Where the hell was Mickey? Him and his a-guy-that’ll-fight-for-you routine? Iris wasn’t sure which man she was angrier with, but it was time to drive her point home. Stalking past David, she marched to the bedroom and flung open the door.
To find an empty, pristine room. Her bed was made, the blinds were open to the rising sun, all clothing was picked up and put away. She darted for the bathroom, but it, too, was empty. She turned to find David standing in the bedroom doorway.
“Are you through with this little game, Iris? It’s most unbecoming.”
Mickey had vanished like a shadow before an oncoming storm. Well, what had she expected? She’d been the one to say no promises, no regrets. Thank God he’d missed her embarrassing tirade.
David straightened his cuffs with a hefty sigh. “I apologize for falsely accusing you of harboring your fugitive father, but I don’t see why you felt the need to go to such extremes to shame me. I’ve got to go to work now, but I’ll come by tonight. I think this bears more discussion.” He turned to leave.
“David, wait.” She hurried to him. “I’m sorry. The truth is, I’m not the woman you think I am, and I can’t go on pretending this will work.” She tugged the engagement ring from her left hand and pressed it into his. “I can’t marry you.”
He looked down at the diamond before his gaze returned to her. “We can talk about this tonight. You’re not yourself right now.”
Iris laughed. “That’s just it. I am myself, maybe for the first time in months-years!”
“But we had our future all mapped out. This was what we both wanted.”
She thought of Mickey. The closest they’d come to a future plan was promising not to keep secrets from each other in bed.
“No, it’s what you wanted, and God, how I tried to fit myself into your plan. But I won’t cut myself off from my family. And you know Cosmo-you can’t afford to have him be a part of your public life. Well, I won’t allow anyone to dictate to me and tell me my father can’t be a part of my life.”
His brow furrowed, David pocketed the ring. “I thought you were as fed up with his antics as anyone. You said you wanted to put distance between you and him.”
“I said it. I even believed it. But I never meant it.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He peered down at her with all that earnestness that was bound to get him elected. “Because you’re not making any sense this morning.”
“No, I suppose not.” She took his hand once more. “You’re a good person and, frankly, you deserve someone better than me. You’ve got an ideal partner all picked out, now you just have to go find her.”
David’s face flushed and he pulled away. “I’m sorry you feel this way, Iris. I’ll be at the office if you change your mind.”
She stifled the urge to beat her head against the nearest wall. But this, she realized, was David’s biggest flaw yet greatest virtue-he thought only with his practical mind and never his heart. “I wish you well, David.”
“Goodbye, then.” He stopped to retrieve his briefcase, then quietly let himself out the door, leaving Iris alone.
She hung her head, overwhelmed by this change of course she’d just made in her life. It frightened and exhilarated her. Slowly, she walked back to the bedroom. “Mickey?”
There was no answer.
Not that she’d expected him to be hiding in the closet or beneath her bed. She checked both places, just to be sure. He’d pulled a vanishing act, as simple and effective as any Cosmo had ever managed in his life.
David deserved a better woman than one who would cheat on him with a man she barely knew. And she’d gotten what she deserved-a guy who gave her the best sex she’d ever had, then disappeared without a word or a promise.
Traffic-if you could call three cars, a cab and a garbage truck that-was light. Cory fed the parking meter while she absorbed the near silence of a Monday morning in downtown. The strident beeping of a truck in reverse quickly shattered the moment, but that just reassured her that though the Fremont Street district might look like a ghost town at this hour, it just needed a few hours to refresh and rejuvenate.
Yesterday afternoon had been a total washout for her. Once Allie discovered she couldn’t find Iris, she’d convinced Hunter he should be worried. Cory got swept along with the two of them as they went to search Lying Eyes, but the only thing out of place there was what looked like a small cat litter box.
Man, the way Allie reacted to that, you’d think she could picture someone holding a gun to that rabbit’s head. It was bad enough she was spouting off that she feared Iris had been abducted, but the look on Hunter’s face was what had finally scared Cory.
He’d looked like he thought Allie might be right.
Cory had stuck with them until she had to leave for work. Around one in the morning, Allie had left a message on her cell that Iris and Edgar were both safe at home. While she was glad Iris was okay, Cory was still irritated that her own search had been delayed.
She entered the lobby of the Golden Gate Hotel, its small dark interior a throwback to an earlier era. The clerk nodded sleepily to her as she passed through into the casino area. Like many of the casinos up here, the low ceilings gave a sense of cavelike safety and tranquility. Fewer lights and bells, smaller spaces, darker colors than their Strip counterparts, these casinos tended to attract the locals.
Cory had met plenty of them during her two years working this area. Most new dealers took years to work their way into a job at the big casinos. She’d been lucky Papa had a few connections. That, and she was damn good at her job.
The Golden Gate’s casino was practically empty, so Cory passed on through to exit the Fremont Street entrance. From here, it was a short walk down to the Four Queens. This time, she’d run her quarry to ground.
She steeled herself. She’d avoided answers for so many years, she wasn’t sure she wanted them anymore.
Justin sipped his tea as he entered Iris Fortune’s apartment building on Monday morning. He was hoping today would hold fewer screwy surprises for him, but that hope got shot to hell when the elevator opened to reveal Mickey inside.
Cool as could be, Mickey walked past him without a glance.
Justin didn’t miss the telltale bruising on Mickey’s temple, or the grim cast to his unshaven jaw. He’d gotten into some sort of trouble last night. As much as Justin wanted to follow him and get answers, it was too public. If anyone recognized Mickey talking to a cop, both of them could be toast.
He breathed deeply and regularly while he rode up to the eighteenth floor. It wasn’t his place to judge, nor to control. Since Mickey was putting his life on the line for this case, who could blame him for grasping a little passion? If Justin were fifteen years younger, he might do the same thing.
The memory of Allie’s creamy skin and big tawny eyes made him curse under his breath. That was never going to happen-she probably thought of him as a kindly old uncle. She trusted him, for crying out loud.
The elevator doors opened and Justin found himself staring at a businessman who looked vaguely familiar.
“Excuse me,” the guy said.
They passed each other, but it wasn’t until after the elevator doors closed that Justin realized the man was David Grantham.
Well, well, well. Iris Fortune must have had an interesting morning.
Foote was still standing by her door.
“Any activity here last night?” Hunter sipped his tea.
“Kincaid spent the night with her.” Foote delivered the news deadpan, though questions hung all over the hallway. He was the only uniformed cop who knew Mickey’s true identity. They’d had to bring Foote in on the secret when the young cop hauled Mickey’s ass into jail one night.
Hunter continued to drink his tea, silence being a loud and clear order to drop the subject. Hooking a thumb toward the elevator, he asked, “What about the other guy I just saw?”