Chapter Sixteen

Troy

The morning of the audition, Joslyn seems lost in her own internal preparations. When she steps from her bedroom, she looks radiant in a fitted tracksuit, her face free of makeup, and her wild curls swept into a high bun.

Part of me jumps for joy over Joslyn’s news, that she has something to focus on other than Dante Giovanetti and her father, but the other just wants her to hunker down and keep herself out of the line of fire. As for the American Ninja Warrior tryouts, I know she’ll kick major ass. But then what? How long am I supposed to keep protecting Nixon and Reagan as they bring their diabolical plan to fruition? It doesn’t feel good concealing the truth from the woman I’m falling for…especially because I know that she’s started to catch on.

“They sent me this.” Joslyn plucks at the fabric of her suit. A frown stretches across her face. “Think they’re going to make me give it back when I fail?”

Her self-deprecation tugs at my gut. This isn’t the Joslyn I’ve come to know. I want her to grab her opportunities with both hands and kick the shit out of them.

“Come on. You can’t talk like that – it’s self-defeating. You’re going to kill it.”

I expect Joslyn to argue with me, but instead, she nods slowly as she climbs into the passenger seat.

“Yeah,” she says after a long pause. “You’re right. I’m going to grab the course by its scrawny ass and take it down.”

“Besides.” I reach over and squeeze Joslyn’s thigh. “It makes your ass look amazing – you’d better not give it back. I plan on taking it off later. With my teeth.”

Joslyn grins, and my heart gives a little pitter patter. “Thanks.” She tosses her head. “I needed that.”

We’re silent as I drive to the Orleans arena where the competition is being held. The line of cars filled with people waiting to get inside winds around the block, and I know by the way Joslyn keeps drumming her fingers on the door handle that her nerves are taking over. As we finally pull into the parking lot and find a space, I reach over and put my hand on Joslyn’s shoulder.

“Hey,” I say in a low voice. “You got this, okay? You’re going to finish, and finish fast – you’re the best. If Nixon says it, it’s fucking true. He’s never wrong.”

“Thanks.” She gives me that little smile that lights up my fucking world like a rocket blast. She licks her lips, and I can tell her mind is troubled as we get out of the car and approach the arena. I hold her close to me as we walk, saying without words how much I believe in her.

“This is huge,” I say, looking up. “I had no idea American Ninja Warrior had turned into a revolution.”

“The courses are really intense.” We walk past another couple, both clad in American Ninja Warrior tracksuits, and Joslyn puffs out her chest. “But I can do it. I know I can.”

“That’s my girl.” I give her a caress to her supple backside. “You got this shit. Make me proud.”

We walk inside, and Joslyn points me to the area where all spectators sit before she goes off to finish registration. The stands brim with fans and supporters, and I have to scramble to find an empty seat. By the time I sit down among a group of college kids, the television cameras roll into place.

One of the kids looks at me and snorts. “Tough guy, you got the wrong spot. Registration’s over that way.” He turns away, and I hear him whisper to a friend. “God, these meatheads really are stupid.”

“I’m not competing,” I say, bristling at the insult.

The kid turns back around and gives me a strange look. “Why the hell not? You look just as big as those guys down there.” He points to the American Ninja Warrior hopefuls, clustered around a man giving them orders. “You could kick their asses, man!”

“Nah. This ain’t my jam. I’m in security.”

The kid squints. “So, what the fuck are you doing here, then? Checking out the girls?” He smirks and leans in closer. “Those girls are smoking hot, man.” He points to Joslyn, giving me a triumphant look. “I bet I could get her number.”

I snort and lean closer to him, growling, “No fucking way. That’s my girlfriend.”

The kid’s jaw drops, and he bursts out laughing. “Oh my god, you’re here with her?”

“Nothing funny about that,” I growl. “She’s the best there is at this shit. Even has a professional grade course in her yard.”

“Are you kidding? It’s hysterical,” the kid says. “Big boy here watching his tiny little girlfriend run the gauntlet.”

“Shut up,” I mutter, turning my attention back to Joslyn.

I fist my hands to keep from reaching out and grabbing the little shit by the back of his scrawny neck so I can shake his ass senseless. She’s out of her tracksuit now and wearing a shiny, bright green sports bra and a little tennis skirt made from the same material. I chuckle to myself, knowing that she’d never have picked something like that herself. The effect is amazing, though – she looks fierce and sexy and strong, and I feel a burst of pride for her as I watch her bounce from one foot to the other.

When the competition begins, I realize this is much more intense than I thought. Some of the obstacles look deceptively easy, like an inverted climbing wall over a huge pool of water, but three guys in a row strike out. As the group of hopefuls grows thinner, I know Joslyn must be incredibly anxious. Not one person’s finished, even the men.

The whistle sounds and Joslyn bounds onto the course. She leaps over the water trap with ease, and even from my nosebleed seat, I can see the muscles in her jaw twitching as she grips the inverted climbing wall and hauls herself up. The crowd gasps, and after a moment, begins to cheer.

“Holy shit, dude, your girl is tough,” the kid next to me whispers. “A total badass.”

Ignoring him, I lean closer and squint as Joslyn races across four suspended red balls, swinging back and forth like a giant perpetual motion toy. The same ones I fucked her senseless on in her backyard. If she fails on those, I’ll never look at them the same way again. She almost falters for a second but manages to steady herself and leap free. Yes! In what feels like no time at all, she’s standing in front of the wall, and the crowd begins to chant, “Beat that wall.”

And she does. On the first try, her fingertips grip the edge of the wall, and every muscle in her back and arms strain as she pulls herself to the top. I’m on my feet, cheering and whistling, as she stands tall at the top.

