“This is eight nineteen” Gribbins pointed to the number on the wall.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was letting me take lead with Lexie since we were somewhat acquainted. I guess having your tits in someone’s face while you grind on their lap puts you on a whole new level.

My knuckles rapped against the door and many moments passed before I glanced toward Gribbins. He nodded toward the door, wanting me to knock once more. I knew if she was in there most likely she’d peeked out the peephole to see who was knocking. Hopefully she didn’t recognize my face in the light, since the room we’d been in that night had been dim. She’d probably find it odd that a man was at her door without any notice. Especially since she wasn’t supposed to exist as entertainment with the casino.

I pounded my fist on the door this time. Hoping if she was in there, she’d be annoyed enough to actually answer. Gribbins shook his head as the seconds passed. “If you’re in there, I just need to talk. Oscar sent me your way.” I offered, hoping it would help the situation at hand.

The door clicked and slowly cracked open. The latch at the top securing it so we couldn’t push through. “What do you want?” Her chocolate brown eyes peeked through the opening.

“I just need to talk is all.” I held my hands up.

She looked me up and down. “I remember you…”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” She sighed, “Are you alone?”

My mind quickly went back and forth on whether or not to lie to her. “No.” Gribbins stepped up beside me to reveal himself since I outed that he was there.

“Why are you both here?” She nervously looked back and forth between us.

“Can we come in? It’s not something we’d like to chat about out here.”

“Only you,” her eyes connected with mine.

I glanced back at Gribbins and he nodded. “I can stay out here. It’s fine.”

“Okay, only me.”

She shut the door without a word and a split second later it opened back up so I could enter. Lexie quickly shut it behind me and secured each of the three locks back in place. She was dressed in a white fluffy robe that wrapped tightly around her body. Her jet-black hair twisted into a mess on top of her head. She turned to face me and leaned back against the door. “What do you want from me?”

“Like I said, just to talk.”

“I’ve never had someone show up at my door like this, especially someone not specifically sent by Oscar.” She hugged herself.

“How about we have a seat, shall we?” I backed away toward the couch in front of the television and slowly sat.

Lexie watched me from the door and after a few moments she came over and sat in the chair to my left. “What would your wife say if she knew you were here? It’s all fun and games at night in a private room, but you showing up at my door…” She shook her head. “I’d say she wouldn’t be a fan of that.”

“That’s why I’m here.” I cleared my throat and leaned forward, bracing my forearms on my thighs. “After being gagged by you, the remainder of the night is a blur. My wife’s missing and I woke up in the hospital. Was told they’d found me on a bench just outside of the city. I need to know what happened, what you can tell me that I don’t remember.”

Her face was pale and her mouth was slack as she shook her head back and forth. “This can’t be happening again…” She pulled her legs against her chest, not meaning to, but exposing the sheer pink panties she was wearing. I quickly diverted my eyes back to her face.

“What can’t be happening again?”

“I shouldn’t…” She dropped her feet to the floor and pushed up from the chair.

I quickly lifted from the couch and wrapped my hand around her arm before she could run off. “Lexie, please…you have to tell me about that night. Blair’s life depends on it.”

She spun toward me, her eyes locking on my hand and then lifting to mine. “All those murders…” She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut. “Four of the women have been clients of mine. Like your wife.” Lexie opened her tear-filled eyes and tried to suppress the sob that rolled up her throat.

I pulled her into my chest and she hesitantly wrapped her arms around me, clinging to my back as she broke down. Words failed me as she poured every ounce of her sadness out against me. Her knees buckled and I scooped her into my arms so she wouldn’t fall. Once I reached the couch I took a seat, cradling her against my chest as she sat in my lap.

“I can’t imagine how that makes you feel. But if you can walk me through that night, we might be able to save Blair.” My voice was barely above a whisper as I caressed her back. Her bloodshot eyes focused on mine and she nodded before slipping from my lap and putting distance between us by taking a seat in the chair once again.

“Where would you like me to start?” She tucked her legs beneath her bottom and wrapped her arms around herself.

“After you gagged me.”

