- 4 -

"I need to talk to you," Danny grabbed Delinda as he passed through the kitchen at Mystique and pulled her out the back entrance towards a secluded hallway.

"No need to get rough, Danny. I'm all yours," she cooed as Danny found an unlocked door and ushered her inside. "I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind," Delinda told him as she wound her arms around his neck and pushed her body against his.

"Yeah, about that…." Danny had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to her all day and with Mary busy again with the auditors he thought this was the perfect time. He carefully extricated himself from her embrace and held her at arms length—his grip gentle but firm on her shoulders.

"Listen, Delinda. I know we had this agreement, but I've been thinking about it and I really think it's a bad idea." That was good. He'd go for the diplomatic approach. He wasn't sure where things were going with Mary yet, but he did know that if anything happened between Delinda and him it would be disastrous in more ways than one.

"Well, maybe I can convince you," she purred as she reached for the buckle of his belt.

"NO!" Danny stilled her hands and moved across the small space—putting as much distance between them as possible and finally realizing that a storage closet was probably not the best place to be having this conversation.

"Delinda, you're one of my best friends and your father is my boss and I just don't think we should go down this road again."

"Daddy was finally coming around to the idea of the two of us before I broke up with you. He'll be okay with it again."

"He may have been okay with us dating, but I can guarantee you he would not be okay with this 'bed buddy' arrangement," Danny argued back.

Delinda looked at Danny for several moments, studying his expression and trying to get a read on where this was all coming from. A few weeks ago he'd seemed so anxious to start something up again. She knew that he'd been a little drunk and a lot horny at the time, but ... Suddenly, something occurred to her, "This isn't really about my father, is it?"

Danny looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights. There was no way he was going to tell her about his plan. She'd tell Sam and then Mary would know and if she didn't laugh at his arrogance she'd lock her heart up so tight he'd probably never reach her. He decided to be as cryptic as possible and hope Delinda accepted it.

"He's a big part of it, but you're right. There's other stuff involved."

"I knew it," she exclaimed and Danny cringed hoping she wouldn't ask him to elaborate. "You still have feelings for me, don't you?"

Okay, that wasn't what he was expecting. "Huh?"

"Poor Danny. You don't think you can handle a purely sexual relationship because you won't be able to keep your feelings for me out of it."

"Uh, that's not…"

Delinda held her finger up to his lips to stop him from speaking, "Despite all the talk, you just don't have it in you. Do you?"

"Uh, Delinda…," he tried to talk but she cut him off.

"It's okay, Danny. I understand. We'll hold off on this for now, but if you change your mind…just let me know."

She kissed him on the cheek and exited the storeroom. Danny stood there briefly, dumbfounded, but shook it off and followed her out—each of them going their separate ways. Delinda may have gotten the wrong idea, but at least he'd bought himself some time to work things out with Mary. Hopefully, the next time it came up he'd be able to tell Delinda the real reason. Of course, neither one of them noticed the figure at the end of the hall who'd seen them both leave the closet—Delinda fixing her lipstick and Danny adjusting his tie.

---

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…," Mary mumbled to herself as she walked heavily across the casino floor.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Sam asked as she pulled Mary by the arm and behind a bank of slots.

"Nothing, I just… it doesn't matter, Sam," Mary couldn't possibly tell Sam how she'd once again let herself hope only to have that hope shattered by reality.

"Mary, wait…," Sam called as Mary turned on her heel and headed away before her friend could see the tears forming in her eyes. She hurried purposefully through the lobby until she was safely inside an elevator—jamming her finger against the button for the top floor. Once she made her way to the roof she leaned both hands against the railing and took a few deep, cleansing breaths.

How could she let herself get like this again when she'd worked so hard to get past it? Mary knew how, but the thought only made her despise herself even more. She hated that after just a few sweet words and gestures and a little bit of Danny's precious attention she was right back where she'd started—hopelessly in love. After his actions the past twenty-four hours, she'd foolishly started to let herself believe that he might actually still have feelings for her. Of course that was quickly squelched when she'd seen him with Delinda. Thoughts of a similar encounter between the two of them left little doubt in her mind what they'd been doing in that closet. Mary swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and turned to look out onto the Strip. She had to let this go. She'd been doing so well before. Of course, she'd completely cut herself off from everyone, but it was just how it had to be--at least for now. It was the only way she knew how to cope.

---

"Hey, boss. What's going on?" Mike asked as he and Danny walked into Ed's office.

"Close the door and sit down," Ed told them gruffly without looking up from the file in his hand. Once his two employees were seated he quickly frosted the office glass and handed the file to Danny.

"Masquerade? What is this?" the security chief asked as he studied the documents.

"It's a gang of thieves who've been making their way across the globe--named for the sick calling card they've been leaving behind. They've hit three casinos so far—one in Monte Carlo, another in Hong Kong and just two weeks ago--The Diamond Shore in Atlantic City," Ed informed them giving them a moment to process the information before continuing.

"In Monte Carlo and Hong Kong they kidnapped a family member of the owner or CEO and ransomed them for an exorbitant amount of money—basically forcing the owner to help them rob the casino. Once they were successful they released the family member unharmed."

Mike let out a low whistle as he looked at the papers Danny handed him. These guys weren't messing around. They'd already stolen close to $20 million.

"What happened in Atlantic City?" Danny asked, sensing there was something big Ed was leaving out.

"They snatched the niece of the President of Operations. Against their instructions, he contacted the FBI. They tried to set up a sting, but the guys were one step ahead of them. They got away with $5 million."

"And the niece?"

"She was found dead two days later."

Mike and Danny stared at their boss before Danny started to speak, "Ed, you don't think…"

"So far we have no indication that they plan to target the Montecito, but I wanted you both to be aware of it. I've already talked to Casey and he wants us to keep him informed. I'm going to talk to Jillian and Delinda about getting some extra security for them, but I'd like it if the two of you would keep a look out."

"Of course," they both replied.

"Okay, that's it for now. I'll let you know if we hear anything else."

---

Danny made his way towards the lobby lost in thought. He couldn't imagine how Ed must be feeling. He knew the older man was trying not to overreact. There were dozens of places these guys could hit, but the thought that his position might cause his family to be in danger must be terrifying for his boss.

"What the hell did you do to Mary?"

Danny was startled by a firm slap to the back of his head. "Sam? What the hell?"

"She was actually in a good mood this morning and now she's all pissy again."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't even seen her since lunch. What happened?"

"I don't know, but just find her and see if you can work that famous McCoy charm to cheer her up again. Gotta go," Sam hurried off as she noticed one of her whales making his way towards them.

Danny quickly hit the speed dial on his phone, "Mike, I need a location on Mary."

After a few seconds Mike responded, "She's on the roof, Danny. Mitch says she's been up there for awhile."

"Thanks."