Love's Wager

by J. M. Jeffries

  The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open and she found herself with two very large guns pointing directly at her.

  Chapter 12

  Nina sat on the hard floor of the casino, legs crossed, trying to be comfortable and not think about the fear clouding her thinking. Miss E. sat next to her looking more than just disgruntled. She glanced around trying to get a head count. She estimated about fifty casino guests sat on the floor. How odd to see the casino almost empty. She had to assume the moment the gang of thieves started brandishing their guns, people had run for the doors.

  A woman behind Nina sobbed. Nina turned and tried for an encouraging smile, but her lips quivered. “It’s going to be all right.”

  The woman, heavily pregnant, tried to smile through the tears blotting her face, but her lips didn’t move. She held the hand of a man who hovered over her as though trying to hide her.

  Nina tried to keep people calm, but they were all frightened. Now she knew why Scott had gotten off on the second floor even though the control room was on the first and tried to stop her from continuing down to the lobby.

  She counted ten men, all dressed in black with black masks to hide their faces, along with some very big guns. She had no idea what kind of guns they were, but they looked lethal. She assumed they were assault weapons of some sort with lots of bullets.

  Two of the armed, masked men tapped at the Lucite enclosure holding the ten million dollars. Nina knew they weren’t going to break into the box. The Lucite was three inches thick. Two more men were robbing the casino guests of cash, valuables and cell phones.

  An elderly woman sat on the other side of Nina, clutching her purse to her. When one of them grabbed the purse and turned it over to scatter the contents on the floor, the woman gasped. She wore a lovely set of pearls, a wide gold wedding band and a nice watch. The robber grabbed her arm to twist off the watch.

  “Gimme the ring,” he snarled.

  “She can’t,” Nina said.

  “I won’t,” the woman said, clutching her hand to her chest. “I’ve worn this for sixty years, young man, and I’m not taking it off.”

  “She has arthritis, she won’t be able to get it over the knuckle,” Nina explained.

  He growled deep in his throat after tossing the woman’s cell phone in a sack along with the watch and the pearls. He rifled through her wallet and drew out all the money he found and dropped it in the sack. He left the ring and stood in front of Nina.

  Nina watched him carefully. He was dressed in black. He had a small eagle tattoo on the back of his hand and wore a teardrop diamond earring in one ear. The diamond was fake.

  “Earrings,” he said.

  Darn, she thought. “You can’t have my earrings. They were a gift.” Besides they were real diamonds.

  “Do I look like I care?”

  She leaned toward him. “From Angelina Jolie.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I know who you are.”

  She took the earrings off. She knew this man. Gary White had the same eagle tattoo on the back of his hand. Having identified him she saw all the other similarities that told her who he was. Her gaze swept over the other robbers. She had the feeling they were all security guards dismissed by Scott. She handed him the earrings.

  “Bracelet.” He gestured at the glittering cuff she wore.

  She twisted the cuff off and handed it to him.

  “Phone.”

  “I was eating dinner in my room and didn’t think to grab my purse. I don’t have my phone.” Which was in her pocket, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. She pasted the most innocent expression on her face that she could. In the distance she heard sirens. “The police are here.”

  He ignored her and moved to Miss E. without comment, Miss E. handed over her phone and her watch. He passed down the line. Nina watched him, scooting back carefully into the group of hostages behind her so neither he nor his cohorts could see her. She eased her phone out of her pocket and placed it low in her lap. She texted to Scott,

  Gary White holding 55 hostages with me and Miss E.

  She rapidly went through her settings and set her phone to silence, even disabling the vibrate setting. She didn’t want the tiniest sound to alert Gary that she still had her phone. She thrust the phone under her thigh to hide it.

  Several of the men stood in front of the ten-million-dollar jackpot, drilling into the three-inch-thick Lucite. On the floor at their feet was an electric saw. Nina watched, knowing they weren’t going to get inside easily. Another man assembled a number of banker’s boxes. Each shrink-wrapped million would just fit inside one box.

  Miss E. looked calm and serene as she told people to cooperate with the robbers.

  Nina had to do something. She glanced down at her phone. Scott had sent a text.

  Tell them you’ll give them the key to the display in return for letting hostages go.

  Nina glanced around and saw Gary sitting on a stool in front of a slot machine. He fingered his gun, his gaze on Miss E. Nina tried to get his attention. She thrust her hand in the air and gestured at him.

  Gary slid off the stool and approached her.

  She pointed at the Lucite box. “I can save you some time getting into the case. I can get you the key.”

  “How?” He leaned over her trying to intimidate her.

  “Let the hostages go first.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Then I have no leverage.”

  “I’ll stay,” Nina offered.

  He eyed her thoughtfully for a few seconds, then turned and walked over to the knot of men next to the display case. Nina thought she heard comments of assent. Two men nodded.

  “It doesn’t look like the robbery is going quite the way Gary thought it would,” Miss E. said with a wry chuckle.

  “You recognized him, too.”

