Page 14 of When He Plays

And, as the small, elite group met in the back room of his casino after midnight, Charlotte understood that quite a few of those dark and dangerous connections were gathered around the poker table.

Charlotte schooled her features. She’d long ago learned to control her expressions. No sense in actually showing how you felt. That would just give an enemy too much ammunition to use against you. So she made certain to show only mild curiosity as she stood near Logan. He was seated at the table, as were the other participants in the high stakes game. Their attention was seemingly fully on the cards before them.

Five card draw. The players had already taken their new cards. Nothing was wild. And the stakes? Already insanely high.

She’d taken extra care with her attire for the night. An expensive, black cocktail dress that hugged her curves. Higher than normal heels. A pair of black glasses with gold accents.

The glasses weren’t just to give her a refined look. Oh, no. These were special. Equipped with a tiny camera and even a listening device. The better for her partner Jamar Miller to watch and record all the players in the room.

Logan wasn’t aware that these particular glasses were a top-notch bit of spy tech. There were plenty of bits of info that Logan was not aware of regarding the case. Need-to-know info.

Deliberately, she scanned to the left, wanting to get a clear picture of every individual in that back room. And what a back room it was. More like some sort of luxury retreat. A giant table for poker. A glittering chandelier overhead. Plush couches to the sides. Scantily clad waitresses appearing to keep the drinks pouring.

And at that table…

Seven individuals. At a five-hundred-thousand-dollar buy in.

Logan lounged in his leather chair, appearing bored out of his mind. He had his cards in front of him, and she eased to the side so that she could stare down at his hand and see⁠—

“We have a curious little rabbit in the room, don’t we?” A deep, dark growl. One rolling with the edge of a French accent.

Her head turned to the right. She found a pair of dark green eyes locked on her.

“Sniffing out secrets, are you, rabbit?”

Actually, yes, she was. Though she wasn’t some curious rabbit. Hardly.

“Working for your boss?” The man’s thick lips twisted in disgust even as anger glinted in his eyes. “Logan, I thought you were offering an honest game. But you have your scared little rabbit checking the cards and hopping close to you so she can let you know what bets to place.”

The silence in the room was suddenly suffocating.

Logan put down his hand. Card faces down. “I’m sorry, Pierre, but I believe your English is a bit off tonight. Because I could have sworn…” A muscle flexed along his hard jaw. “That you just accused me of cheating. Me. In my own home.”

Not really his home. His hotel. Yes, so…

Fine, his home.

Pierre swallowed. “I’ve been watching your rabbit. She stares at every player. Looks hard at them. Maneuvers to see everything. Une lapine.”

She had been staring. Trying to see everything, or, more specifically, everyone. But only because she was hunting for a particular predator. She’d wanted to make sure that Jamar received images of everyone in the room.

“Take off the glasses,” Pierre ordered her. “Retire tes lunettes. I do not trust them. You have a little camera on them? That what is happening? You watching? Watching moi?”

Logan burst into laughter. “Don’t be ridiculous. My personal assistant is not some spy with high-tech glasses who is recording you.”

Um…

Yes, she was.

And he’d just thrown out that statement? Actually dropped the spy word? The man liked to play with fire. While he might not ever get burned, Charlotte feared that the flames might engulf her.

Logan’s laughter died away. “She wears the glasses because I happen to find them sexy as fuck.”

Pierre still glared at her.

“She also doesn’t take them off because a stranger tells her to do so. She doesn’t follow any commands that others give her.” Logan’s mild voice. “I’ll go back to the part where…she’s mine. My personal assistant. So that means she listens to my orders and no one else’s.”

She’d been searched before entering the back room. A rule for all who’d gone into this high-stakes space. No weapons were allowed. Zero. Logan had warned her of the search beforehand, so she’d known to leave her trusty taser and her favorite knife in her room. But, just because she’d left those two items behind, it didn’t mean she was unarmed. It just meant she’d had to be very, very careful with her choice of weapons.