“No.” I shook my head. “I doubt he’s in contact with the Order. They’re hunting him now, same as us. But if he goes off alone, or gets within twenty feet of Ember, let me know. If everything is too quiet, let me know. Hell, if the St. George bastard sneezes or takes a piss, let me know. I have no idea why he’s still hanging around, but if he stays with us much longer, I want to know what I’m dealing with, and why.”

“Fabulous,” Wes muttered. “Thirteen years of being the best hacker in this circus, and now I’m a bloody babysitter.” He sniffed and took a quick swig from his bottle before ducking his head and lowering his voice even further. “Where are the guns, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“In my room, of course. You think I’m going to let St. George anywhere near them?” The black duffel was sitting inconspicuously beside my bed, two 9 mms and a Glock wrapped neatly in my clothes. The do-not-disturb sign already hung from my doorknob, and I intended to keep it there. The last thing I needed was a curious maid tripping over a bag full of guns, but it would be worse if I was caught wandering the casino floor with an unlicensed firearm. Even in a place like this, security was trained to look for and spot anyone concealing a deadly weapon, not to mention the thousands of cameras watching your every move from the ceiling. Which meant I wasn’t going to be armed while I was here. But at least the soldier wouldn’t be carrying, either.

“I’m off,” I said, stepping away from Wes. “Call me if the room explodes.”

“You know, that’d be funny if I wasn’t terrified it could actually happen.”

Smirking, I entered the elevator and descended into the madness.

As usual, the casino floor was a chaotic sea of milling people, garish lights and clanging bells. Slot machines stood in endless rows throughout the room, blue-haired old ladies and men in suits alike feeding coins or cards into the machines with glassy-eyed determination. Crowds of men and women clustered around roulette tables, cheering wildly or groaning in turns. Dealers flipped cards at blackjack tables, smoothly picking away at players’ stacks of chips until there was nothing left. Humans and their wealth, I thought with equal amounts of pity and disdain as I maneuvered through the crowds. You fight and kill and work so hard to get it, only to throw it away like it’s nothing. I’ll never understand.