by Keira Beck
“He’s tapped into this whole place. If anyone knows a way out, it’s him.”
Ethan sent a text as Noah and Jack talked. When he was done, he said, “The guys are in the elevator. You’ll have help in a minute. Stay here and watch these guys until the cops take them into custody. I’m going back to surveillance to find that motherfucker.”
“Stay in touch, E. I want to know when you find him.”
“You’ve done enough.”
“I fucking want to know.”
Danny walked in. He looked Noah over while Ethan gave the gun to Mac, who waited in the doorway.
“You look like shit.”
“Thanks, Dan. I feel fucking marvelous.”
Ethan walked into the hallway.
“I mean it, E!” Noah called after him.
His middle finger was the last thing out of sight.
Mac pointed the gun toward Jack and Deuce. “All your buddies are rounded up but one. I flew a long way for this gambling trip with the boys, and you fucked it all up. How about you tell me why?”
Jack scowled. “I don’t need to tell you shit.”
Danny looked at the John. Sullivan. “You. What do you know?”
He rubbed the ligature marks on his wrists and stepped past Jack and Deuce to shake hands with Noah, Danny, and Mac. “Thank you. They were getting so impatient. Especially the one who got away.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t answer my question. What was this all about?”
“I’m not supposed to say. I’m already probably going to get fired.”
“Then what’s it going to hurt to talk?” Mac asked.
Sullivan shook his head. “I can’t.”
Noah scoffed. “You think any of this is going to be private? The news is undoubtedly here by now. And you’ll have to testify in court. Whatever you’re trying to protect, it’s too late.”
He ran his hands through his hair and looked at Jack and Deuce sitting on the floor.
“They can’t hurt you anymore.”
Sullivan dropped into the desk chair and covered his face with his hands. “I’m so screwed.”
“Start at the beginning,” Noah said.
“I’m a corporate attorney. I work for Trident Biotech. At least, I did. Tomorrow I’ll probably be unemployed.”
“Stay on topic,” Danny said.
Sullivan took a deep breath. “Trident has been hinting at the imminent release of a new agricultural process that allows seeds to grow in various climates. It could mean the end of global starvation. Third world countries in arid climates, indigenous tribes in the tundra… people will be able to cultivate crops anywhere.”
Noah didn’t have a good feeling about where this was going.
“The stock prices have been climbing. I mean, they’re through the fucking roof.”
“And?”
“And the guy that got away? Byron Davies? The one they call Trey?”
“Yeah?” Mac waved his gun in a circle, urging him on.
“He knows I have a gambling problem.”
“It’s not like you can gamble with the company’s value,” Danny said. “I don’t see the connection.”
“Everyone thinks the announcement about the release is happening tomorrow in California. Because Byron works here, he knew I was spending the night before flying out in the morning. He’s been watching me for a month, maybe more. I told you, I have a gambling problem.” He started rocking in his chair.
And a hooker problem. But that wasn’t important at the moment. “So? If the world knows the announcement’s coming, what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that Byron overheard me talking to Beth a few weeks ago. I… frequent this casino, and when I’m here, I always enjoy her company.”
Noah really didn’t care for where this was heading.
Mac spun his hand in circles again.
“Don’t you get it? He heard me. What happened today was a confirmation, to make sure it went through.”
“A confirmation of what?” Danny asked.
“I guess it doesn’t matter now.” Sullivan stood and paced. “There’s not going to be a new product announcement tomorrow. I was taking contracts to California. Acquisition contracts. Trident borrowed heavily for the R and D of the variable-climate seed cultivation process. But they never got it to work. They’re being taken over. Byron, Trey, whatever you want to call him. He overheard me telling Beth about it a month ago. He knew I’d be staying here tonight. And he organized this group so they could steal the paperwork and find out who.”
“Who?” Noah asked. God, his head hurt. “Who what?”
“Don’t you see? This whole thing has been about insider trading. Everyone is expecting the stock to soar after the announcement. Maybe even split. Instead, the company is going bust. With advanced confirmation—and the confirmation is what he wanted from me—he’d purchase thousands of contracts of calls and make a killing selling them. Millions. Maybe billions.”
Noah shook his head. “What? That doesn’t make sense. It’s backward. Why would he purchase stock that’s going in the toilet?”
“Not Trident stock. Forza Agri. That’s who’s buying them. He wants to buy options at a low price and sell high.”
“Why would Forza want to buy a worthless company?”
“They aren’t worthless. They’re bankrupt. Big difference. They spent too much on R and D with no results. But they have plenty of other products that Forza can add to their portfolio. Besides, they think Trident was onto something. If they can make the seed work…” He shrugged.
Now it was making sense. “So Forza’s stock will climb with the acquisition and could possibly soar if they get the seed to work.”
Sullivan nodded.
“But Trey didn’t know the name of the company that was buying Trident,” Danny said.
“No. His partners forced me up here and stole the paperwork, but I guess they got captured downstairs. That’s why the rest of them came up here. To interrogate me, find out it was Forza. But I didn’t talk.”
