Shadows May Fall (40 page)

“I knew you would.” Niko stuffed his cigarette case back into his coat pocket.

“Tell our Dom I approve.” He inhaled deeply and leaned against the wall next to Niko.

“He’ll be happy to hear that although I don’t think it would make a difference at this point if you didn’t.” Niko snickered.

“Good point.” John conceded. “She’s not too thrilled with Humphry. Or any of them, for that matter but Humphry, she’s got a beat on.”

“Are her instincts correct?” Niko raised an eyebrow.

“On the money.” John nodded and retrieved something from his trouser pocket then handed it to Niko. “It’s all there.”

Niko looked and saw he was giving him a thumb drive. “This isn’t a virus like the last time, is it?”

John laughed. “Oh come on! That was funny!”

Niko had to grin. “Not at the time.”

The last thumb drive John had given Niko contained a computer virus that had accessed Niko’s personal email account and spammed his entire contact list with a mocked up video clip of a male stripper with Niko’s face superimposed over the dancer’s. The email read like an advertisement requesting everyone to show their support and come see his performance. Niko had been livid at the time but after the embarrassment had faded, he appreciated the evil genius. Pranks had been an ongoing show of affection between the two men for decades.

“This one is clean.” John held up his hand as if to swear. “This is too serious a situation to screw around. I’ll get you back later.”

“I look forward to it.” Niko grinned again.

“Alright,” John dropped the cigarette and crushed it under foot. “I’m out. I get to catch a ride on your Gulfstream to Barbados for a couple weeks. I’ll hit you when I get back.”

“Thanks again, brother.” Niko gave his long time friend a hug. “No running off and getting married again.” John chuckled as he stepped back into the shadows. “Thirteenth time is a charm!” He shouted as he vanished. Niko just had to laugh.

The sound of electric guitars started resonating in Lou’s ears and she
thought she could smell something burning. Was it marshmallows? Was someone making smores? How could she be hungry already? She just finished stuffing her face. Now Lou could hear singing with the guitars, a man, no a woman. Was it both? Did she leave the radio on in the car? Had she fallen asleep again while Dillon was driving? Yes, that had to be it. They were singing ‘
Sweet Home Alabama
’ on the way home.

“Lou! It’s time.” The radio told her. But what was it time for?

“Lou! You’re going to miss your appointment if you don’t wake up!”

“I’m too full.” She told the radio. “Stop talking, I love this song.”

“Lou, I’m not the radio!” The voice laughed at her and Lou realized it wasn’t the radio but Caroline.

“How are you in the radio?” She asked her friend.

“Niko, she’s stuck.” Caroline shouted.

“I’m not stuck.” Lou grumbled. “The car’s stuck. Stupid traffic.”

“Lou, wake up girlie!” Caroline tried to wake her friend out of her sleep stupor.

“I’ll carry her and put her on the table. You strip her and get the sheet over her.” Niko suggested as soon as he saw Lou was still out cold.

“Seems like a waste, doesn’t it?” Caroline didn’t like the plan. “Maybe just get her on the couch and we can get some coffee in her?”

“No sheet!” Lou shouted into the pillow. “I’m not dead!”

Niko grumbled. “Yeah. You’re right. It would be a waste. I’ll have Inga come back in a half hour when she’s coherent.” Niko picked Lou up and threw her over his shoulder. “Let’s go little girl.” He announced as he carried her downstairs.

“You are such a shitty driver.” Lou informed him, making him snort.

Niko placed Lou on the couch and arranged her properly. “Alright, get her some coffee. Inga, I need a huge favor....”

While Niko used his charms on the linebacker of a masseuse, Caroline got a damp cloth from the bathroom then headed down and slapped it on Lou’s head before she fetched her coffee. Completely ignoring Lou’s shriek, she resumed singing to the radio. Lou’s sleep stupor started to crack as she struggled to find the source of freezing wetness on her head. As soon as she got a grip on the wet cloth, she tossed it as far as she could and tried to open her eyes. The brilliant sunshine was almost blinding, but she managed to eventually focus on the cup that was set in front of her on the coffee table.

“I’m not allowed to let you hold it until I’m sure you’re awake.” Caroline informed her. “Strict orders from your mother and after she told me the story, I understand why.” Caroline crossed her hands over her pubic bone in an act of solidarity to Lou’s old self-inflicted third-degree burns. “That must have sucked.”

“You have no idea.” Lou told her as she started to realize she was not in Dillon’s car and Caroline was not actually in his radio. She waited a couple more minutes before she dared to reach for the cup.

