Even though she wanted to stay strong, she dropped her gaze and fished out the folded piece of paper she’d tucked in the back of her skirt. It was slightly wrinkled as she handed it to him. “I’m sorry that I can’t give you two weeks’ notice and if you won’t give me a reference I completely understand. I hope that you will as I’ve enjoyed working here, but—”
“I’m not accepting your resignation,” he said calmly, his bluntness taking her by surprise. She forced herself to meet his gaze again. “Is this about you and Jay? Are you guys having problems? Whatever this is about, we’ll work it out. Do you want a raise? Hell, you deserve one so consider it done effective tomorrow.”
She shook her head, taken aback by the offer. “I…” For a brief moment she thought of telling him that her thieving ex-boyfriend wanted her to steal from him. If she didn’t work here anymore, the bastard couldn’t blackmail her into anything. Which meant she’d become useless to Kevin and he’d leave her alone. She knew how that rat Kevin operated. But if she stayed on as Wyatt’s assistant, she’d always be a target for Kevin. He would keep coming at her until someone in her life got hurt. Even if she paid him back all ‘his’ money—which she planned to scrounge together in the next couple days—he’d never leave her alone and she refused to steal from the people she’d come to care for. Even if it meant leaving the man she loved and starting over somewhere new, she had to do it. She couldn’t drag good people into her mess, especially not if Kevin got Carlo De Luca involved. That had absolute nightmare written all over it. “This has nothing to do with Jay. I’m leaving for personal reasons.”
Wyatt set the resignation letter on the desk and eyed her carefully, assessing her. As if he could read her mind. “Are you in trouble? Is this about money?” Before she could answer, he rounded the desk and pulled out a leather pouch from his top right hand drawer where she knew he kept his petty cash.
He pulled out a wad of bills and held it out. “There’s three thousand dollars here, but I can get more quickly. All I’ve gotta do is go downstairs. What’s going on?”
She stared at the money and quickly computed what she needed to do to get the rest of the cash for her ex. Most of her money was tied up in investments and her retirement fund, but she had about thirty-five thousand in savings. She could sell her car, which should get her another five thousand—but she needed it. Selling it wouldn’t be smart. Still, she had some nice jewelry that might net her another five thousand. If she sold her car and took Wyatt’s three she’d only have two to go… But she simply couldn’t take it. No, she could borrow the last bit from an old acquaintance. The interest would be high but she wouldn’t be taking from someone like Wyatt. He was a good boss and a good man. Just…no. She couldn’t do it.
Stepping back, she put some distance between them before the temptation grew to be too much. She’d got herself into this mess, she’d get herself out. “Thank you, but no. I really am sorry about this. I’ll get my things later.”
“I’m not accepting this resignation.” As if to prove it, he ripped the paper into bits. “Deal with whatever you need to, but you still have a place here. Always.”
Her throat tightened as tears choked her, making it impossible to speak. Horrified that she was about to break down and confess everything, she turned and fled the office, batting away the wetness on her cheeks. She had some belongings in her office that she’d need to get, but couldn’t do it now. She’d send for everything later. Deep down she worried about her decision, but if she told Wyatt and Jay everything she knew exactly what would happen.
They’d attempt to protect her and she couldn’t let that happen. Because men like Kevin and De Luca fought dirty and violently. Jay and Wyatt might be trained, but they were good men who walked on the right side of the law. She couldn’t make Jay a walking target because of her. The thought of him or anyone else she cared about getting caught in the crossfire because of her stupid youthful mistakes clawed at her. She simply couldn’t have that hanging over her head. If anything happened to Jay it would destroy her. The only thing that semi eased her conscience was the fact that she would call him as soon as she’d made it safely out of town. She didn’t want him to worry, but a little worry was better than him ending up dead. And if he didn’t know where she was, he was useless to Kevin too.
* * * * *
As Ellie raced from his office, Wyatt immediately dialed Jay. When his friend and personal bodyguard didn’t answer, he cursed. Of course he wasn’t going to pick up. Jay was conducting interviews all morning. Whatever was going on with Ellie, Wyatt was going to get to the bottom of it. He couldn’t believe that Jay would let Ellie just walk in here and blindside him like this. The man was the head of his personal security, but they were also friends. Which meant Ellie hadn’t told Jay she was quitting either.
Wyatt had seen the way she watched the cash he’d tried to give her. Something had her running scared and there was no way in hell he was letting her take care of it herself. He didn’t care for many people, but she was one of the few. She put up with his sometimes tyrannical attitude, as his wife Iris liked to call it, and was one of the hardest workers he’d ever had. Not to mention she’d made Jay happier than Wyatt had ever thought possible.
