Page 14 of Betting Blind

“She’s hardly innocent,” Hector mutters under his breath and pulls on his jacket. “Her name is Emelia and since you’ve already met her once tonight you know that she works in the bar.” His tone is dismissive and it is clear that he is not giving up any details willingly. Maybe he can conveniently go missing and end up on an interrogation table.

“How does a bartender learn to fight like that?” Hayden asks reverently, still staring at the covered barrels. I can practically feel the lust radiating off his tense body. “That was impressive. I haven’t seen that style in a long time.”

Hector presses his lips into a hard line and levels a glare at Hayden. “She’s Em’s secretary. She’s been trained for various…situations,” he says vaguely and wipes his palms on his pants before pulling open the heavy metal door. “And she’s off limits,” he adds icily before slamming the door loudly.

“What the actual fuck did we just watch?” Silas shoves his hands into his pockets and turns on his heels, heading back to the main road where the car is waiting. We both fall into step on either side of him and say nothing. My mind is weaving in and out of ideas and theories.

Once we are securely hidden by the tinted windows, I pull my mask and black covering off my face and run my fingers through my sweaty hair. Hayden and Silas do the same and we all share a knowing look.

“I don’t care what either of you two fuckwads think,” Hayden starts, his voice quiet and deadly. “That woman is…” His voice trails off and his eyes flash. I know that look all too well. It’s the same look that I’m fighting to keep out of my own eyes.

“I think we need to see what else Em has been hiding in the casino business,” Silas says from the backseat as I pull out and speed toward home.

“I think you’re both right,” I state and push my damp hair out of my eyes with a dark grin. “Let’s see what the tycoon is hiding behind those card tables.” They both grin back, their teeth flashing menacingly in the flashing streetlights. “Starting with that secretary.”

*****

Silas slams his hands down on the kitchen island and mutters his sixth “fuck” of the hour. His fingers glide across the keypad of his laptop, filling the kitchen with the quiet clickingthat is beginning to make my eye twitch. It is only nine in the morning, and I am already considering homicide. “Almost… almost… Dammit!” He shouts and slams his palms down on the granite countertop.

If I wasn’t a trained killer, that outburst might have made me jump. But I am. So I didn’t. “If you start typing again right now, I just might punch you in the face,” I say and clench my jaw, my fingers flexing in my pockets.

“This firewall is practically impossible to get through. I haven’t seen anything so complex since we were in Ghana three years ago,” Silas says and drops his face into his hands, defeated.

“Well now I’m even more intrigued,” Hayden chuckles and bites into a ripe apple. My eyes flick to Silas, who is tracking the juice running down Hayden’s chin, and my stomach tightens. At some point, this tension is going to come to a head, and it very well may tear us apart, but I can’t think about that right now.

I shake my head to dislodge those thoughts and pull an image of Emelia to the forefront of my mind. It’s her standing in front of me in the bar with her hands on her hips and her nostrils flaring in defiance just like they had when I insulted her liquor selection. My teeth sink into the inside of my lip as I fight a smile and erection at the same time.

Hayden arches an eyebrow at Silas, who looks away before he can see his cheeks turn red. Silas clears his throat and closes the laptop softly. “This is beyond professional business protection. I haven’t seen a wall like this from anyone other than myself and my mentor.”

“So we are no closer to any answers?” Hayden mumbles around another bite of the apple.

Silas doesn’t look up, but I see his throat bob as he swallows hard. “There are some holes that I can try to skate through, but no promises.”

“I think it’s time for the old-fashioned approach,” I say and down the rest of my now cold coffee. “But it has to be discreet.”

“We cannot go in there guns blazing and try to nab a hostage,” Silas snaps coldly.

“What?” I turn around and lean back against the edge of the sink. “What do you think old fashioned means? I’m not staging a hold-up!” Silas shrugs and Hayden coughs once to hide a laugh. “We’re going to send ONE PERSON in to talk to Em and to do some recon. No guns.” I level Silas with a withering glare. “And no hostages.”

“Shall I go get the straws?” Hayden tosses his apple core in the trash and wipes his hands on the back of his pants.

“No. I have a better idea.” I smirk at the two of them and shove my hands back into the pockets of my sweatpants.

“Are you pausing for dramatic effect?” Hayden asks and rolls his eyes. “Because I really hate it when you do that.”

“I’m not pausing for effect. I’m finalizing my ideas. It’s part of my thought process,” I retort and close my eyes. Sometimes it is too much living with these two idiots.

“He’s totally doing it for the dramatics,” Silas whisper shouts behind his hand. “He did it all the time when we were kids.”

“Will you two shut up for two fucking seconds. I can’t even hear myself think.” I open my eyes and narrow them at Hayden and then Silas. “I’ll find an excuse to meet with Em and get in there to get more information.”

“Why does it get to be you?” Hayden nearly roars and takes a step toward me. He’s possessive already and he hasn’t even properly met the girl yet. This is going to be bad.

“Because you can’t keep a level head!” I shout back and throw my hands up. “You can’t even get through this conversation without yelling at me!”

“She’s mine! I called her!” he responds indignantly and his dark eyes flash dangerously.

“You can’t just call dibs!” Silas blurts out suddenly and we both look at him in shock. “She’s not going to be treated like someone’s property,” he adds quietly like that’s what he meant all along.

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