Destiny slid the keycard into the lock, and turned the handle, pushing the door open slightly. She turned to Dane, who stood behind her. The whole evening, heck, the entire day, was mostly a blur. Except for the kiss at the end of the wedding ceremony. That was imprinted in her mind. There wasn’t a chance she’d ever forget it.
“Good night, Dane. Thank you for dinner.”
“Sorry it didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped. It was supposed to be a thank you for helping me. Instead, I acted like a jerk and let my obsession with MacKenna ruin everything.”
“Nothing was ruined. I’ll always remember tonight.”
Acting on impulse, she stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his cheek. It was a stupid thing to do, but she only had one wedding night, and if this was going to be it, she wanted to at least kiss her husband good night.
Pushing the door all the way open, she froze at the carnage that met her gaze. Everything was strewn all over. Her clothes littered the floor. The bedding was pulled from the mattress, hanging from one corner in a jumbled heap. The bedside lamp was toppled over, the shade dented. The drawers in the nightstand and the dresser were pulled out, emptied of everything they’d contained.
“Dane! My computer!”
She raced into the room, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her to a halt. “Wait. Let me make sure nobody’s still here.”
Drawing in a ragged breath, she nodded, her arms wrapped across her chest. Who’d done this? She didn’t have any enemies, at least none in Las Vegas.
“Doesn’t look like anybody’s here. Come on in.”
Her eyes couldn’t seem to light on any single thing, moving from one thing to the next, unable to process what happened. Heading for the closet, she looked at the safe that came with the room. She hadn’t wanted to leave her laptop out. There was too much sensitive information on it. Everything was backed up, so it wasn’t like she didn’t have access to all the information, and other laptops at home, but this one—it was her baby.
Entering the combination, she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding when she spotted the silver and black laptop. Ragged around the edges, and worn from use, it didn’t appear to be worth more than a couple bucks, but the information it contained could prove to be priceless to Dane.
“I’m calling the front desk and have them notify security. You can’t stay here tonight.”
“I’m sure they’ll give me another room.”
“You’re staying with me.” There was a don’t-argue-with-me tone in his voice. She was too tired to fight with him anyway. She simply nodded.
“Who would do this?”
“My guess? MacKenna’s had somebody following us, probably since we left Shiloh Springs. This proves he’s guilty. Nobody else has a reason.”
A horrible thought had her reaching for his hand. “Do you think they did this to your room too?”
His eyes widened at her words, and he grabbed her laptop in one hand and pulled her behind him with the other. Since his room was right across the hall, he had the door open within seconds. Its interior was a match for her room. Everything had been tossed, scattered without care. They’d been looking for something.
“Did you leave anything here they might have taken?” She took in the devastation wrought by the intruders. It was almost a carbon copy of hers, right down to the stripped bed and knocked over lamps. It took a twisted kind of desperation to do something like this, especially in a place like the Bellagio. Backing out into the hallway, her eyes scanned its length and spotted what she was looking for.
Security cameras.
Dane’s conversation with the front desk was curt and to the point. The scowl on his face betrayed his barely banked anger. Though it wasn’t directed at her, Destiny pitied whoever ended up on the wrong side of this particular Boudreau. Shiloh had mentioned once in passing that Dane was slow to anger, but once he reached his boiling point, the explosion of his temper could be felt for days.
“Security coming?”
He gave a jerking nod, bending to pick up a shirt off the floor. Giving a sigh of disgust, he dropped it back down again.
“They did a pretty thorough job of destroying everything. Luckily, I had the front desk store my computer in their safe. I don’t trust the ones in the rooms.”
Holding up her laptop, she quirked her brow. When he barked out a laugh, she felt the muscles bunched in the back of her neck begin to unwind.
“Point taken. The concierge is arranging for a suite for the rest of our stay. As soon as we’re finished with security, it will be ready.”
A noise from outside proved security had made a beeline for their rooms, and Destiny followed Dane out into the hall. She watched the workers going through their rooms, while Dane spoke quietly with the head of security. Within a few minutes, they got the all-clear to begin gathering their things.
By the time they finished, the concierge stood outside Dane’s room, apologizing profusely.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Boudreau. We have contacted the Las Vegas Police Department, and they are sending officers right over. As we discussed, I’ve arranged a deluxe suite to be put at your disposal for the remainder of your stay. On the house, of course. Anything you need, simply let me or the front desk know, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your needs. Again, I apologize for this unforeseen incident.” He handed Dane two keycards.
“I spoke with your head of security and asked to see the security footage of this floor.” Dane’s casual demeanor, his forced smile, sent a shiver down Destiny’s spine. She hoped he never turned that look on her because she’d melt like chocolate in summer.
“Yes, he’s already spoken to me, and I’ve authorized him to show you the footage for this evening. Will there be anything else, Mr. Boudreau?” He turned and smiled at Destiny. “Ms. Smith, if there’s anything you need…”
“I’m fine.” She patted her laptop. “I’ve got what I need, right here.”
“Excellent. I hope this doesn’t ruin your evening.” He turned to go, and Dane chimed in.
“You mean our wedding night.”
The concierge visibly paled at the bald statement. “I’m sorry, did you say it’s your wedding night?”
“We were married earlier this evening. Came back from our celebration dinner to this.” Dane swept his hand toward the open door of his room.
“I’ll have champagne delivered to your new suite immediately, sir. Congratulations on your marriage. May it be long and joyful.”
Destiny watched as the poor man practically sprinted toward the elevator, almost stumbling in his haste to get away from Dane. She shook his head, giving Dane a chastising look.
