“I don’t remember the last time there was this amount of chaos,” Annie replied. When they got to the hotel, Annie ordered room service—tea and a basket of baked goods. “A little nourishment.”

  “Have I eaten anything lately?” Myra asked.

  “Not really,” Annie said as she pulled out a few things from her closet. “How’s this?” It was a purple caftan dress. “Goes with the boots.”

  “Perfect.” Myra smiled and yawned. She felt a weight had been lifted off her shoulders since Nikki had awakened.

  “You should probably take a nap before you go back to the hospital.”

  “You know? I just might do that.” Myra rested herself on the bed and stretched.

  Annie went back to the closet to fetch a few more items. When she turned back, Myra was sound asleep. Finally. There was a knock on the door. It was room service. She silently pointed to the coffee table and signed the check. She was debating waking her friend when the house phone rang, jolting Myra upright. For a moment, she was disoriented. Annie put her hand on Myra’s shoulder as she took the call.

  “Yes, thank you,” Annie said before she hung up. “That was the front desk. A package from Neiman Marcus arrived. I ordered a few things I know will fit.”

  “How do you manage to juggle so many things?” Myra rested against the pillows and covered her eyes with her arm.

  “Because I can.” Annie picked up a few of the hotel bath amenities and began to juggle them.

  Myra burst out laughing. “I can’t believe you can still do that.”

  “Practice, darling, practice.” She set the items down and answered the door. A bellman handed over three shopping bags.

  Myra sat up. “Let’s see what you bought.”

  Annie opened the bags and took out a pair of white jeans, a white blouse, black slacks, a black tank top, and a kimono. “I already have a belt for the jeans. I’ll have to wait until I get to LA to pick up a cowboy hat.”

  “And what about a head-wrap to go with the caftan?”

  “Brilliant!” Annie shouted. “Might as well go full Hollywood.”

  Annie stopped packing and fixed the two of them a plate of cheese and croissants. “I want you to eat all of this.”

  “I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Myra said as she gladly accepted the plate.

  Within the hour, Annie finished packing, and Myra finished her plate. Myra phoned Jack to tell him she was going to take a nap and come back to the hospital in a couple of hours.

  “That’s fine, Myra. Cooper is good company. He plays a pretty good game of checkers.”

  “Oh, I know. He’s beaten me on more than one occasion.” Myra laughed. Jack wasn’t kidding, as Cooper always traveled with a set of checkers in his gear. How he learned to play had always been a mystery.

  “See you later.” Jack hung up and went back to studying Cooper’s technique. The dog would put his paw on the space where he wanted to move; then he would tap the checker he wanted to jump over. It was incredible. The dog possessed some very unusual talents.

  Chapter Thirty

  The Roundup

  Annie left for the airport. Her plane would stop in Virginia and pick up Alexis before heading to Las Vegas. Along the way, Annie phoned an acquaintance in Las Vegas named Felicia Wainwright. Felicia’s family owned several hotels and casinos in Sin City.

  “Of course your associate can hone her skills at one of our tables,” Felicia said after Annie had explained her request. Felicia gave Annie the name of the hotel and who Alexis should contact upon arrival. Felicia would also book a room for her.

  Now it was up to Alexis to concoct a story to get Bennie to meet her at the casino. She would be sure to be at the diner when Bennie usually arrived. She’d chat him up about her new job.

  By the time Annie’s plane had stopped in Virginia, then Las Vegas, and finally arrived in Los Angeles, Annie had been up in the air for almost ten hours. Good thing the jet had sleeping accommodations.

  Las Vegas

  After the plane landed in Las Vegas, Alexis got in the town car that was waiting for her. It dropped her off at the hotel, where she checked in at the front desk before briefly meeting up with Sasha. Not having any other Sisters with her for backup, Sasha was willing to keep an eye out on Alexis’s behalf. Plus, Bennie was a hulk of a man. It would take at least two of them to transport him. Sasha would keep her distance, but both knew if trouble ensued, there was coverage. It also made it easier for Alexis to move freely, with Sasha relaying information to Charles. Alexis wouldn’t have to worry about sneaking off or hiding behind a palm tree or statue of Julius Caesar if she needed to make a call.

