Chapter Five: Heating Up
Ink
Up close, the mystery woman looked like a mermaid with her mesmerizing eyes. Truthfully, she could fit in the palm of my hand. She was tiny, but full of sass. Something seemed so intriguing about her. I wanted to know more like where she was from, where she’d been… whether she was single or not. I tried my best to be discreet when I saw her floating between the tables, but it didn’t work.
She spotted me and stormed right over, which I loved.
When I watched her on the tables it was hard to tell what was going on. Her hands were moving so fast and she was talking to people simultaneously. She made me doubt what I’d seen prior. The one game I saw her play with a clear line of view, she’d won fair and square. I was no blackjack expert, but because of my role at the casino I made it my business to understand how it worked.
I was sleeping in now, after I finished a late shift at the casino. I knocked off at 1:30 a.m. and decided I wouldn’t be exiting my bed until after 10. I had another big day at work at Wheelz. I was working the bar. I felt happy about it. I could check in with the guys and let them know about what I planned to do about Jaz. I wanted to give her a chance, but at least tell my brothers we had a potential problem. If we were trying to buy the casino we couldn’t have cheaters running rampant. I stayed true to my word and laid in bed until after 11:30. All these extra security shifts were helping my wallet. I needed to make a decision about getting a bigger place or upgrading my motorbike. I hadn’t made up my mind yet.
I got up reluctantly and showered with Jaz on my brain. I didn’t mean to think of her, she just popped up. A guilty conscience lurked too. I had to tell the Rebel Saints about her. I moved to the kitchen to grab some leftovers from the fridge. I nuked them for a couple of minutes as I thought about Samantha. So far so good. The little talk we gave her with the three of us Rebel Saints must have done what we needed it to do. There’d been no sign of her anywhere.
The microwave beeped and I grabbed my steaming curry. I scoffed the meal down once it cooled off and headed to the club. I liked to be early, so I could set up the bar properly. I was messy in other areas of life, but not there. I liked being at the bar and occasionally, I liked to come up with my new drink formulas, like the Ink Special. It had been a real hit with the ladies.
I walked in around three.
Bones was arranging the balls on the pool tables, like he was counting them to make sure they were all there.
“Hey, Bones. You been in here long?”
“Nah, about a half hour. You’re way early, what’s going on with you?”
I rubbed the back of my head. “We got a little situation at the casino with a cheater. Her name’s Jaz, and I’m pretty sure she’s posting bets after and screwing with the cards. I don’t have proof, and I am looking into it. I wanted to let you know.” I dropped the news on Bones. It felt good to get it off my chest.
Bones sighed. “Brilliant,” he replied bitterly. “Cheating and cartel members. Just gets better.”
“Hey, I got a handle on it. I’m going to conduct my own investigation and take care of it,” I tried to reassure Bones. The last thing he needed was more on his plate.
Bones nodded his head and answered with defeat, “Just monitor her. See what you can find out. We weren’t always Saints either.”
“True. True. Leave it with me.” My eyes met his with the unspoken vow that I wouldn’t let him down.
From the worried look on his face I knew he had more to say.
“Remember how I told you, I hadn’t heard from the cartel?” His facial expression displayed a whole bundle of stress as he rubbed his temples.
“Yeah. I remember. What’s the latest?” I questioned.
His lips formed in a grim line. “We’re going to have to call an emergency club meeting and put our heads together for a solution. They’re asking for deposits. They’ve given a date for the final amount.”
“I don’t even want to know how much they’re asking for…” I really didn’t. I wanted us to move on from the sludge we were still walking through and become the great club I knew we could be.
Bones sighed. “No, you don’t. I can’t talk about it right now, it’s doing my head in. I want to let it rest and we can go over it in the meeting. I’ve been chopping it up with Numbers all day for a solution.” A heaviness vibrated in his tone.
I cocked an eyebrow at him as Charlie walked in. “Aye, Charlie.”
He waved as he walked past us to the bar to drop his stuff off. I think he could see we were in conversation, so he didn’t want to disturb it.
“Okay. We’re going to be able to work it out,” I added, reassuring Bones.
“We have no choice but to work it out,” he ventured. He changed the subject and the brow creases released from his forehead. “No more Samantha sightings, I hope. Please tell me there’s not a third thing we have to worry about.”
“Nope. None yet. I think all three of us being there might have been the nail in the coffin,” I guessed.
“Might be, but I wouldn’t trust it,” Bones said with growing pessimism. “Snake is relentless, it’s like he can subconsciously sniff that we’re trying to move forward as a club and he’s coming for us.”
I clapped Bones on the back in sympathy. “I hear ya. The casino is interesting right now. I’ll say that. I’m learning the ropes, especially about cheaters. It’s a nice contrast to being behind the bar.”