Page 20 of Trick's Trap

Trick had a great poker face, but his brother-in-law knew him too well by now. “What’s the catch?”

He grinned. “The people who booked it represent a prominent conservative congressman. He wanted to celebrate his thirtieth wedding anniversary with a big bash.”

“Liam is going to kill you.” Ethan’s grin was downright gleeful as he leaned back on the cushions. “I’ll let you borrow my gun if you want to defend yourself. Aim for the big bit.”

Trick snorted. On his brother, that was pretty much everywhere. “Maggie will back me up on this one. The congressman only wanted the big to-do because he was caught having an affair with a college-aged staffer last year. He’ll just have to make do with the smaller ballroom.”

Jason adopted the same amused posture as his partner. “Ethan is right. You’re going to need the gun. So what favor is the great and powerful Chao doing for you, and is it worth it?”

“He’s sending out an email.”

“An email?” Jason was skeptical. “You bumped a congressman’s pearl anniversary for an email?”

“His what?” Ethan asked, eyeing at his partner sideways.

Jason twirled his pen. “That’s what the thirtieth wedding anniversary is called. The first is paper, the tenth is tin or aluminum, twentieth is china. You know…”

“No, I don’t know.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “What man under seventy knows shit like that?” He turned to Trick and mouthed ‘whipped’.

Jason threw one of the decorative silk couch cushions at him. “I know because Maggie books a lot of the major events for the hotel chain. Rich people like to crow about how long they’ve been married so she has to know all that stuff. It bleeds over.”

Trick nodded at Ethan. “We had a third wedding anniversary celebration here last year with a budget in the six digits. The traditional gift for three years is leather. They went the S&M route for decor.”

Ethan laughed, a booming sound that filled the room. “Fucking rich people,” he said, subsiding. “Although come to think of it, that’s a party I would want to attend.”

“It was a lot less fun than it sounds,” Trick said, fiddling with a paperclip. “Anyway, on very rare occasions, Chao sends out notices for elite events. Those are by invitation only. Being on the list means you’re a high roller.”

“And is Tahlia on it?”

“She left an email, but there’s no way of knowing if it’s real or if she even checks it. Not everyone leaves a real one—not if they don’t know how to cover their tracks.”

“And you do?”

“I refuse to answer that on the grounds I might incriminate myself. Chao finally agreed to send my notice to his list.”

Jason smirked. “So long as you give him the most exclusive wedding reception venue in town for a song. How much is he paying exactly?”

Trick coughed. “Nothing.”

Jason howled.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked with a frown. “It’s just a room. How much can it cost?”

Jason held up a hand. “That grand ballroom books for ten grandminimum,and that’s just for the room. Add two or three hundred a head for the meals and booze…” He shook his head. “Liam is going to kill him.”

“Wish it was the other way around,” Ethan said, not quite under his breath. “Tahlia better check her damn email.”

Trick gripped his pen tighter. “If she doesn’t, there’s still the poker forums…”

Ethan adjusted his collar and held up his phone. “Well, since you shared, I suppose I will, too.” Just before your little conference, the medical examiner finally forwarded the bloodwork from Tahlia’s apartment.”

He frowned. “I thought you had that already.”

“Only the blood types. After talking to Maia, I played a hunch. I asked them to retest for a familial match.”

What the hell?“You think a relative attacked her?”

Jason flicked a glance at his partner. “One of the first things Maia told us was to take a closer look at them. She said Tahlia never talked about them, just about her mom who died when she was little and the maid who acted as nanny to her. She was tight-lipped about the rest of the clan. All Tahlia ever said about them was they lived in Florida, on an estate.”

---