  Once Alexis was safely in her hotel room, she enacted her transformation. She donned a dress that revealed at both the bottom and the top. There wasn’t a whole lot of fabric anywhere; if she bent over too far, she could be arrested. Then again, she was in Vegas. Probably, no one would notice. Her hair and makeup was equally dramatic. Her eyelashes stood out like tarantulas, and the wig was long and black. The heels on her shoes made her very long legs look like sexy stilts clad in sheer stockings. Very sexy, but not too trashy.

  The diner Bennie frequented was within walking distance of Alexis’s hotel. Once outside, she checked her watch. Right on time. She spotted him a few feet from the entrance. He went inside. She picked up her pace and followed him in.

  Sasha followed a block behind. She leaned against a nearby building and sent a text update to Charles:

  A. made contact with the mark. At diner.

  Bennie sat down at the counter. Alexis wiggled onto the stool next to him. He didn’t notice. She had to start a conversation.

  “Excuse me—could you hand me one of those napkins?”

  “Sure.” Bennie slid the metal dispenser toward her.

  “Thank you kindly,” Alexis cooed. Still nothing. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m new in town. This is my first time here. What would you recommend?” She waited.

  “I usually get an omelet and a side of pancakes. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered anything else. Sorry.” He turned away from her.

  The waitress came over and asked Alexis what she wanted. “I’ll take the pancakes with two scrambled eggs, please, and a coffee,” Alexis answered. She was not about to quit moving in on Bennie. “I’m starting at job at the Casa Bella Casino today,” she told him.

  “Good for you,” he said, still looking straight ahead.

  “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you. It’s just that I’m a little nervous. They put me at a high stakes table.”

  Bennie finally spun his seat slightly in her direction. “Blackjack?”

  “Uh-huh.” Alexis subtly licked her lips. “I know sometimes when people are losing, they can get a bit testy.”

  “No one is going to hassle you. That place is fat with security. Plus cameras.”

  “You seem to know a lot about it.” She was pouring it on thick.

  “It’s pretty much the same everywhere.” He turned back to face front.

  “Do you play blackjack?” she asked.

  “Nah. Too rich and risky for my budget.”

  “Why don’t you stop by my table?” Alexis said. “Maybe I can be your good luck charm.”

  Finally, Bennie did a ninety-degree turn on his stool. “Look. You seem like a nice person, but it’s really not my game.”

  “My name is Geri.” Alexis put out her hand. She was unflappable.

  “Ben . . . but my friends call me Mike,” he added hastily.

  “Okay, Mike. Nice to meet you.” Now she had him fully engaged in conversation. “Do you live here, or are you just visiting?”

  “I live here. For now.” He turned front-forward again.

  “Are you planning on leaving?” Alexis blew on her coffee.

  “Yeah. Maybe.” He obviously was not in the mood for small talk.

  “I don’t know where I’d go if I had to move.”

  “You’ll figure something out.” He motioned for the check.

  “Too bad you have to rush off,” Alexis said calmly, while her brain spun for a way to get him to stay. “I could use the company.”

  He seemed to relax a bit. It has been a long time since he’d had a conversation with a woman. What harm could it do to shoot the breeze for a little bit? Besides, he had nothing else to do.

  Alexis chatted him up for another half hour as she daintily ate her breakfast. By the time her check came, Bennie seemed even more relaxed. Alexis had to go all-out at this point. “I get off at four o’clock. Want to meet for a drink?”

  Bennie bit his lip. Then he reminded himself he still had nothing better to do. “Sure. Why not?”

  They agreed to meet at one of the bars at the hotel. The next step would be to convince him to come up to her room. She’d slip him a mickey, zip-tie his legs and feet, then gag him with duct tape. He’d remain in the bathtub until she could get a ride to the farm. If Kathryn and Maggie could nab Darius, they could have their show on the road in the next twenty-four hours. Alexis knew she could keep Bennie safely sedated for at least a day.

  Alexis reported to work at the blackjack table and put in her shift. When she was finished, she walked through the casino, then the hotel lobby and into the bar. Sasha watched from a few yards away. Alexis was a few minutes early, so she took a seat at a cocktail table away from other people. A waitress came over to take her order.