Bully for him. His vices were what got him into trouble to begin with. He was definitely out of a job. Noah reached into his pocket for his phone. Then he called Ethan. “Find him yet?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
“Where?”
“Coming out of an unrented room on the twenty-ninth floor. Must have a pass key to this whole place. Oh, and Noah.”
“What?”
“He’s in disguise.”
“Hold on.” Noah ran out of the room and dashed toward the elevators. Two cops were stepping out as he got there. He turned, trying to hide the bruises on his face, and after they cleared the car, he stepped in.
One of them got a look at him as the doors were closing. “Hey!”
But he was already on his way down to the lobby. “Okay, E. What’s he wearing now? And where is he?”
“He’s on the elevator. He’ll be ahead of you by about ten seconds. Security is on their way to intercept.”
Noah willed the car to go faster. “What’s he fucking wearing now?”
Ethan sighed. “A white basketball jersey and jeans.”
Shit. That’s what half the fucking casino was wearing.
Chapter Thirteen
When the elevator doors opened, Noah burst into the hallway and ran toward the lobby. He counted three men and two women in white basketball jerseys. None was Trey.
He navigated the crowd and dashed toward the casino. There were two more people in basketball jerseys in the throughway between the two buildings, but neither was his target. He flung open the door to the casino. Flashing lights blinded him for a second, and he shielded his eyes. “E, where is he? There are white shirts everywhere.”
“He’s passing the roulette tables. Two of the guards just missed him. Simon is directing them to double back.”
Noah darted around a few overly-enthusiastic gamblers and almost took a fist to the eye when one of them cheered for ‘seventeen’ hitting. He dodged th
e hand and broke away from that section. “Now where?”
“He’s by the craps tables.”
Craps were usually a popular game, and now that the basketball game was over, this night was no exception. There must have been thirty people at five different tables in the white jerseys, plus dozens of others. “Fuck, E. How am I supposed to find him in this crowd?”
“He’s headed toward the front door. Just go in that direction.”
Noah wove through tables and skirted groups of people. Finally he broke free of the craps tables. Still didn’t see the SOB. The sound of clinking tokens and jackpot bells had increased to the point that he could barely hear Ethan. He covered his free ear and shouted into the phone, “Now where?”
“He’s passing the second row of slot machines.”
Second row? Second from which end? Noah ran to the wide corridor between the slots and the poker room. His steps faltered for just a second when he saw Daphne in the doorway. Her features were pinched, but when she saw him, her expression softened and she sighed.
Hell, he was relieved to see she was fine, too. And he’d be sure to tell her so. As soon as he caught Trey.
“Noah, he’s almost at the door. You’re going to miss him.”
He barely heard Ethan over the din of the casino. But he heard enough and looked toward the lobby. People were everywhere, slowing him down. Good news was they were slowing Trey down, too. Even so, Noah doubted he would catch him in time. He hated to put others at risk, but involving everyone was his only choice. He pointed at Trey and yelled as loud as he could, “Hey! Stop that guy!”
Instead of helping, the crowd parted a bit, giving Trey easier access to the doors. If he got outside, Noah would lose him in the night.
Trey picked up speed. He was almost free and clear when something thrust into the aisle, sending him into free-fall. Stumbling, he threw his arms out but never caught his balance.
Noah ran faster, lungs burning, and nearly caught up to him as he crashed to the ground.
The two veterans the guys had seen at the craps tables earlier that night stood over him. The one with the cane pointed it in Trey’s face, and the other one rested a foot on his back, preventing him from standing.
Noah skidded to a stop and sucked air.
The security guards were right behind him, and they wrestled Trey to his feet and escorted him through the “Employees Only” door.
Still huffing, Noah approached the vets and extended his hand. “Thank you, sirs.”
They each shook his hand. The one with the cane said, “Lotta activity here for a night that was supposed to be quiet.”
“You can say that again. I appreciate you helping out.”
“You young fellas,” the other said. “Always looking for action. And always finding it.”
“No disrespect, sirs, but it seems like you two haven’t left the excitement behind, either.”
He leaned on his cane. “No, son, we left it behind long ago. But every now and then, it’s nice to shake off the rust.”
“Didn’t look rusty to me.”
He smiled, and the other man winked.
“Can I buy you guys a drink?”
“No, thanks. It’s late for these old bones.” The man tipped his cap.
Waving his walking stick, the other said, “See ya around, son.”
The two of them walked out the front door.
Noah sighed and turned around. His friends had met up with each other and were standing off to the side, waiting for him.
“I would really have liked to talk to them,” Mac said.
“Hear their stories,” Danny added.
“They’re unsung heroes.” Ethan said.
Danny clapped Noah on the back. “And speaking of heroes, it’s finally over. Will you go get checked out now?”
“I have one more thing to do.” He headed toward the poker room.
His friends were jawing behind him, but he ignored them. He needed to see Daphne, to hold her. Just to assure himself that she was all right.
