Page 34 of Unspoken Obsession

"Hi." He answers.

"I was thinking we can host another Blackjack event tonight -- another high stakes game to lure Frankie back into the casino. I want to observe her playing -- see if we can catch her this time."

"Can do. It'll also be a good way to get our men to tail her. They can follow her out of there and find out where she lives if we can't find anything before then."

"Good. Yes. Do it."

On Friday nightat the high stakes game, I've got my eyes on Frankie the entire evening. She knows I am watching her, but she is still unaware that I am the owner of this casino or the one hosting this game.

She is sosubtle with her win, moving, staying in the game without creating suspicion, but playing brilliantly.

Andrew and Lorenzoare both here tonight to observe her.

Andrew is pissed off,not understanding why I've let a card counter back into the casino. Lorenzo has made several remarks about how sexy she is, and I've had to bite my tongue to stop the responses I want to hurl at him.

During the game,a security alarm goes off on my phone. Lorenzo and I both go rigid and two seconds later his phone alarm sounds as well.

I pull mine out to silence it and read the report.

"A fucking explosion?"Lorenzo whispers.

"Get down there right now."I hiss. "They are still in the tunnels. There is no way they could've remotely detonated with those concrete walls."

Lorenzo shoveshis phone back into his pocket. "You're not coming?" he asks, confused.

"I'll be down later.I trust you to handle this, Lorenzo."

He glancesfrom me to Frankie and his eyes narrow. It's not like me to leave something this important to someone else, but if it was going to be anyone—he is the person I trust.

"I'll keepyou up to date." He says, then rushes off.

An explosion would've collapseda section of the tunnel and that means millions in repairs and millions in lost shipments. This is fucking catastrophic.

I should be down there.But I also need to be so careful about what Frankie finds out about me. I am supposed to be a normal businessman, and she has already overheard too much—enough to make her suspicious. I don't want her to know who I really am because I want to keep her close to me.

At the endof the game, I stroll over to the bar to wait for her. I am tense and agitated, but trying to keep a smile on my face to hide the issues I'm dealing with behind the scenes.

She standsup from the table, brushing her hands over the soft blue velvet dress she is wearing. It's short and hugs tight against her body. The dress makes it difficult to take my eyes off her. As she walks towards me, her hips sway and my body sparks with electricity.

She's fucking gorgeous,and her elegance is unmatched.

"Soda water please."

"What a lucky surprise,to bump into you here," I smirk.

"Areyou telling me you didn't hear about the game ahead of time and make sure you were here to watch me?" she taunts.

I shrug,"I might have asked to stay informed about upcoming games so that I could watch a gorgeous woman playing and destroying the egos of these men."

She giggles."Don't be so dramatic."

"Areyou ever going to tell me where you really learned to play? Or who your family is?" I say, leaning against the bar next to her.

"You are so closed off,it's like I don't know you at all - even though we've been spending a lot of time together."

She throws me a demure smile,her eyes glittering with mystery. "Sometimes it's nice not to know everything about someone all at once. There are certain bits of information that you can learn over time instead."

Her body language shifts,her walls going up. She is treating me as though I am one of the players in the card game. Her game face is strong blocking me out.

---