“And now all this is coming back to haunt you?”
“I’m pretty sure somebody recognized me. And they’re trying to get to me.” She told him about the limo, the phone call, and finally the lunch incident. “That’s when I knew I wasn’t just imagining things. Somebody’s watching me. Maybe even here, tonight. But I don’t know what they want. Is it a threat, maybe a warning, or even a game? Anyway, you can understand why I panicked out there on the concourse.”
His face, in the faint glow of the parking lot’s overhead light, revealed nothing but worry and concern. “Do you have to stay in town, Val? Can’t you just go home?”
“I almost did. I even had a flight booked. But then I realized that if I left, they could still hurt my family. They saw me with Lexie, and they would know about the others, too. I can’t let anything happen to them.”
“You could go to the police.”
“What could I tell the police? That somebody paid for my lunch? It would be a waste of time.” Val stirred in the seat. “That’s all you’re going to get. So it had better be enough for a ride back to the hotel.”
“I still wish you’d let me help,” he said.
“Even if I did, there’s nothing you could do.”
“I could protect you.”
“Stay out of this, Casey. These people play rough. So far they’re only letting me know they’re watching me. But I know what they can do. I’ve seen it. Now let’s go.”
“Damn it, Val—” He bit back whatever else he’d meant to say. After turning on the headlights, he scooped up the nacho box and the plastic cups. “Just give me a minute to dump these in the trash. Then we’ll be on our way.”
He climbed out of the truck, which was parked facing the side of the restaurant. The headlights illuminated the trash bin and a newspaper rack with the front page of the Las Vegas Review Journal on display.
Val gave the headline, and its accompanying photo, a quick glance at first. Then, as what she was seeing sank in, her pulse lurched.
With a shaking hand, she lowered the window. “Casey,” she called, trying to sound calm. “Would you get me one of those newspapers? I want to check for write-ups about the finals. I’ve got change if you need it.”
“No, that’s fine. I’ve got it.” Casey dropped some coins into the slot, retrieved the last paper in the box, and without looking at the front page, passed it through the window. Val thanked him, took the paper, and doubled it, hiding the headline in the fold. She would read it later, alone in the hotel.
She should have known better than to confide in Casey. Some things about the man would never change—like the protective instincts that were almost a compulsion and his way of rushing into danger with no thought for his own safety. That was what made him so well suited for his job.
If Casey were to see that newspaper story and piece it together with what she’d told him, there’d be no way she could keep him from wanting to learn more. There was just one thing she could do to keep him safe—and to protect her own secrets.
She had to end this now.
* * *
Casey had offered to walk Val to the elevator in her hotel. But she’d insisted on being let off in the parking lot. Her last words to him, spoken as if she were auditioning for a TV commercial, had been something like, “Thanks for everything, Casey. I hope you’ll understand that I can’t see you again. You’re a good man, just bad timing all around. Have a happy life. Good night and goodbye.”
She’d bailed out of the door and fled without giving him a chance to respond, or even to help her out of the truck. Casey could only watch her as she rushed away, clutching her purse and the folded newspaper, dodging foot traffic, and pausing to glance around before she disappeared into the hotel’s main entrance.
Now, as he pulled out of the parking lot and drove back to the small hotel he’d found on a quiet side street, Casey put his mind to sorting out what had just happened.
It was like Val to run away from things she didn’t want to face. But this wasn’t just avoidance on her part. He’d seen the look in her eyes as she’d told him goodbye. It was stark fear.
Walk away, his sensible side argued. She doesn’t want your help, let alone deserve it. The woman wrecked your life once. She’d do it again in a heartbeat.
But common sense had already lost the battle. As he drove and pondered his options, one thing became more and more certain.
Whatever was going on, this wasn’t over.
He remembered the newspaper Val had asked him to buy. She’d claimed that she wanted to read about the PBR finals. But any coverage in that issue would have been about yesterday’s event. Whirlwind’s performance with R.J. McClintock would be covered in tomorrow morning’s paper. The edition she’d asked for was old news.
So why had she wanted to read it? And why would she lie about the reason?
From the truck, Val would have seen only the front page. Something in the headline must have caught her eye. But Casey had paid no attention when he took the paper out of the stand. If he wanted to know what had set her off, he would have to find another copy.
At this late hour, most newspapers would be gone, either sold or cleared out to make room for the next morning’s edition. Casey stopped at two convenience stores on the way to his hotel. Their papers were gone. Only then did he remember that his hotel had a paper delivered to the lobby every day.
He made it back in time to save the scattered pages from the janitor’s trash barrel. Gathering them, he carried the paper into the elevator and up to his room, where he arranged it on one of the two beds.
It was the front page he needed—that and any pages that might have related or continued articles. At first he saw nothing but minor news items, editorials, and ads. Then he turned the pages over and saw the headline that Val had spotted.
LANZONI CHARGED, DENIED BAIL
Las Vegas businessman and alleged crime boss, Carlo Lanzoni, appeared in First District Court on Tuesday to face charges of racketeering, extortion, and murder. He was charged on all counts and denied bail. The trial date will be set pending investigation by a grand jury.
There were more details in the article, accompanied by a photo of a middle-aged man with thinning gray-streaked hair, dark eyes overhung by beetling brows, and a jaw framed by sagging jowls. He looked like a bus driver or maybe a construction boss. But looks could be deceiving.
As Casey reread the article, his nerves crawled. Val had mentioned that she’d gotten mixed up with some unsavory people and implied that she’d witnessed some criminal acts. Given her reaction to the headline, it was no challenge to put two and two together.
If she’d been recognized, and Lanzoni’s thugs thought she might be planning to talk, Val’s life was in danger.
Val was one of those women who left a trail of wreckage everywhere she went, he reminded himself. He had every reason to turn his back on her. But right now, it didn’t matter what she’d done or who she’d been with. He needed to keep her safe.
* * *
Val crossed the lobby, dodged a cluster of partying cowboys, and headed for the bank of elevators. Stepping inside the first one to open, she punched the button for the floor above her room, then stayed on past the stop and got out the next time the door opened. She needed to read the newspaper, but she didn’t want Tess to know about it. She also needed to make sure she wasn’t being followed.