Page 5 of Red, White, and BearCat Blue

I scoffed, shaking my head as I shivered. “I run far away from boyfriends. They only bring their bullshit with them. The last guy I slept with kept calling and calling afterward. Fuck that.”

“Too needy, huh?” Mickey asked. He couldn’t possibly hide the amusement in his voice.

“Ya right, way too needy. Whatever ‘appened to the days when shagging against a brick wall in a dirty alley was enough?”

Mickey chuckled. “I gotta hand it to you. You’re a reeeal romantic, Mars.”

I shrugged, grinning like a barmy git. “I s’pose.” As the tall buildings of Las Vegas came into view, I pointed. “Almost there.”

Mickey checked his watch. “What time is the auction tomorrow?”

“It begins at nine, but the tent is open for previews before that. I was thinking we should check in to the ‘otel, ‘ave a nice meal, and maybe ‘it a bar or two tonight.”

Mickey relaxed back in his seat. “That sounds great.” He rubbed his belly. “I could eat a horse.”

“You’ll love this chicken-fried lobster place I found.”

“Mmm. That sounds fantastic, and I’m actually looking forward to the auction. I’ve been to police auctions back in Houston but never a dedicated auto auction before.”

I couldn’t stop the silly grin that stretched my lips. “It’s big. ‘Ope you’re ready.”

“I am, and as long as we don’t spot this Sterling guy the boss was talking about, it might turn out to be a good weekend after all.”

I nodded. “From your mouth to God’s ears, Mickey.”

We checked into the hotel, dumped our bags in the room, and were walking through the casino when I spotted a young guy with jet black hair. He stood out because of the way he was standing just inside the automatic doors near the Flamingo’s roundabout, watching the valets bring cars around. He seemed to be waiting for someone or something, but his intensity made me look twice. The way his eyes darted from side to side, checking to see if anyone was watching, made me suspicious. I slowed my pace and Mickey did too.

“What?” he asked.

I nodded in the man’s direction. “The guy with the long, leather coat.”

“What about him?”

We stopped about fifty feet behind the double door entry, still staring at the guy’s back. “I don’t know. ‘E’s looking around like ‘e’s up to no good.” I elbowed Mickey when he did it again. “There. Did you see that?”

“Yeah. We should check him out. Maybe he’s looking to steal some luggage or a purse when no one is watching.”

I nodded, leaning close. “Split up.”

He just nodded. The great thing about working on a team 24/7 meant we could almost always read each other’s minds. Mickey and I split up as we headed toward the guy. The closer I got to him, the more I could sense his nervous energy. He practically bounced on the balls of his feet. By the time I was finally in his peripheral vision, standing only twenty feet to his left, Mickey was in exactly the same position, just to the right of him.

He still watched drivers pulling into the roundabout, constantly darting a glance side to side. He suddenly caught sight of me watching him, and his gaze locked on mine. It was only a few seconds, but I was met with a blue-eyed stare, instantly struck by just how young he was. I’d be surprised if he was even old enough to be in a casino.

He turned to look right at Mickey. The quick swivel of his head back at me wasn’t a surprise, but the expression on his face was. His eyes widened in fear as he sucked in a huge lungful of air, before spinning on his heel, and darting back into the hotel. I exchanged a quick look with Mickey and we both took off running, charging after the quickly fleeing figure as he darted around the checkout desk and disappeared into the casino.

“Manky bastard,” I muttered to myself as he was swallowed up into the crowd. But I’d been right. He’d been casing the joint, looking for a chance when an unsuspecting valet wasn’t watching the luggage carts, so he could steal something off one. Some days, I hated the fact that my senses were so good all the time. Since joining the FBI, I walked through life frequently suspicious of people. I knew I should’ve flagged down casino security, but keeping his mop of black hair in sight as he darted through the crowd was doing a number on me. He obviously knew the layout as he easily dodged tourists, heading deeper into the casino.

I looked around for Mickey, not seeing him, but I knew he was doing the same thing I was…chasing after the guy and struggling to keep him in sight. I wove in between tourists carrying buckets of tokens and change, eager to drop their money in a slot machine. The harder I ran, the more difficult it was to keep up with him and not crash into a gambler. I lost him a couple of times when someone stepped into my path, and I was forced to slow or mow them down.

Luck failed me entirely when a rather robust woman suddenly wandered into my path, stopping right in front of me as she stared at a machine. I tried to avoid her, but she suddenly realized I was there. Her eyes widened, she threw her bucket of coins into the air, and screamed bloody murder as I crashed into her, taking us both to the carpet. I landed on my back with her on top of me, knocking the breath right out of me.

“Christ!” I huffed, clasping both hands around her as I tried to roll her off me. She wasn’t a small woman, and much stronger than I thought as we both struggled to get untangled while she deafened me with her screaming.

“Calm down!” I finally managed to wheeze. Pounding feet ran over to us and I looked up just in time to see two security guards looking furious as I managed to roll her off me. I lay on my side, jamming my hand into my back pocket to get to my FBI creds. I yanked them out, holding them up as both men drew their weapons.

“Hands up!” one of them yelled.

“FBI! I’m FBI!” Still wheezing, I waved my creds around. “Put ya bloody guns away.”