“You don’t guard?” Vitz frowned and in that one show of emotion I could see the wheels turning quickly in his head.
“Um, no. Not really the type to throw myself in front of a bullet, you know.” Owen flashed a cheeky smile.
Oh, no, he wouldn’t jump in front of a bullet. It wasn’t like he’d been shot just days ago when trying to save my life. But if I hadn’t known that fact, I would have been convinced by his charade. Vitz, however, didn’t seem inclined to jump on the I’m-just-a-playboy-scoundrel train.
“He is the type to play in a high stakes poker game, though.” Mavis’s lips curled into a sensual smile and she looked up at the scarred bouncer. “I have a thing for bad boys. I think I want to reform them, but in reality I just want to enjoy them being naughty.”
“A little thing like you should be careful. Most bad boys turn into bad men.” Vitz looked down at Mavis. Nothing in his expression changed, but his eyes took on a softer light.
“A woman needs a good challenge from time to time. Keeps me on my toes.” Mavis’s smile looked genuine.
“Are we good?” Patrick spoke up from next to me. “We ran the records like usual. Nothing popped. And you’re holding up the drivers.”
There was a line of cars behind our empty one with agitated drivers glaring in our direction.
“We’re good.” Vitz stepped back and waved his hand. Several men stepped out of the shadows and lowered their weapons. “I believe I must recall you from a card game. Your face is familiar.”
“I probably took your boss’s money.” Owen’s laugh was higher than normal. He slapped Vitz on the shoulder and the bouncer stared at his hand as if it was a leech. “Uh, sorry.”
Owen took his hand back and frowned before pulling Mavis against his side.
Patrick wrapped his arm around my shoulders and steered us inside of the rundown building. Light filled the cavernous space, not from holes in the roof as I had expected but from hundreds of chandeliers dangling from the beams that ran across the room. People mingled underneath all the crystal and gold, long skirts twirling, short skirts fanning out, and tuxedos that would make Valentino proud. Music pumped from unseen speakers, filling the air with an upbeat tempo and lyrics about being the best.
I forgot for half a second that I was stuck next to Captain Horny and gaped at the splendor. Slot machines pinged, people cheered, and the sound of shuffling cards bombarded my ears.
“Wow.” I bit my lip. “I never would have guessed it would be like this inside.”
Patrick leaned forward, his lips ticking the delicate hairs along my neck. “It’s never the same. Every time they move it’s something new, something mind boggling.”
“They aren’t always in Paris?” I let my eyes get big and turned to look at the man next to me. “How can they move all of this stuff? It would be impossible.”
“It might seem that way, but they manage.” He led me toward a group of men standing near a metal detector.
“Are those metal detectors?” Mavis asked. “Are they going to make me walk around without my shoes like an airport?”
I shot a glance back at Mavis and Owen. Hopefully Kenny hadn’t fallen asleep. I wasn’t sure if there was a way to disable metal detectors but hopefully the computer whiz did.
“This is just a precaution. We want to make sure everyone is safe.” Patrick stepped to the side as if he was going to leave us. “I’m going to sign into the building. The owner allows certain people to worry about their own protection.” He tapped his side to indicate something in his pocket. “You have a gun?” Owen’s eyebrows rose. “Those are terrible things.”
“I’d rather do terrible things than have terrible things done to me.” He frowned at Owen. “These settings are always safe, but you can’t be too careful.”
“Are you sure we’re safe here?” I cringed away from him a little. “I don’t like guns.”
“You’re the American!” He laughed. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Stepping away from him, I took off his jacket and handed it back to him. It gave me an excuse to put a little more space between us again. Without a care he turned and walked through a door marked personnel.
Mavis tapped her earring, which was probably a signal for Kenny. Owen smiled and threw an arm around each of our shoulders before guiding us toward the burly men next to the scanning machine.
“Do I have to take my shoes off?” Mavis scrunched her nose.
“No, ma’am. Please put your purses on the conveyor belt and step through the metal detector.” He motioned to move past him. “If you have any weapons you can check them here and we’ll make sure you will get them when you leave.”
Owen let his arms drop from our shoulders and pulled the pocket knife out and held it up for all to see.
The guard took it and handed it another man. “Tell him your name and he’ll put it away for you.”
Owen stepped to the side while Mavis and I sat our purses on the conveyor belt. As I turned to walk away I noticed the rolling belt hiccupped.
Mavis went through the metal detector first, her amused smirk in place. No alarms or flashing lights announced her weapon cache. Smiling I followed her lead and stepped through the machine. When I stepped through, I was quickly followed by Owen.
Once we were through and into the main weapons check, Patrick joined us and really seemed to light up. People said hello, waved at him from across the room, and offered him seats. He ate up the attention, especially when it came from someone of obvious wealth.