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“Your gut is never wrong, Leo.”
“Up until now, no.” He shrugged and slowly let go of my arm as he leaned back in his chair. Usually, I’d demand Leo tell me exactly what was going on, but I respected what he was trying to do. He thought he’d sensed or seen something and wanted to bring me in with fresh eyes and a clear head so as not to set me up to look for something that might not be there. I was proud of him. It was important to make sure we all stayed alert, especially now.
“All right, I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, watch and listen. If there’s anything there, I’ll pick up on it.” I nodded. He put a finger to his lips as the captain came on and announced we were about to land in Las Vegas.
“Jesse, go wake Jenelle.”
“With pleasure.” He smirked, and Leo chuckled as we made our way down the stairs.
“Tell me she’s not driving with us too.”
“No,” I shook my head as Jesse hurried past us, “I made sure her driver would be here.” I pointed across the way to where her car was parked.
“Everything okay, boss?” Jesse asked as he opened the car door for me.
“Not sure yet. We’ll talk later,” I said quietly, and he glanced at Leo, who opened the opposite door, about to get inside.
“Grim!” Jenelle carefully picked her way down the plane stairs in her heels.
“Your driver’s here.” I pointed to the limo.
“Oh,” she looked disappointed, “okay, well, call?—”
I slammed the car door and let out a heavy sigh.
“You invited her,” Jesse muttered from the front seat.
“Not by choice.” I looked over at Leo, who now smiled like everything was fine and back to normal. We were good at pretending; it was how our world was, how deals got made.
I wasn’t ready to go directly home when we arrived. I needed to drop in to check the progress of my baby. I’d been working on my dream for the past few years—a hotel of my own on the Strip. The ground had been broken while I was away, and although I’d been back several times to check on the progress of the construction, Leo had mentioned a few things, and I needed to see it for myself. I dropped Jesse and Leo off at Indulge and had Cartwright take me to the site.
“Sure is nice to have you back, sir.” Cartwright had been my driver since I was ten. I smiled at him as he looked at me in the rear-view mirror. I trusted him with my life, and he trusted me with his. “Life’s been a bit dull without you.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” I laughed and waited for him to stop the car near the entrance.
“Take your time and enjoy your work. It’s truly the finest,” he said as I exited the vehicle. He held out a bottle of my favorite whiskey and a joint. “I have a sudoku that I’m determined to finish.”
“It’s good to be back.” I lit the joint from the flame he held up and took the bottle from him. Taking the steps three at a time, I pushed through the heavy plastic and took in the massive space. A rush of excitement filled me. This project was to be the sister to my father’s hotel Indulge. I planned to call it Secrets.
I headed toward where the bar was going to be and slid the cork from the bottle as smoke circled around my fingers.
I could almost hear the music, the liquor flowing, and the excitement of those approved to be here. I took a swig of the whiskey and let it warm my insides.
It’s good to be home.
Suddenly, a scream from somewhere up above stopped me cold.
Kenna Lodge
Bang!
The kickback on the gun snapped me into a parallel universe where everything went still. I felt my soul leave then slam back into my body at the speed of light.
The now wide-eyed man lay on top of me. Those eyes locked onto mine, then the light fizzled from them and he went limp. The smell of expensive brandy and gun smoke nearly made me vomit, and I thrashed about as my brain fought to catch up.
“Get off me!” I pushed with all my might and rolled his heavy body off mine. I leapt to my feet and dropped the gun I still held like it was on fire. I sidestepped the patch of oozing blood. “No, no, no.” I looked down at my outfit and was thankful my skirt was black. I could feel the wetness of the man’s blood, but it wasn’t obvious.
“Kenna, what the fuck, are you—” Minnie gasped. “What the hell’s happening today? Is my fucking club cursed?”