A shy grin spread across her lips and her eyes diverted from mine. “It’s odd saying those things out loud. I’m perfectly fine performing them but speaking of them is a different story.”

I chuckled at her shyness. “Well, I can say that was a first for me.”

She smiled. “But you enjoyed it, right?”

“Maybe if the outcome was different.”

Her smile faded and she nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

“So why did you keep performing after you realized your clients were being murdered?”

“I had no choice.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“That’s a different story I can’t touch base on right now. However, I can tell you what happened that night.”

“Please.” I leaned back against the couch cushions.

“After I placed the material in your mouth, you started acting different. Almost as if you’d been drugged and was slowly falling in and out of consciousness, but I didn’t know why. I assumed you were drunk and teetering on passing out so I continued on. Your wife was very vocal with each touch from me, and you were rather…aroused,” She grinned. “especially when I was giving her attention.”

I adjusted myself in the seat, not realizing this story might be a bit more than my libido could handle.

“Once I finished giving her a lap dance I came back to you, but you were out of it. They provide us with stuff to wave under someone’s nose if they pass out to wake them. Mainly because they don’t want drunks being left in the private rooms; many people don’t realize those rooms are there. So, I left the both of you to retrieve it. I remember digging through my bag and someone hitting me in the back of the head.”

I dropped my head into my hands.

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t give you more. When I woke I was lying on the floor and both of you were gone. I’ve never been knocked out before. The other people who I’d had always left, and then I’d see their faces on the news a few days later. I don’t know why this was different. I don’t know why this is happening.” Lexie curled into herself as she began to sob. “I can’t handle being tied to their deaths. I don’t know why someone would do this…why I’m involved.”

I closed the distance between us and pulled her in my arms. She squeezed me tightly as if her life depended on it. I knew she was dealing with far more than anyone should have to deal with, but a part of me was angry that she couldn’t give me more information. I needed more information to find Blair.

“Can you take me back to that room?”

“Yes,” she breathed against my neck before pulling away. “Let me get dressed.”

* * *

“If we get caught, you took me against my will,” she glanced over her shoulder at me and Gribbins.

“That won’t be necessary,” Gribbins spoke up. “Oscar gave us permission to go as we please.”

“Why is that? Are you cops?”

Her question was one I had been waiting for since we’d shown up at her door stating Oscar gave us her whereabouts. I was surprised it had taken her so long to ask. “No,” I quickly replied.

“He must be feeling guilty for what’s happening then. Oscar isn’t the type of man to give a crap about much of anything other than money and status.”

Neither I nor Gribbins replied as we followed Lexie around a dimly lit hall that led directly into the room we’d been in many nights ago. She flipped a switch on the wall and brought the overhead lights to life. Everything seemed different under fluorescent lighting, but those two metal chairs still sat in the center of the room facing the television on the wall.

Lexie stopped just before she reached them and turned to face us. She looked so different with her hair up and dressed in more clothing than skimpy panties and sky-high pumps. A different person stood before me than the topless vixen from that night. She caught me staring and offered a small smile. I knew she was taking me the wrong way. Yes, she was beautiful…sexy even, but my heart and soul belonged to Blair.

“This is it.” She waved her hand around. “Not much to it besides the TV and these two chairs, but you already knew that.”

Gribbins gave me a knowing look and I cleared my throat. “Can you take us to the room you came out of?”

“Of course, follow me.” She turned away and headed directly to the door beside the television.

I remembered when I first laid eyes on her walking out of that same very door. She didn’t know whether or not my recollection was correct, so the fact she was being honest was a good indicator that she most likely had no idea about who was involved in the murders, or why they were happening.

We stepped over the threshold and found a narrow shotgun style room. A long wooden table stretched against the right wall where blindfolds, a water machine, and other items sat. A lone metal chair, exactly like the two in the other room, was scooted against the table and a large mirror hung on the opposite wall.

“This is it.” Lexie stepped to the side to give us room to pass her.

