Betting on Love

by Alexis Abbott

  Even as I sit here playing the game as though I haven’t got a care in the world, I’m actually on edge. I don’t normally wear shades when I play poker or blackjack, as I consider my eyes part of the alluring package. They’re just another asset with which to entrance and confuse my competitors. But this time, I’ve got my gigantic shades on to hide where I’m looking. Behind the oversized tinted lenses, my eyes dart around, gathering information, watching out for anyone suspicious.

  It’s nearly midnight now. I’ve had one hell of a long damn day, but I’m not even tired. All I feel is this electrical current radiating through my body, keeping me on edge, keeping my eye on the enemy, wherever he might be hiding. I know they’re waiting for me. I’m sure Carl has told them all about me. Hell, that bastard probably gave them my damn measurements or something like I’m a prized farm animal at a county fair. I was smart to wear a disguise tonight. Carl will have told the guys how I normally dress. They’re looking for a movie star, but tonight I’m just any other tourist from out of town.

  Some people might say I’m crazy for ever coming back here in the first place. This casino is the most dangerous location on the planet for me right now, and yet, here the hell I am. I know how much is at risk if I stay here. I know what’s on the line. What these assholes put Vanessa through was a crime. That poor girl will probably spend the rest of her life trying to recover from it. I can only hope that one day she’ll land herself one truly phenomenal and non-judgmental therapist to help her work it all out.

  As for me?

  I would rather saunter right up to the beast and fight it with my own fists than run away. It’s totally against my character. I considered taking off for a brief moment. Who in my position wouldn’t at least give it some thought? But I realized that I would rather die fighting than spend the rest of my life looking back in fear.

  Besides, there’s another reason I couldn’t get myself to leave town: Dominick.

  I want to see him again. Are my priorities a little askew? Maybe. But then, I’ve never lived a normal life. I’ve never obeyed the rules before. So why now? I like Dominick. My body loves Dominick. And even if he’s involved with the mafia, I know there’s more to him than that. I could see it in his eyes when we were together. I could feel it in the way he touched me.

  He could’ve turned me in to his bosses when he had the chance. I was literally right within his grasp at Carl’s hideout house. And yet, he let me go free. That tells me something: that he’s not as loyal to the mafia as they probably think he is. In turn, that means he might just prove useful to me. Instrumental in taking down the assholes who hurt my friend and who are scheming to hurt me, too. I am not a prized cow. I’m a damn woman, and I’m taking fate into my own perfectly manicured hands.

  I win the game in front of me and the other players all groan with annoyance. I give them a little smile and decide to take pity on them. I excuse myself from the table, collecting my meager winnings as I leave. I’m on my way to a low-level poker game when my eyes lock onto something that jolts me from my head to my toes.

  A familiar pair of intense, brooding eyes meeting my gaze from across the room. It’s Dominick, dressed to the nines, but clearly working security. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out. When I first met him, I assumed he was some wealthy, bored playboy by the way he was dressed. I see now that’s part of his ruse. Well played, I think to myself as I give him a wry, meaningful smirk. We found each other. Perfect.

  I casually head toward the bar, walking slowly and pretending to text on my phone as an excuse to keep my head down. But before I can reach the bar counter, a large hand lands on my arm. I follow up the swell of his forearm, his biceps, his shoulder, up to look him in the face. Again, I am struck by how startlingly good-looking he is. Cheekbones hewn from pure marble, a jawline so powerful I could imagine sitting on it like a throne fit for a princess. There’s an urgency in his eyes. A burning fire.

  I wonder if it’s burning for me.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he hisses, leaning in close so that his hot breath tickles my ear. A delicious shiver runs down my spine, and I can feel his heat radiating off of his chiseled body so close to mine.

  “Observing the enemy,” I answer plainly in a whisper.

  “Are you out of your mind? They’re looking for you, Hadley. You can’t be here right now. It’s too dangerous,” Dom insists.

