“I hear you,” she snapped.
Jesse sighed, and his eyes grew heavy with sympathy. He wrapped his arms around Abby and then kissed her hair. “I’m sorry. If my job wasn’t at stake, you know I’d try to figure something out.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, something that only happened when I felt threatened and was about to unleash my full wrath on someone.
Just before I tackled him, Abby pulled away.
“I know,” she said. “You did what you could.”
Jesse lifted her chin with his finger. “I’ll see you tomorrow at five.” He bent down to kiss the corner of her mouth, and then walked away.
It was then that I noticed my body was leaning forward, and Shepley was once again gripping my shirt, his knuckles white.
Abby’s eyes were stuck to the floor.
“What’s at five?” I seethed.
“She agreed to dinner if Jesse would let her stay. She didn’t have a choice, Trav,” America said.
Abby peered up at me with her big, apologetic eyes.
“You had a choice,” I said.
“Have you ever dealt with the Mob, Travis? I’m sorry if your feelings are hurt, but a free meal with an old friend isn’t a high price to pay to keep Mick alive.”
I clamped my jaw closed, refusing to let it open for words to spill out that I would regret later.
“C’mon, you guys, we have to find Benny,” America said, pulling Abby by the arm.
Shepley walked beside me as we followed the girls down the Strip to Benny’s building. It was one block away from the bright lights, but it was somewhere the gold had never touched—and wasn’t meant to. Abby paused, and then walked up a few steps to a large, green door. She knocked, and I held her other hand to keep it from trembling.
The doorman appeared in the open doorway. He was enormous—black, intimidating, and as wide as he was tall—with the stereotypical Vegas sleazeball standing next to him. Gold chains, suspicious eyes, and a gut from eating too much of his mother’s cooking.
“Benny,” Abby breathed.
“My, my . . . you’re not Lucky Thirteen anymore, now, are ya? Mick didn’t tell me what a looker you’ve grown into. I’ve been waiting for you, Cookie. I hear you have a payment for me.”
Abby nodded, and Benny gestured to the rest of us. “They’re with me,” she said, her voice surprisingly strong.
“I’m afraid your companions will have to wait outside,” the doorman said in an abnormally deep bass tone.
I took Abby by the arm, turning my shoulder in a protective stance. “She’s not going in there alone. I’m coming with her.”
Benny eyed me for a moment, and then smiled to his doorman. “Fair enough. Mick will be glad to know you have such a good friend with you.”
We followed him inside. I kept a firm grip on Abby’s arm, making sure to stand between her and the biggest threat—the doorman. We walked behind Benny, followed him into an elevator, and then traveled up four floors.
When the doors opened, a large mahogany desk came into view. Benny hobbled to his plush chair and sat down, gesturing for us to take the two empty seats facing his desk. I sat, but adrenaline was streaming through my veins, making me twitch and fidget. I could hear and see everything in the room, including the two thugs standing in the shadows behind Benny’s desk.
Abby reached over to grab my hand, and I gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“Mick owes me twenty-five thousand. I trust you have the full amount,” Benny said, scribbling something on a notepad.
“Actually,” Abby paused, clearing her throat, “I’m five K short, Benny. But I have all day tomorrow to get that. And five thousand is no problem, right? You know I’m good for it.”
“Abigail,” Benny said, frowning, “You disappoint me. You know my rules better than that.”
“P-please, Benny. I’m asking you to take the nineteen-nine, and I’ll have the rest for you tomorrow.”
Benny’s beady eyes darted from Abby to me, and then back again. The thugs stepped out of their dark corners, and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end again.
“You know I don’t take anything but the full amount. The fact that you’re trying to hand me less tells me something. You know what it tells me? That you’re not sure if you can get the full amount.”
The thugs took another step forward. I took stock of their pockets and any shape under their clothing that screamed weapon. They both had some sort of knife, but I didn’t see any guns. That didn’t mean they didn’t have one stuffed in a boot, but I doubted either one was as fast as me. If I needed to, I could get it away from them and get us the hell out of there.
“I can get your money, Benny,” Abby giggled nervously. “I won eighty-nine hundred in six hours.”
“So are you saying you’ll bring me eighty-nine hundred in six more hours?” Benny smiled his devilish grin.
“The deadline isn’t until midnight tomorrow,” I said, glancing behind us and watching the approaching shadow men.