Her hand grabbed mine and I came to a stop. Our close proximity made it hard to put space between us. She pulled my arm down so that I was closer to her face. “I’m sorry this is happening to you…”

I realized I hadn’t given her my name as she trailed off waiting for me to offer it. “Gavin, and it’s not your fault. I just hope we can get Blair back before something terrible happens to her.”

“I do too, Gavin.” The genuine concern in her eyes made me feel bad for her. She was stuck in a situation that she’d never asked for, one that would forever change her life. It was going to be a long road for her to learn how to cope with such a heavy burden.

“How’d you get to this room?” Gribbins interrupted our conversation.

She let go of my arm and walked forward. “I always come in the same way we just did. I’m in this room sometimes for hours before that light up there,” Lexie pointed toward a small dome in the back right corner of the room, “turns green to let me know it’s show time.”

“How did the men get in without anyone knowing?” Gribbins scratched his chin as we passed me by the door and stepped back into the main room.

“The music is so loud, you can barely hear each other’s voices, even if they're speaking at your ear.” Lexie followed us into the other room.

“So, they had to have known the music would be playing.” The wheels in his head were turning as he ran over the situation at hand. I had assumed Lexie had been in on it, but knowing she most likely wasn’t made the how seem a bit more off. I guess because I was unconscious when it took place, and my memory was lacking from that night, I couldn’t wrap my head around how they could pull off kidnapping Blair without leaving a trace of themselves behind.

“Have to be career criminals, Gribbins.”

“I was thinking the same.” He placed his hands on his hips. “Is there surveillance in any of these rooms?”

“I don’t believe so.” Lexie watched him wander about the room. “You may want to ask Oscar, but I wouldn’t think he would want anything that happens here on video.”

“It’s odd that he wouldn’t have surveillance down here. Especially when things go wrong. I mean, you don’t have any protection from the people who enter these rooms. The guests don’t have any protection either. They put their trust in you and this facility, only to be kidnapped and slaughtered, it seems.” I kicked one of the metal chairs over.

Lexie gasped like she’d been punched hard in the chest. “Like I said…” her voice was thick with emotion, “you might want to ask Oscar.” She quickly turned and headed for the hallway we’d come in from. “I think we should be going.”

I wanted to apologize for what I’d said; I knew my words had hurt her, but they were true. Too many people had lost their lives after being in that room, and Oscar was too damn worried about not having proof any of it existed? He was officially on my radar for being such a fucking scumbag.

The elevator doors opened and Lexie exited with me close behind her. Gribbins wanted me to escort her back to her room so we knew she’d made it safely. He was headed to find Oscar and have another little chat. He was furious with the way Oscar was running his business. So furious that I couldn’t wait to see the giant hammer he brought down against Roulette once everything was said and done.

“You really don’t have to follow me to my room.” Lexie didn’t bother looking at me as she briskly made her way down the hall.

I didn’t bother replying.

She slipped her cardkey into the door and it clicked open. I hadn’t stepped around the corner yet when she shrieked in horror. I quickly pushed her behind me, tucking her closely behind my back, and pulled my gun from the waist of my pants.

“Stay close,” I instructed her as we slipped into her room.

“You have a gun?” She nervously whispered.

The place was trashed. The television broken, her clothes spread haphazardly throughout the room, lamps toppled over, and her purse dumped on the table. Whoever had done this was looking for something.

“All clear.” I pulled her around to face me after I holstered my gun against my waist. She was shaking as tears raced down her face. “Do you know why someone would do this?” I smoothed my hands down her arms, trying to calm her a bit.

“No…” Her lip quivered as she shook her head.

“Lexie, I need you to be honest with me right now. They were after something besides you or they wouldn’t have trashed your room.”

“Who are you?” She pulled from my arms. “I know the casino wouldn’t have let an average Joe in with a gun…you have a gun.” She hugged herself tightly while backing away.

“It’s complicated.” I ran a hand through my hair.

“H—how do I know that you and your friend didn’t set this up? That getting me out of my room wasn’t a ploy.” She continued to back away and I tried closing the distance between us. “Stay away from me!” Lexie tripped over some items on the floor as she hurried toward the nightstand. I lunged toward her as she pulled a handgun from the drawer and aimed it at me, her hand shaking and the safety still on. She hadn’t even noticed from her nerves.

