Page 29 of The Secrets We Keep

Dropping into a chair across from Luca’s desk, Alexei crossed his long legs out in front of him. “Rumor is you found yourself a Gallo spy. Nothing like waiting to present your inside contact at the eleventh hour.” Alexei raised a brow.

“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hook them with my offer.” Luca shifted in his seat, meeting Alexei’s curious stare head-on. “When I had something, I said something.”

“Mmm,” Alexei murmured. “And you’re certain your contact won’t stab us in the back?”

“Absolutely. I trust them.”

Alexei nodded slowly, eyes traveling over the space that was only half packed, a nearly empty box perched on top of a filing cabinet. “Let’s hope your contact is good for it. Carina will be very upset if this isn’t handled by the wedding.”

“She’s finally set a date?”

“She has. In the spring. She’s expecting all of this to be behind us by then.”

“I didn’t think you’d get her to come around to a wedding that fast,” Luca admitted.

“Neither did I.” Alexei grinned, dragging his thumb across his jaw. “But I’m not going to complain about it. So make sure your contact doesn’t fuck this up for me.”

Luca rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about my contact. They’re good for it. I’m meeting with them for information tomorrow.”

“Good.”

“Did you need something?” Luca asked as Alexei pushed to his feet again.

“What?”

“Did you need something, or did you just come in here for gossip?”

“Oh. Right. Both, really. Your sister asks a lot of questions. I like to be prepared. But also to let you know there’s a guy on the floor who appears to be counting cards. Since Dom isn’t here, I thought you might like to accompany me to make sure.”

Luca pushed back from his desk and followed Alexei out the door. The casino floor was loud, the beeps and warbles from the slot machines and the constant low hum of conversation overwhelming the senses as they walked past the roulette wheels and small-time poker tables and stopped at the Blackjack tables.

This casino had five tables in total. Alexei gestured with a slight nod to a man dressed casually in slacks and a button-down sitting at table three. He was white, pale, probably in his early to mid-twenties, and he had a large collection of chips in front of him.

Luca watched as the dealer dealt the next hand. A pair of eights, which the guy split into two. Each time a card was dealt, he paused, his mouth twitching as if he was counting in his head and couldn’t keep his lips still.

His next hit earned him a ten and a jack. Eighteen. The guy paused again, eyes darting from his two hands to the dealer’s hand to the number of cards still left in the shoe. Then he made a mistake. He lifted his head and made eye contact with someone standing at the edge of his table.

The woman had long black hair and dark skin. She wore a tight red dress, a matching purse slung over her shoulder. She glanced down at the cards, then back up at his face, and tapped the table twice. A signal.

Luca shook his head. They were cheating and not even bothering to be subtle about it. The guy took a chance on one hand and hit. A two. Twenty out of twenty-one. The next one was a four, taking him over. But he’d already won the pot. The dealer only had nineteen.

Alexei moved forward to grab the guy before he could play another hand, but Luca stopped him. “He’s not counting alone. Watch the woman in red.”

Once the guy at table three won his hand, she stepped away with a small smile on her lips and turned toward table five. Two women and one man were already playing there. A blond in a conservative blue sweater slightly too big for her frame shifted in her seat, then stretched her arms out behind her. As soon as she did, the woman in red sat down.

“Well, fuck me,” Alexei muttered. “Been a long time since we had anyone get this fancy. They’ve got to be Americans.”

“Pity,” Luca replied as he watched the dealer at table five deal the next hand, including the new player at the table. “You won’t get to kill anyone.”

“I hate that Americans are off-limits,” Alexei said, almost pouting.

The table was hot, the cards coming out of the shoe favoring the players and not the dealer. A sure sign they were counting. The woman who’d joined them continued to make risky bets until her chips were stacked three rows deep in front of her.

Just before the decks reset, she threw her last hand and lost about ten grand, if he had to guess. But she still had fifty thousand in chips stacked in front of her.

When the dealer paused the game to shuffle the decks, Luca set off for the table, Alexei trailing behind him. As soon as people saw Alexei, with his bright green eyes and the imposing scar that ran the length of his face, they quickly moved out of the way.

The dealer noticed them crossing the floor and gave a signal for counters. Luca nodded and dropped into a seat next to the woman in red while Alexei claimed the spot beside the blond, leaning in to get a whiff of her strong perfume. Luca looked her up and down, and she sent him a flirtatious smile.

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