  “I’ll have a tonic with lime, please,” Alexis said.

  “Just tonic?” The waitress looked surprised.

  “For now. Thanks.” Alexis wanted to be sure she had all her wits about her.

  A few minutes after 5:00, Bennie, aka Mike, wandered into the lounge. He was squinting to see if he could spot her.

  Alexis gave him a little wave. She noticed he had changed his clothes from earlier that day. Maybe that was a good sign that this part of the mission would be easier than she originally thought. He had been nearly implacable during breakfast. He made his way over to the table. Sasha watched from two tables over. The waitress reappeared with Alexis’s tonic and asked Bennie what he wanted to drink.

  “Jack Daniels. On the rocks.” He nodded at her and finally added, “Please.”

  Alexis thought he might be nervous, so began the conversation with typical questions without sounding like she was interrogating him. She decided to add a little dash of flirty and casually brush against his arm. She didn’t want to scare him off, but time was ticking away.

  “What do you do for a living?”

  “Retired.”

  “How long have you lived here?”

  “Too long.”

  “Do you have any kids?”

  “Nope. Never married.”

  That explains a few things, Alexis thought.

  After Bennie took a second sip of his drink, his shoulders relaxed. Alexis wondered how many more sips it would take before he was pliable. She glanced over at Sasha, who feigned interest in the piano player.

  Alexis motioned for the waitress to bring her another tonic and Bennie another drink. “It’s on me. I did pretty well with tips today. That’s one of the perks about dealing at the high-end tables, although there are a ton of cheapskates, too.”

  Bennie tapped his finger on the table as if to agree. A few minutes later, and another Jack Daniels had been delivered to the table. If he didn’t go for the invitation to go up to her room, Alexis would have to slip something into his drink. Then she and Sasha would have to lug him up to the room and pretend he was their drunk uncle. That would be a hassle.

  They already had a removal plan—out the back in a laundry cart. Sasha made arrangements for a box truck rental with a mechanical liftgate. The women would put on janitorial uniforms and wheel the sucker out the door, down the freight elevator, and up the ramp of the truck. Once the package was ready, they would contact Kathryn and Maggie. If their schedule was in sync, they would set a rendezvous time and place.

  Halfway through his second drink, Bennie was getting a little loose. Now it was his turn to lean into Alexis and ask questions. When did you get here? Where are you from? Kids? Ever married? It really didn’t matter what she told him. All of it was a lie.

  As Bennie was draining the last of his drink and sucking on the ice cubes, Alexis made her move. “So, Mike, what do you say we go up to my room? I bet the mini fridge has some of what you’re drinking.”

  Bennie blinked several times. It has been decades since he had been with a woman. He wasn’t a complete idiot. He was well aware this woman was way above his league. She was quite a looker. Then he had a frightening thought. What if she was going to try to roll him? He cleared his throat nervously. “Listen, I find you very attractive, but I’m not, uh, let’s say, looking for a transaction.”

  Alexis faked mortification and surprise. “That’s a bit insulting. I was just trying to be friendly.”

  “In this town, you can’t tell the real folk from the fake ones.”

  Alexis gave him a quizzical look. “Look, I’m new in town. I’m a little lonely. I just wanted some company. And, by the way, I am not a hooker.” She pretended to make a move to leave.

  “Sorry. Like I said, this town is a bit strange.” He motioned for the waitress to come over. “This round is on me.”

  It was beginning to look like Alexis was going to have to slip something in his drink sooner rather than later. She glanced at Sasha again and gave her a no-go look.

  Now she had to figure out a way to distract him while she poured a large dose of Benadryl into his glass. She got up quickly. “I’ll be right back. I want to change my order.” She sashayed to the bar and told the waitress to make his a double and hers a ginger ale. “I’ll get these,” she said quickly, and picked up the glasses as soon as the bartender put them down. She carefully pulled the vial of Benadryl powder from her pocket and dumped the contents into the Tennessee whiskey. She plucked a stir stick from the bar and swirled his drink. All that whiskey should mask the bitterness of the powder. At least, she hoped it would. She shimmied into her seat and handed him the glass.