  “The tattoo on the back of his hand is a dead giveaway.”

  “That’s why I recognized him, too.”

  “That’s why I keep my tattoo hidden.” Miss E. grinned.

  “You have a tattoo?” The thought of Miss E. having a tattoo struck her as too funny. “I’ll giggle about this when we’re no longer hostages. And I’m going to want to see it.”

  “Not a chance. Trust me, you don’t want to see them. When I was thirty they were butterflies and now that I’m seventy-eight they’re condors.”

  The image captured her imagination. “Don’t make me laugh. This is not the time.”

  Miss E. chuckled again.

  Gary walked back to Nina. “Get the key. We’re not letting the hostages go until I see you with it in your hand.”

  “Sure.” Nina pushed to her feet.

  Gary stared at the floor and then backhanded her. “I said no phones.”

  Nina’s head flew back. Anger grew in her. “So, I lied.”

  He glared at her as he escorted her to the casino entrance.

  Nina rubbed her cheek. She was going to have a bruise shortly.

  The lobby was completely empty. Outside the front doors, Nina could see police vehicles and SWAT trucks in the street with armed police officers watching the front doors.

  Gary shoved her toward the administrative door. “Get that key.”

  “I will.” Nina strode confidently to the door leading into the administration area and Scott’s control center.

  * * *

  The control room was eerily quiet and tense. The newest hires sat with their training officers. They’d been learning the routines of the casino and how to spot criminal activity. Scott stood in the center, working hard to keep his fear for Nina and his grandmother under control. He couldn’t afford to give in to his fear as he watched Nina talk to Gary White. Seeing her in such danger made him want to rip out a wall. He hated feeling helpless watching the woman he l
oved being manhandled.

  Scott watched Gary White shove Nina. She managed to keep on her feet, but his anger rose, supplanting his fear. Gary White had no idea what was going to happen to him once Scott got ahold of him.

  “He took the bait,” Belle Sampson said. She sat at the computer, eyes glued to the monitor. “What are we going to do now? Just give it to him?”

  Chief of Police Luis Mendoza stood with Scott along with the head of the SWAT team. “We’ll not only give him the key, but encourage him to leave.”

  Scott couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “We’re going to let him and his little gang walk out the door with all that counterfeit money.”

  Belle twisted to look at him and Chief Mendoza. “What did you just say?”

  “All those bundles are counterfeit cash I borrowed from the Secret Service. There are real bills on top to make it look right, but underneath each one of those bills is stamped Counterfeit.”

  “But what happens if Gary finds out?”

  “Do you really think he’s going to sit there and unwrap every bundle? He’s going to wait until he’s somewhere safe.” Scott was pretty pleased with himself at scoring the counterfeit money. Sweet-talking the Secret Service into letting him borrow it had been the highlight of his week. He hadn’t been too happy placing real money in the display case, though he understood the need to show what ten million looked like.

  “So you’re going to let him walk out of here?”

  “We’re going to pretend to try and stop him,” Luis Mendoza said, “but every bundle has a little GPS in the middle that will allow us to track it. And once they’re free of the casino, we’ll grab them.”

  Belle turned back to the monitor. “You were expecting this, weren’t you?”

  Scott shook his head. “I like to be prepared. The minute Gary made bail, I had a feeling that wouldn’t go away. I was expecting something, just not sure what.”

  Belle grinned. “Nina is on her way.”

  “I’ll meet her and bring her back here.” Scott left the control room grateful for just a few moments alone with her.

  He caught Nina as she half ran down the hall. “It’s Gary White and I think all the other men with him are some of the people you let go.”

  “We figured this out even before you texted me.” He grabbed her and kissed her hard enough to make her gasp.

  Her arms snaked around him. “I’m scared.”

  “Everything is going to work out. You’re doing great.” He hugged her tightly and kissed the tender spot on her cheek before opening the door of the control room. “Nina, this is Chief Luis Mendoza of the Reno PD and that’s Max Burning Bear, head of SWAT.”

  Nina nodded at the two men. “How is this going to work?”

  “Here’s the key to the display case.” Scott handed her a long tube. “It inserts into a hole at the bottom of the case facing the bar. The rod acts as a sensor that deactivates the signal that keeps the door locked. Once the signal is deactivated the door will swing open.”

  Scott could see the fear in her eyes. He wanted to hold her and murmur encouraging words into her ear, but he knew time was short. He needed to get Gary and his people to let the hostages go and get them out of the casino. He hated sending Nina back.

  “But first,” Chief Mendoza said, “Mr. Russell will escort you back to the casino. He’ll get the hostages out. Do not hand the key over until the hostages are safe outside.”

  “Are you going to just let them leave?” Nina asked.

  “We’re not going to do anything to stop them,” Scott replied. “My priority is keeping the guests safe.” And you and my grandmother.

  “But all that money...”

  “It’s counterfeit, Miss Torres,” Chief Mendoza said quietly. “And they won’t get far. Each bundle has a tracking device embedded in it.”

