The Devil You Know - K.B. Winters Page 0,16

he was, which had served him well. In many ways.

“If that changes, I’m a phone call away.”

Emmett nodded but kept quiet. Jasper gave a sharp nod to my brother before he turned and walked out.

“Later,” I told Emmett and caught up with Jasper. “How’d it go?”

“Could’ve gone better, but I hope I made my point. Clearly.” Because if he hadn’t, it would be made crystal clear. After the fight.

Chapter Seven

Kat

Thanks to the information I’d gotten from Madison, I was able to find out more on the couple staying in the Mueller Suites with a credit card and a basic internet search. Dennis and Deborah Smith were actually Stephen and Donna McLaughlin. He was a forensic accountant and she was a publicist, owners and operators of two small practices, both with just one client. The Las Vegas Diocese.

That couldn’t be a coincidence, and I was eager to share my news with the family and see what else Cal could find. But it would have to wait until Sunday dinner since there was too much to do to prepare for the upcoming fight. But that also gave me three more days to dig on my own, before Sadie ordered me to stop. Which she would as soon as I told the family.

The McLaughlins had an open-ended reservation, which was strange, since they lived and worked in Vegas, not to mentioned they owned a home here in town. Just like Madison said. Another quick online search showed the address on the background check was indeed the same house that Madison had seen in the last photo Molly had sent to her.

“Definitely not a fucking coincidence,” I muttered to no one in particular since I was alone in my office.

It was all starting to add up to exactly as I suspected but still with no concrete proof to make any formal accusations. Which meant all I had was a half-baked theory, which was likely true, but no way to prove it. Yet. With Madison and my own surveillance, I was close.

I knew it.

The phone chimed and vibrated on my desk, the final reminder that I should have left to meet Maisie for lunch about fifteen minutes ago. She was so busy and a stickler for punctuality, I knew she’d give me shit so I grabbed a few singles for luck and made my way to the elevator and down to the lobby floor. Since our family owned the casinos, I couldn’t keep any of the winnings if the slots gave any up, but ever since I was a kid, I got a kick out of pulling the lever.

“Breaking the rules again?” Maisie asked from behind me, a smile in her voice. “Such a hardcore little badass you are.”

“And don’t you forget it.” I spun and wrapped her in a hug because even, though we worked in the same building, it felt like it had been weeks since I’d last seen her, never mind spent any time together. “Ready to grub?”

Maisie glared. “Been ready for twenty minutes. Everything all right?”

“Not really, no. But I’m working on it. You?”

Maisie shrugged but the brightness of her smile said it all. “Great. Exhausted but I can’t complain. Not at all.”

“I’m happy for you, Maze.” I really was happy for her and delighted to have her as part of the family. She was exactly the kind of spitfire that could keep my brother Virgil in check. “Let’s eat.”

Maisie led the way with a satisfied grin. “One of my high rollers flew in this morning from Chicago, brought deep dish pizza and dipped Italian beef sandwiches so I hope you brought your appetite.”

My stomach growled at the sound of all those delicious words strung together in a sentence that meant I’d be eating sooner rather than later.

“I brought my appetite and someone else’s.”

She laughed and flashed a smile over her shoulder. “You sure Bonnie is the only one pregnant around here?”

“Bite your damn tongue, woman! Besides, I’d have to have sex in order to get pregnant. that hasn’t happened in a long time, so, no babies here. That’s for sure. Far too fucking long.”

“I can hook you up with a rental. You know, one night, no strings attached.” Maisie let out a loud bark of a laugh at her joke and scanned her card to one of the auxiliary rooms used for special occasions like private games and secret rendezvous.

“Not a bad idea. I’ll let you know. Oh, damn that smells heavenly. Literally, this is what I imagine heaven would