that cute look of confusion continued to stamp itself across her face, Rafe added, “I know quality when I see it. I also know an idea that will bring people into my casino, potentially enticing them to stay and play. Your fairy glade and evil witch will be a perfect enchantment once the holidays are over.”
“Thank you.”
“I only have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“What happens when they get past the evil queen?”
Evangeline tapped the rolled paper on the table, all confusion gone from her eyes. “It’s all up to the guest.”
“Oh?”
“They can turn right back the way they came. Or they can push past her and straight on through to the other side and try their luck in your casino.”
“Cowardice or greed, Miss Kennedy?”
“I’d say it fits most people to a T.”
He couldn’t say why his conversation with Evangeline unsettled him, but three hours later Rafe was still restless as he prowled the casino floor. He’d spent a few moments glad-handing the high rollers, thanking them for their business and ensuring they were comfortable with all the Archangel’s accommodations. As three of the five individuals he met with had been back several times, he took it as a noteworthy sign his staff was exceeding expectations—as expected.
After the floor visits he moved on up to Security. The command center was the heart of the property’s sophisticated security system and the high-tech room boasted a setup as slick as NASA, only with newer equipment. He and his brother had maintained his father’s practice—all technology was upgraded annually.
The Archangel was their business and their sanctuary and they were committed to it staying profitable and safe. As a result, the security team was handpicked and compensated handsomely for seeing to both.
“Floor’s looking good today.” Charlie, the husband of one of Rafe’s multitude of cousins, greeted him. The grizzled ex-marine had shoulders like a linebacker and eyes as flat as a cobra. And two pictures of his one-year-old twin daughters dotted his console, both decked out in frilly pink.
“No issues with the weeklong bachelor party in quadrant six?”
“Nope. All of ’em already moved on to their rooms, the decidedly overt flirtations of a group of conference goers reassigning their priorities.” Charlie shook his head. “Casino hormones. Nothing else on earth as powerful.”
“Except how cute Alexis and Andie are.”
Those flat eyes warmed immediately, Charlie’s gaze flicking to the photos of his girls. “They’re amazing. And will be locked up in roughly two decades to avoid the same sort of business that recently went down in quadrant six.”
“No casino hormones for them?”
“Over my dead body. And any men who dare to touch them.”
A thoroughly unpleasant image filled his mind’s eye at the clear promise in those words as Rafe patted Charlie’s shoulder. He was about to head to Gabe’s office when something caught his eye on the pool cams. “There.” Rafe pointed toward the top row of screens. “Zoom in on the west pool.”
Charlie moved quickly over the console, the image transferring to a larger viewing screen in the center of the room. “This what you want?”
“Yep. Zoom in on the area in front of the greenhouse.”
Charlie did as he was asked, but his tone was speculative as he manipulated the image on-screen. “Busy part of the property. I hear the night crew spent quite a bit of time on this sector last night.”
“Son of a bitch.” Rafe shook his head, another more inventive curse following his first. “Damn fool woman.”
Although Charlie’s shift to the big screen in the center added breadth and depth to the image, Evangeline was just as unmistakable on the smaller screen. She moved over the area in front of the greenhouse, her steps slow and plodding as she retraced the night before.
But it was the moment she knelt and bent toward the earth, her hands roaming over the exact spot where he’d burst into flames, that had Rafe out of the security room and headed for the far side of the Archangel.
Evangeline traced and retraced her steps, searching for anything that might prove there was a fire in the area in front of the greenhouse. Yet no matter how hard she searched, each blade of grass was as pristine and green as the one next to it.
She knew horticulture. And the earth. And how the soil nurtured what grew within it. Fire was a natural form of renewal, even with the immediate destruction it left in its path.
But she also knew herself. She trusted her instincts and she sure as hell trusted her eyes.
And last night she saw a man burning in this very spot.
Yet Rafe Stavros stood there this morning, plain as day, and told her nothing had happened the night before on the property.
Was he hiding something? She’d spent her life in Las Vegas and was well aware of the city’s more seedy reputation. More than a few had lost their souls in the desert—gambling was a gateway to any number of crimes. While she’d always believed she worked for one of the more honest and upstanding employers on the Strip, it was always possible the Stavros family was into any number of poor practices.
“What are you doing out here?”
Evangeline popped back on her heels as the low voice washed over her from behind. “Checking the grass.”
“For?”
She thrust her chin out and stared up at him. “Signs of burn marks.”
“Find any?”
“No.”
It shocked her how defeated she felt. She knew what she’d seen, damn it. A man stood in this very spot the night before, on fire. People didn’t just imagine those things.
Even if your mother had?
The small voice whispered through her mind, as scary as it was real. Her memories might be that of a child’s, but Evangeline could still remember the sleepless nights as her mother descended into madness.
“Come with me.” Rafe stood above her, his hand extended. She took in those long, tapered fingers, the strength in them evident as she accepted what he offered.
“Where are we going?”
“For reasons that elude me, you seem offended when I suggest you’re working too hard.”
“I most certainly am no—” Her words—and the corresponding tug of her hand against his—were cut off as Rafe pulled her against his body.
A
