Levitating Las Vegas(84)
Author: Jennifer Echols

She slept, in a stage between dreams, what sounded to a mind reader like static.

Careful not to wake her, he rolled away. As he shifted his weight, he grimaced in surprise at the pain in the back of his arm, then felt for the bandage over the stab wound. He hadn’t dreamed the whole thing, that was for sure.

He slid off the bed and got up to take a piss. It wasn’t until he reentered the bedroom that he saw the wall of windows. It had been behind him the whole time he’d lain in bed, offering a panoramic view of the Strip. This must be the casino’s penthouse.

He walked to the windows and looked out. Below him, traffic on the Strip was sparse for once. Palm trees lined lush gardens, and a few joggers dotted the sidewalks. Other mirrored skyscrapers surrounded the casino, reflecting each other’s neon signs. The edge of the world was marked by barren mountains. A large orange sun peeked over them.

Elijah loved the view from up here.

He settled next to Holly in bed again, thinking back over the past day he’d been comatose, or two days, or five. He didn’t know. He was sure only that he’d liked her outfit for her new act. It made her look like she’d been chased and nearly caught by a horny fire-breathing dragon.

He wound one of her long curls around his finger. “I do love you,” he whispered.

She woke, slowly at first, dialing down the volume on the static of her sleep. She snapped alert when her eyes focused on him watching her. She hugged him hard with her slender arms and her power, full of joy that he was alive and well.

Holly sat in Elijah’s lap when the radio on his belt called, “Two minutes to curtain.”

“Two minutes to curtain,” he whispered in Holly’s ear.

In the week since the debut of her solo act, this had become their routine. As second in command of security at the casino and Holly’s personal bodyguard, Elijah came to her dressing room before the show and inspected it for safety. Then she sat straddling him on the ancient velvet couch, and they inspected each other.

For instance, at the moment he was ensuring the safety of her ear, since she couldn’t let him kiss her face and muss her dramatic makeup before a show. The sound of his whisper and the feel of his warm breath on her earlobe turned her legs to jelly.

They both started to pull away from each other as the dressing room door opened. Then they relaxed against each other again. It was only Kaylee.

But she was upset—or as upset as Kaylee ever got within view of casino employees. She closed the door behind her and said quietly, “Elijah, something’s happened. It looks like the Res is back at it.”

Holly sucked in a breath and felt Elijah’s hold tighten around her. She’d thought—or just wished—that their problems with the Res were over.

“I’m rounding up some people to go investigate with me after the show,” Kaylee said. “I need you.”

“Yes’m,” Elijah said.

“What is it?” Holly asked. “What happened, exactly?” She knew Elijah wasn’t asking because he’d already lifted the details out of Kaylee’s thoughts.

“I don’t want to tell you before the show,” Kaylee said.

“What?” Holly exclaimed, climbing off Elijah’s lap and standing to her full height on high heels. “Are you telling me not to worry my pretty little head about it?”

“Before the show,” Elijah insisted, standing beside her and slipping his hand around her waist. “It would distract you, believe me. We’ll tell you after.”

Without opening her mouth, she let him know what she thought of being treated like a child.

“No,” he said, “it’s just—when we were at the Res, Isaac took Kaylee’s Beretta.”

“Oh.” Glancing at Kaylee’s expression, Holly surmised that Isaac had used said Beretta.

“And Shane took Rob’s gun,” Kaylee added, “damn him, which is probably why they’re trying to get back at us now. I’m sure Rob’s in trouble with the sheriff that even the Res can’t get him out of.”

Maybe Holly really didn’t want to know the details before her performance. “Well, when you investigate, I’m going with you.” She would be tired when her show was over, with a ginormous headache from taxing her power. But if Isaac was trying to get Kaylee in trouble or was planning another attack on the casino, Holly wanted to know firsthand and help if she could, not wait at home to be told later. After seven years clueless, she never wanted to be in the dark again.

“No way,” Kaylee said. “You’re the magician now. You’re the public face of the casino. Your job is to look rich and stay out of trouble, like your father’s job before you.”

“My father is a weak levitator,” Holly said, “and a liability. I am not.”

“Let her come,” Elijah told Kaylee, his low voice vibrating through Holly’s chest. “Otherwise you’ll waste all night scraping together a team of half powers and those girls you’re weaning off Mentafixol. They’re more a hindrance than a help right now. Besides, Holly will convince you eventually anyway.”

Kaylee shot Elijah an evil look to shut him up.

“Or you could ask Shane,” Elijah suggested.

Kaylee laughed shortly. “Over my dead bo—”

Holly and Elijah gazed at Kaylee, waiting for her to hear what she was saying. It had been only a few days since Holly had retrieved Mr. Diamond’s body from the freezer and floated it to a casket so they could give him a proper—and very secret—burial.

“—dy,” Kaylee finished with a sigh. “All right, Holly, you can come.” She took a step closer and told Elijah, “Stop reading my mind.”

“Stop thinking,” Elijah said.

She turned in a cloud of silky blond hair and stalked from the room. She muttered, “I hate mind readers,” just before she slammed the door behind her.

Holly turned back to Elijah and kissed him very carefully on the cheek so as not to smear her dark lipstick. “Thank you for taking up for me. I was afraid you’d want me to stay home.”

“Hell no. I’ve learned my lesson. I want you there to save my ass.” He put out his hand for hers. “Showtime.”

They walked down the corridor to wait in the wings of the set, now modernized according to Holly’s design in black and sleek metal. Throbbing rock music replaced the cheesy trumpets from her dad’s show. She waited for her cue, then burst onto the stage in a cloud of dry-ice mist. She would do a few parlor tricks with sleight of hand and mirrors. Then the real magic would begin.