  “Well, you’re one of them,” I remind him with an air of defiance. “Are you going to turn me over to your bosses? Are you here to take me, Dom?”

  He stares at me hard, a conflict waging in his eyes. I see that muscle twitching in his jaw. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t answer me. I roll my eyes and scoff, turning to walk away. But he catches me again with his hand on my arm, only this time his fingers close around my delicate wrist and I look back at him with a flash of indignant fury.

  “Let me go,” I growl between gritted teeth. But at the very same second, I notice what looks like several drops of bright red blood staining the starchy white cuff of his sleeve. I look up at him with worry, my fierce mask slipping away for a moment as genuine concern for him seeps through. I can’t help it. I don’t want him hurt.

  But he’s still on the enemy side. For all I know, he got that stain from carrying out mafia business. And when I happen to see two thick, beady-eyed enforcer types look our way from across the crowded casino, my heart sinks down to my stomach. I know I have to get out of here.

  Now.

  “Shit,” I whisper, my eyes going wide. “They’ve seen us. Thanks a lot, Dom. Now, let me go so I can make a run for it.”

  I try to jerk my arm away, but when Dominick looks back to see the same enforcers I saw, he turns back to me with a conspiratorial look on his face. “Yes. You’re right. You need to get the hell out of here. But without my help, you won’t even make it out of the building. Follow me,” he insists, starting to pull at my arm.

  I hold back for a moment, narrowing my eyes and sizing him up.

  “Come on, Hadley,” he growls, those gorgeous eyes full of worry.

  I bite my lip, feeling like either option is a trap.

  Can I trust him, even though he’s behind enemy lines?

  Dominick

  “Try to keep an even pace, but don’t look like you’re in a hurry,” I instruct her as we walk down the hallway toward the elevator to the garage.

  “Why aren’t we running?” she asks in an equally low tone.

  “Because those guys who were watching us might think I’m already delivering you to Jerry, if we’re lucky,” I say. “But that’s only going to last as long as someone watching us through the cameras doesn’t catch on.”

  “How long do you think that’ll be?”

  “Not long enough,” I growl as we step into the elevator. Once we’re inside, I hit the button to take us down to the garage, and just before the doors close behind us, I see the two other enforcers heading toward us. One of them raises his hand for me to hold the door.

  When I don’t, I know there’s a very good chance our cover has just been blown.

  “Right, so we might have guys headed down the stairs to cut us off,” I say, taking a deep breath and rolling my shoulders back before glancing up at the camera in the elevator. “Thankfully, the elevators are quick, and I’m not parked far from the doors. As soon as they’re open, we’re going to start walking, and walking fast. We’re headed for the black Aston Martin. Beeline.”

  “You were just looking for an excuse to tell me you drive an Aston Martin, weren’t you?” she remarks casually. I crack a smile.

  “Maybe a little.”

  The doors open the next second, and I slip out after taking her hand before they can even finish opening. I don’t hear the sounds of shouts and gunfire, so I take advantage of that—pedal faster when you’re rolling downhill, so to speak. My car is in sight, and I click it unlocked as I hurry around to the driver’s side.

  Seconds later, we’re seated, buckled, and I’
m pulling out of the garage in the smoothest car in the garage.

  “No cars full of goons chasing after us with machine guns hanging out the passenger windows,” she remarks as we pull out onto the Vegas streets. “Think they’re really onto you?”

  “They could be,” I admit. “And that could mean they’re just not telling me yet. No way to know. This is how things go in our line of business. I might not find out until months from now that Jerry knew anything, and I’ll get gunned down when I finally let my guard down when I’m least expecting it.”

  “Sounds like a real fun time,” she says.

  “A hoot.”

  But sure enough, about fifteen minutes in traffic pass as I try to weave around and lose any possible pursuers, and I don’t see a trace of anyone tailing us. I recognize most of the security staff and their cars, anyway, so I know what to look for.