“Joslyn Monroe!” the announcer yells and everyone cheers even louder. “Finishing in a record time for women competitors this season!”

I push my way through the crowd and find her, where she stands with a few other competitors – including one of the guys who fell into the first trap. Sweat runs down her gorgeous face, but she looks radiant.

In fact, she’s never looked better to me than in this moment.

A moment of complete triumph.

“I had a pretty clean run,” she says, wiping her brow free of sweat. “I was the only woman to reach the Warped Wall. The rest of them all dropped out.”

“I never had a doubt. By the way, none of the men made it past the Warped Wall. I bow down.”

One of the guys waiting with Joslyn turns to me with a sneer. “So, when are you going?”

“I’m not.”

“Pussy,” the guy says. “A huge guy like you and you’re not even gonna try? What, you afraid to fail? Your little girlfriend here did it, no problem! I bet she needs a real man in her life. Maybe I should give her my number.”

“Yeah, maybe you should.” I want to punch the smug smile off his beefy face. “But I bet she needs a man who doesn’t fuck up on the first obstacle.”

The guy turns red in the face and balls his hands into his fists, but Joslyn takes my hand.

“Come on, funny guy. Let’s go.”

As soon as we’re outside, we both burst out laughing. Joslyn puts her track jacket around her shoulders and eagerly takes the bottle of water I hand over.

“I think I did okay,” she says, shaking her head. “But I won’t find out until next week. The whole thing is timed – so they have to go through a lot more people before they can make any decisions. All the finishers are ranked by time.”

“You were great. Impressive. After all, you were the only person to finish the whole course, Wailing Wall and all.”

Joslyn giggles. “Warped Wall. And way to take that guy’s balls out of his nut sack and stuff them in his mouth. Now come on, I’m dying for a shower and some red meat. Let’s get out of here.”

After I drop Joslyn off at home and make sure her security system is engaged, I know I have to talk to Nixon. It’s the middle of the day, and I’m sure he’s busy, but he needs to hear what I know. As soon as I get to the Armónico, I head to his office and knock. Stepping inside, I sit down in front of Nixon’s desk.

“I need to talk to you. About the Mona Lisa.”

Nixon looks up and frowns. “Why? What’s going on – I told you last week, Reagan and I are closing in. It’s almost a done deal.”

“I know. But I think Dante’s going to try to make trouble. He’s blackmailing the Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, and I don’t think he’s going to stop there. We need to do something.”

“Troy, I’m doing all I can right now.”

“Yeah, but I have it on good authority that Dante’s trying to throw the vote. The chairman gets the final say, and no one knows if he’s still going to be on the commission at the time of the Mona Lisa vote – he’s sixty-five years old, and the other guys want him out so they can have their own shot at the job.”

“Fine,” Nixon says. “If you’re that worried, we’ll beef up security here.”

“That’s what I was thinking. It might be a good time for me to have my own team, you know, really step up as Vice President of Security.”

Nixon looks up and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but no. I told you, Troy, I need to see some real leadership from you before I give you a higher position. This isn’t kid stuff. I need things done right. One false move and Dante wins.”

His reply stings, and even though I know I shouldn’t take it personally, I can’t help it.

“Anything else? I’m really busy today, Troy. If that’s everything, I need to get back to this paperwork. Reagan wants me to review it before I leave.”

I feel low when I leave Nixon’s office, but I know I shouldn’t feel defeated. There has to be something I can do – anything to help Nixon, keep Joslyn safe, and push myself up to VP of Security all at once.

Frowning, I walk into a quiet hallway and pull out my phone. There aren’t many people I can tell. Jack would go straight to Nixon, of course, and it’s not like the other security guys are my best buddies. We get along, but they’re employees. Finally, something clicks, and I remember an old friend from high school. He’s Nixon’s friend too. But more importantly, he’s Dante’s enemy. And hate takes priority over love in this dark situation. I press ‘call’ and wait, holding the phone to my ear as it begins to ring.

“Hello?” A deep voice floats over the phone’s speakers.

“Hey, man, it’s Troy. How you been?”

Hawk laughs, a deep rumble in my ear. It’s good to hear his voice. He comes from a past almost as bleak as my own. “Great, great. Not a lot going on right now. Just working from my ebony lair, you know how that is.”

“Actually, I really wish I did know. I don’t have a lair. Yet.”

“It ain’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Hawk says, then silence stretches out as he exhales a long breath. “You know I barely even left the house last week? Not even for a coffee run. Anything I need, my housekeeper brings it. Pathetic, I know.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. At only thirty years old, Hawk is the pre-eminent security expert in Vegas. And ‘working from home’ for Hawk means working from the high-tech basement of a mansion in Vegas’s most exclusive gated community.

“Must be rough,” I quip.

“Yeah, so, what’s been up with you?”

“Not much,” I lie. “Look, if I told you that I needed your help with something – and that something has to stay confidential for now – what would you say?”

“I’d say, fuck yeah. I’m telling you, my life is so boring now that getting a pizza and a twelve-pack on the weekends seems exciting. Or at least calling übereats to bring me said pizza and beer,” Hawk says with a touch of sarcasm.

“Well, this is definitely going to lean on the side of exciting.”

“Then I’m in. What’s the situation?”

“I can’t tell you over the phone,” I say, glancing down at my watch. “I need you to meet me at the Greek diner on the corner, right by the Armónico.”

“Secretive,” Hawk says. “I can dig that. Besides, anything that gets me out of the house is good nowadays. I’ll be there.”

“Oh, then you’re going to be all over this. Just trust me.”