But when he got to the poker room, she was nowhere to be found.
Chapter Fourteen
A week later, Noah’s ribs felt a lot better. His nose had been set and the stylish raccoon look had faded to a pale greenish-yellow. The goose egg on his head had gone down, and the stitches sealing the gash had been removed the day before.
But he felt lousy.
He’d been to the casino five times in the last seven days, but he’d never run into Daphne. No one, not even—or especially—that cocksucker Simon, would tell him where she was or how he could reach her. And because he never managed to get her last name, he had no way to track her down.
Well, maybe Ethan could do it. But that would open Noah up to all sorts of teasing. Besides, he didn’t want the guys to know about it if he crashed and burned.
Problem was, he wasn’t even in the damn plane.
He walked into One Ugly Mug for the first time since the night of the basketball championship. It was back to the usual crowd, including the GNR-obsessed guy and his friends. It was probably them who had “Welcome to the Jungle” playing on the jukebox.
Noah rolled his eyes and lifted his chin as a greeting to Cap.
The surly bartender poured a beer and held it out to him.
Guess he was back on Cap’s good side. At least he wasn’t on his bad side anymore. He took the mug and raised it in salute. “Thanks.”
“You feeling okay?”
“No complaints.” Noah put the beer on the bar then reached into his pocket for his wallet.
Cap scowled at him. “Did you order that drink?”
Noah shook his head.
“Then I guess it’s on the damn house. Go sit your ass down.”
“Thanks, man.”
Cap turned around and scrubbed out a glass, grumbling under his breath. It looked like things were back to normal.
Noah joined Danny and Ethan at ‘their’ table.
“You’re looking…” Danny’s voice trailed off. “Okay, I was going to say you were looking much better, but you still look like shit.”
“Thanks.”
“How’re you feeling?” Ethan asked.
“Fine.” Physically.
“Right. You know, you’d probably feel better if you had listened to me and gotten looked at after the first five scuffles.”
“Yeah,” Danny added. “Then you wouldn’t have had to miss so much work.”
“I didn’t have to miss work. You banned me from working. Big difference there.”
Ethan chuckled.
“Anyone hear from Mac?” Noah sipped his drink.
“He got back four days ago, none the worse for wear,” Danny said. “The rental place is charging him a fortune for the damage. He had a few choice words to say about that. Otherwise, everything’s back to normal. Pretty sure he’s deploying in a couple of weeks.”
“Where to?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“And he didn’t tell.”
Danny nodded.
The music stopped. Noah glanced behind him. As expected, the skinny guy was headed toward the jukebox. No fucking way was he listening to Guns N’ Roses all night. He got up and cut the guy off.
One crisis averted.
Noah put his quarter in the slot and scanned the selections. At least he could read them tonight. “Night Moves” was G-9. His finger hovered over the button. He wanted to hear it, wanted the memories. But he didn’t know if he could stand it.
Someone reached around him from behind and pressed the button.
He spun about.
Daphne looked up at him, a shy smile on her face. “I guess that’s two quarters I owe you now.”
The mellow notes of a strumming guitar seeped out of the speakers.
Noah leaned back against the jukebox and looked her over. No bruises, no cuts. Nothing to indicate she’d been hurt in any manner. “You look good.”
“I feel good.”
They stood there, s
taring at each other. Seger’s voice joined the music.
It was a punch to the gut.
“How are you?” She reached toward his face, then stopped and lowered her hand.
“I’m great. Never better.”
Her face fell.
Why the hell was he acting like an ass when he’d wanted nothing more than to see her for days? He held out his hand. “Care to dance?”
She bit her lip, but then she linked her fingers with his and stepped into his arms.
Noah sighed. Just like he remembered—perfect fit. Then he looked down at her. “I was worried about you. I stopped by the casino to check on you, but you haven’t been in.”
“I was away. Took a day off, then I had training.”
“Training?”
“Remember that promotion I thought I should have gotten? I got it after all. There were a few days of offsite training, and I officially start tomorrow.”
“That’s great. What are you doing?”
“I’m the new HR director. The board fired their new hire because he didn’t do a good enough job vetting Byron and the two guards.”
“Maybe he was part of the gang?”
“There’s nothing to make that stick, but it’s possible, I suppose. In any event, I got the job. At least I’m working in my field now. My parents will be happy that I’m off the floor and putting my degree to use.”
He pulled her a little closer. “I thought you made a cute dealer. Can’t say I’m sorry you won’t be at the tables anymore, though.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“I don’t want all those drunk and disorderly guys flirting with you.”
Her cheeks turned pink.
“I don’t want you in danger, either.”
She sighed. “What happened isn’t a typical occurrence at our casino. Or any casino. But I agree. That was more excitement than I could take on a regular basis.”
“Glad we’re on the same page, then.” He rested his chin on her head, content to feel her pressed against him, swaying to the music.
“I prefer getting my adrenaline fix in more pleasurable ways.”
Noah pulled back and looked at her.