But it was.
Olympia Nyx Mykos, surrounded by at least ten men and women, moved in the direction of the Ida Underworld.
Gone was the fresh-faced, innocent-looking nature nymph in a casual, I-couldn’t-care-less outfit. And in her place was this sultry vixen, wearing what look like an off-the-runway minidress, showing a body that made me want to punch every man who looked in her direction.
How the hell could she hide this side of herself from my men?
That was when a woman, dressed in casual linen pants and a cashmere sweater with an eerily similar appearance to Nyx, walked in her direction. They fist-bumped, exchanged a few words, and then passed.
A goddamned body double.
I was fucking right. Innocent, my ass. Now I’d find out what she was doing with all her time in Vegas.
Pushing to my feet, I threw a few bills on the table and made my way out of the lounge. As I neared her group, I heard an angry discussion and paused.
“I want another chance at a buy-in.”
“There are no second chances. You know the rules.”
“I’m not talking to you, bitch. I’m talking to your boss. She can speak for herself. She has a voice.”
“Well, since you put it so nicely, David.” I heard the slide of a blade. “I think I will use a few choice words with you.”
A gasp sounded, and I shifted, completely in awe of what I was seeing. Nyx had the man named David pinned to the wall with what looked like some type of honed black blade pressed to his throat. Her people stood around her, blocking her from the view of the hotel guests and giving the appearance of a group of friends in an animated discussion.
The Mykoses had taught their sister and their people well.
No matter how good they were, they hadn’t learned at the hands of Gio Drakos. I could maneuver in and out of crowds without detection long before most of Nyx’s protection hit puberty. It would impress the hell out of me if even one of them sensed my presence.
Nyx leaned forward, giving the impression of a lover readying for a kiss. “Listen very carefully. Don’t ever fuck with me or my business again. You knew the rules when you entered. You knew the buy-in. You knew the price you pay if you lost.
“I told you not to sit at that table. I told you that you were in over your head. I even offered to help you out of the hole you were digging after you lost the first hand and move you to a more manageable group. Did you listen? No. My kindness only goes so far. Don’t play with money that doesn’t belong to you.”
“You think you’re so tough. Does your family know what you do? Does your new fiancé? The right word in the right ears, and this all disappears.”
Well, it looked as if the fucker knew about me. This was just getting more interesting by the second.
“David, it’s not my throat you need to worry about, since it looks as if it’s yours on the line at this very moment.”
“Daddy and your brothers aren’t here to clean up the mess for you, princess.”
“Oh, but I don’t need them to. You see, just like you stated, the right word in the right ear can make all of this disappear. Well, the same can be said of you. Remember the people in that room you played in? You fuck with me, you fuck with them. They don’t like people threatening their business any more than I do.”
Fear flashed on David’s face.
“That’s right. I would be scared if I were you.”
“I’m sorry, Nyx. You don’t understand the shit I’m in.”
“And you thought threatening me would get you out of it. I trusted you, David. You tossed our friendship down the toilet.”
“You can still trust me. I swear.”
“Sure, I believe you.” There was no hiding the sarcasm in her tone. “All you’ve shown me is to never go soft when it comes to vetting people. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Come on, Nyx. Give me another chance. We’ve played in these games since we were kids.”
“Answer this question. What would Tyler, Nico, Damon, or Evan do in my situation? They all grew up with you too. Pretend I was born with a dick instead of ovaries. Then think about this situation. Oh, wait. What would the Mykos Surgeon do? Papa’s way of handling betrayal is pretty legendary.”