“Put the gun down, Lexie,” I held my hands up in surrender.

“Don’t come any closer or I’ll shoot you.” Her shaky hand alerted me that she’d most likely never shot someone before, and possibly hadn’t even used that gun.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to get some answers, exactly like I told you from the get go.”

“Then why do you have a gun?”

I slowly moved forward and her eyes grew large. The thought of pulling the trigger was most likely running through her mind and it terrified her. “I can explain, but you’re going to have to put the gun down,” I motioned toward the bed.

“No!” She shouted. “Who are you?”

A loud boom against the door alerted us that someone was trying to breach the door again. I made quick movement of tackling Lexie, retrieving her gun and pulling her into the closet with me. “Don’t say a word.” She began to cry as I pressed her body tight against mine. Sobs were trying to break through as she did her best to choke them down. A man’s voice filled the room, one I wasn’t familiar with, and Lexie silently cried even harder. I quickly covered her mouth with my hand in an attempt to keep her quiet but she bucked against me. “I’m not going to hurt you, now fucking quit,” I whispered against her ear, hoping she was the only one who heard.

“No one’s here,” the man growled, “I thought you said you saw her enter the elevator with two men?”

“I did,” a terrified woman replied. I couldn’t see either of them, but I knew she was being forced against her will to cooperate with him.

“She must’ve gotten off on a different floor,” he huffed.

A loud crash and the woman shrieked. “Please, don’t hurt me.”

“If you tell anyone about this I’ll not only hurt you, but I’ll kill your entire family, you hear me?”

“I—I won’t say a thing to anyone,” she pleaded and a few minutes later the room fell silent. Only the sound of the door clicking shut was left in their wake.

I slowly opened the closet door and looked around the room. It was indeed empty. “Stay here,” I whispered. Lexie nodded. I hurried across the room and secured all the locks in place as quietly as possible. Knowing that if whoever had been there heard any form of sound coming from the room, they’d be back.

When I stepped into the doorway of the closet I found Lexie curled into a ball on the floor inside, silently crying. I knelt down and tried to touch her arm but she jerked away. “Don’t touch me.” Her words were laced with hatred.

“I’m a good guy.”

“I highly doubt that,” she spat.

I sighed. The only thing I could do was prove it to her, as badly as I knew I shouldn’t. I slipped my hand into my front pocket and retrieved my badge. My hand hesitated as I pulled it out and gripped in it my palm where she couldn’t see. “I really am a good guy, Lexie. I’m not going to hurt you.” I held the leather billfold up and flipped it open, exposing my FBI identification.

Her eyes grew wide as she took it in. “You’re FBI.” What should’ve been a question sounded more like a statement falling from her lips.

I nodded, but before I could say anything else she tackled me. Her legs straddled my lap as her lips found mine. I froze as she flicked her tongue against the seam of my closed mouth and ground her body down against my pelvis.

“So, she really isn’t your wife,” she breathed as I made quick movements of flipping us over and putting space between her mouth and my own.

“No…” I sighed.

“Please tell me you’re single.”

Lexie had gone full-blown hormonal on me at the sight of my badge, which was the last thing I needed. “I’m not. Blair is my girlfriend.” I didn’t offer any more information than that. Gribbins was going to be pissed off enough from me letting Lexie know I was FBI. Keeping Blair’s full identity undercover was for the best.

“Oh…” She sighed.

“We have to get out of here before someone comes back. Can you quickly grab a few things?”

“Yes.” She wiggled beneath me.

I lifted off of her and stood, never taking my eyes off of her as she followed suit and collected a few items, tossing them into a duffle bag she pulled from the closet floor. Gribbins was going to have my ass for bringing her along, but there was no other choice. I knew he wouldn’t want to leave her behind with people who were after her for some reason she’d yet to spill the beans on, but I also knew he wouldn’t be happy that my cover had been blown. Even if it was just to her, we didn’t know Lexie in the slightest bit. But I planned to get to know her rather well. She was going to give me the information on why they ransacked her room and were looking for her, no matter what.