Amelia batted her eyelashes. “Thank you so much, John. You’ve been so kind.” She giggled. “And I won!”
John chuckled as if he was watching a kitten chase a laser pointer. “You’ll have to come try your luck again.” He looked at me and tipped his head. “Jude will help you cash out.”
Thank God.
That was code for “clear the floor of anyone who didn’t need to be here.” Unfortunately for me, that meant it was going to be a long fucking night.
The dealer slid a tray with Amelia’s chips across the table.
“This way, ma’am,” I said as I placed one hand on the back of her chair and motioned for her to head to the cashier’s cage.
Amelia picked up her tray of chips and stood but looked longingly at the amount. “Maybe I could play one more?—”
“You’re done tonight,” I said, keeping the order just between us as I walked her across the casino floor. “You’re going to cash out, act giddy about it, and never come back.”
“But—”
I took the tray out of her hands, breaking one of the long-standing rules of the Four Horsemen. No one touches the chips except the player, the dealer, the cashier, or John Valentine. The cashier looked at me with wide eyes as I pushed the tray through the slot at the bottom of the bulletproof plexiglass. “She’s cashing out.”
I pinned Amelia with a hard stare. “You’ll need about three hundred of that to get your car out of the tow yard.”
Her jaw dropped. “You had my car towed?”
The cashier slid her cash out and placed the receipt on top.
Amelia grabbed the stack of hundreds and immediately went to put it in the pocket of her dress.
“Count it,” I clipped. Maybe I was a jackass, but I didn’t want her to get cheated. Frankly, I wanted her to take that ten grand, leave her ass potato of a brother asleep in the tow yard, and get the hell out of dodge.
But since she was likely here on his behalf, I had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen.
I watched as Amelia quickly counted the bills, making sure she hadn’t been shorted, then folded them and tucked them into her pocket.
“Good girl.”
She looked up at me as her lips parted.
Fuck. It didn’t matter how dim the lights were, how hazy the air was, or how tired I was. She was stunning.
Without a word, I walked her to the door and pointed down the block as a blacked-out SUV pulled up. “Tow yard’s that way.”
Amelia swallowed, nodded, and started down the sidewalk.
“And Angela?”
For a moment, she didn’t stop walking—until she realized that I was talking to her.
“Yes?”
“Be safe.”
She nodded.
“And don’t come back.”
By the timeI made it back to my apartment, Cordelia had turned in for the night. Her three a.m. cigarette was still smoldering in the ashtray she kept by the door, which meant I hadn’t missed her by much.
That was alright. Around six, she’d be back out for another cigarette—the same time I’d leave to punish myself with a grueling workout in order to settle my mind.
