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Regan Harris
Magari Casino and Hotel, Security Office
Las Vegas, Nevada
“Wait.” Edwards held up a finger, stopping my negative reaction. “It looks he didn’t board any of the flights.”
“What?” I asked.
“He booked the flights but didn’t board any of them. They’ve all left already. Hours ago. He wasn’t on any of them.”
“Were the tickets purchased alone or with another traveler? Can you tell that?” Jax asked.
I sighed in relief that her brain was still functioning while mine had stopped.
“All single tickets. No travel companions.” Edwards’s fingers tapped away at the keyboard. The soft clacking of the keys was hypnotic.
“Do you think my dad was right? Could it all have been a ruse?” I asked Jax.
“Maybe. Maybe Gray just thought they were leaving Vegas.”
“I don’t even know where to begin to look here,” I said. I pressed my hands into my eyes to stop the tears that wanted to spring out.
“You’re looking for the bald guy, right? The one from the footage earlier.”
“Yes.” Sheesh, man. Pay attention already. I mentally checked myself.
“I can tell you where he went.” Edwards said the words with such casualness that I wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and shake.
“Where? How?” I practically climbed across the desk to get to him. I grabbed his shirt and shook him. “Tell me!”
“Calm down, lady. After you left with Mr. Donato, I used facial recognition software to track any movements he’d made throughout the hotel.” Edwards snapped his fingers. “Hey, did you know he was the guy that destroyed our pool?”
“I did know that. Where did he go?” I asked as calmly as I could.
“He’s been staying here for the last week. Once I knew what to look for, it was easy. He tampered with almost every store. Even the hair salon—”
“—I know that—” I touched the scarf covering my short hair. I felt a moment of sadness at losing my long locks.
“—anyway, that’s all old stuff. You want the new stuff. Well, the newer stuff. It’s all old now.” Edwards chuckled and I wanted to throttle him. “They left through the front door. It was busy that time of night, but I found them. They got into a cab and headed north.”
“Can we track the cab?” I monitored my voice even though I wanted to yell my question.
Edwards scrunched his face up. “Already done. They got out at the end of the strip. I lost them when they turned down an alley.”
I smacked my head on the desk as I let it fall. I didn’t even feel the impact. Edwards kept talking, ignoring the drama playing out in front of him.
“You were asking about flights. I only checked the commercial airlines. He could’ve taken a private flight. There is an airport north of the strip.”
“Regan, are you listening? There’s another airport,” Jax said. She smacked the back of my head. I lifted it off the desk and looked at her. “Pay attention.” She pointed to the screen.
“What are you looking at?” I laid completely over the desk to see the screen. I held onto the edge and pulled myself farther.
“I thought this would be faster. I’m using the facial recognition software on the video feeds from the airport. I’ll start looking at the time they got out of the cab. It’s mostly private jets, flying in and out from everywhere. Movie stars, big wigs, that sort of thing.” The video moved quickly, Edwards fast forwarded through it while we watched. People entered and exited. Their bodies moving in a jerky fashion on the screen.
Edwards pointed to the screen. “Look! There they are!” He slowed down the video to real time.
Gray and Guy entered the lobby through the main doors. Gray clutched his side. He walked next to Guy, clearly not in immediate danger. Gray never looked at the camera or tried to send a message. I watched every move he made, my face only inches from the screen. They passed by and walked toward the camera. We could clearly see their faces. Gray said something to Guy and pointed toward the corner before both of them moved in that direction.
“What’s over there?” I asked.
Edwards waved his hand at me. The monitor switched camera views. Guy and Gray were walking away from the camera now and into the men’s room. A few minutes later they emerged and walked outside toward the awaiting planes.
“Can you see which one they got on?” Jax asked before I had the chance. She had her hands on Edwards’s shoulders again, massaging away while he worked.
“Wait. Wait.” Edwards drew out the words. “One minute. Here you are. Tail number N-108T. Flight plan from here to...” Edwards read off the screen to us. Jax grabbed a pen and paper off his desk. She scribbled as he spoke. “Victoria, Texas.”
“Where the hell is that?” I asked.
“Texas.”
“Thanks, Jax. What’s in Victoria, Texas?” I asked to myself. Edwards answered me.
“Nothing. It looks like they refueled and took off again.”
“To where?” Jax asked.
“Let’s see—” A beeping alarm interrupted him from his work. Panic filled his eyes. “You have to get out! Now!”
“Why? We need to know where they went!” I screamed.
“I’ve done enough. Mr. Donato is going to walk through that door in” —Edwards looked at the screens behind me— “ninety seconds. You have to leave.”
I scrambled up and around the desk. I hugged Edwards and told him thank you. I really did appreciate the information he gave us. I let go and headed for the secret door and back to Liam. Hopefully he was still waiting for us and hadn’t been waylaid by other security guards.
“Jax, come on,” I urged her.
Jax pulled Edwards out of his chair to face her. “What’s your name?” she asked.
“Edwards.”
“Your first name?”
“Carl.”
“Thanks, Carl. Really.” Jax leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Edwards’s hands shook at his sides. Jax ended the kiss and patted his cheek with her hand. I pulled on her arm to get her moving. The last thing we needed was for Edwards, Carl, to follow her out like a lovesick puppy.
“Wait! Take this.” Carl grabbed a business card off his desk and handed it to Jax. “My cell number is on the back. In case you need any more help.”
“Thanks, Carl,” Jax said.
“Are you going to tell Frank where Gray went?” I asked.
Guilt flashed on his face. “I have to.”
