Page 10 of Betting Blind

“Costumes?” Silas perks up. “It’s the middle of August. Why are they doing costumes?”

“I don’t fucking know?” Hayden retorts. “I’m not personally on the party planning committee for the casino!”

“Shut it, the both of you,” I shout and wave my finger between the two of them. “I’m not in the mood for bickering. You’re fucking grown ass men. Stop acting like six-year-olds.”

They both fall silent and look at their boots, muttering something along the lines of ‘yes dad’. “I’m intrigued. Let’s take the night off and see what this is about. If I can’t go beat someone to a bloody pulp, I might as well get shit-faced. Maybe I’ll get lucky,” I add dryly.

“Do we still have those masks from that job we did in Seoul?” Hayden looks at Silas hopefully.

Silas gives him a single nod and stands, brushing his palms on his pants. “They’re in a storage box in the basement. I’ll go grab them.”

I give them both a devious grin, knowing the exact job they’re referring to. We had infiltrated an entire mob scene in Korea wearing black-on-black suits and sporting white masks with card suits on the front. “Let’s get dressed, gentlemen, we have a casino to raid.”

They smile back before disappearing down the hall to get ready. “Doors open and dice start rolling at nine!” Hayden calls over his shoulder. I hear the distinct click of his door locking a moment later.

Gambling is not my drug of choice. I’d much rather use my fists to let my inner demons out to play, but it’s not always feasible. Especially right now because I’ve got some gnarlybruises on the left side of my body that are still healing from my time in the ring last week. I glance down at the watch on my left wrist and sigh loudly. It is already seven-thirty and I have no idea where my black dress shirt even is. Fuck me for even agreeing to this.

I make my way to my room and take my time in the shower, the hot water turning my skin a deep shade of scarlet as I stand under the spray and let my mind wander through all the details of the day. The job, the woman, my brothers, the retaliation if whoever hired us finds out that it wasn’t us that killed the mark. My mind is buzzing, and my headache is starting to teeter towards a migraine. Maybe going out is not the best idea.

I shut off the water and rake my fingers through my hair, sending droplets of water splattering onto the wall behind me. Not bothering with a towel, I step onto the cool tiled floor and look toward my reflection. The steam from the shower thoroughly fogged up my mirrors, so I bypass trying to fix my hair and step into the cool air of my bedroom. On my bed lies two full-face masks. One is a black spandex ski mask, and the other is white plastic with a solid red diamond painted over the right eye hole. I trace my fingertips gently along the edge of the white mask, reminiscing about the last time I saw it. At least it isn’t covered in blood spatter anymore.

“I can’t find my black shirt! Did we lea-” Hayden barrels through my door with a bare chest and his black trousers unbuttoned. “Why the fuck are you naked?!” he bellows and throws his arm over his eyes.

I roll my eyes at his theatrics. We’ve been living together since we were teenagers, and we have all seen each other naked more times than we can count. “Why am I naked? In myown room? Just after I’ve gotten out of the shower?” I level him with a glare, which he doesn’t see because he’s still hiding behind his forearm. His black suit jacket is hanging limply in his other hand.

“Why didn’t you lock the damn door?” he nearly shouts.

“Why would I lock the door to my own bedroom when I’m showering in my own private bathroom?” I also nearly shout back at him. He is most definitely on my ‘punch first, ask questions later’ list tonight.

“Just put some pants on or something!” He waves his hand in the general direction of my cock and scrunches his eyes shut. I quirk an eyebrow at him and pull on a pair of dark blue boxers. “Are you decent?” he asks after a moment.

“No,” I mutter wryly. “But my dick has been put away so you can open your eyes.” He shoots me a middle finger before leveling me with his dark eyes. He narrows in on my purple and green bruises but doesn’t comment other than to raise an eyebrow. Judgmental bastard. He gets to kill people to keep his monsters happy, but I can’t have a bit of bloody fun every now and again?

“I can’t find my black shirt. Do you remember what happened in Seoul?”

“I remember everything that happened in Seoul,” I respond darkly and pull on my own pair of black trousers. Well, almost everything. I also can’t seem to remember what happened to that particular item.

Silas appears behind Hayden a moment later looking very sharp in his black-tie attire. A white dress shirt crisp and clean under the layers of black. His eyebrows shoot to his hairline as he takes in both of our half-naked appearances. “The shirts were too disgusting to save. I burned them when you two werepacking up the weapons. You’ll have to go with white tonight,” he adds and tosses two white dress shirts at us.

“That’s right! I remember now!” Hayden grins and his eyes take on this faraway expression. “We took the jackets off because it was so fucking hot in the warehouse. I remember I was covered in grime from coming in through the sewer tunnel and I couldn’t take the heat and the smell at the same time.”

“It was only hot in the warehouse because you set the fucking place on fire before we were all the way inside.” Silas laughs, his eyes sparkling with the memory.

“It was an accident,” I chuckle slightly and finish putting on my layers of dress clothes. “One of his warning shots got too close to a few cylinders of gas.”

“Anyway.” Hayden finishes buttoning his shirt and slips on his black jacket. “That was a fun trip. Now I remember getting rid of those shirts as quickly as we possibly could. White it is then.”

I grab the masks off my bed and start making my way to the front door. Looking over my shoulder, I see Silas watching Hayden discreetly as Hayden pulls on the black ski mask followed by a white mask with a red heart painted over the left eye. Silas catches my eye and hastily pulls on his black mask. His white mask with a black spade over the right eye hangs limply in his hand as he follows us to the car. “Where exactly are we headed?” I ask Hayden as the engine of my Dodge charger purrs to life.

Hayden climbs into the back. Silas slips into the passenger seat and finally hooks his mask into place. “The Black Crown Casino on Marshall Ave.”

Chapter 7

Emelia

The room is absolutely buzzing with conversations, laughter, and drunken shenanigans. I smile to myself and use the damp rag to wipe a water spot off the dark stained bar top. The Casino is full of people enjoying the happy hour drinks, the easily accessible gambling tables, and the numerous girls that are flitting across the floors in tight black body-con dresses. The idea of a costume party in August was laughable at first, but it quickly became the topic of conversation at each meeting over the last two months until I finally pushed enough that the boys agreed. It’s eccentric and chaotic, but then again, that’s what I live for.

“You’re an absolute stunner,” a heavily accented voice draws me back to the present. I turn with a smile and flip the rag over my shoulder. “How’s about you take a break and let me buy you a drink.” The man with the heavy accent leans against the bar top and flashes a set of white teeth. He’s wearing a navy blue suit with a plastic police badge pinned to the breast pocket. How well thought out and original. My hero. Gag me.

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