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“But…” I look him up and down, noting that the suit he’s in appears to be the same one I last saw him wearing. “What the fuck happened to you?”
“Gustavo happened. That dick had us locked in here for a week. I thought he had you too. Somehow, Marco got to Gustavo. Made him promises if he helped take over the casino.”
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore,” I assure him.
“Why? Where is he?”
“Dead.”
“Good,” Sheila says indignantly as she attempts to smooth her greasy hair. “And Gavin, I think it’s time you gave Patrick a month off. It’s the least you can do, don’t you think?”
I nod in agreement. “Take whatever time you need. Clearly it’s going to be a while before The Red is restored.” I look around at the ruins of what was once so grand. I’ll get it there once more.
“We’ll help you,” Rowan tells me. “While you re-establish security.”
“What I don’t understand is how Gustavo was able to turn everyone against me,” I say, working through my thoughts.
Patrick nods. “They did their jobs protecting the building. They just had no idea they were going against their own boss when they followed Gustavo’s orders. I’m not even sure they knew it was you when you came in. Chaos does that.”
“Yikes,” Gideon chimes in and Patrick finally seems to notice him. “What a fucking mess.”
Patrick straightens up and rolls up the sleeves of his dirty button down shirt as if he’s ready to brawl. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
Gideon arches a brow. “Are you referring to me?”
“Yeah, mother fucker. I’m taking about you.”
I lift my hand. “It’s okay, Pat. He helped us.”
“Yeah, Patty,” Gideon teases, his grin firmly in place. “People are so ungrateful nowadays.”
“The fuck?”
Patrick takes a step forward and I stand between him and Gideon. “Cool down, Pat.”
“Well, looks like you have a lot to sort through,” Gideon says coolly as he makes his way to the door. “Since I’ve held my end of the bargain, I expect you will too. I’ll be in touch.”
Patrick scowls as he watches him depart.
“I think you’ll need help with the cleanup too,” Rowan says, pushing over some debris.
“Thanks.” I nod.
We walk through the rubble, what’s left of Club Voyeur. Out of everything else in the building, it best depicts the chaos and destruction. I had only the best security systems, the best guards. But all it took was one weak man to create a crack in the walls the enemy could get through.
“How do I trust anyone again?” I ask Patrick. “I can’t trust anyone.”
But it’s his wife that answers. “You look at the ones that stayed through the battle. The ones that didn’t change sides or run the first chance they got. Those are the men you trust.”
I look at her for the first time, I mean, really look at her. She’s disheveled as fuck, her blond hair half sticking out of her up do, and her heels broken. The woman who I always believed held my second back with her demands of time with her, has been by his side through this ordeal, and from the trackless dirt smudged on her face I can tell not a tear has been shed. And now she’s telling me exactly what I need to hear.
“I’m sorry, Sheila,” I say to her.
“For what?”
“I wasn’t kind to you or Patrick. I just didn’t know.”
“And you do now?” he asks.
