by Tate, Harley
Keith handed Bear’s leash to Lainey. “Everyone get ready to run.”
She didn’t like the sudden change in his attitude. “What are you doing?”
“Creating the distraction.”
Oh, no. Lainey stood up, about to argue, but Keith waved her off. “We don’t have time to argue.”
Owen’s brow pinched with worry. “How will we know when to go?”
“You’ll know.” Without another word, Keith strode over to the guard. He pointed toward the parking deck. The guard shook his head. Keith argued more, demonstrating with his hands some grand plan involving the deck and a camera.
The guard checked his watch, then looked back up at the deck. At last, he nodded. Keith and the guard walked toward the deck, stretching the distance between them and the front door. As soon as they passed a large cactus, they were obscured from view from the main hotel doors. Keith let the guard take a step ahead as he reached for the gun at his hip.
“Now!” Lainey shoved Owen and Jerry and they all took off. Bear barked at the excitement. Pound Cat howled.
Behind them, a shot rang out. She didn’t dare turn around. A second’s delay could be too much. The gap between the dumpsters beckoned and Bear dragged her toward it, happy to be running for the first time in days. She wished she could be as naive as a dog.
Pop! Pop! Two more shots. Bear reached the dumpster first and dragged Lainey through the gap. Jerry followed right on her heels with Owen and the howling cat by his side.
They raced beneath the bridge and came out onto a small street between two parking decks.
“Where now?” Lainey cast a frantic glance down the street. Shouts rang out behind them.
“The closest casino. Go!” Jerry pushed her and she ran, not looking back, not stopping to think, breathe, or worry. Keith had to be all right. He had to. Her heart thundered even louder than her feet on the pavement as they rounded the corner and ran smack into the chaos of Las Vegas Boulevard.
New York-New York stood on the opposite corner and they took off, passing a burger joint with every window busted, a sports bar, and through a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge.
“There!” Jerry pointed at the sign for the entrance to the casino. He wasted no time, running up to the doors and yanking on a handle. It opened.
Bear pulled Lainey toward the door, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Lainey stopped. Where was Keith? She spun around, searching the street for any sign of him. If he didn’t see them and didn’t know where they were headed, how would they reunite?
She tried to think. What could she do? How could she let him know?
“Lainey, come on!” Owen stood at the door, beckoning her inside.
She looked down at Bear. Of course. She slipped his leash off and gave him a pat on the rump. “Inside!” The dog did as she commanded and ran toward Owen, who ushered him through the doors. Lainey looped the leash around the tree immediately outside the casino. Please find this. Please. With a final glance behind her, she rushed to join the others.
The second the casino doors shut behind her, Lainey went blind. Thanks to the dark coating on the glass, virtually no light filtered in from the street. Without power, the casino floor could have been a hundred miles underground. “Why is it so dark in here?”
“Casinos operate 24/7. They don’t want you to know what time it is because they don’t want you to stop spending money.”
“So there’s no natural light?” Lainey blinked, trying to rid her vision of swirling spots.
A light clicked on nearby. Jerry’s flashlight. “None. It’s all part of their revenue strategy.”
Lainey grimaced. Despite living in Los Angeles ever since graduating college, she had never been to Vegas. She turned, squinting into the dark. “Where’s Owen?”
“Over here.” Pain laced his words.
Jerry flicked the flashlight up to illuminate Owen as he leaned against the casino wall. Bear sat beside him, waiting. Owen gripped his left arm and something coated his fingers.
Lainey gave a start. “You’re bleeding!” She rushed over, nudging Bear out of the way as the dog tried to come between them for attention. “What happened?”
“Pretty sure I got nicked by a bullet.”
“You were shot?” Lainey reached for Owen’s hand and pulled it away. Sure enough, blood oozed from two holes in his arm: a smaller wound just above his elbow, and a second larger one, distorted in size on his forearm.
Jerry brought the flashlight closer. “Looks like a through-and-through. Must have hit you in the back of the arm while you were running.”
“Will he be okay?” Lainey glanced up at Jerry.
“Assuming we clean and bandage it somehow? Should be.”
Owen swallowed. “I didn’t even feel it. I was so scared, running through those dumpsters on pure adrenaline. I—I didn’t even notice until we came in here.” He patted the bag holding Pound Cat and his tablet. “At least it missed everything important.”
Lainey reached out and gave his unhurt arm a squeeze. “We can look for first aid. There has to be a station nearby.”
He shook his head. “The security room here has to have equipment we can use to upload the video. That’s the priority.”
“You’ve been shot.” She stared at him like he’d gone mad. “You’re bleeding.”
Owen pushed himself off the wall. “The video matters more.”
“Security might have a first aid kit.” Jerry turned toward the inside of the casino, using his flashlight to pan the space. “It’s got to be on the main floor.”
Walking through the casino was like walking through a horror movie set after shooting wrapped. Evidence of death and destruction littered the main floor, but whatever chaos had erupted when news of the bombs hit and the power went out was over.
