She poised to strike him with her power if she detected the slightest danger, ready to change his mind about getting close to Holly. Just because a guy had asked Holly on a date didn’t mean he was from the Res, but the timing was suspicious. For the past few days, the mind readers on the casino floor had whispered that they’d sensed people from the Res passing through, plotting to take over the casino.
He’d better not be one of them.
“Kaylee Michaels,” she introduced herself over the electronic music of the slot machines, looking hard into his brown eyes.
“Rob Price.” With no guile in his voice, he wrapped his hand around hers.
At the same time, Holly was effusing, “This is Kaylee, my roommate and the head of security at the casino. See, Rob, I told you we might find her on the floor somewhere. And Kaylee, this is Rob. He asked me out and he still wants to go, even after I told him my roommate is like the Secret Service.”
“Why is that?” Rob asked Kaylee. “Have you had security problems?”
“Well . . .” Kaylee puzzled over the strange question.
“You can tell Rob,” Holly said. “He’s a cop.”
“Oh, really?” Kaylee asked suspiciously, dropping his hand.
Rob drew his wallet out of his back pocket—slowly, as if he understood other cops and people in security didn’t like sharp movements, especially out of pockets—and showed her his Clark County Sheriff’s ID. She’d seen a lot of those cards in the year she’d been in charge at the casino. It looked authentic.
The issue date was recent. “Worked there long?” she asked, straightening.
“Just started. I went to police academy in Chicago,” he said with a flat Midwestern accent to back up his claim. “I got recruited to come here.”
She tried not to let her shoulders sag visibly with relief. If he’d arrived in town from Chicago in the past few weeks, he couldn’t have been sent here by the Res to infiltrate the casino and steal Holly away. Still, Kaylee would be researching him thoroughly as soon as she got back to her office. “Well, Holly’s one of our biggest stars—”
“For God’s sake,” Holly interrupted. “I stand onstage and point to stuff Dad does. It’s not like I personally pull a rabbit out of my hat and shiz.” She turned to Rob. “Kaylee has this thing about stalkers. I’ve told her that if she’s so concerned about me attracting the wrong kind of man, the casino might consider taking down the billboard over Interstate 15.”
Holly had a point, but the casino needed the business Holly’s billboard brought in—not just to line Mr. Diamond’s pockets, but to keep the operation running that protected all of them. Kaylee glanced at Rob to gauge his reaction. If he started salivating and his jaw dropped to the floor at the mention of Holly’s provocative photo, she was going to ixnay this ateday.
“I see why you’re concerned,” Rob told Holly, “but I’ll bet that billboard is good advertisement for the casino.” He raised his brows at Kaylee in question.
“Ugh, you act like that billboard is why you came here!” Holly gave Rob a playful shove. “Of all the casinos in all the towns in all the world, he walks into mine.”
“If that were true, I would never admit it now.” Rob grinned down at Holly.
She smiled moonily up at him, then turned back to Kaylee. “Listen, one of my friends is throwing a killer party after graduation, and Rob has to work. Come with? Pleeeease? Come on, you hardly ever go out.”
Kaylee shook her head no. She wanted to say yes but couldn’t. She was a drag, so preoccupied with her job that other people her age thought she was a snob. There was no point in going. Even if she finally met a guy (gasp), nothing could come of it. She’d dedicated her life to the casino. She had room for nothing else.
Instead, she would send a security team to watch over the party without Holly knowing and make sure Holly stayed safe. Kaylee didn’t want to ruin Holly’s good time. In fact, when Kaylee shook her head and Holly’s face fell, Kaylee found herself asking, “You have to buy new shoes for the party, though, right?” Sometimes she needed time with ebullient Holly to make herself feel human vicariously.
“I like how you think.” Holly beamed at Rob. “Indulge us for just another second? Planning. Shoes.” When Rob nodded, she drew her cell phone from her purse.
Kaylee put down the bag she’d been carrying, found her own cell phone in her suit pocket, and thumbed through her schedule. “Forum Shops tomorrow at four?” She would need to rearrange a security meeting, but Holly was busy in her own way. She had final exams and then her family’s nightly show. Holly was worth rescheduling for.
“Perfect.” Holly nodded toward the bag. “Whatcha got there?”
“Take-out Thai, Mr. Diamond’s favorite. Working dinner.”
Holly closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of pad Thai. “My mom brought me a salad from home. Because I have been extra good, she shaved some carrots on top. Party on. I wish I had a working dinner with Mr. Diamond.”
“No, you don’t,” Kaylee said, faking her smile this time. Holly’s mother watched Holly’s diet for a very good reason. And Kaylee and Mr. Diamond were meeting alone to discuss Kaylee’s fears about the Res infiltrating the casino. She wanted Holly as far away as possible.
“I’ll feed you when we go out,” Rob chuckled.
“Now you’re just blatantly coming on to me,” Holly teased him.
Kaylee leaned into Holly’s good-bye hug, then watched her bop away with Rob in tow, toward the lush theater where she would perform with her parents in a few hours. Holly had confided to Kaylee that she worried a lot about her mental illness, and Kaylee yearned to tell her the truth. But at the moment, Kaylee could have sworn there was nothing heavier on Holly’s mind than food, shoes, a party, and her hot date with Rob.
Kaylee hoped it stayed that way.
Rounding the corner, she stepped onto an employee elevator and pressed the button for the fortieth floor. The doors slid shut, closing her inside alone with the poster of Mr. Diamond. She jumped when she saw her reflection in the protective plastic, her blurry image superimposed over his clear one, as if she aimed to take over the casino.
That wasn’t what she wanted to do. She was glad Mr. Diamond could read her mind so he would know her intentions. She only questioned his policy of using Mentafixol to suppress the powers of the very people who were potentially the casino’s strongest allies.