Free Ties That Bind by Elizabeth Blair Page A

you?” Mitch countered, leaning back in the leather chair he’d called home for the past few weeks. Although they’d offered him an office beside their own, he had turned them down. Instead, he preferred the terrace level which had floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the main casino floor.
    Jimmie shrugged and sank down onto the sofa edging the windows. “Don’t you get tired of being caged up in this glass house all day?”
    Mitch laughed. “You’ve no idea. The new security system will be up and running tonight. You can run a test on it whenever you like.”
    “Like a drill?”  Jimmie asked, his curiosity piqued.
    He nodded and moved to the windows. “It has several different levels depending on the threat or concern. See that new silver metal trim along the outer drop ceiling?” he asked, pointing to the casino floor as Jimmie moved to stand beside him. “If the casino alarm is tripped either by an individual or by remote via the cash weight-”
    “Cash weight?”
    “Each cash drawer has a specific weight. You already had limits on withdrawals so I just enhanced that policy. If too much cash, by weight, is removed at once from the drawer without a passcode the casino will go into lockdown. Gates drop from each of those metal trims...no one, staff or customer, is going anywhere.”
    “Fort Knox uses a similar tactic,” Jimmie nodded appreciatively. “I watched a documentary once.”
    Mitch laughed. “Good to know. I wouldn’t want to add robbing the federal bank reserve to my resume.”
    “What about unsavory characters?”
    “By unsavory I assume you mean those against the family?  We’ve installed facial recognition software. It loads all known criminals that go through the Interpol and local booking systems. Those not arrested can be input manually and you can install permanent overrides for specific persons.”
    “And why would I want to do that?”
    “Well, the most obvious reason? I had to override the system to stop flagging you. It would go off and send alerts to the staff every time you did your daily walks on the floor. Damned annoying that I got woken up every time you took those 2am strolls to find a girl for the night.”
    “Bit sensitive that.”
    “No. It’s allowing you to control who you trust enough to have access where.”
    “Did you override for Ashli?”
    “She doesn’t have a record, it wasn’t necessary.”
    “You? Did you override it for yourself?”
    “No. That’s your call to make, not mine.”
    “Bet that’s annoying them even more. You never sleep.”
    “Yeah, it’s a struggle,” Mitch shrugged. “They are handling it, though. You can also red alert someone. I did take the liberty of adding Alex’s brother’s name to that list. If he enters at any point, the upper floors and all elevators go into lockdown. It leaves him stuck on the public floor and security has protocols on how to approach from each direction.”
    “And Ashli?”
    “Both suites are on a rotating pass code system that changes every two hours and overlaps the staff shift changes. There’s fingerprint scans on both the access elevators and the office doors. I’ve assigned a man to her door permanently plus three additional bodyguards that will travel with her.”
    “The man assigned to her-”
    “A non-issue. He’s a kid, really. Ex-military, no family, left a sizable inheritance so not motivated by money, and, as long as you treat him right, he’ll undoubtedly be your most loyal employee.”
    “Can you get him in here?”
    Mitch nodded and sank onto the edge of his desk as he made the call. When the kid arrived, with the most formal of stance, he couldn’t help but smile.
    “Jimmie, this is Teddy.”
    Teddy reached out his hand but Jimmie hesitated. “Don’t I know you?”
    “Yes, sir. I’ve worked here for two years.”
    Jimmie surveyed him, trying to put any memory with the face before him. “You are the kid who agreed our security was in shambles, aren’t