All In: A Vegas Reverse Harem Romance

by Cassie Cole

  “It will,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

  The announcer was losing his mind on the loudspeaker. I tried tuning him out and merely grinned back at Yegorovich. I’d bought a couple of minutes so far. Whatever happened next, I’d done my job in delaying him from checking on the money.

  The dealer looked as nervous as any of us. Slowly he turned over the flop…

  5d - 9c - 3h

  He’d nailed his nines. The crowd noise rose a degree.

  “We’re not done here, folks!” the announcer said. “Parker has a possible straight! An Ace or a Six is all she needs…”

  “I feel real good right now,” I said loudly. “You might as well give up, Vladdy.”

  The dealer paused before revealing the turn card. He knew this was televised, and some competitive banter was good for ratings.

  Yegorovich scoffed. “Or perhaps another five or three comes out, giving me a full house.” He cocked his head. “You do understand that a full house beats a straight? Yes?”

  “There’s no full house for you tonight.” I gestured. “Except for your lovely casino, of course.”

  The crowd let out a cheer, which Yegorovich acknowledged with a thumbs up.

  It felt obvious that I was putting on a show, but it was working so I didn’t care. I was giddy that our plan was nearly complete. That I was playing my part flawlessly. Two more cards and then I would lose this hand, being eliminated from the tournament. Then I would leave and join my partners somewhere safe where we could revel in our take, tossing the money into the air and dancing while it fell around us like big green snowflakes.

  The turn card was revealed. King of Spades. No help to me.

  “Oh no,” Xander said in my ear.

  “Oh no,” Yegorovich said when he saw the turn. “One last chance for you to escape.”

  “I’m not worried,” I said sweetly.

  “What?” Eddie asked.

  “There’s already two trucks in the east loading dock. Bryce can’t pull up.”

  Oh crap. The money was still in the casino.

  “One’s gettin’ ready to leave,” Xander said. “Only need a few more minutes.”

  “Distract for as long as you can,” Bryce said.

  “She’s doing her best, but they’re almost done,” Eddie said. He must be watching somewhere close by.

  “Do somethin’. I don’t want to get caught with my dick in my hand. ”

  Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

  The river was about to come out. Yegorovich was gesturing to the dealer. He reached for the deck, pulling off the next card…

  “Wait!” I shouted.

  Everyone looked at me: dealer, players, Yegorovich.

  “How about a side bet?” I asked.

  The dealer gestured. “Ma’am, you are already all in. You have nothing with which to place a side bet.”

  I ignored him and arched an eyebrow at Yegorovich. “I meant something more fun than just ceramic chips.”

  A buzz went up in the crowd. Even the other players looked curious to see what I meant.

  Yegorovich only looked at me with those cool grey eyes. “I am listening.”

  I hesitated. Shit. Now what?

  The words came spilling out of me because they were the first thing I thought of. “If I lose, I’ll flash my breasts for the audience.”

  The crowd lost its collective mind. Men shouted and tossed their plastic beer cups, filling the air with white spray. Even the women in the crowd laughed and cheered just as loudly, liquored up from hours of watching poker. The announcer was laughing and trying to talk over them but it only made everything more chaotic.

  Yegorovich remained totally unfazed by my offer. “And what do you desire if you win?”

  I was tempted to ask him for the reciprocal: to unzip his fly and flash his junk for the world. But a Russian oligarch surely wouldn’t do that, and humiliating him in front of a crowd was probably a really bad idea.

  “If I win,” I said, the crowd hanging on my every word, “I want… The most expensive bottle of vodka you own.”

  I could hear the disappointment from the audience that it wasn’t something more scandalous. But Yegorovich only nodded.

  “This deal is fair. I accept.”

  “The truck is getting ready to leave,” Bryce said. “The fucking driver is fiddling with his phone. Move, asshole!”

  I didn’t know what I would do if I lost. I certainly wasn’t going to flash the crowd—especially not while I was sober! But I could tease it out, kill some time while I did a little dance, and then eventually chicken out. They would hate me for it, but it might buy me the time I needed.

  Then another thought came to me: what if I win the hand? That would be the worse scenario because I wouldn’t be able to distract him anymore. If anything it might give him an excuse to go get that bottle of vodka right away.

  The dealer looked around to make sure everyone was ready. He pulled a card from the deck and flipped it over….

  5d - 9c - 3h - Kh - 9d

  Yegorovich barely registered his victory. The only change in his demeanor was a slight softening in his eyes and a fraction of a nod.

  “Not only does Parker not get her straight, but Yegorovich has hit four of a kind! Twisting the knife in victory!”

  There were groans from the audience, then applause as they realized what I would have to do.

  I smiled. I was out. I’d made it all the way to the final table, scraping and fighting the entire way there for every pot. Part of me was disappointed to go out this way, forcing myself all in on a lousy hand.

  “Pulling up to the loading dock now,” Bryce said. “Couple minutes longer.”

  I stood and bowed to the crowd, smiling and waving. Time to put on a show. Wait a second, maybe I could sing instead! The spotlights were on me. I’ve never had a crowd this large for one of my shows. This could be an opportunity.

