Page 11 of The Bratva's Forced Bride

“You were right. It was brilliant.” She groans slightly. “Except now I’m too full.”

“You better believe it. Zeek’s knows how to portion a meal.” I laugh and loop my arm through hers.

“Oh, let’s go in here.” She tugs on my arm.

I stop her and whisper, “Piper, that’s a casino. You have to be twenty-one to gamble.”

“Just trust me, sister,” she whispers, letting go of me and approaching the casino. A man in a suit stops her and asks for ID, and she pulls one out, flashing it to him. To my horror, he lets her in. I hurry in after her, after flashing my own ID, and stop her. “Let me see that.” I hold my hand out, and she puts the fake ID in it.

“Piper Elizabeth, you have a fake ID?” I hiss.

“Aw, come on, Asher. Just a little bit of fun. You’re not going to rat me out, are you?” She smiles sweetly and then pouts.

I hand her ID back and sigh. “Fine, just a little.”

I follow her, looking around, but after about twenty minutes, I need the bathroom. She sits down to play poker at a table. “Piper, stay right here. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

“Okay.” She waves me off.

I rush to the bathroom, and much to my dismay, there’s a small queue. I wait, jumping from leg to leg until it’s my turn and I can relieve myself. I wash up and fix my makeup before I head out and back to the table. Piper is nowhere to be seen.

I take out my phone and call her but she doesn’t answer. Worried, I walk around the casino quickly before I return to the table. “Excuse me, do you know where the player in the black cocktail dress went?”

“She was invited to high-stakes,” the dealer says.

High-stakes. Lord, help me.

I hurry to where the high-stakes tables are and I’m stopped by a guard. “This is invitation only.”

“My sister was invited. I’m not playing, just watching.” I flash him a smile. “She just came in. Black cocktail dress, cute button nose.”

The guard sighs and steps aside. “If I catch you playing, you’ll be banned from this casino.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t. My aim is to get her to come home.” I hurry in and slow down. This is more sophisticated than the tables on the open floor. I move from one table to another before I find Piper at a blackjack table.

“Piper, I told you not to move,” I whisper.

“Don’t worry. I totally have this under control,” she whispers back. “Hit me.”

“Piper.” I eye out her cards, sitting at seventeen. “We should leave. Cash out, bow out, and let’s go home. The high-stakes are run by some pretty bad people.”

“I want to party hard, Asher. Come on, we haven’t seen each other in two years. Loosen up, and let’s have some fun. Hit me.”

The dealer flips a card, and my heart catches in my throat. A three, she’s on twenty. She might actually win this. She smirks.

The dealer flips flips his card, nineteen. “You win.” He pushes the chips toward her. These are chips I’ve never seen before. They’re gold, silver, bronze, and white. “Okay, one last game, and then we go.”

She kisses my cheek. “For luck. Deal me in. All or nothing.”

She pushes the chips toward the dealer, all the chips, and waits for her cards to be dealt. She gets a three.

“Hit me.”

She gets a seven. I watch, anxious as hell to see if she’s going to win. I’m still wondering how the hell she got money to play in this section.

“Hit me,” she says again.

She gets an eight.

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