I let a smile pull at my lips. “Yes, we should be glad of that. I couldn’t get your arraignment moved up. I’m sorry. But after I’ll take you home.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “To my place or yours?”
She has an uncanny ability to almost make me blush. “Whichever you prefer. You’re going to need food and rest.”
“I’ll also need to be getting to my only job now. I have rent to pay, and I’m somehow doubting they’re going to be giving me my final paycheck.” Tears enter her eyes. “They banned me.”
I hold her hand tighter. “Don’t worry. Once I prove you’re innocent, they’ll have to reverse that, possibly even give you your job back. I can see how much that place means to you.”
Carissa shakes her head, strands of her auburn hair falling into her face. “It just makes me feel closer to my dad.”
My stomach flips and her last name comes back to my mind. Is she Paul’s daughter? Please don’t tell me I’ve slept with his daughter. He would never forgive me. I want to ask her his name, but I can’t get the words out. I don’t want to know the truth. I want to remain naïve to it all.
Chapter Ten
Knox
Her trial is setfor three weeks from now with a bond of five grand. I paid for it without blinking. There’s no way in hell I’m letting her remain in jail when I have more than enough funds to get her out. She wasn’t happy about me spending that kind of money on her, but she’s going to have to deal.
I get her back to Turnberry Tower, but as we get in the elevator, she hits the button for the top floor, which requires me to put in my apartment key. It opens directly into my place. “You don’t want to go home where you would be more comfortable.”
She wraps her arms around my waist and places her ear to my chest as the elevator ascends. “I want to be with you, you make me feel safe. Safer than I’ve felt in a long time.”
I hold her back. “We’re going to get you out of this fucked up situation. Do you know if this could be an attack on your person? Maybe they did it because they wanted to frame you? Do you have any enemies at work?”
She lifts her head and looks up at me. “No. At least none that I know of. All the people I talk to and work with regularly I get along with. I haven’t felt any ill-will coming from anyone.” She bites at her lip. “Do you think someone targeted me on purpose?”
I shake my head. “There’s no way of knowing. Either they’re a moron, it would be easier to rob a bank than a casino, or they did it on purpose to try and frame you for the act. Not realizing you would have me to help you out.”
Her hold on my waist tightens. “If it weren’t for you, there would’ve been no way I could’ve posted bail. Even with a bond, I don’t think I could’ve gotten out. I’m not sure Mary would’ve been able to handle something like that and she’s the only person I would’ve been able to reach. I don’t have anyone else.”
My thoughts go back to the fact that she might be Paul’s daughter. “No family?”
She shrugs. “No. I have people in Arizona I’m related to, but I wouldn’t call them family. They don’t care about me, and I’m not a fan of them either. So I would’ve been left high and dry without you.”
Tracy and Paul had lived in Arizona. I want to ask her her father’s name, but I can’t get the words out right now, I don’t want to believe that she’s the same girl.
The elevator doors open into my apartment and she lets go of me to enter the living room. “Wow. This living room is double the size of my entire apartment.”
I turn on the lights.
She walks over to the window that covers half of the far living room wall. It faces the strip. The neon lights illuminate the city and make the cars look like specks. “This is amazing. When I was a little girl I always dreamed of having an apartment like this. But of course, I never imagined how expensive they are. The higher you go the more their price increases.”
I move to stand behind her and hold her by the waist, looking out at the strip. It’s nearly three in the morning.
“I need to let Mary know I’m okay.” She pulls her phone out of her apron pocket, still in her Bellagio uniform, and sends off a text. She leans back into me. “I think she’s having a guy over tonight, which is another reason I wanted to come up to your place. We’re in a one-bedroom, and she sleeps in the living room, so it doesn’t give her a lot of privacy to have a guy over if she wants to.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there. I used to be roommates with that friend I told you about. We could only afford one bedroom as well. It wasn’t easy if one of us wanted to bring a girl over. No privacy. It gets easier.”
She sighs. “Well now, I’m out of the one job that was bringing in most of the money we needed for the month. Working at the Happy Bean, even with the two of us, it brings in less than fifty percent of what we need to cover everything. We couldn’t even qualify for this place until I got the job at the Bellagio. Not to mention my good work shoes are still there in my locker. Can I even go back to get them?”
I shake my head. “No, you’re currently banned from the resort and all the casinos around here have top-tier facial recognition. Even if you went in there with a disguise, it could still spot you with something as minor as the shape of your nose. You can’t go back there right now for anything or you could be arrested with felony-level trespassing. Even I would have a hard time getting you out of that. I can see if as your lawyer I can get your belongings before they’re turned over to lost and found. I’ll do that tomorrow when I check out early and get my stuff.”
She turns in my arms and peers up at my face. “I’m so sorry for all of this. Your vacation was ruined.”
I cup her face. “None of this is your fault, and we’re going to find out who has done this, and we’ll get you unbanned. I promise. There’s too much evidence that you aren’t the person who did this. They won’t have a leg to stand on and will have to drop all charges against you. Even give your job back.” Leaning down I kiss her, and she lets out a small sigh of contentment as she wraps her arms around my neck.
There’s no way with how good it feels to kiss her that she’s Paul’s daughter. I can’t believe that. It just has to be a coincidence.