“Inga will be back in a half hour.” Niko informed them as soon as he returned. “I sent her shopping as a stall tactic.”

“Inga? Shopping?” Lou was confused.

“Inga, our masseuse.” He explained. “Yes, shopping.”

“Shopping for what?” Lou continued to lob questions.

“Whatever she wants.” He grinned. “Trust me, she’s worth it.”

“Oh yeah!” Lou suddenly remembered. “Your magic fingers gal.” Niko nodded and Lou perked up even more. “Gimme that coffee!”

The marshmallow smell that Lou thought she was dreaming was actually fresh pastries that Niko had ordered from room service. Lou nearly fell over when she saw that it was almost noon. She had been asleep for twelve hours. Fortunately, everyone had slept in since they hadn’t gone to bed until after three. Apparently they all had a hot streak and the crap table and poker was very good to the rest of the men. Lou felt a little better that she wasn’t the only late riser, even if she went to bed four hours before them.

By the time Inga returned, Lou had managed another cup of coffee and was wide awake and nearly salivating at the thought of a massage. Caroline conned Niko into taking her shopping and they took off, so Lou disrobed and prepared for her massage. The woman could have crushed Lou’s skull in one hand, she was so massive but Niko was right, she was a magician. She spent an hour and a half working every knot and kink out of every muscle in Lou’s body. Lou had even fallen asleep once and woken herself up with her own snoring. She was mortified, but the German goddess assured her that it was a compliment. That she could relax her client and make them feel secure enough that they could fall asleep was a good thing. As the grand finale of the massage, Inga pulled on each individual toe, causing them to make a pop. Lou had never felt anything so incredible in her entire life. She had half a mind to propose to the woman but instead, she gave her an extra large tip and a hug.

After Inga had left, Lou grabbed another cup of coffee, one of the pastries then topped off her indulgent early afternoon with that bubble bath. When she finished her bath, she saw a text from Caroline letting her know that they were in the casino and for her to join them when she was decent. Lou doubted she would ever be decent but understood what she meant.

Lou felt guilty. Mary Sheehan’s face kept flashing in her mind. Over a dozen women had been murdered and Lou was stuffing her face and getting a massage. How was that fair? It wasn’t supposed to be, though. It was life. Lou had nearly died a few times now so it wasn’t a totally charmed life she was living. Why did she feel so guilty for feeling so content? Why certain things happened to certain people was a mystery and that’s just the way it was. She needed to be in the moment and stop thinking so much. ‘
Why
’ wasn’t going to get answered today, if ever.

After snapping out of her guilt trip, Lou put on the outfit that Caroline had laid out for her then went down to the casino to hunt for her pals. The place was busier than it had been the day before, but the Nugget was a much more intimate place than most of the anthill casinos on the strip. So, the odds were in her favor on finding her friends before the sun went down. She had casino money burning a hole in her pocket and was ready to have some serious fun. After a ten minute search, she finally found Caroline, Niko Abby and Frank at a blackjack table with open seats so she sat down and the hilarity ensued. Within an hour they not only had the dealer laughing, they even had the pit boss cracking up. It was another one of those in-the-moment deals that made Lou feel totally blessed. Now if Max showed up and joined them, life would be perfect.

“Someone needs to keep track of time.” Abby reminded them. “What for?” Lou asked.

“We’re going dancin’, missy!” Dillon magically appeared and took the other empty seat.

“Where have you been all day? Caroline asked with a suspicious tone.

“Looks like you’ve been in the sun.” Lou observed.

“I have indeed.” Dillon grinned. “There’s a grown up pool on the roof.”

“But it’s too cold!” Caroline shivered just thinking about it. “I’m from Washington by way of Washington.” He reminded them. “Anything above sixty-five degrees is hot to me.”

“Good point.” Lou conceded. “Now, what about this dancing thing?”

“I marked your outfit.” Caroline got back to the plans for the evening. “I’ll do your hair and stuff too.”

“Just stick with us, kid. You are gonna have the time of your life!” Abby grinned and winked at Dillon, who clearly had something up his sleeve, but Lou was none the wiser.

“Sounds good!” Lou was in. “I need to dance off last night’s dinner and the four pastries I ate today.”

“Oh man, I had at least half a dozen.” Caroline confessed. “Those were so good.”

“How is it you girls can pack away more food than I can and never gain an ounce?” Dillon whined, it was a total role reversal.