Slot machines were smashed and tipped on their sides, game tables flipped over. The cage in the middle of the room housing the casino bank had been pried apart and ransacked. As they neared it, the smell of rot and death twitched Lainey’s nose. With nothing left to loot or steal, whoever committed the atrocities inside this casino were gone. At least for now.
They kept searching, canvassing the entire casino floor, until they located security headquarters tucked into a nondescript hallway with no markings.
“Guess they don’t want to draw attention to themselves.” Jerry pushed the door open and panned the room with his flashlight. It was empty.
They eased inside and shut the door. Lainey wheeled an office chair over and shoved it beneath the door handle before searching the walls for a first aid station. Jerry’s little flashlight didn’t give much light, but she found the metal box attached to the wall and sent up a silent thanks. Not only was it full of Band-Aids and instant ice packs, but she pulled out an emergency lantern and turned it on.
The space flooded with light.
“I knew it!” Owen exclaimed and spun around, holding up what looked like an oversized modem. “They’ve got satellite backup. If I can manage to find the right cables and batteries around here, I can power this thing.”
“Meaning?”
“Give me a few hours and a clear sky and I can send the video.”
Lainey closed her eyes in relief. “Thank goodness. Now about that arm.” As she stepped toward Owen, Bear began to bark.
Chapter Fifteen
KEITH
City Center
Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. PST
The guard’s fist collided with Keith’s cheekbone and his head whipped to the right. That’ll leave a mark. His fingers gripped the butt of the Glock in the man’s holster as they fought for control.
With one hand still on the gun, the guard wrestled his walkie-talkie from his belt. He couldn’t click that button. The second he talked, it would be over. Guns would point at Keith’s head and if he didn’t surrender, he’d die right there.
He leaned back and kicked, heel of his shoe colliding with the guard’s hand. The radio clattered to the ground.
Score one for me. Keith lunged forward, barreling into the guy with his full weight. Thanks to the solid stitches on his leg and the tight bandaging, he didn’t even feel the strain on his wound.
They hit the ground with a thud, wind knocked out of the guard as he wheezed. Keith’s grip on the gun slipped. The guard brought it around. No! Keith ducked. A shot rang out.
Everything happened so fast. A foot collided with his ribs. A knee to his good thigh. He grunted and grabbed the guard’s shooting arm, yanking it down as another two shots popped off. With all the force he could muster, Keith wrapped his arms around the guard’s forearm and twisted.
Bones snapped.
The man screamed. His grip on the gun failed and it clattered to the ground. Keith scooped it up and took off as shouts rang out from the lobby entrance. At the edge of the dumpsters, he turned and caught a glimpse of three men. All armed. All running.
Not good.
He dove through the opening and grabbed the open dumpster door, swinging it across the gap. He shoved the lever bar down, wedging it into the dumpster across the gap. There was no way to get it open from the other side.
He took off as the sound of banging on the metal and shouts echoed. It would take the men at least a full minute to find a way around. It wasn’t much time. Ducking beneath the pedestrian bridge, Keith raced down a narrow road and out onto Las Vegas Boulevard.
Which way?
He twisted left and right, paralyzed by indecision. There was no sign of Lainey, Bear, Owen, or Jerry. He tried to think like a terrified reporter. Like Lainey would be. She would go with what she knew. He turned south in the direction they had come the day before. He crossed the street, searching for anything that would point him in the right direction.
As he ran past the entrance to New York-New York, he paused. Is that—? Keith closed in on a small tree planted in a square of dirt in the sidewalk. Bear’s leash hung from a branch. Keith picked it up. What on earth?
Voices carried from somewhere near the City Center and Keith dove for the entrance of the casino with the leash in his hand. There was no time to search for Lainey or Bear now. He needed to take cover.
The dark interior enveloped him as the door shut. Keith blinked as he moved along the wall, feeling his way down the side of the casino and away from the doors. Could the leash have been a sign? Could they be inside?
He glanced back at the door. How long until the guards from the City Center arrived? Not long. With his hands cupped around his mouth, he shouted into the dark. “Lainey! Bear! Are you here?”
His voice echoed through the space and Keith listened for a reply. Nothing. He inched away from the exterior wall and called out again. “Bear! Lainey!”
Was that—? He twisted around. The sound of a bark he knew so well drew him across the casino. He tripped over broken slot machines, stools, and tables, almost took out his eye on a lever bent at head height, and fell once flat on his face when he missed a step. But at last, he found the source of the barking. Light emanated from beneath a door in the hall and Keith reached for the handle.
With one hand holding the gun he’d stolen from the guard, Keith tried the door. Something pushed against it, but Bear barked louder and louder, scaling against the wood as Keith tried to shove the door open.
“Bear! Hold on!” Lainey’s voice carried through the opening and Keith stepped back. A moment later, the door opened and a blur of fur and slobber collided with Keith’s chest.
“You found us!” Lainey rushed out, wrapping Keith up in a hug as Bear licked his face and pawed his middle. “I didn’t know if you’d figure out the leash.”
“I wasn’t sure what it meant, to be honest.” He eased Bear down and gave the dog a solid rub on the top of the head. If it weren’t for Bear’s barking, he’d have passed the room right by and never seen it. That dog deserved a medal.
