Page 14 of High Roller

“Sin City Subs,” Gracie, one of our long-time employees, and my high school best friends, answers cheerfully.

“Butterfly, it’s Victor. I’m coming with a package, and I need you to prep suite two for me.” There was no way in hell I’ll be giving Lilliana Draven our biggest suite. Bellamy would kill me. She’ll be pissed enough as it is that I’m using up a suite on this at all. Normally we take… guests like Liliana to the warehouse. But I can’t bring myself to do that to her. Not until I know for sure that she can’t be trusted.

“The shop is open. I can’t exactly walk away.”

“Close the fucking shop, Gracie. This is important.”

Yelling at Gracie isn’t something I would typically do, but there is nothing normal about this situation.

“OK. I’m on it.” I can hear the hurt in her voice, and I squeeze the steering wheel tighter. I’m making such a fucking mess of this.

“Good girl, Mariposa,” I praise, hoping to take some of the sting out of my outburst. I’ve called her butterfly or the Spanish equivalent since the day we met, and it’s stuck all these years later.

It takes another twenty minutes to get to the sandwich shop, and Lili is mercifully quiet the entire time.

My plan is fuzzy beyond keeping her as my hostage. Matteo and the others are going to shit themselves when they find out what I’ve done, but I’m tired of playing things safe. It’s time to end this once and for all. And the gamble I’m taking feels more likely to pay off than anything else we’ve done lately.

Before I put the car in park and shut off the engine, I point my gun at Lili. “Don’t try anything stupid, or I won’t hesitate to use this.”

She scowls at me, and I almost find it amusing. “What the hell do you think I’m going to do? I’m naked and you took my shoes.”

I hop out of the car and jog around to her side and pull it open. Her eyes go wide, and a gasp escapes her lungs when I bend down and scoop her into my arms, so she doesn’t have to walk barefoot on the pavement.

The sign on the door reads closed, but I punch in my code and the lock clicks over so I can open it.

When I go through the back, there are signs that Gracie has been working on what I asked her to, which is a relief.

“What the hell is this place?” Lili asks, holding onto my neck.

“Don’t worry about it.”

We are now in the heart of The High Card, the BDSM club that is hidden by Sin City Subs—aka the sandwich shop. It’s our oasis and has been a lucrative business for the four of us since we moved to Las Vegas to escape our families’ expectations.

Lili doesn’t seem shocked by the kinky sex furniture that litters the space, but I don’t stop long enough for her to really take any of it in. Instead, I head for the long row of suites in the back, not stopping until I find the one with the giant number two on the door.

I raise my hand to knock, but before I can, the door opens and Gracie steps out.

She takes in the sight of me holding Lili and shakes her head.

“I didn’t think you would ever ask me to help you prepare for a booty call, Victor. That’s cruel even for you.”

Lili scoffs. “This is the farthest thing from a booty-call. He fucking kidnapped me.”

“Hush or I’ll gag you,” I threaten.

Gracie’s eyes get big, and I worry she’s about to cry or yell.

“Did you really kidnap her? Who is she?”

I roll my eyes heavenward as a Spanish curse falls from my lips. This is such a bad idea.

“It’s a long story, Gracie. I need you to do me a favor and keep an eye on her for a couple of hours while I inform the others. Understood?”

She bites her lip, unsure of how to respond. When the club is open and she’s wearing my pin, her only option is to say yes, Sir and do as she’s told. But this is outside of club hours, and she’s technically an employee of the sandwich shop out front. I’m asking her to do a complicated thing, and I don’t blame her hesitation. But I’m short on time and patience, so I’m an asshole instead.

“Gracie, do we need to go to my office for a talk?”

Her eyes go wide, and her lip trembles, and for a moment I’m convinced she is going to burst into tears.

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