“Okay, if anything changes and you see this woman, please let us know. We’d love to work with you on it. You have my direct line now. I wish Red Stone all the best. Say hello to John for me. I’ll be down there for a conference in the next few months.”
“I will, and thanks for your time.” That conversation doubly confirmed why I needed to get Jaz out of cheating. The information I now had would be used as leverage and I planned to take it to her.
I got off the phone and returned to the security room where the others were.
Marty was still present and a few of the other security guards I had barely worked with were there.
I stalked out, clambered down the stairs to find Jaz and have a tough conversation with her.
A couple of patrons messed up my clear line to Jaz and complained about the air conditioning. I referred them to maintenance, where we discovered the air was set at the same temperature that it always was in the casino.
“Thanks for nothing, we are sweating like fools in here,” a disgruntled man in excess of 200 pounds complained. He pulled out a cloth and wiped his brow.
Yeah, that extra 60 or 70 pounds he was carrying around might have been the real culprit to the overheating, but I didn’t say anything.
“Sorry, the thermostat has to stay as is to maintain the equilibrium of the casino.” I saw Jaz off in the distance scooting to a blackjack table. The fire in my belly picked up as I moved away from the annoying patron and walked towards Jaz. Nothing would stop me from getting to her. To me, it was a race against time, as I had no idea if Marshall would take it further and pass the information to the Road Warriors. All it would take would be a USB transfer and a quick email.
Jaz was in the midst of a game and I wanted to stay respectful of that. We had this mental telepathy together; we each knew when the other was in the vicinity right away.
Her icy blue eyes sought out mine and she produced a weak smile.
I grinned at her. My heart was exploding. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn and ignored her. I wanted things to be right between us.
After the game, she stepped back from the table.
“Jaz.” I had so much to say to her, yet the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
“Hi, Ink. Haven’t been around? I’ve missed you stalking me,” she said blandly.
I ignored her sarcastic mouth as I looked for clues in her eyes about us, but it seemed she was back to her sarcastic self. “How long are you going to stay?”
“Why do you wanna know? I’m free to play here as long as I want.”
She was acting extra cranky with me so it made me think she was upset about something. I wanted to catch her to see it with my own eyes. I knew what the footage showed, but some part of denial existed inside of me that wanted more from her. In a strange way, I worried for her. If she disappeared overnight, I wouldn’t have a chance to tell her that her previous casino belonged to a violent MC. She needed to know that.
“I would miss you if you left. You ran. I didn’t, so why are you angry at me?” I expressed my exasperation to her.
The statement seemed to shock her.
My sneaking suspicion was that she did what she had to do, but I wanted to know why. Had to know why. I could tell from the warmth of her ocean blue eyes when I told her I wasn’t the one running… she had feelings for me too.
“I don’t know why I ran. I just run sometimes… self preservation. I guess.” She lowered her eyes as she explained. “Sorry I put you in that position.” Her voice carried shame at our moment of hot passion.
It wasn’t the moment I regretted, it had been the timing. My plan to be hard-nosed and strike her down seemed to be disintegrating in front of my eyes. “I’m not one bit sorry. Not at all. I’m sorry that guy came out with the garbage. His timing couldn’t have been worse.” My voice dropped an octave.
This got a smile out of her.
I grabbed her hand, I didn’t care who was watching. “Don’t leave,” I said softly.
“Unfinished business,” she said as she looked up at me through her lashes.
“Exactly, and I’m going to hold you to finishing it.” I meant it, I wanted her in my bed, but we had to clear up this cheating issue.
Jaz rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m going to play roulette, one last game. You have my number. You could have called me.”
Pain reflected in her voice and I knew then she was into me as I was into her. She then turned and walked away.
I wasn’t giving up on her, but now she was possibly on a lethal MC’s hitlist.