AllFreeNovel
Share Us
From the moaning sounds coming out of the computer’s tinny speakers, I could hazard a guess at what he’s watching.
“You Phil?”
The guy jumps, almost dropping a Styrofoam cup full of microwave noodles. Hot water splashes onto the back of his hand and the guy sets it down with a sharp yelp. He frantically clicks the mouse to exit out of the window with about a dozen tabs of porn open.
“What the hell do you think—” He cuts himself abruptly when he sees me staring down at him. “Uh…I’m sorry, sir. Guest aren’t allowed to be down here.”
“Are you Phil?” I ask again, barely holding onto the fraying ends of my patience. “Larry said you’d be relieving him.”
Phil has a hard time catching up. “Larry?”
“Larry,” I confirm. “The guy I paid to turn off the security cameras on the pool deck last night.”
Phil’s scared glance looks behind me to where Cole lingers in the shadows. “What do you want?”
“A copy of the security tapes for the cameras on the penthouse floor.”
“And the stairwell,” Cole adds as he steps imposingly forward. He shrugs when I glance back at him. “Might as well cover all the bases.”
“I can only give copies of video to the police and that’s only if they have a warrant,” Phil stutters. His gaze passes back and forth between us, but lingers on where Cole’s broad shoulders fill the doorway behind me. “I don’t know what Larry told you…”
“Larry didn’t tell me anything.” I reach in my back pocket, rolling my own eyes as Phil’s widen in fear. Like I’m going to shoot him over some camera footage. When I take out my wallet and wave it at him, he nearly jumps out of his skin. “We just need copies. No one has to know and we’ll compensate you for your time.”
“This isn’t about money.”
I place the first hundred-dollar bill on the grime-streaked desk and his eyes widen. “How much is it going to take?”
“Look here, kid. You’re talking about risking my job here.” His eyes widen when I lay down another, then one more for good measure. “My boss would fire me if he found out.”
“We won’t tell,” I assure him. “Larry didn’t think he’d have a problem with a little side business.”
Phil’s fingers twitch as I lay down another bill. His body language is that of a man standing on the edge of a beautiful pool on a hot day. He wants to jump in, but needs a bigger push to do it. “I just can’t. Sorry, boys.”
Cole makes an angry sound in his throat and takes a step forward. He is about five seconds from ripping the computer off the desk and taking the whole thing with us. Unfortunately, we’re not at the point where we can totally abandon discretion.
I hold up my arm to block Cole from coming any closer. “How much money do you make in a month, Phil?”
The guy stares at me for a long moment, his polyester uniform straining at the seams with every deep inhale he takes. I know he heard me and I refuse to repeat myself.
Finally, Phil names a number that is probably at least double what he actually pulls down as a hotel security guard. To him, it has to be the most astronomical sum he could come up with that is still plausible. His expression is bold, daring me to make good on my offer.
I don’t so much as blink. “You want to do this with Cash App or a wire transfer?”
He splutters out a phone number and I punch it in with a bored look on my face. I make it clear without saying that he could have asked for significantly more and gotten it.
When my father sees the charge, I’ll either be able to explain that the money was well spent or no explanation is going to matter. If I get kicked out of Havoc House, the money almost certainly won’t be mine to spend anymore.
To his credit, Phil confirms that the correct amount has been transferred before he gives us anything. I watch him closely. It’s obvious the very moment his bank balance updates. The poor guy’s eyes widen to the general side and shape of flying saucers. He lets out a high-pitched gasp that’s halfway between surprise and orgasm. Must feel good.
“Now get the fuck out.” Cole grabs the guy’s shoulder and pulls him out of his chair. “Don’t open that door until we come get you.”
Phil grabs the remains of his noodles before being hustled out of the security room. Cole takes the chair and starts pulling up files on the computer. “There are about ten thousand hours of footage in here.”
I lean over his shoulder. My gaze runs over the tiny lines of video files that represent every camera in this place. “That one.”
Cole opens up the video feed. The screen fills with the empty breezeway between our penthouse and the elevator, with an unobstructed view of our door. “How far back should I go?”
“Start when we came back from the pool. That had to be a little after midnight.”