And Jay was more than just a friend or employee. The man was family. By extension, so was Ellie.
As he grabbed his jacket from behind his chair, he dialed Nicholas Brannon, another one of his personal security members who also worked at the Serafina when Wyatt was in town—which lately was more and more often. Normally he’d call Iris or Hayden, but he knew they were doing security drills with the newest employees.
“Hey boss,” Brannon answered on the first ring.
“Where are you?” There wasn’t time to bother with niceties.
“By one of the east exits near the blackjack tables. Hayden saw some suspicious activities on one of the live feeds and told me—”
“Whatever it is, someone else can take care of it. Head to the west side elevators near the marble fountain with the mermaid sculpture. Ellie should be exiting very soon. I want you to tail her. Grab one of the unused company vehicles from valet if you can’t get to yours.”
“On my way… Is this Jay’s Ellie we’re talking about?” he asked, even as Wyatt heard him moving into action as he likely ran toward the elevators.
“Yeah. Stay unseen, but whatever you do, do not lose her. And keep her safe.”
Brannon snorted as if that was a given. “No problem. How often should I check in?”
“Once you’re on the road call me and we’ll leave the line open. I’ve gotta make a couple other calls first.” He had to get hold of Jay, but he wasn’t telling Brannon that.
“All right, I’ll make sure she’s okay.”
“Thanks.” Wyatt was glad the other man didn’t question him. Not that he’d expected Brannon to.
Just like Wyatt, the man was also a former Marine. He’d been Force Recon and had spent a lot of time behind enemy lines. He was good at getting into places unseen. If anyone could tail Ellie without her knowledge, it was Brannon. Because Ellie was sharp and unlike most people, she would notice someone following her. She might not be physically tough or trained like Iris, but the woman was a fighter and very aware of her surroundings at all times. Something he’d noticed about her the first day they’d met. It was one of the reasons he’d hired her. She’d been qualified, sure, but she’d also been completely untried in the real world. Still, she’d been a lot more than a pretty face and he’d recognized something in her he saw in himself. A hunger to succeed. He knew enough about her past that he understood why. He did detailed background checks on everyone who worked with him.
Once he reached one of his private elevators, he put in his master key card and headed to one of the employee parking lots where he could choose from a multitude of company vehicles. He wasn’t driving his own SUV right now in case Ellie noticed him.
Brannon called him ten minutes later and gave him a general location.
“She just turned on Tropicana. If she hits 515, I might lose her.”
Wyatt gritted his teeth and took a sharp turn at the next intersection. He’d been trying Jay, but the man still wasn’t answering. Probably because he’d turned his phone to silent. “If you want to keep your job, you won’t lose her.” He knew he was being irrational because the truth was if Ellie got on the so-called Spaghetti Bowl, the aptly named Las Vegas freeway, it would be damn hard to stay with her.
“Damn, boss,” Brannon muttered.
Wyatt ignored the other man as he tried to push down the concern rising inside him. “Where are you now?”
“Hold on…she’s turning.” When Brannon rattled off a familiar street, Wyatt frowned.
There was nothing down there but pawn stores, gun shops and strip clubs. Before he could ask what she was doing, Brannon said, “She’s pulling into the parking lot of Ultimate Pawn. I’m going to stop next door at The Gold Mine Pawn.”
“All right, see you in a couple minutes.” After they disconnected he made the decision and called Iris. The more he thought about Ellie’s behavior, the more he realized something was truly off and he was going to use all his resources to help her.
His wife, who was also the head of security at the Serafina answered on the second ring. “Hey, babe.” He could hear the steady thrum of voices in the background, telling him she was in the security room.
“Hey, have you or Hayden heard from Jay this morning?”
“I talked to him a couple hours ago before he started all those interviews.” Her tone went from relaxed to battle-mode in a second. “He was in here about twenty minutes ago telling me he was taking a break in between interviewees. He had to run home for something. What’s wrong?”
“Ellie just quit and now she’s pulling into a pawn shop.”
“What… hold on.” Seconds later, the background noise was eliminated so he knew Iris was in her office out of hearing range of anyone else. He could see his tall, slender, and incredibly fierce wife leaning against the custom made desk she rarely used, frowning. “Jay was going to propose tonight. Hayden told me this morning because he couldn’t keep it a secret any longer. Jay didn’t seem upset when he stopped by, but do you think that’s why she quit?”
“No.” His answer was instant. “I think she’s scared of something. Or needs money for something.”