Page 4 of Virtue & Vengeance

“Really?” I asked, turning toward the front desk.

He reached over and picked up a piece of paper from the desktop. “A Mr. Williams from the security department left you a message. Something about our new systems. I’m not sure, but he left his number for you.”

I took the paper from his fingers and read over the scribble.

“Thanks, Amos,” I said as I started to leave.

But just as I turned, my eyes landed on a man talking to one of the other front desk clerks.

Usually, guests didn’t catch my attention, but this man did. He wasn’t one of our typical clientele, and he stood out like a thorn. From his dirty, tattered clothes and the fact that he looked like he hadn’t bathed probably in weeks. He was balding, and when he smiled at the receptionist, he was missing teeth.

He gave me an awful feeling in my gut, and I was famous for following my gut feelings when I was on the streets. It was one of the main reasons I’d survived growing up.

He chatted a bit before pulling away from the counter and starting toward the exit. I watched as his eyes shifted around the room as if he were checking to see if anybody had taken notice of him, but he overlooked me and the way I was watching him like a hawk.

As he walked through the door, his eyes flittered around the room one last time, but this time was different. It was like he was looking for something or someone, nervous energy radiating from him.

Then he was gone.

I walked over to the clerk he was speaking to. A small girl I hadn’t gotten to know. Kennedy had hired her, and she was part-time, which meant I rarely saw her. I didn’t even know her name, which was rare for me. I made it a point to get to know my employees.

“Can I help you, Mr. Hale?” she asked when I approached the counter.

“That man you were just talking to … what did he want?”

“Oh. He was looking for Eden Vaughn, sir. She’s a waitress in the casino bar.” She rattled on as if she were giving me new information. “But I told him it was her day off.”

Eden?

Why was someone like that looking for my Eden?

He looked shady—like someone Eden should never be around—like someone who could be dangerous for her to be around.

“If he comes back, you be sure to tell him Eden Vaughn no longer works at Empire Sevens. You understand?” I snapped, making the little clerk jump.

“Yes, Mr. Hale. I understand.” She nodded vigorously.

I turned on my heels, ready to get to my office and away from the bullshit memories of Eden and the sounds she made when she came, but the urge to find out more about the shady fuck looking for her was too powerful.

Instead of going to my office, I started toward the exit of Empire.

“Car,” I said to Jerome as I passed him.

Stepping into the Vegas heat, I turned my head from right to left, hoping to see one more glimpse of the strange man. People walked the strip, laughter and conversation reached my ears.

There was no way I would find this fucker in so much chaos. At least that was what I thought as I shook my head and turned around.

That’s when I saw him again.

He was climbing into a rusted, old car. The back bumper was barely hanging on, the windshield was cracked, and the passenger’s side view mirror was missing. He cranked it, the loud engine whining with regret, and black smoke sifted from its muffler.

It was a piece of shit.

It reminded me of Eden’s piece of shit car.

Just then, the valet pulled up with my car, and the engine of my Aston Martin One-77 purred, blocking out the screaming sounds of his rust bucket.

I followed the old car across town, watching from behind him as he held a cell to his ear and narrowly missed hitting a family as they crossed the road.

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