  But Yegorovich came around and shook my hand. “I am a gentleman, so fear not. You need not reveal yourself. The side bet does not count.”

  Yes! I thought. Then, No!

  He turned to leave with his guard, who was impatiently gesturing him away.

  “Wait!” I said. “Surely I can repay you some other way.”

  “Your chips are all I need, thank you.”

  The announcer said, “There is a 15 minute break when a player is eliminated. We’ll see you back here soon, folks. Stay tuned!”

  Crapola. He was getting ready to leave, and he didn’t even need to use his power as the casino owner to sneak away: I’d given him a valid excuse by being eliminated. Our stolen money wasn’t on the truck yet. As soon as Yegorovich went down to the basement and discovered it was missing…

  I grabbed his arm. “Maybe I can give you a private show,” I said in a low, sultry voice.

  I hated myself, but I stood close to him. Close enough that he could smell my perfume and my breasts touched his arm. I pursed my lips together and looked up at him through my eyelashes.

  I knew I looked good. Better than good: I was gorgeous in this dress. Totally fuckable. But was that enough for someone like him?

  “Perhaps that would be nice,” he said. “Let us go enjoy our short break together, yes? I have that bottle of vodka I could open.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief—and regret—as I followed him back through the curtain.

  Hanging on his arm, I hoped I could find my way out of this.

  46

  Bryce

  “Get going you fuckhead!” I yelled, leaning on my horn again. I knew I was attracting attention by the loading dock but I didn’t care. The money was there. Right there on the other side of that loading dock door. We were so close. If it slipped through our fingers because this asshole was fiddling on his phone instead of leaving…

  Above, a helicopter drifted away in the sky. Was that the helicopter that had delivered the money, and if so, had they grown impatient waiting for confirmation? Or had Yegorovich signaled them?

&
nbsp; “Xander, you okay in there?” I asked.

  “For now. I don’t like standing here with these crates…” he whispered.

  The truck driver finally looked up and saw me waiting. He gave a friendly little wave of apology, started his truck engine, and rumbled away from the dock.

  “I’m pulling up now,” I said as I drove forward, then turned around so I could back in.

  “I’m back at the poker tournament,” Eddie said. “Sage is buying time as best as she can, but…”

  “You should be leaving the casino,” I said. “Your shift’s over. That was part of the reason to distract Yegorovich!”

  “Coulda shoulda woulda. I’ll leave when you do.”

  I backed the truck up to the door but I wasn’t practiced at this sort of thing. It took me three tries before I got the rear end of the truck flush with the bay door. This rental truck had a door from the cab to the back, so I left the truck running and climbed back there just in time to see Xander opening the back door vertically.

  Inside the loading dock was a single guard, but he was stationed by the door to the special hallway. He looked bored.

  I stayed inside the truck where the cameras couldn’t see me and gave Xander a friendly wave. “Here to pick up some equipment?”

  Xander pushed the cart onto the truck. Just like the one we’d used for practice, two crates underneath a white sheet. “This is it. You, uh, got somethin’ for me to sign?”

  I handed him a clipboard. His signature was an unrecognizable scribble. “Thank you kindly,” he said, stepping back onto the dock and pulling the door closed.

  The metal floor banged as I ran back into the cab and shifted the truck into drive. My hands trembled on the steering wheel as I drove away from the dock.

  I expected men with guns to appear and stop me. For Yegorovich himself to be there, pointing and laughing at me for thinking I could get away with it. For everything to crumble right at the end.

  But nobody stopped me. There was zero traffic as I came around the side of the casino and onto a side street, driving away from the Las Vegas strip.

  I didn’t even think about where I was going. I just headed east, constantly looking in my side mirrors for someone to follow.

  I drove four blocks before I finally relaxed.

  “I’m away,” I said. “We did it!”

  There were cheers in my ear from Xander and Eddie. I laughed like a maniac in my truck as I pulled into a random parking lot. Now I was trembling for a totally different reason: excitement.

  I turned the engine off and sat there trying to catch my breath. It was over. We had the money. We were safely away from Yegorovich’s grasp.

  We’d done it.

  “Alright,” I said. “I’m driving this straight to Los Angeles. You guys will never see me again.”

  “That’s not funny,” Eddie said. “You know that’s not funny, right?”

  “It’s a little funny,” Xander said. “So long as it’s only a joke.”

  “Checking the take now,” I said as I locked the doors and went into the back.

  I pulled away the white sheet to reveal the two crates of heavy duty plastic. They had tops held in place by clips all around the side. I unclipped each of them, practically hyperventilating with excitement as I pulled open the top.

  “Well?” Eddie asked. “How much does it look like?”

  I stared at the contents of the crate, my mind too numb to process what I was looking at.

  47

  Sage

  Holding onto Yegorovich’s arm like his date, I followed him through the back halls of the casino.

  “I’m away,” Bryce said in my ear. “We did it!”

  I felt the tingling warmth of victory fill my chest and throat. We’d made the switch. The money was safely away. And I’d bought enough time for all of it to happen, and for Eddie to get away safely.

  Now to worry about myself.

  “How long have you been playing poker?” Yegorovich asked.

