“Who is callingme at six in the fucking morning?”
I chuckle and throw back the last of my coffee. “It just turned seven, actually. And you know who this is. You have caller ID.”
Cassian Black snorts, and I can practically see him shaking his head.
“Remember when I let you count cards in my casino? You owe me, and I’m calling it in.”
The line is silent for a second before Cassian speaks again, amusement laced in his rough morning voice. “Jesus. You are something else. Didn’t I help you guys find Cash’s father-in-law?”
My lips curl into a smirk. “Call him his father-in-law to his face and see how yours looks afterward. Besides, that was a favor for Cash. You need to work that out with him. This is for me. Technically, I was the one who caught you and didn’t instantly kill you.”
Cassian sighs. “Did you really have to call this fucking early?”
I shrug, even though he can’t see me, and grab my keys and wallet, then head out to my private elevator. When my hand hovers near the button on the wall, my eyes fall to my knuckles. I didn’t bother to re-bandage them when I got out of the shower. Besides, unless Quinn is the one putting it on, I don’t want them covered.
“Testy,” I say with a smirk as I ride the elevator to the garage, then climb into my olive-green Porsche. It’s my favorite car in my collection. I’ve never understood why my brothers prefer SUVs. There’s just something about driving ninety down one ofthe desolate desert roads with the top down at sunset with music blasting. “Look, I need you to break into Savage Entertainment’s human resource files and gather information on an employee for me.”
Silence.
I pull the phone away from my ear and frown at it as I check to make sure we’re still connected.
We are.
I start my car, and the call transfers to the speaker system. “Did you fall back asleep?”
Cassian lets out an exasperated breath. “No, asshole. I’m just trying to figure it out in my head. I happen to have one of the highest IQs in the world, by the way, so I’d like to think I understand most things. But what I can’t figure out is why you, the COO of Savage Entertainment, need me to hackyour ownsystem for employee information. Dude, if you’re too dumb to use a computer, I can send you some videos. I think they’re usually for preschool kids, but that’s cool. I’m not judging.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This motherfucking bastard. Why didn’t I kill him when I caught him cheating in my casino? Why does he think he’s safe to say shit like that to me?
Probably because not only is he one of the smartest men in the world, he’s also one of the deadliest. And that’s why I let him live. It never hurts to have someone like Cassian in your corner.
“Are you done? Or should I stay quiet a bit longer?” I snap.
The needle of the speedometer passes eighty as I merge onto the freeway and move through the morning traffic. I want to drive in the direction of Luxe. The last place she was. Curvy, sexy, and fucking laughing at whatever the other bartender had said to her. It’s obvious they are friendly.
I’ve never killed one of my employees up to this point, but I’m not morally against it if he can’t keep his fucking eyes and hands off Quinn.
“I’m done,” Cassian replies with amusement, then turns dead serious. “What’s the name? Any specific information that you’re looking for?”
I stare off into the distance and tighten my grip on the steering wheel. The thought of any other man knowing her name makes me want to break something. Cassian is a good guy, though. He might be dangerous, but when it comes to Quinn, I think I’m becoming a monster. I’ll fucking pulverize him if he makes one wrong move when it comes to her. “I want to know everything. Whatever you can find. Her name is Quinn Summers. She works at Velvet Sins.”
Cassian goes quiet again, then clucks his tongue or something through the phone. “Got it. You don’t want your brothers to know you have the hots for this woman who works for you. I’ll be in touch.”
Then the phone beeps in my ear, signaling that he ended the call. That fucking bastard. Jesus Christ. I knew I was going to regret reaching out to Cassian Black.
I turn into the valet of the casino I work at the most, The Royal. As they take my keys, I hand the kid several hundred-dollar bills before I walk away. “Thanks, Trey. Have a good day.”
Trey has worked for us for years at a couple of our casinos. We have a lot of employees as loyal as him.
“You too, Mr. Savage!” he calls out as he drives off in my favorite car.
Several bartenders and dealers look surprised when they see me pass as I walk through the gaming floors on my way up to my office. It’s definitely been a while since I’ve been here before noon. I’ve been too hungover in the mornings to get out of bed at a decent hour.
Instead of going home to drink myself to sleep last night, I got my fix while watching Quinn sleep. I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to get through tonight. I’m not sure alcoholwill be strong enough to numb me to the point of forgetting about the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, but can never have.
As soon as I close my office door, I open my laptop and bring up the security feeds for our entire company. With only a few clicks of the mousepad, a video pops up. Footage from Velvet Sins from last night. I need to see her. One more time. Just one last peek.Anything.
Because it’s only been two hours since I had my eyes on her, and I’m starting to think I’m losing my fucking mind.
