Page 52 of Wildcard's Wager

“Same account, too.”

“Can you search on that account? See if others are set to that account?”

I complete the search and look at Viper and Max. “Twenty-seven.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: WILDCARD

Trouble and I head to the casino floor to find Reggie. He’s a prospect, like Max, but he’s been working here longer. He’s Angelica’s man and will probably be Angel’s step-father one day. We brought Reggie into the fold, hoping Angelica would stay close. But we’re finding Reggie to be more than we expected. Knowing that fake Max has been harassing women with impunity, I don’t feel comfortable trusting anyone but Reggie. Something we’ll rectify soon. But first, we need to find fake Max and take him to The Pit for Chill. When we find Reggie, I tell him what we’ve learned about fake Max.

“Son of a bitch, I’ve seen him,” Reggie admits.

“Today?”

“No, not today. I think I saw him yesterday, or the day before. I thought he was Max. He was far enough away from me he didn’t see me wave. I figured he was here to pick up an Old Lady or one of the kids. Shit.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. None of us noticed him either. He’s been here for several weeks.”

I answer my phone when I see Chill’s name. She tells me what they’ve found about fake Max. “His name is Walt Turner. He’s scheduled to start at 3:00. It’s almost that time. Let’sspread out and search for him. Max, the real Max, is upstairs with Brigit.”

We split up and wander the floor. I see Bianca and make my way to her station. She’s talking with two other servers and a bartender. When she sees me, she gestures me over.

“I was telling them about how Max isn’t a member of the club.”

“Not the man you know of as Max,” I clarify. “His real name is Walt Turner. We’re looking for him. He’s scheduled to work at 3:00. If you see him, don’t approach him. Just let one of us know. Okay?”

Bianca and the others nod as I continue my circuit. We’re coming up on three. He should be in the building. I’ve made one circuit when my phone buzzes again. This time it’s Spark.

“He just clocked in. I see him on the security feed. He’s in receiving.”

“Watch him. I’m getting the others.”

Spotting Chill, I gesture her over. “Spark found him. He’s in receiving. Grab Trouble and I’ll grab Reggie.”

“We’ll surround him and take him to The Pit?” Chill asks.

I grin at her.

“Hot damn!” She jogs off in search of Trouble.

I spot Reggie as he’s making his way toward me. “Saw Chill. She told me where to find you. Should I request backup?”

“No. We don’t know if he’s working alone. I have a hard time believing that he’s avoided security without help. We’ll find out. In the meantime. The four of us can take him. Let’s go.”

I get Spark back on the phone. “Is he still there?”

“Yeah. I logged into the system. He’s entered his employee number, but he’s also entering several others. What the hell is he doing?”

“I don’t know. That’s a question Chill will ask him when she gets her hands on him.”

Receiving is our hub for all deliveries to the casino and the hotel. It’s a smart place to use the computer. The bay is usually empty unless we have a delivery. Then whoever is working the delivery is too busy to pay attention to anything else. I see Trouble and Chill coming from the opposite direction. We’ll reach Walt at the same time. I can see enough of his profile to understand how so many mistook this asshole for our Max. His focus isn’t on his surroundings, but on the computer. He doesn’t sense us. Fucking idiot.

Chill, being the SOA, takes the lead. She doesn’t give him a chance to defend himself. She kicks his knee hard. We hear a pop as he buckles. Before he can scream, she has him in a chokehold. He passes out seconds later. Dropping him to the floor, she pulls out two thick zip ties and binds his wrists behind him before moving to his feet. She tosses him into a nearby supply closet before taking out her phone.

“Max, need you to grab the SUV. We have cargo to load up in receiving.”

The staff unloading a meat and poultry delivery for the restaurants ignores us as they hustle to get the truck unloaded. When they’re done, the truck drives off and we’re alone in the warehouse. Max reverses into the now empty spot and hops out of the SUV, along with Brigit and Viper. I send Max the stink eye for bringing Brigit with them.

He holds his hands up. “I couldn’t stop her without hog tying her to the desk. Besides, I think you need to hear what she has to say.”

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