I walk around my desk and wrap Olivia in my arms, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible, not to piss her off more. I don't need my fiery red head jumping down my throat more than she already is. "You are right, Azucar, you aren't broken, but I refuse to put you or our baby in danger. Maybe you can be on the lookout or something. We will figure it out." I kiss the top of her head, and she gives a slight nod and relaxes a little in my arms.
Alright, now that that is over with, it's time to make a full, bulletproof, badass plan.
"So, I think we need to go back in and get more intel first, we need to know the Starr brothers' every move. I think this might be a part that Olivia can help with and not put herself or the baby in danger." I turn to Oliver. "What do you think?"
He looks at me for a second, turning his head to the side, observing me and thinking about what I said. Finally, he nods in agreement.
"If she goes in, so do I. I refuse to let her go anywhere alone while this shit is going on." Oliver's voice has a no shit tone to it.
"I agree completely." We both look at Olivia, who is now standing with her arms crossed across her chest and an attitude on the tip of her tongue. "Fine.”
I grab her chin and make her look at me. “Listen here, Azucar, you wanted to help. You wanted to be a part of this plan; this is you being a part of it.”
Chapter twenty-eight
Olivia
IwalkintoTheSilver Serpent again, side by side with Oliver. This time, the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up, my pulse is racing, and I am on high alert.
I lean over to Oliver, "Let's go play some blackjack and see what we can hear from the customers and dealers. Maybe we will get some intel from the locals."
Oliver nods at me and starts walking towards the tables. We found a table close to the bar with two open seats. I sit down next to an older gentleman smoking a cigar. He has slicked-back silver hair, a tailored black Dormeuil Vanquish II suit, a red tie, and ruby-encrusted cufflinks. His cologne smells like Shumukh by Nabeel. This might be the perfect man for me to be sitting by. He is dripping in money and fancy clothes.
I am wearing an emerald green dress that falls to the floor and hugs every curve on my body just right, featuring a one-shoulder design and an overskirt with long sleeves. Oliver is wearing a Brunello Cucinelli tuxedo with an emerald green tie to match my dress. We've gotten several weird looks today because we match. But we are twins, and we enjoy matching. Everyone can suck a big fat cock if they don't like it.
My temper and attitude are at an all-time high, not only because of the pregnancy, but also the fact that I am going to see the face of the man who threatenedMY Rachel.This situation makes me anxious, because I can't do anything besides sit here. I know I have to think of the baby, but I still want to help, be useful, and protect what is mine, but I can't.
I make myself stop thinking so much and start listening to the conversations around me. I pull out a couple of hundred-dollar bills from my black clutch bag and lay them on the table. The dealer takes the cash and hands me chips that I slide close to me. Oliver does the same to my left as the old man with slicked-back hair sits to my right, watching my every move. I give him my best flirty grin.
"Hi, I'm Olivia. What's your name?"
He starts to laugh, a deep rumble of a laugh. "Giovanni, sweet girl." His voice is deep, and he has a strong Italian accent.
I flinch at the nickname, but quickly school my features. I don't need anyone getting under my skin tonight. I feel Oliver pat my leg, and I turn to look at him. He nods to the dealer, who is intensely watching me.
"Is everyone ready?" The dealer asks, all of us nodding our heads in response.
He starts to shuffle the cards. I am assuming there are six decks to try to prevent counting cards. Little did they know, this game is my absolute favorite, and I can win no matter what.
The cards are dealt, and I look at mine. I got the queen of hearts and a jack of spades—perfect, a twenty. I then look up and start to read everyone's faces.
There is a blonde woman, wearing a red dress, sitting at the other end of the table, who lifts her eyebrows; I look at her cards, and she has a ten of spades and a seven of diamonds. Not bad. The Hispanic-looking man in a grey suit, sitting next to her, tightens his lips. I look down at his hand, a queen of diamonds and a six of spades. I bet he's thinking that if he hits, he'll go over, but if he stays, he'll lose; that's a tough call to make. The next two guys both have a forced neutral state; one has a nine of diamonds and a six of clubs. The other has a ten of clubs and a four of hearts.. That's not terrible, but they both will want to hit to have a fighting chance. Then, I look at Giovanni; he is hard to read, his face completely blank. I am more interested in what he is thinking than in what his hand is. I watch him intensely; his cards add up to eighteen, so he is fine. I look at Oliver, who raises his eyebrow, and I know he is curious to know what I think about everything. I am the twin who is good at reading people; he got all the other smarts.
The dealer nods at us, moves his card to the little viewing mirror for him to see, and nods.
"Are you guys ready?" We nod again, and he turns to the lady in the red dress.
"Hit," She says with a smirk. He flips a two of diamonds. She chews on her bottom lip, thinking hard about her next move.
"I'm going to stay," she says, waving her hands horizontally over her cards, palm down.
The Hispanic man hits. He gets a four of spades. He let out a massive sigh of relief. He got lucky as fuck.
The next guy hits and gets a king of hearts; Bust, his face drops.
The man next to him also hits and gets a ten of spades; Bust.
Now it's Giovanni's turn. He swipes his hand over the cards, and he is standing.