  “Oh, a couple of years. On and off. I got lucky today.”

  “Yes,” he said, glancing over at me. “Very lucky indeed.”

  “Vlad, listen…” I stopped and let go of his arm. “I think I need to leave. I think I’ve made a mistake coming with you…”

  “Nonsense!” he said. “This is all falling into place. Like a well orchestrated plan, yes?”

  I froze. What does he mean by that?

  A waitress came around the corner ahead of us holding a tray of drinks. My roommate Angela, looking lost. She stopped when she saw us, her eyes widening.

  “Come,” Yegorovich said, grabbing my forearm so hard it hurt. “I must insist.”

  I shared a look with Angela as he led me along.

  “You’re hurting me,” I said in a small voice.

  “Tell me, Sage Parker. What is a worse pain?” He didn’t look at me while he spoke. “Having your arm squeezed so, or having your livelihood threatened?”

  Oh no.

  “I have worked very hard to build this casino,” he explained as if I were a child. “To create it from nothing. For someone to steal from it is a deeply personal offense.”

  He knows. I was too terrified to speak.

  “Well? How much does it look like?” Eddie asked in my ear.

  Yegorovich looked at me. “Well? Which pain is worse?”

  “I don’t know…” I managed to say.

  “Newspaper,” Bryce said, confusion thick in his voice. “Stacks and stacks of newspaper. There’s no money. The money isn’t here!”

  I tried to raise my hand to my mouth so I could speak into the ring but Yegorovich’s grip wouldn’t let me raise it higher than my waist. He stopped and glared at me.

  “What? Attempting to speak to your comrades through your ring, yes?” He rumbled with laughter. “Your communication is not encrypted! Foolish girl. We have radio frequency monitoring throughout the Volga to keep people from coordinating or cheating. Tell me, Sage Parker. Have your friends discovered that the money is not there yet? Are they presently confused and bewildered?”

  “That can’t be right,” Xander was saying. “We made the switch.”

  Eddie said, “I don’t like this. Something is wrong.”

  Yegorovich reached into my ear and yanked out the tiny device, then placed it up to his ear. He barked another laugh. “Oh, this is marvelous!”

  The hall twisted and then we went down a flight of stairs to the S1 level, coming to a small elevator door. One of the guards pushed the button and we went inside. Yegorovich scanned a special badge in front of the reader and pressed the lowest button: S3.

  We were in the service elevator, one level below the special hallway.

  “I wish to thank you for giving me such an entertaining show.” Yegorovich raised my arm and kissed my hand, then said in a less menacing tone, “I would love to show you my special vault on storage level three. I am receiving a delivery there. Then we can return to the poker game.”

  Before I knew what he was doing he removed the ring and shoved it in his pocket. That’s when I realized what he’d done: he told Xander, Bryce, and Eddie where he was taking me. He was laying a trap.

  And I was the bait.

  “No,” I moaned. “No! Don’t listen to him! It’s a trap!”

  His palm flashed out, smacking me across the cheek so hard I saw stars. Tears welled in my eyes against my will.

  “They cannot hear you, Sage Parker. It is too late. Soon they will join us. Then the fun may begin!”

  The door opened at S3. It was a huge warehouse like room with high ceilings. Stacks of plastic crates were scattered haphazardly throughout the room, the remnants of past money deliveries. But my eyes were glued to the huge object at the opposite end of the room: the vault. It was a massive structure made from thick grey steel, with a door on the front so large an elephant could walk through.

  “Yes,” Yegorovich said. “When your friends arrive we will have great fun!”

  His laughte
r filled the room, drowning out my sobbing.

  48

  Xander

  I sprinted back toward my stage, ignoring the confused and curious looks I was drawing.

  Sage. She hadn’t gotten away from Yegorovich yet, and he was taking her to S3 to check on the money.

  And when he discovered that a switch had been made…

  “Why are the crates fake?” Eddie asked. He sounded like he was running too. “Did they make decoy deliveries?”

  Bryce let out a curse. “Or the Russians who delivered the money are pulling a fast on on Yegorovich. Making a fake delivery. The helicopter left awfully fast…”

  “Perfect, we’re in the middle of an oligarch feud,” I said.

  “This makes no sense,” Eddie said.

  “We have to save Sage.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t do anything rash,” Bryce suggested. “Let her get out on her own rather than blow her cover.”

  “And when Yeggy opens our fake crates? What do you think happens to her?” Eddie asked.

  “Maybe nothing.”

  “Or maybe he realizes she helped delay him a few minutes.”

  Shit. Eddie was totally right. Sage was fucked if we didn’t get there quickly.

  I reached my stage and blew through the curtain into the back. My sound board operator saw me and waved. “There you are!” He started wheeling over to me. “Your second show is in 30 and we need to run all new sound checks since we swapped out the relay. I need you to—”

  “Not now,” I said.

  “What do you mean not now? Xander! Come back!”

  I leaped down the steps where he couldn’t follow, then went straight to the door to the hallway where we’d made the switch. I opened the door a crack and peered one way, then the other. Empty.

  There was only one way to access S3: that service elevator. Were they on their way to the elevator, or were they already down there?