Page 34 of Royal Flush

“O-kay.” I did and when I turned back around, Gage had risen to his feet from his original perch on the leather loveseat. They both looked anxious.

I glanced from one to the other, smirking as I did. Neither one was the kind of man to allow anything to bother them.

Ever.

“I obviously missed something while I was gone,” I told them.

“How was the island?” Gage asked.

Shrugging, I headed to the bar. One drink wouldn’t kill me. Besides, I had plans on finishing up some paperwork and watching a game on the television. That was the extent of my day. “Beautiful as always. Several new members came on board and as to be expected, they didn’t read the rules. I also caught a poker card shark in action, which surprised the hell out of me.”

“A card shark. Fascinating. What was he doing there?” Valerio flanked my side as I poured a scotch.

“He was a beautiful woman and I couldn’t quite figure that out. I don’t think she needed the money. She definitely didn’t need to grab attention that way. She was pretty damn good too, the best I’ve ever seen.” I hated to fully admit she’d fooled the system to a point. If Travis hadn’t been trained to spot a card shark, something I’d also learned years before, her nefarious actions might not have been detected. Our guests weren’t exactly there to be observant. They trusted their little fantasy world to be safe.

It was another reason I’d wanted to keep Jasmine quiet.

“Jesus Christ. Did you have her arrested, at least tossed off the island?” Gage was grinning when he asked the question.

I turned around, leaning against the edge of the bar. “No, I handled punishment my way.” How could I not grin?

“Oh, does that mean you turned her into a sex slave?”

I could tell Gage was mostly kidding. When I didn’t answer right away, keeping the mischievous smirk on my face, he stormed closer.

“No. You did not!”

“I did,” I told him. “And I admit I enjoyed it very much.”

“Well, how nice you had a good time. Where the hell is she?” Valerio’s tone was grating, the man unusually tense.

I was about to ask what the fuck had gotten stuck up Valerio’s ass when Gage was suddenly right there in front of my face.

“Who was she?” he asked, way too eager for his own good. “Someone of importance?”

“Not that I know of. A woman by the name of Jasmine Sinclair. Yes, I tried looking her up but what’s the point when I will never see her again? She disappeared after our illustrious required night together.” I still found my cock aching when just thinking about her. “I put the fear of God into her.”

“The fear of God. Let’s hope you did,” Valerio interjected. “We are being scrutinized, threatened, and pushed every other month or so. I hope the fuck’s sake she didn’t take pictures, her real plans to talk with a reporter.”

“Not a chance,” I insisted. Granted, I should have had her room searched. It would seem I was losing my touch. Or my hunger was so great I’d fallen for her ruse. Not my finest hour.

“Hmmm… Why do I know that name?” Gage asked absently, a faraway look in his eyes.

“I don’t know but it’s a fairly common name. She’s not from this country, which makes the search more difficult.”

Valerio was studying me, paying close attention to every word I said. “And it’s not like we can use our dark web contacts to track her down.”

I glanced at Gage. “Why? What is going on? When I walked in, the two of you looked like you either had a few really bad days or someone pissed in your Wheaties this morning.” I issued my glare to both once again. We had contacts everywhere, people and companies on both sides of the law capable of providing us with vital information when and if necessary. Our father had insisted we use ruthless tactics to protect every aspect of the family’s regime.

Valerio sighed, rubbing his jaw before shoving his hand into his pocket.

“And you look like shit,” I told him. Valerio was always perfectly coiffed, especially for business. Today, he was without a tie, one side of his shirt barely tucked in; his hair was slightly disheveled as if he’d just rolled out of bed and there were dark circles under both eyes.

Rarely did anything bother him.

“You don’t look so hot yourself, buddy,” he retorted, directing his gaze to Gage.

While Gage was younger, it appeared both men had aged since I’d last seen them, which had barely been ten days before. We all had our share of worries, our father’s murder still nagging each one of us. However, the tragedy had made me angrier and stronger, less likely to tolerate anyone’s bullshit.

---