Page 79 of High Roller

“What if I take her to my place?”

“You live almost an hour away.”

“And you designed my security system.”

“Fair enough. Let me make sure your system is fully upgraded and then we can come up with a plan to move her tomorrow sometime.”

“I’m going to stay here with Grace tonight, then.”

I tuck the phone in my pocket and drag a hand through my hair. As I’m heading for my own office, I hear movement in Luke’s play space.

I poke my head in the room. “Zara? Are you OK?”

She’s coming out of Luke’s office, and her eyes are red as if she’s been crying.

“I’m working on it. Lili said something to me that still has me shaken.”

My senses are on high alert when she mentions Lili and I pull her towards a nearby sofa. That conversation was hours ago. It must have been serious if it’s still affecting Zara.

“What did she say?”

Zara shakes her head. “I don’t think it means anything. She said I look like someone and later told me it was a homeless woman she used to see in her charity work. That makes it likely to be my sister.”

That raises alarm bells in my head. Is it a coincidence that Lili met Zara’s sister? I don’t like it. Not at all. I want to quiz Lili, but there are a bunch of arrangements to make if we’re going to move her.

“Have you checked on your sister lately?”

Zara’s phone rings, and she flashes the screen at me so I can see Luke’s face. “I should answer this so he doesn’t worry.”

“Tell him we’re looking into what Lili knows about your sister and whether or not it’s a coincidence.”

She puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve already talked to him. He just had to take a call of his own.” She puts the phone to her ear.

“I’m here, Mr. Bowden.”

I find the honorific weird, but she refuses to call anyone Sir or Master, and we all respect that limit. Still, anytime she calls me by my last name while the club is open, I look for my father.

That reminds me I haven’t heard anything more from my brother about our father since the other day. I don’t want to reach out, but I may be forced to.

My father is still disappointed in my choice to stay in Las Vegas after Ernesto Trentini was killed and his men were blamed for it, but I knew we didn’t do it, and I knew Matteo didn’t start the rumor that we did, so there was no way I was abandoning what we’ve built just because of a rumor designed to break us apart. I’ve convinced him not to come after my friends, but every day that Ernesto’s death goes unsolved, it gets harder. We are almost certain about what really happened with Matteo’s father, but we can’t say with absolute certainty, because the person we believe it was hasn’t fessed up.

With Zara engrossed in her conversation, I make my way back to the front to check on Grace in the dungeon. She’s leaned against the bar facing away from me with her face in her hands.

“Are you OK, butterfly?”

She turns and smiles. “I’m better now. Still confused.”

“I understand. Try not to worry about it. Owen has some ideas for moving Lili to my house. Are you still good to come with me? I don’t want you doing it because I’m pressuring you.”

She pushes away from the bar and waves her hand. “You’re not pressuring me. I want to help. But thank you for the consideration. I’m still experiencing guilt about kissing her, but I want her to be comfortable at your house and if having me there achieves that, then I’m all in. Not that I can do anything but make things more awkward. You don’t like strangers in your house. Even I’ve only been there a couple of times. And…”

I step forward and put a finger to her lips. “You’re rambling, butterfly. It’s fine. I’m happy to bring you to my home. We have a lot to talk about, you and I.”

She blushes and grabs my wrist, pulling my finger away from her mouth. “We do.”

Her fingers tangle with mine, and it feels like that’s where her hand has always belonged. She doesn’t let go of my hand until her cell phone rings, and she pulls it out to answer. Her voice is a little breathy, like she’s flustered, and I retreat back into the club towards my office with a little smirk, knowing I caused the reaction. That realization makes me happier than it should.

Back in my office, I touch base with some of our contacts and connections who we work with on our extralegal endeavors, and I do my best not to dwell on the gorgeous soft-hearted girl working the sandwich counter at the front of the building or the sleek, strong-willed woman currently locked in suite two.

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