  He threw all of it back in one shot. He winced. “Wow, that was a lot harsher than I expected.”

  They continued to chat until Bennie started to slur his words.

  “Honey, you’re sounding a little funny,” Alexis cooed. “Come on. Let’s take you up to my room. I promise, no funny business. You can leave your wallet with the bartender if it will make you feel safer.”

  He looked up at her, bleary-eyed. “N—n—no. I’ll be all right.” He tried to rest his elbow on the table, but it kept slipping, and he practically knocked his head on the table.

  Alexis motioned for Sasha. “Come on, Uncle Mike. Let’s take a little walk.” Alexis and Sasha helped “Mike” to his feet, which were attached to his rubbery legs. Alexis nodded to the waitress and then nodded to the table. She had left her a hundred-dollar bill. That should cover their drinks and still leave enough for a decent tip.

  Alexis and Sasha slung one of Bennie’s arms over each of their shoulders as the three stumbled out of the bar. Thankfully, he was still coherent enough to shuffle his feet, but if asked what day it was, he might not be able to answer. The women shot “here we go again” looks to any onlookers.

  “Our drunken uncle,” Sasha whispered to a passer-by. Alexis snorted. Ancestry.com would have a field day with that. A tall, beautiful African American woman; a fair-haired, wiry, athletic woman; and an old white dude. Now there’s some family tree. Sasha snickered, as if she were reading Alexis’s mind.

  They made it upstairs and then into Alexis’s room. When they got inside, Alexis and Sasha shoved Bennie onto the bed. To make sure he was totally out of it, Sasha put a cloth soaked in chloroform over his mouth. In seconds, he was out cold. Dead weight. He was a big boy and not easy to maneuver. Between Sasha and Alexis, he still had about eighty more pounds over them. They rolled him on his back and zip-tied his hands behind his back, and then his ankles. Duct tape went over his mouth. They hoisted him onto a chair and then shoved him into the waiting laundry cart. Sasha would keep dosing him with the chloroform when necessary. There was plenty of room for him to breathe, but not enough to move.

  Alexis sent Charles a text:

  BW—B&G.

  Translation: Benjamin Weber—Bound and Gagged.

  Texas

  Maggie sent Kathryn a text, letting her know she’d arrived at the hotel. Kathryn told Maggie she was tailing Darius and was currently down the street from his house.

  What’s the plan? Maggie texted back.

  Don’t have one yet. Waiting for him to make a move.

  What if he doesn’t?

  I’ll knock on his door and tell him I’m having car trouble. Once I get him outside I’ll use one of Yoko’s moves

  The one where he passes out?

  Yep. That one.

  Good luck.

  Thanks. Stay tuned.

  Just a few minutes later, Darius’s front door opened. He exited, carrying several large black trash bags, and stowed them in the back of his car. Kathryn wondered what he was hauling, which reminded her to get in touch with one of the local farmers. She’d need a trailer to transport Mr. Evil and his friends. She sent off a quick text to Maggie informing her the target was on the move with four large bags. Kathryn was going to tail him. She donned one of her baseball caps and started her engine. She’d have to be careful, since the roads had little traffic. Fifteen minutes later, Darius pulled into a strip mall and drove toward the back. She’d have to wait in the parking lot. Kathryn noted the name of the plaza. Less than five minutes later, he was back on the road.

  Hanging far behind, Kathryn followed as Darius drove for another fifteen minutes before pulling into another plaza. He followed the same routine as before—drove to the back and a few minutes later was on the highway. Again, Kathryn noted the name and address.

  She whipped her car into the same lane as Darius, getting behind a slower-moving vehicle. She didn’t want to pass the crawling car, but she didn’t want to lose Darius, either. Then the slowpoke ahead of her put on their turn signal and pulled onto a side street. Darius was almost half a mile ahead of her now. She kept her pace as he drove into a third parking lot. This time, it was a car dealership. She wondered if he was going to ditch his car. Instead, he maneuvered toward the back of the building. That’s when it occurred to her: He must be dumping the bags. She didn’t have time to check, so she sent Maggie a text, giving her all the locations.