Ishould havegone home.
In my line of work, days off were few and far between.
Instead, I found myself parked in front of the camera feeds, watching her win hand after hand.
She was too memorable. There were certain places you didn’t want to be a regular, and the Four Horsemen was one of them.
I watched as Amelia finished her hand—she won, of course—and added her chips to the pile in front of her. But instead of playing another hand, she said something to the dealer.
I tapped the button that turned on the audio feed as she asked him to hold her spot at the table until she came back from the restroom.
She had brought a bag with her—a velvet drawstring pouch. I watched as she filled it to the brim with her chips, slipped it around her wrist, and scooted away from the table.
Valentine’s gaze followed her until she was out of sight. He made some kind of motion at the dealer, probably just small talk, as everyone stretched and mourned their losses. Had anyone else been watching the cameras, they wouldn’t have seen the small white pill he dropped into Amelia’s drink.
But I did.
She was winning too much, and it was time for her to go.
I ran smack-dab into Jeremiah as he rotated in. “What the fuck, dude?—”
But I was out before he could finish. I walked calmly through the casino, staying in the shadows.
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
The old mantra was always at the forefront of my mind, no matter what I was doing. I slipped from one dark corner to the next until I slunk into the hallway that housed the bathrooms. My timing was flawless. The moment Amelia stepped out of the women’s restroom, I was pulling her into the supply closet.
Before she could say a word, I pressed my palm over her mouth and braced my body against the door to keep anyone else from coming in and her from getting out. The bathroom entrances were the only blind spot in the entire casino, but I still had to make this fast.
“You’re winning too much,” I said, keeping my voice stern but soft.
Her pupils widened. Whether it was from the shock of what I had said or just her eyes adjusting to the darkness, I wasn’t sure. Frankly, it didn’t matter. I kept my hand over her mouth. It would be just my luck that I’d trust her, she’d scream, and we’d both become chum.
I wanted her to leave this place for good, and then I wanted to go take a goddamn nap.
Amelia’s breath caught against my hand.
“Do you have a cell phone on you?”
For a second, she was frozen. Then she nodded.
“When you leave this closet, you’re going to have your phone in hand. You’re going to walk quickly to the table and tell the dealer that your ‘cheating ex-fiancé’ found out where you are and you have to leave right now. You’re going to go to the cashier, cash out your chips, and then you’re going to ask the guy at the door to walk you to the car. Look terrified. And under no circumstances are you to even touch the drink you left behind at the table.”
Amelia took a minuscule step back. When she didn’t immediately call for help, I removed my hand. “Why do I feel like this isn’t a request?” she said in a choked whisper.
“I’m not in the business of making requests.”
She rolled her lips between her teeth. “And what if I stay?”
My gut churned with acid and anxiety at the thought. “Do not touch your drink. Don’t even pretend to sip it the way you usually do.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you helping me?”
“Who said I’m helping?”
“Isn’t the saying that the house always wins?” She looked me up and down. “You’re the house.”
Now I was the one licking my lips, because the charged air between us was blazing hot and bone-dry. I turned, trapping her between me and the door. Her heartbeat thumped against my abdomen as she stared up at me, eyes wide with a mix of surprise and intrigue. But there was no fear. None.
