Page 28 of Mafia Heiress
His eyes flare with anticipation. And I wonder if he means gamble or torture when he says play.
“All finished. I’ll have these suits ready by this evening,” Tony says, standing up and draping the pants Dante’s taken off over the rack of clothing. He grabs up the other suit from the couch and places it over the pants.
Without another word he leaves and I’m stuck alone again with two of the most beautiful men I’ve ever seen, and hours before we have to leave. What ever shall we do?
Chapter Eight
The casino teams with life as we walk through. Gamblers sitting at tables and slot machines. The high bells and computer games talking all at once. You can tell the dedicated ones from the visitors. They sit with a bag, drink in hand, not moving until they have to go to the bathroom.
“Let’s play craps. I have an itch that needs to be scratched,” Ciro says, stalking over to the tables.
“I’d rather stab myself than stand with those guys. Want to go play poker or some roulette?” I ask Dante.
He grabs my hand and we walk over to the next available Blackjack table. “Compromise?” he says, holding out a seat for me.
I slip inside of it and pull out my purse to place bills on the table. Dante tries to stop me, but I shrug him off. “It’s bad luck for you to give me money to play, unless you want it back?”
“Who made up that rule?” he says, eyebrows creased.
“I did. It’s always worked in the past for me, so I’m sticking to it.”
He removes his hand from my arm, and takes his own seat. The dealer takes my bills and exchanges them for chips.
I place a thousand down on the first hand. It’s a big bet, but we only need to be here for a short time before we’re done. The first round of cards are dealt and I peak at my hand. Ace and a king.
I can’t believe my luck, but I hold it in trying to keep my best poker, or blackjack face. The other people at the table rap their knuckles on the green felt, indicating they want another hit. I pass over my card with my palm, and wait for her to deal the rest of the cards.
My Blackjack wins the table and she pays me out what I’ve won. There’s congratulations all around. “I told you it’s good luck.”
“You certainly did.” Dante smiles, placing his next bet.
We continue on for a few more rounds before Ciro saddles up to us. He places his hands on my shoulders and I give him a smile before winning the next round.
“You’re cleaning up,bella. How much money have you taken so far?” he asks, sliding his hands down my arms.
I’m beginning to lose my concentration with the distraction of his touch. I lose the next round and stand, collecting my chips inside my bag.
“I’m ready to play the slots, how about you guys?”
Both follow me to the cash in station and I exchange the chips for cash. We walk around the floor looking for Franco. He’s nowhere to be found. The floor is packed and it’s only when Dante leads us over to the bar do we come up with another plan.
“I’m thinking he’s in the high stakes area. He’s a major player, they must have set him up with something sweet,” Ciro says, accepting his beer from Dante.
“Lead the way,” I say, sipping on my martini as we go. The one thing that A.C. is good for is the drinks. They need some better restaurants though.
We enter the doorway to the high stakes slots room. The manager checks our IDs and leads us over to a few machines. He’s very courteous and offers to refill our drinks before walking away.
I take a seat and slip a twenty into the machine. It lights up and I play as Ciro and Dante stand at my back. They look like the sexiest bodyguards ever.
“He’s behind us, eight o’clock. He’s got a blonde on his lap and a cigar in his mouth. Seems to be having a good time if the tent is his pants is anything to go by,” Dante says.
“How do you want to approach this?” I ask, playing the next hand. The machine whirls with all the lights and colors, but I’m not paying attention enough to care.
“I’ll walk up to him first and get the lay of it. Once I tell him I’m here with you, he’ll want to say hello the proper way. Hopefully, this doesn’t turn to shit.”
Ciro walks off and Dante takes his place in the middle of my red leather seat. The bottom of it is sticking to my legs. I’m nervous in a way I’ve never been before. If we don’t find my father this isn’t going to be good for the family or my plan.
“They’re coming,” Dante whispers, as I keep my eyes on the screen.