  “Oh.” Nina’s eyes grew wide and she laughed. “Miss E. knows it’s counterfeit. That’s why she isn’t putting up any fight.”

  “Exactly.” Scott hugged her again. “So let’s get back to the casino.”

  They left the control room. Scott could feel Nina trembling with anxiety.

  “Don’t think about it,” Scott told her quietly as they paused in front of the door leading to the lobby. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “I’m right next to you.”

  “Shouldn’t you have a gun?” she asked.

  “Not at the moment. A gun will just escalate the danger.” He put a hand on the doorknob and twisted it. Before he opened the door he gave her one last kiss and murmured, “I love you.”

  “What?”

  “I love you.”

  “You’re telling me this now!” She stared at him in confusion.

  “Do you know a better time?”

  “Yes, and this isn’t it.” She gestured at the door and he opened it. Nina stepped into the lobby and he heard her breath catch in her throat as she walked determinedly toward the two gunmen at the entrance to the casino, their lethal-looking weapons pointed directly at her. Pride filled Scott for a moment as she held up the key.

  “Let everyone go,” she said.

  * * *

  The hostages filed out one by one. Gary kept his rifle pointed at Scott and Nina. “I want a guarantee of safe passage.”

  “You got it,” Scott said.

  Gary frowned. “You’re making this too easy.”

  “The money’s insured,” Scott replied. “Rule number one, my responsibility is to end this as quick and safely as possible. I want you out of this casino. I want you out of this city.”

  Gary’s frown relaxed. The men around the display case were loading each shrink-wrapped package into the banker’s boxes. One man wheeled a hand dolly up to the boxes and started loading them.

  The last hostage was Miss E. Gary stopped her. “Not you.”

  “All the hostages.”

  “I’m changing the plan, Russell,” Gary growled. He grabbed Nina, his assault rifle pointed at Scott. “Get out of here. I’ll let them go once the vans are loaded. If I see one cop, I’ll kill this one first.” He jerked Nina forward.

  “No.” Scott started to argue.

  “You have no say in the matter.”

  The man with the dolly started wheeling it out the back of the casino, around the pool to the adjacent parking lot. Several other men carried the boxes that didn’t fit on the dolly. They also departed out the back door.

  Nina and Miss E. were herded along at the rear.

  Scott watched helplessly. “If you harm them...”

  White just laughed.

  “I’ll be fine,” Nina called. “I won’t let anything happen to Miss E.”

  Gary shoved her and she stumbled, catching the edge of a slot machine and righting herself. She tried to keep a brave look on her face, but Scott could see the fear in her eyes.

  “If you so much as hurt one hair on their heads, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and you will take a long time to die.”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” Gary said, bravado in his tone.

  “That’s your second mistake today,” Scott said quietly. The rage he felt every time Gary touched Nina grew stronger.

  Gary scoffed and turned on his heel toward the back doors of the casino.

  * * *

  Nina held Miss E.’s hand while Gary herded them toward the van. A second van was parked next to it. Full darkness had descended and the lights of Reno shone bright in the distance. Nina could hear the sound of a helicopter overhead.

  Once there, Gary waved the big rifle in her face. “Get in the van.”

  “You said you’d let us go.” He grabbed her arm. Nina struggled, but he held her too tightly.

  Gary smiled. “I lied.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with
you.” She tried to pull away from him, but he grabbed her around the waist and tried to lift her into the van. “Let go.” Nina wriggled herself free and stepped back. “You’ve got what you want, now leave us.”

  She wasn’t going anywhere with him if she could help it. She didn’t know if he’d kill her, but if he were angry enough, he might and then she wouldn’t see Scott again, or Miss E. or Kenzie, or her family. She needed to tell Scott some very important words. He’d bared his heart to her and she owed him her own words. She loved him and hadn’t known until now with the huge gun pointed at her face. Her heart stopped and fear bubbled up inside her. If nothing else, she needed to protect Miss. E.

  “Forget them,” someone inside the van yelled. “Get in.”

  “She’s coming with us.”

  A man poked his head out of the side of the van. “Russell will hunt us down if we take his woman. Leave her. Leave the granny, too.”

  Gary shook his head, determined to get Nina in the van. Nina took another step back. She wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

  “Get in,” the man said in an exasperated tone. Gary raised his gun and hit her hard in the face. She fell to her knees and Miss E. screamed.

  “Stop being stupid and leave her.” The man reached out, grabbed Gary’s shirt, hauled him into the van and shouted, “Go. Go. Go.”

  The van peeled out of the parking lot, the second one following.

  “I know what you were doing,” Miss E. commented.

  “What was I doing?”

  “Being uncooperative, loud and difficult.” Miss E. helped her to her feet. She swayed a moment getting her balance.

  “Or they could have just shot me.” Nina put a hand to her face. Why did he have to hit her?

  “That would never have happened. If there is one person Gary is afraid of, it’s Scott.”

  The back doors of the casino burst open and men in black with great big guns poured out, running toward Nina and Miss E., surrounding them.