Page 90 of High Roller

Owen jerks the wheel suddenly and turns us down a residential street. We maneuver through the neighborhood and Owen’s gaze continuously flicks to the mirror.

“Should we call Victor?”

“Why are you whispering?” he asks as he turns onto Rainbow—a major road in Las Vegas that stretches across the city.

I laugh nervously. “I’m not sure. It just felt right.”

Owen chuckles. “We’ll call him soon. Right now, I need to focus on losing these fuckers. It will be easier to lose them in the city than out in the middle of bumfuck where Victor lives.”

“Is he out in Pahrump or something?” It doesn’t seem like we’re going in the right direction for that, but maybe it’s because we are trying to lose whoever is following us.

“No. He’s out past Boulder City.”

“Oh. That is the middle of nowhere.”

Owen laughs. “That’s Victor. He would live in a cabin with no running water if he didn’t like women so much. Though come to think of it, I don’t know that he’s ever taken a woman to his house.”

For some reason, that strikes me as hilarious.

“I’ve only ever seen him in his dark suits looking angry. Are you telling me he’s secretly some kind of mountain man?”

Owen laughs. “Something like that. He just doesn’t like people. But he likes... sex.”

The hesitation before landing on sex tells me he wanted to say something else but thought better of it. I wonder what it could be.

I don’t ask though, because he’s still focused on the road. Though I’m also getting the sense that the chatter is helping him focus.

“We’re about to get pulled over.”

I lift my head and see him barreling towards a red light with the intention of running right through it.

“I don’t have ID or anything on me.”

“Damn it. You’re right. That would cause more questions. Right then. Brace yourself. We’re going on a wild ride.”

He makes a hard right turn at the last minute, and I blow out a tense breath as I grip the handle on the ceiling. Now I know why they call them ‘Oh shit’ handles.

For the next ten minutes, Owen ducks in and out of random streets, making hard turns at the last minute to try and lose the car or cars behind us.

He calls Bellamy again after at least a dozen of them. “It looks like you’ve lost them, Sir. I’m not picking up on anything else that looks like a tail.”

“Thank you, love. I’ll be home as soon as possible. Remember the rules.”

“Yes, Sir. Tobias already knows and is enjoying it a little too much, if you ask me.”

Owen smirks. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m not asking then.”

I’m so curious about what they are talking about, but I keep quiet even after Owen ends the call.

Victor’s house is another hour away. It is far from a cabin in the woods, but it’s definitely modest compared to Owen’s luxury home.

Still, the inside is nice and appears to have all the amenities one could want or need. Grace is sitting on the couch twisting her hands and bouncing her leg. The nervous energy rolling off of her is palpable. Victor stands at his kitchen counter with a glass of scotch looking as angry as ever.

“What the hell took you so long?” he snaps at Owen.

“We had a tail, and I had to lose them.”

“So why didn’t you call me?”

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