  Hadley is quiet at first, just staring out the window or glancing in the mirrors, watching for the same things I’m watching for.

  “So, we’re out of the dragon’s den,” she says at last. “For better or worse. Where exactly are you taking me? I don’t think I’ve decided if you’re my savior or my kidnapper yet.” She’s smirking, but I know it’s only half a joke, given what she suspects about what I did to her boss. I still don’t know why it bothers her so much, but I’m not just going to walk all over her wishes. That would make me her kidnapper.

  And that’s not me.

  “I’ve got an apartment off the Strip that the mob doesn’t know about,” I say, almost reluctant. Nobody knows about the apartment I’m taking her to. I don’t even know why I’m taking her here, it would be just as easy to pay cash for a hotel room somewhere. But I need somewhere I’m absolutely positive is secure, and hotel security is easy enough to bribe for information.

  I know that from experience.

  But it’s important that Hadley trusts me if we’re going to keep moving together, whatever it is we’re moving toward. I hope I don’t come to regret that trust, but I’ll never know if I don’t try.

  “Side-hideout, huh?” she says, arching an eyebrow at me and tilting her head to the side. She pauses for a moment as if thinking about what she’s about to insinuate before saying, “Sounds like things aren’t as secure in the mob as you let on.”

  I give her a narrow glance, but my face doesn’t shift. Nothing gets past Hadley. She’s got an eye for this kind of thing that even most of my fellow enforcers don’t have.

  “You’ve seen firsthand what things are like on the underbelly of Vegas,” I say. “It shouldn’t be a surprise, but yes, you’re right. I’m ex-military, I know how quickly those of us not yet made can wind up thrown under the bus, if we aren’t careful. I hedge my bets. It’s the only way to survive in a game like this.”

  “Good to know I’ve been swept off my feet by someone who plays it safe,” she says with a teasing smile, perching her chin on her hand as she looks at me thoughtfully. “So, what’s your plan now, besides dancing closer to the fire?”

  “Now would be a good time to level with each other about everything we know so far,” I say bluntly. “Because there are two assholes who’ve been playing us for chumps, and they’re going to keep doing that until we can outsmart them.”

  “Alright then, since you’re leading, why don’t you tell me first?” she says. She’s trying to weasel me into giving her the advantage, but she’ll be disappointed if she thinks I have anything that’ll give her the reason to run off that she wants so badly.

  “How about this: question for question,” I say, smirking over at her, and she seems to like that idea.

  “Fine. Shoot.”

  “Did you find Vanessa?”

  That question seems to legitimately surprise her, and it makes her uneasy at the same time. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, struggling to find a safe reply.

  “Yes,” she says at last, carefully. I wait for more, but she doesn’t give any.

  “So, it’s gonna be like that, is it?” I say.

  “My turn,” she says. “Why do you want to know if I found Vanessa?”

  “You’re not very sportsmanlike at this game,” I chuckle, but I need to give her a little slack if I want more in return. “I asked because she’s in as much danger as you, and I want to make sure she’s safe. My turn. Is she safe?”

  “Yes,” she says, seeming to relax just a touch. She thinks for another moment. “I made sure of that personally. She’s not as frail as she made herself look. Okay, so, why are you helping me?”

  “I like you more than my boss,” I say. She seems a little taken aback by the simplicity of the statement, and I raise an eyebrow at her. “What? Money isn’t everything, you of all people should understand that.” Her face is still suspicious, but she seems amused by all this.

  “So what, you just like the thrill of it?” she asks, and I hold up a finger with a smug smirk.

  “Ah-ah-ah, question for question, remember? Do you know why I pulled you out of the casino?”

  “Because your boss wants me,” she says. “As well as Vanessa, which is why Vanessa had to go into hiding, and presumably why you’re taking me into hiding. If you’d wanted to kill me or turn me over to your boss, you’d have done that already.”

  “You learn fast,” I say, pleased.

  “Learn fast or die young,” she says without missing a beat. “Did you kill Carl Owens?”

