond?”
“Ray had a little too much to drink,” Kade said. “He’ll have to take a rain check on that, but yeah, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want to double-cross you.”
“I saw what that device can do,” Péng said. “Your demonstration last night was quite effective, though I am not pleased that you are tripling your price.”
Tripling? Blane thought, but he didn’t look at Kade, preferring to keep his eyes on th
e security guards.
“An investment that’ll bring you ten times that when the casinos have to shut down their slots and spend months, maybe years, rebuilding their technology,” Kade said.
“Perhaps,” Péng said. “But thirty million dollars is a lot of money.”
Holy shit. As if it wasn’t a big enough shock that Kade’s fun “challenge” he’d done on a lark was worth ten million, now it seemed he was shaking down a dangerous man for thirty.
“So your counter-offer was to…kidnap our dates?”
“You acted in bad faith and upped the ante, if you will pardon the expression.”
“Where are the girls?” Kade asked.
“You can have them back once I have the device,” Péng countered.
“What if I’ve decided not to sell?”
“Then the ladies will be forfeit.”
Blane kept his mouth shut, listening to see what Kade’s move would be.
“We just met them last night,” Kade said with a careless shrug. “I don’t give a shit what you do with them.”
Blane stiffened. That attitude wasn’t going to fly with him.
“Then I’ll just have them taken care of now,” Péng said, nodding at one of the guards who whipped out a cell phone.
“I’m guessing the cops will be wanting to know why two women disappeared inside one of your clubs, though,” Kade continued. “You do own the Lucky Seven, right? I mean, I know Ray here’s the front man, but your name’s on all the paper. I bet they’d have some uncomfortable questions.”
Péng stared at Kade for a moment, then waved a hand at the guard on the phone, who immediately ended the call.
“So are we at a stalemate, Mr. Dennon?” Péng asked. “Because I don’t take threats very well.”
“Then we have something in common.” Kade’s voice was like ice. “If you want the device, then you’re going to pay me twenty-five million. And I get the girls.”
“Fifteen and you get one girl.”
“Twenty and both.”
