Page 88 of Dangerous Games

“This casino also has a hotel. Maybe she’s stepping out on you.”

My nostrils flare as I reach under my jacket and pull out my FN Five-SeveN, firing one round into his hand. Blood splatters across the desk, hitting Matteo and me. “Time’s up.”

Matteo makes a noise in his throat behind me as he wipes at his shirt, his lips turned up in disgust. “Stabbing him would have been less messy. His shit is all over my new suit,” he grumbles over Dimitri’s scream.

Dimitri breathes heavily through his nose as he struggles to open a desk drawer and pull out a towel, wrapping it tightly around the wound. The white towel turns a pale shade of red from the blood seeping through. Once he has the wound secure, he reaches back into the same drawer and pulls out a pistol, slamming it down on the desk.

I snort, the corner of my mouth turning up in amusement. “What, are you going to shoot me now?”

“I want to know why you’re not always armed. A man in your position should be. You know, in case something like this happens,” Matteo asks as he straightens out his jacket.

Beads of sweat are pooling at the top of Dimitri’s forehead as his pained gaze settles on us. “Because my men should have fucking killed you the second you stepped foot in my casino again.”

“Shoulda, coulda, woulda.” I shrug before leaning over the desk. “Now, tell me where the fuck she is.”

Dimitri stares at me through heavy-lidded eyes. The beads of sweat are now dripping down his face as his chest heaves up and down. The towel is now dark red from the blood loss. “The basement.”

“Take me,” I demand.

Dimitri slowly stands. He moves to grab the gun, but Matteo is faster. He swipes the gun and tucks it into the waistband of his slacks.

“I don’t think you’ll be needing that,” Matteo says as he waves his hand toward the door. “Lead the way. I wouldn’t test Gio too hard. Your dick will be in a box next.”

Dimitri jumps to his feet, swaying from the loss of blood. He grabs onto the desk, steadying himself, and hisses, “I knew it was you.”

“You shouldn’t have sent him sniffing around my girl.”

“If her father would stop digging himself into a hole he is never climbing out of, I wouldn’t have had to.”

“So what? You wanted her in exchange?”

Dimitri has the nerve to shrug. “She’s not hard to look at, and my son needs to get his head out of his ass and marry someone soon.”

I see nothing but red.

I’m on him before he can blink. My hands are around his neck and I squeeze tightly. Dimitri’s good hand clutches mine in a poor attempt to pull me off him as he struggles to breathe, his face turning the color of the towel.

“You motherfucker,” I growl as I slam him against the wall by his neck.

Matteo is in my ear, talking lowly, “Let up. He’s not any good to us dead right now.”

I give one last squeeze before I release him. Dimitri falls to his knees, gasping for breath. Matteo yanks him up by the collar of his shirt and drags him out of the room.

“Tell us where to go,” Matteo demands.

Dimitri points a weak finger toward an unmarked door near his office. I lead the way as Matteo continues to drag him behind us. I yank the heavy door open, revealing a metal stairwell winding down to the basement.

I take the steps three at a time as I race to the bottom, leaving them behind me. The closer I get, I hear male voices talking. Reaching into my waistband, I take out my gun as I near the bottom.

My heart is pounding in my ears from the adrenaline of knowing I’m close but so far away. I peer around the corner and freeze. There, in the middle of the basement, is Bronwyn slumped over and tied to a metal chair. My arm holding the gun raises, ready to fire blindly, but Matteo’s hand on my bicep pushes it down, stopping me.

“We need to think this through,” he whispers in my ear, being careful not to draw attention to us. “I count four men that we can see, and there’s only two of us.”

I swiftly inhale.

I hate that he’s right.

I look behind me, noticing Dimitri isn’t with him.