Page 16 of Plus-Size Bratva Bride

I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling a prickle of suspicion run down my spine. "Tamper with the ATMs? Are you sure?" I asked quietly, trying not to attract attention.

The man nodded quickly, glancing over his shoulder nervously. "Yes, we saw someone messing around with the cash dispensers on CCTV. But, the man was wearing a cap and glasses. No way to ID him.”

I found myself at a loss of words. Abe would have known what to do. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head. “Keep eyes on the machines at all times. That’s all we can do for now.”

At the back of my mind, I almost heard Abe’s voice. It felt as though he was right behind me, his breath tickling my ear.Try tracing down the guests who walked by the machines—anyone who saw anything.

The employee was about to walk away, but I stopped him with a light touch on his arm. “And Pete?”

He turned, meeting my gaze. “Trace down the people in the video surveillance. Someone might have seen his face.”

“Good idea.” Pete nodded and walked away.

As I watched Pete hurry off, a sudden wave of loneliness washed over me. I didn’t want to handle this alone, but Abe hadn’t shown up for two days now, and Imissedhim.

I was hearing Abe in my head, what I believed to be his unwanted advice filtering through my mind. Now, I felt differently about that advice.All those little arguments we had when he interrupted by days made me better.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a tall dark-haired man dressed all slick, with a hint of a tattoo. My heart raced as I turned, eyes glued on him.

When he turned right to walk past me, his brown eyes were nothing on Abe’s. My heart was crushed with disappointment as I felt my racing heart slow to a damning, gut-wrenching pace as though it was crawling into my stomach.

"Get it together, Pippa," I muttered in annoyance, shaking my head and walking back toward the slot machines which I’m to have inspected for maintenance. But my traitorous mind kept wandering back to Abe's steel-blue eyes and the way his tailored suits hugged his muscular frame.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "This is ridiculous. You're supposed to be relieved he's not here, not pining like some lovesick teenager."

But as much as I tried to convince myself otherwise, I couldn't shake the memory of our escapade in my office that night.We almost had sex, for crying out loud.

I wanted to. Oh, how terribly I wanted to. I recalled how he looked at me, like he could eat me alive, how desired he mademe feel. But then, something changed and he hadn’t shown up since.

Did whatever happen between us cause him such tremendous disappointment that he decided to blow up work? I wanted to tell myself that it wasn’t me, but the timing of it all seemed too dubious to give myself the benefit of the doubt.

I glanced down at my curvy figure, smoothing my pencil skirt over my hips. "As if someone like him would ever be interested in someone like me," I sighed, my insecurities bubbling to the surface.

Yet I couldn't forget the heat in his gaze when he'd caressed me between my legs, one large hand spanning my waist. For a moment, I'd felt beautiful, wanted. But then reality had come crashing back, and he never took it forward.

"It's better this way," I told myself firmly, even as a part of me ached for what might have been. "He's trouble, Pippa. Handsome, infuriating trouble. And besides,” I admitted to myself with a lump in my throat, “all evidence shows he thought he made a mistake with you.”

Why else didn’t I see him around, if not for the fact that he’d been avoiding me?

***

The next afternoon, the weekend beckoned, a rare respite from the endless grind of working tirelessly since Vlad left. But first, I had to finish reconciling these accounts.

"Just a few more hours," I muttered, fingers flying across the keyboard. Then, I get to go on my first weekend away from work since nearly a month.

As the hours ticked by, the usual bustle of the corridor outside faded into the background. I barely noticed the change, too focused on my work. It wasn't until I finally looked up, stretching my aching neck, that I realized how late it had gotten.

"Time to call it a night," I said to myself, saving my work and shutting down the computer. I stood and gathered my things.

For a brief moment, I thought to take my usual route—down the elevator and out through the main casino floor, where I’d wait for the valet to bring me my car. However, I knew that if I did that, I’d be working a few more hours.

After all, there was always something going wrong on the casino floor. After working three weekends in a row now, I thought it best for myself to focus on getting home. Besides, if any true emergency arose, I’d receive a call.

So, I decided to push away my instinct and instead, take the fire escape down to the ground where my car is parked. That way, I’d avoid wasting precious moments getting home. The truth was that I was exhausted and a weekend of rest and relaxation was in order.

I walked down the steel steps, thinking over my plans. Tonight, I’d order in some pizza and have a glass of wine. Tomorrow, I could sleep in late. And gosh, I had all that laundry to do. I groaned, realizing Sunday would involve more work and less kicking back on the couch. And somewhere in between all this, I should definitely find some time to catch up with a friend or two before they forget I existed.

With all that settled, I finally realized I was surrounded by an eerie silence.

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