Major
The alarm I had set on my phone went off at ten a.m. I was ready to see Nan, so getting up wasn’t a problem. I hadn’t slept well. After I had booked a room at the Bellagio, I’d called Nan, but she hadn’t answered. I’d had to talk myself out of going back to that bar and sitting there until that waitress got off work. I’d been there, done that, and honestly, it wasn’t that memorable.
Today Nan was going to see me, and I’d fix this. She’d be back on a plane to Rosemary Beach with me. I would give her the attention she needed, she would trust me, and I’d prove her innocence. Then I’d be done. Job complete.
I texted her before my shower to ask where she wanted to meet, but by the time I was finished, she hadn’t responded yet. I didn’t want to think about her having a late night, since she’d never left her room. Why this bothered me so much I wasn’t sure. It just fucking did.
Cope annoyed me beyond reason. I wasn’t sure I could work for him. Working for Captain had been easy. I liked the guy. He was a hard-ass, but at least he had a heart. Cope was a heartless monster, and Nan was dancing too close to him. I had to fix it.
I got dressed and headed down to find coffee near Nan’s elevator bank in the lobby. Starbucks was the first thing I saw, so I went straight there and got a breakfast muffin and a cake pop to go with my venti bold. I was a little hungry after not eating much last night.
“You don’t listen worth shit.” Cope’s voice came from behind me as I picked up my coffee.
I cursed silently, calling him a million names I wished I could say out loud. “Wasn’t in the mood to fly. Thought I’d gamble before heading home.”
“Bullshit,” he replied. “Go sit down. I’m getting a coffee, and then we’re talking. That stunt you pulled last night could have fucked everything up.”
So he had been with her. He knew I had texted her. Didn’t like that one fucking bit, either, by the sound of it. “I was checking on her.”
“Go fucking sit your ass down,” he snarled, then turned to order a coffee.
I wanted to walk right out of the casino just to prove I could. But I’d seen this motherfucker kill people, and I wasn’t about to be next on his hit list. When it came to morals, he had none. He killed when it suited him. Damn him, why was he messing with Nan? I’d had it under control.
Because he was the mean son of a bitch that he was, and I was positive he was carrying a concealed gun, I sat down like I was told, even if it made me feel like a complete pussy to do it. This was part of the job Captain hadn’t prepared me for: dealing with commands. I didn’t like it much. Not at all, really.
Cope stalked over to me, one of his killer looks on his face. He was supremely pissed at me. I didn’t defend myself or speak. I just waited for him to say something.
He took his time about it, putting his coffee down and scanning the surroundings before finally looking at me. “I told you I have her. I’m getting what we need. I’ll send you to DeCarlo and let him put your stubborn ass somewhere else if that’s what needs to be done. I give the orders. You follow them. You don’t make up your own mind.”
“I want to talk to her” was all I said in response to his rant.
He glared at me. “Why?”
Because . . . because I wanted my mark back. I wanted to prove I could do this. I fucking wanted to be the one in her room at night. Not crazy-as-hell Cope. “She trusts me. I can get what we need.”
Cope let out an amused laugh. “She doesn’t trust you. She doesn’t even like you anymore. But she trusts me.”
How the hell could she trust him? He’d just “met” her. He was reading Nan all wrong. “You’re a rebound for her. I hurt her, and she’s using you. She doesn’t trust you. It’s me she needs, and it’s me she’ll talk to.”
Cope’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t like what I had just said, but I could tell he hadn’t thought of that.
I liked knowing that I had one up on him. I understood something he hadn’t taken into account. So I kept up. “She just met you. She doesn’t know enough about you to trust you. If she’s fucking you, it’s because she wants to get back at me. Nothing more. Has nothing to do with you. And you won’t have anything to do with her after she leaves here.”
I wanted to believe every word I was saying. I would once I saw her and talked to her.
“I need to see her. If we want to keep this up, I have to fix things with her.”
Cope didn’t reply. I could tell he was thinking about it, and he didn’t like it one bit. That surprised me. I didn’t expect him to fight me so hard on this. To him, she was just a source for answers. Right?