“Caroline can get away with it.” Lou explained. “Me, I’ll pay in serious inches if I don’t dance my ass off tonight, trust me.”

As the dealer passed out another round of cards, they all laughed at the voluminous amounts of food that Caroline could put away without suffering any of the ill effects, besides occasional indigestion. The topic turned to favorite foods then favorite cocktails then to what drinks they each had always wanted to try. It was decided that they would be trying all of them later that evening. Lou was able to ask about Max’s whereabouts without appearing too obvious and Frank informed her that he was touching bases with Yuri and Finn, then would be attending a private poker game or something like that later. She tried to hide her disappointment and figured she might get lucky and pass him in the hall before they went out for the evening.

As five o’clock rolled around, they all agreed it was time to wrap things up, get something to eat so they didn’t get totally inebriated later on, then get all fancied up for the night’s festivities. They wandered out to Freemont Street and grabbed a hot dog while they laughed and people watched for another half hour. Once again Lou’s stomach ached but this time it was from all the laughing and not the food. They were all being so silly, like teenagers faking accents and making up names for passers-by. Lou couldn’t remember the last time she had so much silly fun, excluding every day with her mother, that is. When Abby finally made loud slurping sounds from her empty soda, they agreed it was time to get cracking. They headed back to the hotel, crammed into the elevator singing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ at the top of their lungs the whole way then went to separate quarters.

When Lou made it to her door, she had worked up enough courage to ring Max’s bell. She had planned to say that she was just checking in to see if Finn and Yuri were alright as an excuse for bothering him but after two tries with no answer, she knew he wasn’t there. She figured he was already at his poker game or whatever he had planned for the night. Lou absentmindedly rubbed a spot on her chest that ached a bit. She figured it was just her wound still healing but deep down she knew it was something else entirely. As she slipped her key card into her door lock, she felt a sudden sadness again. This time, it was for a lost opportunity. If she hadn’t been so damned tired the night before, and didn’t eat like a royal pig, she might have spent more time with Max. She might have even had the chance to spend time alone with him. The man was only across the hall from here. No parents down on the other side of the house, no chance of the hoard descending on her room to interrupt. She could have been really bold and yanked him by the tie into her room for the night. The thought of that made her laugh as she headed inside. Lou’s room had been cleaned spotless while she was gone and fresh flowers had replaced yesterday’s. As she reached her bedroom she saw a dress hanging on the closet door with shoes set out beneath it. Lou knew for a fact that she had never purchased that dress nor had she ever seen it before in her life. The simple plummy brown A-line garment shimmered even in the dim light and when she touched the fabric it felt pajama soft and Lou was instantly in love. The shoes were a strappy pair of sandals with a reasonable heel that Lou knew she could easily dance all night in, thank heavens. She would never understand how Caroline could find the perfect color shoes to match all her outfits but loved that these were the same iridescent plum brown to match the dress. Lou held the dress against her and looked in the mirror to see how it was going to look and she couldn’t help but do a little dance. Now she was excited to go out, so she put the dress back and headed for the shower. When she got to the bathroom, there was a box on the vanity with a bow and a card leaning against it. When she opened the card it was a simple white rectangle that read:

I hope you have a magical evening

- Max

She opened the box to find a pair of chandelier earrings encrusted in some amazingly sparkly gemstone in the same plummy brown as the shoes and dress. They took her breath away. They were magnificent and probably cost more than she made in two years. Her first reaction was that she couldn’t possibly accept such an extravagant gift but then again, they were just the prettiest things she had ever seen in her life. Then she remembered what Abby had said about their looking for ways to spend money and she wondered. Where was the harm in accepting them, really? She just loved them. Lou closed the box and put it on her bed then raced to take her shower. She was excited to try on her new things and was feeling very pretty and girlie for once in her life without having to. As she showered she thought of how to wear her hair and makeup but then practicality set in when she remembered what a mess she turned into after dancing all night. When she got out of the shower and was toweling off, she found herself grow sad again. Lou wanted him to be there. She wanted him to see her pretty for a change instead of the dirty jean, rag mess after work that he usually saw. Her chest ached again. Max was off doing his own thing. She blew her chance last night. Lou would have to wait until tomorrow to see him when they all headed home.

Caroline stormed into
Lou’s room from the upstairs entrance wearing an oversized t-shirt, her hair in curlers and laughing hysterically. Abby was right behind her wearing one of the hotel robes, her hair also in giant curlers, laughing so hard she was snorting.