My life had been spent protecting people; my loved ones and complete strangers included. It was embedded in my DNA. My grandfather was an officer of the law, as was my father. I was the only one who moved up from the police force to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Never did the thought cross my mind that I would find the woman I wanted to spend my life with at Quantico. But lo and behold, fate had mapped that plan out when it put Blair Lawson in my path.

I tried my damndest to keep her at arm’s length. Knowing that once training was over the chance we’d end up at the same field location was close to none. But there was fate again, rearing its head. Not only did we end up landing at the same field office, she became my partner exactly a year after I joined the Las Vegas office.

We were a force to be reckoned with. Only a couple ops we were on had gone unsolved, which was quite a record for newbies like ourselves. As the days turned into years, our relationship became romantic and I knew I was completely fucked. Gribbins laughed in my face the day I asked for a new partner, he’d known all along the thin line we were walking on, but he found it best to keep us together. He knew I’d go above and beyond to keep her safe, as she would I, and even told me that if we dropped the bomb even just slightly he’d send one of us packing. That kept me on my toes.

Blair knew he was aware of our relationship, but she didn’t know I’d requested for us to be separated. Was I trying to run from my feelings? Not at all. I was merely trying to save both of our careers in case we didn’t mix. In case fate was playing an evil joke of sexual attraction and nothing more. But no matter how hard I tried, it seemed as if we were being catapulted toward one another at every turn.

I had more than Blair’s six. I had her heart and soul and would do anything in my power to assure that she would survive any situation, even if it meant losing my own life. You can imagine the feeling of failure beating down on me at the thought of never being able to see her smile, hear her laugh, or hold her hand again. Knowing I was the person who failed her…that was a large pill to swallow.

“Gavin, are you listening, son?” Gribbins' firm tone shook my thoughts away.

The fact that he’d used my first name let me know he was worried about my wellbeing. “Yeah…” I glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror watching me in the backseat.

“Just because another body turned up doesn’t mean it’s her.”

I rubbed my hands together and turned my attention to the city disappearing as we drove down the highway toward an abandoned area where local PD had found another victim. Same M.O.: a single gunshot wound to the head. As soon as the call came through Gribbins knew we had to make the drive to the crime scene. The first we’d been onsite since the murders began.

The SUV wobbled as Gribbins turned onto a gravel road that wrapped around an old brick warehouse. Part had caved in from years of sitting vacant. Floodlights came into view, illuminating about a dozen police cruisers. We came to a stop just outside the roped-off perimeter and I quickly exited the vehicle.

“Gavin!” Gribbins called after me but I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t stop.

The gravel crunched beneath my boots as I ran through the crowd of officers. I knew I looked far from professional, but I didn’t give two shits. I had to know whether or not it was Blair. My eyes locked on the thin white sheet covering the body and I stopped dead in my tracks.

My chest ached and my breathing was heavy as I knelt down, squeezing my eyes shut. If you hear me up there, please let Blair be alive. I know it’s selfish of me, because somebody’s loved one is beneath that sheet, just please…I took the corner of the sheet in my hand and let out a steady breath.

“You want me to do that?” Gribbins voice came from behind me.

I didn’t acknowledge him as I lifted the sheet. My heart stopped and tears pooled in my eyes. My head dropped against my bicep as I willed back the emotions overtaking me. Gribbins clasped a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“There’s a lot to do,” his voice was low.

The sheet slipped from my hand and I stood, staring off across the vacant lot. Blair was alive, and as bad as it sounded, I thought the news would change the tone in my head. But it hadn’t. My partner—the love of my life, was still alive, but for how long I didn’t know.

“Where do we start?” Gribbins stepped beside me.

My eyes focused on the sun peeking through the darkness as it brought the dawn of a new day with it. A new day that had to give me some answers.

“That fucking casino.”

* * *

“We can’t just barge into Roulette, guns blazing.” Gribbins' pointed look from behind his desk used to intimidate me, but with Blair’s fate hanging in the balance I didn’t care who I pissed off so long as I got her back.

I slammed my hands down on his desk and lifted to my feet. “What the fuck are we supposed to do? Sit back and hope for something to fall from the sky?”

“First,” Gribbins leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, “you need to calm the hell down before I pull you from this.”

“The hell you will.”

“I will and I can.” Gribbins stood. “Now have a seat and let’s talk through what we know and map out a plan.” He pointed to the chair I so desperately wanted to launch across the room instead of sitting in. But I did as he asked, I sat back down.

“Okay,” he removed his suit jacket and hung it on the back of his chair before taking a seat, “Go back to the last thing you remember.”

I fisted my hair and growled, “We’ve been over this.”

“And we’ll go over it again.” His voice boomed.

I knew I was teetering on a ledge with Gribbins, but I couldn’t get my emotions under control. We were sitting in his fucking office going over what had happened instead of having our boots on the ground searching for any piece of evidence that could lead us to Blair’s whereabouts.

“Now clear your head, take a deep breath, and think back to the last thing you remember.”

My neck cracked as I rolled it from side to side. I squared my feet and closed my eyes, trying to calm my thoughts in hopes that something…anything that could help would come to mind.

Local PD had found me passed out cold on a bench just outside of the strip. The suit I’d worn to the party was ripped and filthy. My memory was as blurry as my bloodshot eyes were when I awoke in the hospital later that night. One week had passed and very little from that night had crept back into my mind. Seven full days of exhaustion and the stigma of not remembering a fucking thing was weighing me down, it wasn’t pretty.