“You could have given the guy a break. He couldn’t have known we just got married. Probably wouldn’t have occurred to him, anyway, since we were staying in separate rooms.”
“If anybody comes nosing around, asking about us, I want them to hear we’re on our honeymoon. MacKenna can’t accuse me of stalking him if I’ve got a bona fide reason for being in Las Vegas. Namely my beautiful bride.”
“Please, Dane, drop the act. Nobody’s around and I don’t need insincere flattery. I’m already committed to getting the job done. I’m not going to back out.”
Dane took a step closer, and placed a fingertip beneath her chin, tilting it up. “I don’t say things I don’t mean, princess. You are beautiful. You are honest, sincere, and genuinely care about people. You proved that when you went out on a limb to call me when you discovered someone was out to hurt me. That shows a beauty of character that few people possess.”
Tears pricked her eyelids, and she blinked fast to hold them back. His words rang with sincerity, not false flattery. Even in the midst of dealing with break-ins, shuffling rooms, and looking for a killer, he still took time to think about her feelings. She needed to put a tight rein on them feelings because if she didn’t keep her guard up, she’d end up falling hard for her cowboy.
“Thank you.”
His hand reached up and cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing lightly against her skin, and her eyelids drifted shut, feeling a tingle at his simple touch. She opened her mouth, not sure what she’d say, when his hand dropped. Instantly, she missed his touch.
“We should probably head up to our new room.”
“You’re right. Nothing’s being accomplished standing here in the hall. Did you want to go down and get your computer?”
He shook his head. “Not tonight. I’ll deal with it in the morning. Let’s get settled in. It’s been a long day.”
Without another word, he spun and headed for the elevator. Breathing out a deep sigh, Destiny followed.
“Who came up with the bright idea to trash Boudreau’s room?”
Owen MacKenna spun around at his father’s angry question. Relaxing his hands from the clenched fists they’d curled into, he watched the old man pace in front of the bank of windows in their suite. He hadn’t planned on coming on this fool’s errand with his father. The old man could have done this takeover in his sleep. After all, he’d been doing them for decades. He should be home, figuring out a solution to their Boudreau problem, because it looked like it was about to bite them in the backside.
“Wasn’t me. When did this happen?”
“One of my sources informed me Dane Boudreau’s hotel room at the Bellagio was ransacked, as well as the room of his traveling companion.”
Owen tapped his fingers on the desk where he was seated. He’d been on his computer, putting out a few fires back home, when his father had burst into the room, flinging accusations.
“Lovely woman, if she’s the one he was dining with tonight. Do we know who she is?”
“Somebody named Destiny Smith. Although as of a few hours ago, she’s now Destiny Boudreau.”
Owen chuckled, the sound low and deep. He doubted his father got his sarcastic wit. “Lucky guy.”
“Are you insane? Having a wife could ruin everything.”
“Still doesn’t answer the question of who trashed their rooms. If I didn’t do it, and you say you didn’t do it, any guesses who might want to rattle Dane’s cage?”
His father spun toward him, his face a fiery red. If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up with a heart attack. At his last checkup, the doctor told him to take it easy, because his blood pressure was dangerously high. He couldn’t afford for the old goat to croak. Not yet. There were still a few threads knotted that needed unraveling before that could happen.
“This is not a joke, you idiot! You know who Dane Boudreau is—we have the DNA report to prove it. If he’s uncovered what happened in Denver, he can take everything away. Everything we’ve spent years building. We can’t let that happen.”
Owen stood and walked over to place a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Calm down, old man. My sources say Dane Boudreau doesn’t have a clue who he really is. He’s digging, but there’s no paper trail for him to find. Nothing online, either. No matter how deep he goes, we’ve covered our tracks too well. Even if he somehow figures out he’s Thomas Duncan, it will take years, maybe decades before he can do anything about taking the company from you.”
“He knows. One look into his eyes tonight at the restaurant and I’m sure. He knows everything rightfully belongs to him, and he’s coming after us.”
Owen barely resisted the urge to wrap his hands around his father’s neck and squeeze and squeeze as he watched the life fade from his eyes. How he hated his father. Hated him for every wrong turn in his life. Every decision that backfired. Every time, he’d had to bow and scrape for his father’s approval, yet never getting it.
“Let him try. He’s got nothing and you know it. There’s nothing online anywhere that connects you with his parents outside of business. MacKenna-Duncan International is a thriving business that Thomas Elliot Duncan contributed nothing to, and he won’t see one red cent. Besides, everybody knows Thomas was declared legally dead years ago.”
Matthew walked over to the bar, and poured a stiff shot of whiskey, knocking it back in a single gulp. Owen simply shook his head. His father had been depending on alcohol increasingly the last few years. A guilty conscience maybe, from too many years of plundering away peoples’ lives, their companies, with the snap of his fingers. Let him wallow in his misery. He deserved it.
“Put Evans on it. Have him find out who trashed the two rooms at the Bellagio. We don’t need to give Boudreau any ammunition to come after us, especially for something we didn’t do.” Matthew slammed his fist against the desk.
“Calm down. If Boudreau knows anything, we’ll handle him.” Owen poured himself a drink, taking a small sip. Admitting to his father that he’d ordered the rooms searched, hoping to find out exactly how much Dane Boudreau really knew was out of the question. His dad’s grip had become tenuous in the last years, and if he thought Owen made decisions and took action without consulting him, it might push him over the edge.
“We can’t lose everything now, son. We’ve worked too hard for too long to have it slip through our fingers.” His father collapsed onto the corner of the bed and hung his head in his hands. “I did this all for you.”
Owen let out a low sigh, before handing his glass to his father. “I know, Dad. I know.”