Page 14 of High Stakes

I scowl at him and pull back on the gun, checking to see if something was in the chamber. “I do believe that’s what I just said,” I retort quietly. My stomach dips uncomfortably and my skin begins to feel clammy. My heart rate begins to climb as I stare up into his eyes. I don’t often get like this, but Hector has been making me nervous lately.

An intrusive thought pops into my head, and before I can push it away, it takes hold. If he’s enjoying making me nervous, then two could play at that game. Turn about’s fair play, after all. I trace the barrel of the gun along the underside of his jaw.

His body stiffens as the cold metal glides across his pulse point. “You gonna shoot me, Little Bird?” he asks softly and licks his lips.

“I was thinking about it. Those targets are getting a little dull. They're not nearly as fun when they don’t bleed.” My eyes lift to his and I’m shocked to find him smirking down at me. His gaze drops to my lips and lingers for a moment before lifting to my eyes again.

“Is that what you want?” he asks, and his voice is quiet, but it seems like he’s shouting at me. I watch his tongue peek between his lips to quickly moisten them again.

Is this really what I want?

Wait?

What are we talking about?

Hector steps closer and pushes his entire body against mine. I can feel his muscles flexing underneath his t-shirt. His body is almost vibrating with tension, like he’s holding himself back. Like his self control is hanging by a thread. His eyes close as I dig the barrel of the gun into the soft skin under his jaw as a warning.

“Pull the trigger,” he whispers and I feel him throb against me. His fingers encircle my wrist, holding my hand in place without so much as a tremble.

My stomach flutters and I have to press my thighs together to relieve some of the tension coiling inside me. Without breaking eye contact, I bite my lip and push the front of my pelvis against him ever so slightly until I feel the bulge in his jeans throb again. The corner of my mouth twitches as I fight a smirk. I inhale deeply and trace the trigger with my index finger, dragging the pad just along the safety. “I think we’re done here,” I whisper back but don’t remove the barrel from his throat.

His brown eyes open and stare down at me so intently that I almost shift my weight from foot to foot, but I stay stock still. “As you wish,” he murmurs and backs away.

My body sags with the loss of him. I hadn’t realized how tense my muscles had gotten with him being so close. I set the gun back on the table and watch him walk away without a backward glance.

Were we done here?

I sure as shit hope not, because I want to see how far he’s willing to go for me.

6

DECLAN

Idig the heels of my palms into my eye sockets until I see white spots against the darkness. My eyes are burning from alternately staring at a large surveillance monitor and the front entrance of the Black Crown. The casino is bustling with tourists, as it is almost every night I’ve been here for the past week.

“Anything?” Hayden asks and leans back in his seat. We’re stuffed into the back of a surveillance van across the street.

“I haven’t seen Em leave the building once without an escort. He always has at least two people with him, and Emelia is one of them.” I grind my teeth until my jaw hurts. She’s too close to this job. Too close to us. She’s going to end up in a body bag as collateral damage, just like my brother.

A wave of nausea hits me out of nowhere when I think about Silas in the back of that plane as it plummets down to earth. I wonder if it was a ‘quick, on impact’ death. I fucking hope it was, because I don’t think I could bare the thought of him alone and suffering. My jaw pops as I clench the muscles even tighter.

Hayden snaps his fingers in my face, pulling me out of the dark hole I’m sinking into. “Are you even fucking listening tome?” He snaps and smacks my chest twice. “Get out of your head, man.”

“I’m listening,” I retort and shift away from him, not meeting his concerned gaze.

“Then what did I just say?”

I pause for a few moments, trying to remember what he had just said, but in reality I didn’t hear anything except for my brother’s screams echoing through my mind. “Fuck you, Hayden.”

“No thanks,” he responds lightly and picks his nails with the tip of his pocket knife. “I said, we need to get her out of the picture before this gets ugly.”

“She doesn’t leave his side. How are we going to do that?” I click on a camera image and enlarge it on the screen. The camera feed is live, showing Emelia, Tobias, and Hector deep in conversation at the bar in the main lobby. The lens is too far away to pick up audio, but it looks like a heated debate based on the way Emelia is swinging her arms.

We both lean closer to the screen and watch as Tobias nods slowly with an impassive look on his face. Hector’s face, on the other hand, is not emotionless. His eyes narrow and his mouth turns down into a viscous scowl. He says something that causes Emelia to turn on him. She lashes her hand out and wraps one hand around his throat and points a knife at him with the other.

I blink and lean back in surprise, but Hayden only chuckles. “That’s my girl,” he murmurs quietly and leans in closer.

Hector doesn’t fight her off, and I’m shocked to see that Tobias doesn’t say anything or try to control his people. What kind of leader just lets his men threaten each other right in front of him? If Silas or Hayden had pulled that shit with me, I’d have knocked more than a few teeth out. I watch Hector’s face closely, zooming the camera in so that his expression is clearer.

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