Electrified(75)

“Man, it normally isn’t,” Mike said as he stared into his beer. “Then again, I usually go to the Strip with Sie. I know most of the valets and casino hosts, so I’m able to get her in and out relatively unnoticed. Pulling up front with you like a tourist got her busted.”

Dude isn’t going to be as easy as I thought to crack.

“Fuck, that was all me, man. I wanted to show her a nice afternoon.” He fell on his sword when he lowered his head and stared into his beer. Boy, he could act.

Mike slid him a sideways glance. “Look, I like you, dude. I love Sienna, though. She’s got no one but us here at the club, and we got to keep her safe. We’ve been wanting her to branch out, make a life for herself, so I was fucking all for her getting to know you. But you gotta know, she comes from something bad. We’re not going to let that touch her ever again. You gotta respect the protocols we have in place for her, my friend.” Mike leaned back and stretched his arms overhead, trying to intimidate. Obviously, the young bouncer could act, too.

Carson nodded, feeling appropriately chastised. “I got ya. I like her. At first, I wasn’t sure it was anything more than a little lust, you gotta know what I mean, with her on that stage every night. Now I’m into her onstage and off. Fuck, listen to me, talking like I have a pussy. I get you have rules, but I don’t know anything about what Sienna comes from. What do you mean, bad?”

Mike lowered his massive arms and crossed them in front of his chest. “Buddy, I don’t know much, that’s Sie’s story to tell. She just showed up here about seven years ago, and Asher took her under his wing. He helped her make a new life. It was clear she was never going back to wherever she came from, no fucking way, but that’s all I know. We take care of her, and we’ll never stop.”

Carson nodded. “I get it. She’s precious. What’s with this Sam dude? Could he be an ex or someone from her past? Or is he just a crazy fan? Have you checked him out?” He fired off questions as he made a mental note to look into Sienna’s past. He could call in a favor for that.

Mike took a swig of his beer, then shook his head. “We don’t know what the deal is with this Sam guy. Sam Charles, from Jersey. He rushed the stage last week, then showed up outside Asher’s house before he and Sienna left for Red Rock.”

“What?” Carson was raging with jealousy, which he knew was unfounded, and anger, which was unwarranted. “She didn’t say that to me. What did he want?” He stood up, his back against the bar and mimicked Mike’s posture, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah. He was parked a couple houses down with eyeballs on the two of them. Ash clocked him right away, and I ran him out of town. Been watching the asshole since he got back in last night. He’s staying on the Strip. The dude even had the nerve to ask the concierge to call and get a Samuel Smith on the list here. I was gonna question him tonight when he tried to get in under a different name, but then Sienna turned up on the Strip, bringing him out to see her. I had to shut him down. I’m not sure whether he’ll show tonight.”

“Where’s he staying?” Carson spit out. “I want to check him out. What could he want?”

“We don’t know,” Mike admitted as he tugged at the corner of the damp label on his beer bottle. “Sienna mentioned it was her past catching up with her, but I think he’s a fan. A crazy fucking one.” Then he shook his head in disgust, lifted the bottle, and downed the last of his beer.

Carson’s instincts were screaming at him. “You want me to look into the guy? I could call my buddies over at the Bureau and do a little scouting myself.” He didn’t really need permission. He’d already decided his next move would be to step outside for privacy and make some calls.

“Nah,” Mike said. “My guess is this guy isn’t worth the trouble of calling the Feds. Sienna is just all panicked, but this yahoo is a fan gone wrong. We’re gonna deal with him.” Then he got up, slapped Carson on the back, and headed back to work.

Carson nodded, but he had no intention of letting this go. It was in his DNA to get to the bottom of things.

Since he solved his first case, finding his own runaway mom when he was nineteen years old, he did nothing but make sure to tie up loose ends on every job. When he uncovered his mother, he didn’t even go talk to her. He knew all he needed to know from his investigation. She’d been remarried for a decade to a wealthy slumlord. They had two kids she drove to extracurricular activities, and spent time volunteering at their schools. None of her friends or neighbors knew about her past. It was an open-and-shut case. She wanted a life with more money and no responsibility other than bake sales. She left him and his blue-collar dad, and never looked back.