CHAPTER 1
NASH
“Hit me.” I tapped the felt-covered poker table.
Across from me, my friend, Cole, threw a card down.
I checked it and groaned. “I’m out.” In disgust, I tossed the rest of my cards on the table.
“Good,” Bastian drawled from beside me. “I’mdefinitelyin.”
I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair. Of course he was. Sebastian Thorne was a card shark and won most of our poker games. I wasn’t sure why I bothered.
Cole looked unfazed. My gaze swung from him to where Bastian lounged beside me, looking like a king sprawled on his throne, deigning to mix with the commoners.
Cole and Bastian were like a pair of tough biker boots and an expensive set of Italian loafers. Bastian, who owned the fucking casino we were sitting in, wore a stylish shirt in a light-gray color, tucked into tailored suit pants that were no doubt some fancy designer I didn’t care about. I guessed women would say Bastian was handsome, since he never lacked for feminine company. He had a hawkish face, high cheekbones, and dark eyes, added to thick, dark hair that was always carelessly styled.He had a constant stream of beautiful women who only ever spent one night in his bed. Bastian had a strict rule: no repeats.
Cole Black, meanwhile, looked like the fighter he was. Broad shoulders, hardpacked muscle, and a rugged face. His nose had been broken before, and he had a wicked scar on his left cheek and neck that could only have come from a knife. He was the kind of guy that made people cross the street when they saw him coming. He looked like he’d chew nails and spit them back at you.
“I’m in, too,” another voice drawled.
I arched a brow at the man at the end of the table. Landon rarely played. “You’ll lose.”
The African-American man shrugged. “I’m feeling lucky.”
Landon Bradshaw always had a serious look on his face, like he was contemplating important things. Dark, watchful eyes sat in a strong face, his skin was dark brown, and he kept his black hair short, and his beard neatly trimmed.
“It’s your money.” I waved at the server hovering nearby. “I’ll take another beer.”
The young man nodded. “Yes, sir.”
We were playing in a private room on one of the upper floors of the Avernus casino. The floor-to-ceiling windows gave us a million-dollar view of the Las Vegas Strip. Outside was filled with glittering, blinking color, beckoning you to come and play, and lose all your money.
Bastian had done well with this investment. The Avernus was one of the newest and hottest casinos on the Strip. It offered the best gambling, the most popular clubs and restaurants, the most-in-demand shows, and had a golf course behind the building.
Only Bastian would use prime Vegas real estate for a golf course.
I accepted my beer and nodded my thanks. I sipped and watched Cole deal more cards. Of course, no one knew that Bastian was the owner of the Avernus. He kept that information well hidden. He’d hired a guy—a handsome actor who’d never moved past playing bit parts in TV shows that only lasted one season—to play the face of the casino.
Being a retired assassin, Bastian didn’t like to show his face or attract attention.
Same as me.
I took another sip of beer. All of us at this table had killed for a living. Some in the military, some CIA or MI6, some freelance.
It was a job that eventually cut too much out of the soul. I had zero regrets. I’d gone from Navy SEAL to assassin for my country. I’d put down some of the worst people on the planet. I wouldn’t lose sleep over that.
But I’d discovered the military was made up of people and led by people. And sometimes those people weren’t good. They were corrupt, more worried about themselves and their own agendas than the greater good.
I shoved those thoughts away. The past was the past.
Nathaniel Hagen, farm boy from Idaho, turned Navy SEAL and military hero, was long gone.
So was the assassin only known as Nightvision. Known for taking out targets with a single shot at night.
Now, I was retired. I was Nash Oakley. I lived in a plush two-bed villa on the golf course of the Avernus casino. Along with a bunch of other retired assassins. Somehow, we’d all found each other.
At first, it had just been me, Bastian, and Landon. The others had slowly turned up and stayed.