“I know. It’s okay. Thank you for helping us,” I said. “Sorry we tricked you.”
Carl smiled in return. “I won’t tell him I told you, though.”
I nodded my appreciation and pulled open the door. Liam jumped at our sudden appearance. Jax and I picked up our bags. Liam headed back the way we came.
“No. This way!” Jax said.
“Frank’s coming that way.” I pointed past his shoulder as an explanation why we couldn’t exit the way we came. Liam turned tail and headed back with us. We just made guesses at what direction to take at each hallway crossing. Jax filled him in on what we learned while we ran. Our need to blend in was overridden by the fact we just needed to escape.
We were hopelessly lost in the twists and turns. Every hallway looked like the one before it. I feared we were making a circle and would bump into Frank. Finally, a door opened in front of us. The noise of the casino and the bright lights filled the space as an employee entered the area. We picked up our pace and shoved past her into the main hotel.
Liam slowed down to a fast walk. Jax and I followed, always looking around for any approaching security guards. The exit loomed in front of us. I took a deep breath as freedom neared. The doors opened with a swoosh. The hot desert air hitting us felt like walking into a brick wall after the air-conditioned hotel.
We hailed the first cab we saw and piled into the back. Liam gave him our destination while Jax leaned back in the seat. I sent a quick text to Gracie telling her to meet us at the airport. I let her know to hurry if she expected to go anywhere with us.
My stress level dropped just being away from the Magari. For the first time, exhaustion overwhelmed me. I’d been running on adrenaline for too long. I rolled down the back window and hung my head on the sill, hoping the fresh air would help revive me. I couldn’t sleep yet. Jax and Liam sat quietly beside me. All of us took a moment to regroup mentally.
Even though it was late, the airport was lit up like Christmas morning. Liam paid the driver. He sped off, leaving us staring at one another on the front walk. I looked up to the sound of a plane coming in for a landing. It disappeared behind the building. The sound of the tires bouncing on the pavement reached us.
“What’s the game plan?” Liam asked.
“I don’t know.” I suppressed a yawn.
“Tell me what you saw on the video.”
Jax told him a play-by-play of what we saw. Gray didn’t make any signs for the camera. He didn’t even look at it. We were at a dead end. We only knew they flew to Victoria, Texas, and out again.
“Maybe you could text Edwards and see if he figured out where they went next?” I suggested to Jax.
“No,” Liam said. “Frank could still be in his office. Or, worse, headed here.” Liam turned to Jax. “You said he went to the restroom?”
“Yes,” Jax said.
“Then we start there.” Liam led the way inside. We ignored the front desk area and followed signs to the men’s room. Liam entered, making sure the room was empty before waving Jax and I in. “You two look around while I watch the door.”
I wrinkled my nose at the smell while I looked around. I checked the sides of the urinal without touching it. I looked under it and the sink. The stainless steel was clean and shiny. No notes taped under it. I checked the floor for any discarded papers. Nothing. Jax bumped around in the stall next to me, checking every nook and cranny. I eyed the garbage can. It overflowed with paper towels and junk. For once, I didn’t care about other people’s germs. I dug in.
“Hey!” Jax yelled. Her voice echoed in the empty, tiled room. “Look at this.”
I squeezed into the tight space. Bathroom stalls were not built for two grown adults. Jax pointed under the toilet paper dispenser.
TEGUC HOND
“Do you think Gray left it?” Jax asked.
I smiled at her and nodded. “I do. It’s Tegucigalpa, Honduras.” We jumped up and down in excitement bumping into the toilet. Another clue! We were getting closer. I could feel it. As we were trying to exit the stall, the bathroom door opened and Liam stuck his head in.
“Ladies, good job, but let’s get out of here.” We fumbled our way out of the stall. Liam led us to a seating area. I refused to sit. I paced in front of them as we talked.
“How do you know it’s te—whatever you called it?” Liam asked, questioning me while Jax took my word that it was Gray. “Anyone could have written that. And why the shortened words? If it is from Gray, wouldn’t he want to make sure he was clear in his message to you?”
“Maybe he didn’t have much time? So, he just wrote enough to get the point across?” Jax suggested. “I wonder how he got a marker?”
“You’re both wrong. It is from Gray. I’ve been to Tegucigalpa. With Gray. We always shortened the names of our stops. Some can be quite a mouth full. Tegucigalpa to tay-goose. That’s how I know it’s him. I would’ve questioned it if the full name had been used.”
“And the marker?” Liam asked.
“The small backpack we saw him carrying when he left our hotel room?” I prompted. Liam nodded since he had watched the video with me. “It’s his emergency backpack. He carries it everywhere inside his regular travel backpack. It’s full of odds and ends. Markers, rope, energy bars, bottles of water, clean socks and underwear, one of those tiny aluminum emergency blankets. Anything he would need to sustain himself for a few days.”
His emergency backpack! I didn’t even notice that was what he was carrying in the video. I’d assumed he’d packed a few clothes and essentials on Guy’s demand. But, he hadn’t. He’d grabbed his just-in-case bag. Just in case I need to run away at a moment’s notice, he’d told me once.
“We need to get there quick. He’s going to ditch Guy. We need to get there and get him.” The excitement of finally realizing his plan bubbled out of me.
“I agree. But, how—”
“Regan!”
I snapped my head up at the sound of my name. Ben stood in the doorway leading to the tarmac. I’d forgotten about him coming. I’d forgotten about my desperate call hours ago. Liam stood up, putting himself in between Ben and me. Anger radiated off him.