Page 4 of High Roller

When he’s gone, I double check the lock and take the roses to my room. Just because they’re from some mystery person doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them.

Chapter 2

Victor

Myfamilyisunderattack, and it seems there is little to be done to stop it. Thankfully, the dull roar of the casino noises drowns out the anger I came to work with today.

We now know that Phineas Draven has been funding everything happening to my brothers and me, but we still don’t have enough to bring him down, and it’s pissing me off. If we don’t stop him, we’re going to lose everything.

On top of that, something is going on with my best friend and fellow club member, Gracie. But she’s not convinced. Between her car not starting because of what could be sabotage, and the weird flower deliveries, I’m worried she was a stalker. The rag in her engine didn’t look like it was haphazardly left there. It looked deliberate.

But she’s only my submissive at the club, so I can’t make her listen to me. I tried to talk to her before my shift at the casino started, but she wasn’t interested in hearing me. She thinks I’m being too overprotective. And I am protective of her, we’ve been close since high school, but I don’t think my concerns are unwarranted. I’ve asked Owen to dig into the mechanics at the shop she took it to, but we’ve got a lot on our plates right now, so I can’t say if he’s had time or not.

“Boss, we’ve got a woman you might want to keep an eye on at table four. She’s spending money like mad, but I’ve never seen her before.”

I straighten my suit jacket and put aside my personal problems to acknowledge the employee speaking in my earpiece.

Moving through the pit, I position myself so I can see table four but won’t draw the attention of the players.

Sure enough, a striking brunette with a pissed off look on her face is betting the table maximum, and judging by the way she’s playing, she’s trying to lose. The behavior sets me on edge. It could be someone addicted to gambling, or it could be more serious, like someone trying to launder a considerable sum of money.

I recognize the behavior because that’s the racket I run with the other owners of the High Card. It’s how we stay on good terms with the other criminal organizations around the country and keep Las Vegas neutral. But we’ve made an agreement with Hunter Novak never to run dirty money through his casinos. Most of us work for him in some capacity, and we’re damn good at our jobs because we don’t need them, we want them.

I observe the woman for a few more hands before I swap out the dealers so I can question the one who had been at the table.

“How long has the woman in seat three been playing?”

“Couple hours, boss.”

I frown. “She’s betting the table maximum. Why didn’t you call a pit boss over to approve it?”

He twists the tail of his vest, and I realize I’m intimidating him. It’s a curse of my resting-bitch-face and the fact that I’m perpetually angry about something.

“I called Charlie in. He gave it the green light.” Charlie is the other pit boss in my section tonight.

“How much has she lost?”

The dealer shakes his head with wide eyes. “Over twenty grand. Closing in on thirty.”

I whistle, but the dealer shrugs. “The dress she’s wearing probably cost five. Something tells me it’s a drop in the bucket for her.”

I let out a sharp laugh. “Didn’t know you were a fashionista.”

He gives me a dirty look. “My daughter is in fashion school. You pick things up.”

I let him go to take his break, and head back to watching the woman.

There’s something fascinating about her. She doesn’t appear to be up to anything nefarious, and if she were laundering money, she wouldn’t have let herself lose twenty grand. Is she an escort playing with a client’s money, or is it hers? I’m tempted to go into the cave and see if our facial recognition software gives me a name. Or I could card her. But watching her is too intriguing.

She’s not drinking, not smoking, just spending money.

She wins three hands in a row, and she shakes her head. “Guess I’ll have to try harder, rotten bastard.”

I’m puzzled by the outburst. Is she calling the dealer a bastard?

“Any chance we can raise the table limit?” she asks, flashing another stack of cash.

The players on either side of her frown and color up their chips to find another table.

---