Page 12 of Wicked Embers

“It was brought to the attention of the entire room that there were cheaters among the players,” I explain.

Judy frowns. “Our men are professionals.” She glances into the room. “Which one slipped up?”

“As it turns out,” I reply. “The men who were caught are not ours.” I nod toward Temur and Gunner dragging the four men out of the room. “I need this shit cleared up. You know what to do.”

Judy nods, frowning again. “How did the guests discover the cheating players?”

“The fiery-haired one-woman wrecking ball,” Gavriil repeats, and this time laughs.

“Shut the fuck up!” I hiss at my cousin.

Judy rolls her eyes and moves into action. I can leave, as I trust her to turn chaos into a gold mine—she always does.

“So, care to explain why your fiery little minx just turned this place upside down?” Gavriil grins, clearly enjoying himself far too much as we make our way to my office.

“I won her in a poker game,” I reply flatly. Gavriil halts mid-step, staring at me as though I’ve grown another head.

“Did I hear you right?” Gavriil looks at me in amazement. “You won her? How? Was she trying to win back a debt she owed you?”

“Her father put her up for collateral. Needless to say, I won. Now he gets his debts cleared, so he didn’t really lose,” I answer, shrugging.

No, but she sure as hell did!“ Gavriil quips, stoking the embers of guilt I’m already trying to extinguish. He shakes his head. “You’re lucky to have gotten off as lightly as you did. You know hell hath no fury and all that.” He raises and eyebrow. “And that woman was fucking furious.”

“Thanks,” I tell him. “Her diversion tactic worked in my favor.”

“How so?” Gavriil frowned curiously.

“The men she pointed out that were cheating weren’t my men,” I explain. “But that didn’t mean I still didn’t lose a small fortune thanks to the fiery-haired wrecking ball.”

“No!” Gavriil shakes his head and corrects me. “This isn’t her fault. It’s her father’s.”

“On that, we agree,” I tell him. “The man is certainly no contender for father of the year.”

“Wait!” Gavriil says. “Her father’s that grifter... Dalton, right?”

“Yes,” I confirm. “He’s waiting for us in my office. He’s the one with information about the Greek Matriarch.”

Suspicion darkens Gavriil’s eyes. “Did you manipulate the man into putting his daughter up as a bet?”

Fucking dick knows me too well. “It didn’t take much to get him to give her up.”

“Jesus, cousin,” Gavriil tells me. “I hope you know what you’re doing here.”

“Of course I do,” I snap at him. “I’m totally in control of the situation. Once I have Leigh back, my men will find her. I have even more leverage over Mark Dalton. And if he truly doesn’t care about his daughter. He still owes me a fortune as I haven’t cleared his debts yet.” My mouth lifts into a smile, thinking about Leigh. Dark desire coils deep in my gut as I determine what my little spitfire’s punishment for the chaos and running away is going to be. “While I have his daughter—I have more than just leverage—I have someone who knows his secrets.”

“So Leigh Dalton is just your latest amusement and leverage?” Gavriil looks disgusted.

“Exactly!” I snap, shoving down the nagging voice in my head that echoes Gavriil’s disgust far too loudly for my liking.

Walking into my office, we find Viktor corralling a very nervous Mark Dalton.

The man’s face is red and swollen, his eyes streaming with tears from the pepper spray. He stumbles into the chair across from my desk, muttering complaints under his breath.

“Jesus.” Gavriil looks at the state of Mark. “Did you run into a brick wall?”

“No, he was on the wrong end of a can of pepper spray and a left hook,” I reply on Mark’s behalf.

“The fiery-haired one-woman wrecking ball?” Gavriil looks at me for confirmation, and I nod. “Wow!” He whistles. “She’s going to be fun to have around.” He grins at me smugly, and I glare stonily back at him.

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