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“Hang up the phone, Rylee.” Memphis’ voice was dark.
“Gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you later.” She ended the call and slowly turned.
“Tell me why you’re on trial.” She held her breath and waited for him to answer.
“It’s complicated and I’m still trying to sort out all the pieces. Is your mother Kathleen Marie Colton?”
Rylee nodded.
“Fuck.”
“I think I better leave.”
“Wait. Please.” His voice was pleading.
She was already searching the room for her suitcase, though.
“Rylee, stop. You don’t understand. I need you here. I told them you’re my live-in companion. If they show up and you’ve moved out, that could be bad for me. I’ll likely go to jail until the trial. And now that it looks like it involves your family, if they wanted to, they could add bribery and witness tampering to my charges.”
She stared at him.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Why would they put you in jail?”
“Lying to my house arrest officer?”
“House arrest? Is that what the new security system was all about? You’re under house arrest? Jesus. Why would they add bribery or witness tampering?”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “This is going to make you hate me, but when I had you sign paperwork and made a copy of your ID, it wasn’t just an NDA or to transfer money to you. I did that too, but it also went on some documents that say you’re part owner of the villa and we live together. If it looks like I moved you in, and bought you a house, it’s going to look like I’m bribing you not to testify against me in a trial. But I swear, I didn’t know who you were when Hunter hired you.”
“God fucking damn it. How am I supposed to trust anything you say now?”
“You don’t. And I respect that, but I’m begging you to stay and hear everything I have to say. You don’t have to listen to me tonight, and you don’t have to honor our deal, but you do need to stay here for your own sake and mine.”
“I’m not doing anything for your sake. If I have to stay here, please leave my room and give me my Goddamn clothes back. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“I understand.”
He backed out of the room and closed the door. A few minutes later, there was a knock. When she opened it, her suitcase was waiting for her with all of her clothes. She sat on the bed the rest of the night and read about the legal battle Memphis Foster was engaged in.
It occurred to her to wonder if she’d been brought here to somehow gain information about her family to help his trial.
On a whim, she dialed Hunter’s cell number. It was the first time she’d ever used it, other than to confirm that she’d landed in Vegas.
“Rylee? Is everything OK?”
She broke down and told him everything. When she was done, she asked, “Whose idea was it to hire me?”
Hunter whistled. “That was quite a story. I can put your mind at ease on one front, though. I suggested hiring you, and Memphis had no idea who you were. Had I realized your family was wrapped up in the scam he’s on trial for, I never would have made the suggestion, though.”
Well, that was something anyway.
“Do you think he’s guilty? He made it sound like he’d been set up.”
“That’s what he told me, too. I have no reason not to believe him. I’ve done business with Memphis for a long time, and he’s always been a fair player in the market. That said, on paper, the deal that got signed sounded very lucrative and money can make people do stupid shit. I can’t tell you what to do because you have every right to be pissed at him right now, but my advice would be to hear him out and do your own research.”
“Thanks, Hunter. Do you think he got my tournament canceled? I never have heard what happened.”
“He didn’t, but I can see why you would wonder. I checked it out. It was a legit problem with the sprinkler system, and it’s going to take them a few weeks to be ready to play again. They can’t just move it to a new place because Caesar’s is the one sponsoring the tournament. Are you allowed to leave the property?”