He smiled at Lainey who smiled back with tears in her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, wrestle with his dog, and forget all about the threat outside, but he couldn’t. There wasn’t time.
“We need to hurry.” He ushered Lainey and Bear back into the room. “There are guys searching for us. They’ll probably check here.”
“Do you really think they’ll come looking?” Owen glanced up from a pile of cables. “Aren’t we far enough away?”
“I wouldn’t stake my life on it.”
“But what can they want with us now? We left, we aren’t coming back. That’s the end of it.”
“As soon as Napper finds out we ran, he’ll know why I asked all those questions.” Lainey rubbed her arms even though it wasn’t cold. “He’ll probably send every man he has after us. If we send that video out to the world before he’s had a chance to solidify his position, it’ll be all over for him. He’s got to know that.”
Keith nodded. “Lainey’s right. We have to assume they’re coming.”
Bear’s hackles rose as he sniffed the air. A low growl rose up from deep in his throat.
“Someone’s out there.” Keith crept toward the door as Lainey turned off the lantern. “Everyone be quiet.”
He turned the handle and opened the door a crack. Whoever was inside the casino hadn’t found the hall. Keith shut the door. “What’s the best way out of here?”
“Don’t know.” Jerry’s voice barely reached across the room. “We didn’t get that far.”
“We need somewhere secure with access to the outside for a few hours.” Owen held up his tablet and something that looked like a modem. “I can hack this to use as a satellite hookup and send the video. But I need a clear view of the sky to connect to the satellite.”
Keith nodded in understanding. “Outside, safety, and somewhere we can rest and hole up.”
“How about a room?” Jerry pointed toward the ceiling. “There’s hundreds of them up there and almost all have balconies. We can find one without a connecting door and barricade ourselves inside until Owen can send the video.”
“We could be trapping ourselves here.”
“Or we could be securing a means of escape.” Lainey turned to Keith. “Once people figure out Napper’s trying to pull off some sort of coup and restricting access to the only area in the city with electricity, he’ll have bigger problems than us to deal with.”
Lainey had a point. Once the world at large became aware of his selfishness, he would have to worry about an attack.
“He won’t have a reason to track us down, either. The information will already be out there. What good would finding us do?”
“Revenge.”
“You think he’ll focus on revenge when his ability to stay in power is threatened?”
Keith didn’t have a clue, but he didn’t have a better idea, either. If someone was already searching for them in the casino, the chances of escaping to the street would be slim. Once night fell, where would they go? Another casino where the criminal element could still be roaming the main floor?
Apart from the close proximity to the City Center, they were relatively safe in New York-New York. All the vandalism had already happened. The money was long gone. “Everyone load up. Bring the lantern and anything else we need. As soon as we’re ready, we head for the stairs.”
It only took a few minutes of rushed work to prepare. Keith opened the door. Lainey held Bear by the leash while Keith led with the guard’s Glock. They skirted the casino floor, searching for the stairs leading to the higher floors. It was tedious work without a source of light, but they couldn’t risk being seen.
A flashlight swept the main room. “Keep searching,” a voice barked out. “They’ve got to be here. Cameras have them entering from the street.”
Keith flattened himself against the wall. Napper had cameras? Of course he did. They were probably watching the entire area to ensure the perimeter stayed clear. He shook his head. He’d been such an idiot. If they didn’t find a place to hide, and soon, it would be over. Lainey would never find her family. They would never broadcast Napper’s attempted coup t
o the rest of the world. He could build up power and create a new country out of whole cloth before anyone would wise up and intervene.
The flashlight panned over an area no more than twenty feet ahead, reflecting off a pair of gold elevators. A sign read Rooms above the entrance. If they were that close to the elevators, the stairs had to be nearby. Keith motioned for everyone to proceed. Inching down the wall, they stayed as quiet as possible, barely breathing until Lainey reached out and patted his arm. She pointed at a door. Keith reached up and felt the sign. A little man walked up a flight of stairs. Thank God.
She reached for the door handle and inched it open. Everyone followed a few steps behind. As the door clicked shut, Jerry turned on his small flashlight and pointed it up. A set of metal stairs stretched to the sky above them.
Lainey reached for the rail. “You know this is how the blonde in horror movies always dies, right? She heads upstairs and the killer follows.”
Keith let Bear take the lead, passing Lainey as they headed up. “It was your idea, remember?”
Flight after flight they climbed, Bear taking the steps two at a time as Keith struggled to keep up. As they cleared the eighth floor, a door below opened. It banged against the concrete wall and footsteps echoed in the hollow space. If they stayed in the stairwell, they would be exposed. Keith raced to the next floor and opened the door, ushering everyone into the hall before closing it gently with a click.
“What now?” Lainey panted, out of breath.
He turned toward the dark interior. “Now we hope one of these doors is open or someone is still here and willing to help.”
Chapter Sixteen
LAINEY
New York-New York
Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. PST
The side of Lainey’s fist burned from slamming it against the doors in the hall. One after another, she banged on the solid metal, but no one answered and not a single handle gave beneath her weight. “This is hopeless!” She twisted around, bracing her back against the door as a sob threatened to slip out of her open mouth.