Loud music filled my head as a woman walked into the room. Flashes of the woman tying my hands to the chair behind my back, and Blair nervously asking me what was going on played behind my eyelids. I tried to focus on the conversation Blair and the woman seemed to be having, but the music was so loud.

“What’s your name?” Blair’s voice was barely audible above the music as she coughed.

“Oh, my darling, do you need a drink?”

“Yes, please.”

The topless woman came back with a glass of what looked like champagne. I leaned forward in an attempt to grab her attention, but she went directly to Blair and pushed the glass against her lips.

“Drink up, it won’t bite.”

“Now,” the woman paused, “you can call me Lexie.”

“Lexie,” her name instantly fell from my lips.

My eyes shot open and connected with Gribbins. He quickly sat up in his chair and leaned his elbows against his desk.

“There was a dancer who came into the room where I was last with Blair. I’m almost positive her name was Lexie.” Gribbins stood and retrieved his suit jacket. “What are you doing?”

“Heading to the casino to see if we can track down this Lexie person.” He slipped his arms into his jacket. “You coming?”

“You know I am.” I pushed up from the chair and followed him out the door, a small smile trying to make an appearance on my face from the first break we’d had in the search for Blair.

I’m coming for you, baby.

The drive to the casino was a silent one. My knee was bouncing from the nerves swimming through my veins as the building came into view. Gribbins pulled into the VIP area and flashed his badge as we exited the vehicle. The valet didn’t argue when we left the jet-black SUV sitting at the curb without handing over the keys for them to move it.

“So, what’s the plan?” I slipped my hands into the pockets of my slacks as the elevator ascended.

“We’re going straight to the top.” A hint of a smile appeared on his face.

“The owner?”

He nodded.

“How do you know he’ll be here?”

Gribbins narrowed his eyes at the screen that informed you of the floor number. “He runs a private gambling table on the thirty-first floor in the last suite on the right. It’s probably not up and running at the moment, but he’ll be there.”

Security was heavy and waiting as we stepped off the elevator. Gribbins flashed his badge and they didn’t budge. “Care to move, fellas?” His tone was stern as we stepped face-to-face with two of the four men.

“Those badges don’t hold jurisdiction within these walls,” one of the brooding men spoke up.

I took a step closer, leaving mere inches between us and cocked my head to the side, an amused grin spreading across my face. “Oh, but these badges do hold jurisdiction within these walls, since Roulette isn’t owned, or run by Native Americans. Now if you don’t move your asses, we’ll move them for you.”

The men parted to allow Gribbins and me to pass. Two of them followed close behind us as we knocked on the suite's door. A couple seconds passed before a big burly man dressed in all black cracked the door open with what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face.

“What do you want?” His voice was deep and angry.

I smiled widely and held my badge in front of his face; Gribbins held his up as well.

“We’re here to speak with your boss.”

“He’s not expecting anyone,” his large arms crossed over his chest.

“There’s no invitation needed when it comes to us,” Gribbins announced.

“Who’s at the door?” An annoyed man’s voice sounded from inside the room.

The security guard didn’t have time to answer before the man was moving him out of his way to see who we were. With our badges still in the air, the man motioned for us to come inside and shut the door behind us.

“Sorry for the rudeness of my security team. Owning a casino isn’t an easy job, you make enemies even when you aren’t trying.” He poured himself a glass of scotch. “Would either of you like a glass?”

“No thank you,” Gribbins replied.

“Okay, then. My name’s Oscar, by the way.” He sat down on a long burgundy leather couch. “Have a seat and we’ll get down to business.”

The guy was smug. It was obvious that he thought he was running the show, above the law even, but what he didn’t realize was that a missing FBI agent was the cause of our little visit. When one of our own goes missing, shit hits the fan rather quickly.

“We need some information on a dancer that was working one of the private parties the last Saturday Revolver was up and running,” Gribbins dove right in, not wasting time shooting the shit.

“I’m not sure what you’re referring to.” Oscar sat back and lit a cigar he’d pulled from a wooden box on the coffee table.

“If those are Cubans we can haul your ass out of here right now,” I offered.

“Oh, come on now.” He smiled widely and sat it in the ashtray. “Are we going to play this you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours song and dance?”

Neither I nor Gribbins said a word and silence filled the room for what seemed like an eternity. “Her name’s Lexie,” I offered. “We need to ask her some questions, nothing more.”

“If I knew said Lexie, couldn’t that bring charges against me for having adult entertainment without a license?”

Gribbins cleared his throat and rested his forearms against his thighs as he leaned closer to Oscar. “We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen if you cooperate with our investigation.”

“What exactly are you investigating? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“That’s classified.” The anger inside me was growing by the second. “Now cut the shit.”

Oscar held his hands up and pulled his phone from his pocket. We watched as he typed away on the screen before clearing his throat and bringing his attention back to us. “I’m not going to push the fact that I have the right to know what you’re investigating in my casino. If Lexie is involved in something shady, I’d rather not know about it and have her let go. You can find her in room eight nineteen.”

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Gribbins stood and I followed suit.

Oscar lifted his cigar from the ashtray and took a puff. “All I ask is please don’t cause an uproar and alert the guests that you’re here. If you need absolutely anything I’ll be more than happy to oblige. Just reach out to one of the members of the security team and they can locate me for you.”

“We appreciate that.” We shook Oscar’s hand and left.

I couldn’t help but to wonder if Lexie was going to be alerted that we were on the way to her room. Oscar might’ve seemed to be the type to cooperate, but I had a feeling there was plenty he was hiding. I wouldn’t put it past him to give her a heads up. Hopefully she didn’t run if he had.