ACE:Las Vegas Bad Boys(67)

But I don’t believe she’s that woman.

She’s no liar. She’s the fucking love of my life.

“Regardless, Ace, we need to know what the Grotto and Janie connection is. And we need to figure it out stat—if we don’t, this could all blow up in your face in two days. I’ll call Clark again, see if he’s heard anything else.”

“Keep me posted.” I turn to go, but Mark calls out.

“If you can get your girl to talk, call me.”

I jump in the car, knowing I’ll never trick Emmy into anything. She may have played me, but shit, that woman will never be a means to an end. Not when she’s the one who made me believe I could have a fucking new beginning.





EMMY


Janie’s on the phone with someone for the second time today, while I stand in the hall with Detective Clark.

“Ace’s lawyer called. Everyone is working to figure out the Grotto connection. You really have no clue what it is?”

“No,” I tell him. “But when I was in the limo with Grotto he told me he and Janie were close.”

“Let’s go talk to her again,” Clark says, shrugging.

“We can try ... but she gets so skittish when we start asking. And the doctor is not cool with us forcing the issue. She needs to recover before we stress her out too much,” I say. I’m still on the defensive as far as Janie is concerned.

“I don’t care what the doctor says right now. Right now, I want to understand what’s going on with Grotto. We’ve been trying to get dirt on that guy for years. This might be the time.”

“I see,” I say, shaking my head. “So this is all just for another notch in your belt?” I’m a little surprised; Clark has come off as a little slow on the uptake, not exactly a man chasing a medal of honor. And now he wants to bring down the big, bad Grotto? I guess I don’t blame him.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Clark says, chuckling.

I cock an eyebrow in the air, and Clark smiles.

“Okay, maybe that’s one of the reasons I want to force the issue.”

“What’s the other reason?”

“Justice.”

“You’re a good detective, Clark,” I tell him, grateful to have a good man on my side. “So you really think Grotto’s behind this, not Ace?”

“The phone we found in the vehicle was a burner phone. Janie had used it a few times to text Bullet. No other numbers, no other calls. When the number connected to Bullet is called, the call is dropped. I think it was a fake conversation, that she was trying to set him up.”

I swallow hard and look through the window at my sister, who is sitting in the hospital bed. She’s awake and alert now. Her fingers drum against the tabletop. Tiptaptiptap. Her eyes dart around furiously, as if trying to see something that isn’t there.

“I wish I knew what she was like before the crash,” I say softly. “The whole time she was in the coma, I thought up a version of Janie that I don’t think was ever real.”

“Sometimes we let ourselves see people the way we want to see them.”

“Is that bad?” I ask Clark.

“I don’t know. I’m a detective, Emmy. My job is to look beneath the surface.”

“And beneath the surface you think my sister is guilty of something?” I ask, my eyes filling with tears.

“Beneath the surface, I think you know the answer to that.”

We look at Janie again; this time she’s gnawing on her fingernails. A rush of blood drips off her forefinger from the skin she’s bitten open. She grabs a tissue and dabs at the broken skin.

She’s a mess. And it’s clear this isn’t a result of the coma. This is the result of a lifetime of choices.

“Should we go talk to her?” I ask Clark.

“You know, I think we should hold off. Let’s not upset her or make her suspicious. She isn’t stable. The last thing we need is for her to do something out of desperation.”

“Alright.” I pause, debating if I should ask what I really want to know.

Clark reads my mind.

“Ace Royalle was released on bail this morning, so looks like your boss has a few days to clear his name. I know I’ll be doing my part to solve the case, and so will his lawyer.”

“What should I do?”

Clark smiles. “You should go through her apartment and look for clues.”

“I’ve done it before, but I’ll look again, Clark. I’ll just go say good-bye.”

“I’ll be in touch.” Clark leaves, and I turn toward Janie.

I send Claire and Tess a quick text.

Me: Thanks for checking in on me. Gonna head to the apartment and look for any clues about Janie and Grotto.