  My eyes flit to her again, briefly.

  “You asked me not to.”

  “That doesn’t count as an answer!” she says, furrowing her brow.

  “We’re here.”

  I cut us off by pulling into my space at the modest apartment building I keep as my safehouse. The garage is secure, and I keep a tarp over my car when I come and go, so the chances someone will come checking around for my ride are as low as I can get them. She looks uneasy, understandably. She still isn’t sure if she can trust me. I get out of the car with her, pull the tarp over it, and make my way to the stairs to start climbing.

  “I could run, you know,” she says, more interested to see how I respond to that than actually threatening to try it.

  “And then you’d have the same problem I’d have,” I say mildly as I get to the door of my place, turning the key and glancing at her. “You’d have Jerry Laskin siccing his dogs on you for the rest of a very short, exciting life.”

  We step inside to what I like to think is a modest place. It doesn’t have much personality to it, not enough for my liking at least, but it isn’t a minimalist eyesore either. It has the basic amenities of any other southwestern home, and most importantly, a comfortable bed and large bathroom. Those are two things I’ve come to treasure over the years.

  “Make yourself comfortable,” I say, gesturing to everything in the house as she walks in and looks around curiously. I slip my suit jacket and toss it to the couch. “I keep canned food stocked, so it’s not five-star dining, but-”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” she interrupts me, approaching me at the entrance of the hallway that leads back to the bedroom. She has a look in her eyes that tells me she won’t be distracted or put off any longer. She’s resolute.

  “Didn’t I?” I say as I finish rolling my sleeves up to the forearm.

  “Don’t play dumb,” she says, teasing tone gone from her voice. “I haven’t played dumb with you, so don’t you start with me. Did you kill him?”

  I narrow my eyes, trying to read her, but she has a gaze like pure steel. Neither of our strong wills are able to budge, and I know there’s not going to be any slipping around her attention.

  “Why do you care for his life?” I ask softly, taking a step toward her.

  “I don’t,” she says, holding her ground. “But I didn’t get into this business for blood.”

  “You sound like me when I first started out.”

  She reaches up and grabs my tie, jaw set, glaring me in the eye.

  “I’ll ask you one last time, and if you don’t give me a st
raight answer, I can’t stay here in good conscience. Did you kill him?”

  We glare long and hard at each other for what feels like an eternity.

  “No,” I finally say.

  The tension between us lingers, and I can feel her grip on my tie not slacking as her eyes search me for lies. I can’t get over how impossibly beautiful she is, especially when she’s showing the real passion in that brilliant mind of hers.

  Then, to my surprise, she pulls me towards her by my tie and kisses me on the lips.

  Immediately, my body responds. I reach around her ass and pull her close to me, pinning her against the wall so she can feel the hardness she’s been stirring up between my legs. She groans into the kiss, and I feel her tongue pushing into my mouth.

  I let it in, and our tongues touch each other as I reach up with one hand and grope her breast. I want to drag her back to the bedroom, but I don’t know if I can wait that long.

  The energy between me and Hadley is intense and chaotic. She’s a cunning mind, the likes of which I’ve never seen. Her body is on fire, and the moment we’re together, we can’t stop moving and grinding. We’re so drawn to each other that even if I wanted to screw her over, even if all I cared about was money and all I wanted was to climb higher and higher in the ranks of the Vegas mafia...I don’t think I’d be able to resist Hadley. She’s far beyond anything I’ve ever experienced.

  She reaches up and starts tugging my tie off, and I help her slip it over my head. But I leave it tied, and I grab her wrists, slipping them into it, then tugging the tie snug around her wrists. She looks up at me, bound, and the look in her eyes makes me unsure if she wants to fuck me or try to grab my knife from me.

  I open the front of her pants and slip my fingers into her underwear while my other hand holds her bound wrists up above her head. My face looms over her, never breaking eye contact as she glares at me, full of anger and lust.