Page 58 of Claim Me

“Macallan. Neat. And information. Who is the casino manager and is he or she on the floor?”

Her eyes immediately opened. “Is something wrong, sir? Maybe I can help you.”

“Nothing is wrong. I just need to speak with whoever it is.”

She was immediately on edge, which indicated they’d already experienced issues. My guess was Popov had made open threats by spending time in the resort. Plus, with Charlie’s murder occurring in his office here at the resort, word had obviously spread he’d been shot.

“That’s Drake Carlisle, our general manager. I’ll call him for you.”

“One last thing. Do you often have Russian visitors?”

Her laugh was nervous. “Sadly, only when a fight breaks out.”

Nodding, I allowed her to go. Barely a minute later, I was presented with a drink. While she made a call on a cell phone, she constantly darted looks in my direction. Maybe because of my slight Russian accent. I’d tried to hide the inflections for years, but just spending five minutes around my parents made my English terrible.

Drake appeared less than five minutes later. Behind him were two men in suits. It was good to see they took their security seriously.

“I understand there’s a problem?” Drake asked, his body language indicating he was ready for a fight.

As a way of introducing myself, I had a business card ready. He seemed wary, hesitating before taking it. When he did, he had a look of relief.

“Mr. Dmitriyev. I was hoping you’d stop by. I’ve been expecting you.” He looked back at the two men, nodding. “It’s okay. He’s with us.”

With us meant Charlie had laid plans well ahead of his murder. The question remained. Why the fuck hadn’t he contacted me? The hardheaded bastard. Goddamn it, I was so angry with him. I might have saved his life.

Drake nestled closer to the bar, scanning the area first. “I’m sorry for the rude introduction. As you might imagine, we’re all a little on edge.”

“Understandable. Were you here the night Charles was shot?”

“My one night off. Jesus. I keep thinking to myself if I’d been here, maybe I could have warned Charles.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“He was here late, which was a regular occurrence. But by then the rest of the office staff had left for the day. Somehow, the gunman got past the security and into the executive offices. From what I heard, there was no sign of a break-in.”

Which could mean someone on the inside was an accomplice. “Who found the body?”

“A janitor. Maybe you should talk to the detective in charge, Ryan something. I have it written down.” He shook his head.

“I’ve spoken with the detective. He was less than helpful.”

“I hope Charles is going to be okay. Since Jameson died, I mean Mr. Valentine senior, Charles has really managed to pull the team together. Fucking Russians.”

The news had yet to update his employees about his death.

“You’ve had issues with men working for Vladimir Popov,” I pushed.

“So you do know what we’re dealing with.” Another look of relief was followed by a single bead of sweat. The man was frightened.

“Yes, I have a general idea. I assume you’ve had some issues.”

“On and off. Popov had a few meetings with Jameson, which I wasn’t privy to. Nothing out of the ordinary until after his death and Charles took over.”

I sat back, processing what he’d said. “Then things escalated.”

“Over time. There were a few visits early when Charles came in, but he had no desire to talk to Mr. Popov’s attorney. I could tell Charles was on edge over the last three weeks; there’s always some Russian goon or five in the resort. I mean no disrespect.” He laughed nervously.

“None taken. We are from two different breeds.”