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DMITRI
Igot the call that her credit card was used at the Bellagio, but by the time I got there she was gone already. I’m getting frustrated. Since Andrei is working from the Summerlin house, I take off again today to find my woman.
I start out at the condo, but she isn’t there. I see a real estate sign up for the place. I’m about to panic when I realize it’s work time. She’ll be at Clare’s House. I head for the shelter, and I’m shocked by what I see when I pull up.
Her car is parked in a spot, and I’m about to storm in when my cell phone rings.
“Yeah,” I answer without giving my name.
“Sir, she’s protected by a hacker. A fairly good one too. I was able to break past a firewall and found information on the Lucky Dice.” He pauses, and I’m standing there shocked. Is this the hacker who has been harassing Grayson’s business? And what does my woman have to do with all this? Alek needs to be notified of this discovery.
“I’ll take care of it. Keep looking. Were you able to find the footage of her at the Bellagio yesterday?”
“A lot of it has been buried. I’ll get it though. I did see that Bronwyn showed up there and then she left shortly afterward.”
“Okay. Keep digging.”
I send a quick text to Grayson, Andrei, Aleksei, and Mikhail, telling them we need to talk. We thought the hacker was Duncan, or he had something to do with it. But since I know he’s dead, it can’t be him.
I take in my woman’s project. This isn’t just a small shelter to help women and children. It’s a full business square and apartment complex. As I move toward the doors, I notice they are the reinforced kind for security purposes. There are two guards. One is sitting at a booth and the other is walking around. There is a woman sitting at a desk at the front as if the building were a hotel.
There are an array of businesses lining the sides from daycares, dance studios, yoga, to coffee shops. If Lennon is managing all of this, it’s no wonder she is so accomplished. I step inside the apartment building and both guards go on alert. As I walk to the desk, the woman watches me as I approach.
“I’m looking for someone.” I don’t identify Lennon at first. I want to test the security. With her being here, I’ll need to reinforce it if they fail.
“Sir, I cannot tell you if someone is here or not. But I can tell you that you shouldn’t be here.”
“How do you know?” I throw my arms wide. “Are you prejudging me?” I laugh.
“Beatrice, we need to—” The words die on Lennon’s lips when she sees me.
“Dmitri. What are you doing here?” She looks beyond me, and I take in her face. One side is swollen, and she has makeup on in a thick style I know she doesn’t wear, trying to conceal her cheek.
“What the fuck?” I growl as I move toward her.
I hear footsteps advancing on me, and as I reach for her, a hand grabs my arm. On reflex, I hold the hand and twist, spinning them around and pinning their arm up behind their back. The second security guard has a Taser pulled and aimed at me.
“No, stop,” Lennon screams and steps between the Taser and me.
I push the first guard away without hurting him and grab for her, spinning to shield her from getting hit with the barb.
“Don’t,” I bark. I look over to see the receptionist on the phone.
“Beatrice, don’t call the police. Stand down,” Lennon says to the guards, but I don’t move my body until the Taser is holstered. “He won’t hurt me,” she tells them.
“Is this the man who hit you?” the receptionist asks.
“Who hit you,kukla?” I turn her around to look into her eyes, but she drops them. She won’t tell me.
“He didn’t hit me. Dmitri wouldn’t do that, Beatrice. Please. It’s okay.”
“Well, you won’t tell us, and you came in like that yesterday. We protect you, just like we protect the tenants of this building.”
I like this older woman. She’s short and extra curvy but has the heart of a mama bear.
“It wasn’t him. I’ll be in my office for a bit, Beatrice. Hold all my calls, please.”
I nod to Beatrice, letting her know I’m on the same page as her. I look at the guards.
