Page 7 of Caruso

When will this ever end?

Apparently, Simon saw her enter the room, and the guest followed shortly afterwards. When they were in there for a while, her cart remaining unattended outside, he began to grow suspicious.

I knew I liked this guy.

Something about the guest felt off to him, and as he waited, he ordered a sweep of the guy via our intelligence network.

It appears he is wanted in several states for rape, so Simon wasted no time in calling in reinforcements.

We protect our business, which also involves our colleagues, and yet when he burst into the room, he couldn’t believe the sight in front of him.

Due to the fact that my brothers are otherwise occupied, it has fallen on me to sort this shit out.

As I enter the room, he is the first person I see, and I note the body at his feet before my gaze travels to the woman sitting calmly on the bed.

She is certainly dressed like one of the housekeeping staff, but there is something different about her.

Aside from the fact she is stunning, she holds herself with a confidence that I admire. She has just murdered a man and yet shows no emotion at all as she stares at the floor, her hands resting in her lap.

I nod to Simon to follow me, and we move to the entrance, just inside the door.

“What happened?”

“He attacked her. She fought back.”

A trace of admiration passes his expression, and I can’t help sharing it.

“It’s her first day.” Simon says in a whisper, “Shall I call it in?”

I glance past him and note the small, waiflike figure awaiting her fate and the grotesque man lying dead at her feet.

“Not yet.”

I angle my head toward the door.

“Call the cleaners.”

He nods, understanding my meaning because the cleaners are not the ones in the usual sense. They remove things we would rather remain inside our hotel and deal with shit that is best left out of the headlines.

Before he leaves, I pull him back.

“Anyone who will miss him?”

“I’m working on it.”

“Discover what you can. The last thing we need is more headlines and another visit from the cops.”

It appears that trouble packs its bags for Vegas and checks into my hotel, and I never thought most of my time would be spent covering that up to save my hotel from notoriety. My aim is decadence and fine living, not a seedy joint in town where pimps and criminals hang out.

As Simon leaves to arrange the cleanup, I head inside and sit beside the girl on the bed, side by side.

She stiffens but continues to stare at the floor, and I say softly, “I’m Matteo Caruso.”

“I know.”

“Then you are ahead of me because I don’t recall your name.”

“Taylor Harvey. I started today.”