“I hear you, cousin, I really do.” Andrei stepped in front of me and put his hands on my shoulders. “We’re thinking bigger now, right? One day soon, you’ll be the head of the family.”
“I’m not interested in talking about that right now.”
“Okay, fine, we don’t have to talk about it,” Andrei replied. “All I’m saying is that a girl like that has a story. Pretty, young, rising star, head dealer, she’s aknown quantity. That’s a story that doesn’t leave the news for months, and it puts the heat on all our operations. Even the legit ones. Even we can’t afford that.”
I unbuttoned my collar and quickly undid my tie, snatching it from around my neck. “Fine. She doesn’t die,” I snarled. I fixed him with a cold stare. “But she has to know what happens if she ever feels compelled to share her story. Like you said, pretty, young, rising star. The media would eat this for breakfast if she felt safe enough to talk.”
Andrei clasped his hands behind his back and laughed. “Who said she’s gonna feel safe? Here’s what we do.”
CHAPTER2
TALIA
Ten minutesfrom the end of my shift, and I felt like I was on top of the world. Tonight, I was completely in the zone, and my fingers were magic. I’d been a dealer for six or seven years now, so normally I wasn’t quite so taken in with the allure of the Vegas scene. But some nights, it got to me, right in the heart of where I lived.
Something special was in the air. The twinkling of the lights was just a little prettier tonight, the normally stale recycled air seemed just a little fresher, and the clanging bells that signaled a lucky someone had hit the jackpot on the slots seemed to sound more frequently than normal. None of my players had been rude to me tonight; even better, I was finding at least one or two people at every hand to banter back and forth with, which made it even easier to establish that party atmosphere that made gamblers generous with their tips. Every move I made was graceful, gleaming showmanship, the kind of flair to my motions that most dealers spent years trying to attain. It was a good night. It was almost a shame that it’d be over so soon — almost.
“Alright, sweethearts, that’s the last on the turn,” I said as I leaned over the table. Whenever the hour got late and the bosses got a little more relaxed, I made a point to loosen my tie and undo the top button or two of my blouse — a little more casual, a lot more sexy. I wasn’t above a cheap, flirty trick to persuade appreciative players to send a few more chips in my direction. With my sleeves rolled high I worked my magic, dancing the chips up and down and around my fingers while I organized and stacked. “Just a little show for our out-of-town players tonight,” I said, flashing a charming grin to the awed onlookers. Like candy from a baby, really.
I knew I was pressing my luck a little bit with my chip slip game, but I couldn’t help myself. Besides, I was too smart to get caught. The people who ran this place watched us like hawks, so I knew I had to be careful with my game: the trick was you had to wait for a night that you were on fire and in the zone, a night when your fingers were moving too fast for even a pit boss to follow.
I looked at my grift like I felt most professional hustlers would: I had financial motivations, of course, but I loved the game, the thrill of the con. And love of the game requires constant work, constant practice — and if you weren’t working to take on tougher and smarter marks, you were letting yourself get sloppy. And unlike a lot of hustlers, I wasn’t going to get caught by doing something stupid like spending beyond my salary. I saved every dime, carefully hid each dollar.
I was so close to my dream that I could taste it. If I could keep up my streak for a few more months, I’d have the money to put the deposit on my own small casino in Reno. Nothing flashy, of course, but I’d been making contacts, and I intended to be very particular about my future clientele. I could see it so clearly in my head. The thought turned my smile, usually theatrically bright for work, into a genuine expression of pleasure.
“Alright, folks, life’s a card flip away, and here’s comes the river!” I quickly palmed the swapped chips and hid them behind my deck as I drew the river card and threw it down into place. A quick glance around to the floor managers and the pit boss told me that everyone’s attention was taken by other things. One more successful job done. Sometimes, a life could be charmed after all.
As the players all went around and made their decisions, I took a moment to breathe in the casino. And as I did, my eye fell on Andrei Sokolov. My heart skipped —Vegas had plenty of pretty, but Andrei was probably the most striking man in this casino. Aside from the owner, Mikhail, of course. Between Andrei’s golden good looks and Mikhail’s raw, darkly threatening attraction, choosing between them was almost impossible, even in my mind.
Oh no, I guess I just need them both,I thought and bit the side of my cheek at the sudden rush of lust that sparked through me at the thought. My brain conjured up images of me between them, entangled with both of them in every delicious way, and I had to bite back a moan.
I gave Andrei a nod. I did this every time I saw him on the floor, as a sign of respect. Usually, he’d return the gesture with a quick, curt nod of his own.
This time, though, he smiled at me. And as I tried to tell myself he was smiling at someone behind me, some high roller, Andrei Sokolov began to stalk directly toward me, his eyes burning into mine.
My heart fluttered involuntarily, but I had an excellent poker face and hid my reaction in a cheer for the players as they finalized their back and forth. “Alright, gentlemen, it’s time for the showdown! If you will?”
I barely watched my players show their cards, glancing only long enough to spot what they had in their hands. I cheered with forced professional enthusiasm and pushed the stack of chips to the winner, but my attention was on the rapidly approaching Andrei.
Despite working for them, I could never quite get a handle on the two of them: Andrei and his more brutal but more powerful cousin Mikhail. They were both incredibly young to be the number one and two at a casino like this. I’d heard Mikhail was slightly younger, but he clearly got the job done, and all my checks continued to clear. And somewhere, in the back of my mind when I finally got my own little casino, I’d say a quiet little thank-you to Mikhail for all thebonusfunding from my little game.
My eyes fell on Andrei again, and I realized he really was coming directly for my table. He moved like a big cat, sharp and unconcerned with his own safety. Why would he be? He was the smartest man in any room he was in, and he knew he did his job well. In my experience, he was good at playing his power quietly because he rarely needed to prove to anyone exactly how much power he had.
Mikhail was similar in many ways, but he didn’t carry himself likeanybig cat. He carried himself like his father used to. King of the jungle. After years working here, I’d seen many people punished for slipping in various ways where Mikhail could see. Sometimes it was quiet, and they’d be gone by the next shift. Other times… Well, the news wasn’t exactly reliable here, but sometimes it was enough to paint a picture of well disguised violence.
Either way, if Andrei was coming for me, that meant Mikhail couldn’t have been far behind. I rolled a chip in my hand as the new dealer approached from the side. He rolled his sleeves up, and I took the moment to thank the table, collect any tips left, then clear and show my palms before sliding out from behind my station.
As I did, I realized Andrei had positioned himself a step away from where I had slid. A moment later, I was eye to eye with him. And what beautifully sharp eyes they were.
Andrei’s gaze cut into mine, and I was immediately trapped in them. For a moment, a longer one than I would have liked to admit, I found myself frozen in enchantment, expression blank like I was a teenage girl. I recovered quickly and gave him my million-dollar smile, with a playful wink. “Normally people give a girl a few minutes to catch her breath,” I said.
Andrei leaned his head in, less than an inch, but it still felt like he was easing his way pleasantly into my personal space. It felt nice, maybe a little intoxicating. “Time is money,” Andrei replied. “And so are you.”
I tilted my head. “I am?”
He nodded once. “You are. You know, I was talking with Mikhail about you.”
“All good things, I hope?” I said, tilting my head a little higher and my chin a little closer.