Jason glared over at the guys and they all froze. It took all I had not to laugh. “What is it with you pansies wearing pink?”
I thought Jason would let him go, but instead, he tossed him into the pool and stalked straight over to the guys who tried to get away. They weren’t fast enough. Jason grabbed the guy in the pink shorts – wedgie style – and lifted him in the air. The guy cried out while his friends stood there and laughed. Jason threw him as hard as he could into the pool and he belly flopped into the water.
Crossing my arms, I watched as Jason strolled back over to me with a million watt smile on his face. “That felt so damn good.”
“I could’ve taken care of it myself.”
Leaning down, he grabbed my water and handed it to me. “I have no doubt, but I came down here to get you. We have to go.”
“Well, damn. I thought you were coming to hang out and get some sun.”
He looked around at all the people at the pool. “I’d prefer not having people stare at me.”
“Conceited much?” I mentioned, getting to my feet.
His smile faded. “If only it were that simple. Actually, Ryan called. Another girl’s gone missing. He wants us at the station.”
Nodding quickly, I threw on my T-shirt and shorts and was ready to go.
“This one’s different,” I stated, looking down at the picture. It’s a woman in her early-thirties who was celebrating a weekend with her girlfriends.
Ryan nodded. “Since she isn’t a hooker, I don’t know if we’re looking for the same suspect or not. All her friends said she was meeting someone at the Bellagio. They don’t know who or what he looks like. Phone calls aren’t going through and until she’s gone for a full twenty-four hours, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Do you want to go to the Bellagio tonight and take a look around?” Jason asked.
I nodded. “Maybe we’ll finally have some luck tonight.”
Closing the file, Ryan sat back in his chair. “It looks like you two are getting along better.”
“Don’t get too carried away. It’s only because he lost a bet and his ego’s sore,” I said.
Ryan shrugged. “Either way, we need to get this shit figured out soon.”
Jason regarded him, his expression serious. “We’ll figure it out, Chief. Like you, we don’t want to lose anyone else. It wouldn’t be so bad if we could get close to the cocksuckers.”
“I understand. But I have faith you will.”
The way back to the hotel was silent. I could see the wheels in Jason’s head turning. “What are you thinking about?”
Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair. “Honestly, I feel like a goddamned failure. It’s never taken me this long to solve a case. The longest has been a couple of weeks, tops.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Not every case can be solved at the drop of a hat.”
“What about you? What’s your longest?”
“Three weeks. And it was the worst three weeks of my life.”
“Why is that?”
Closing my eyes, the memories flashed, replaying like a vivid dream. “It was personal. The suspects had taken something away from me. And when I found them, I took something away from them.” My eyes burned and I could feel the moisture welling behind my closed lids.
“What?” he asked.
Looking over at him, I couldn’t stop the dreaded tear from falling down my cheek. “Their lives.”
“I have a good feeling about tonight,” Jason insisted.
He hadn’t mentioned anything about what we talked about on the ride home, and I was very grateful. I needed to make sure my head was in the game and not in that dark place. “Good. Maybe that means we’ll find the bastards we’re looking for.”
“We will,” he said, his reflection appearing in the mirror. He looked at me, his lips tilting up into a lazy smile. “You look beautiful.”
I glanced at myself in the mirror. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Avery.”
He shrugged. “Just speaking the truth.”
“No sense on wasting your game when no one here cares for it.”
“Can you honestly not accept a compliment?”