Page 4 of Big Beefy Kingpin

“Well… we think she is at least over eighteen but not twenty-one yet. At least she doesn’t look twenty-one but there is no way of checking without drawing attention. The girl has managed to win over twenty-five thousand dollars in the last three hours.”

My eyes shoot up and I meet my cousin’s eyes. Twenty-five thousand dollars is not that large of a sum—the casino has seen people take home hundreds of thousands of dollars—but it’s also a rarity for someone to garner such a lump sum in a short period.

And for my men to pick up on it…

“Show me,” I say, walking around the bar but Antonio already has the live feed up on his iPad.

I see her before he can point her out and my breath catches. She is a tiny thing, dressed in a revealing black dress with long light brown hair curtaining her face. It’s obvious that she’s hiding her face which makes her even more suspicious. She doesn’t have the confidence of someone who knows what they are doing and yet…

“Twenty-five thousand dollars, you say?” I hum, my eyes on the tiny brunette, suddenly intrigued.

“It’s the girl in the short black dress. There is no way of stopping her or kicking her out without drawing attention and with the Irish mob around, we can’t risk causing a scene.”

I watch her, surrounded by a group of women, and Antonio is right, there is no way of getting her away from her friends without attracting the attention of the Irish mob; some of whom I spy making their way to various gambling tables.

“I’ll take care of it,” I say, handing the tablet back to Antonio and heading to the door. “Make sure our guests don’t cause any trouble in the Casino.”

Antonio doesn’t ask how I intend to take care of the girl but there is no missing curiosity in his eyes. He follows me out of the office and to the elevator. He takes that time to update me on the business but I’m barely paying attention, my mind on the girl.

It’s not uncommon for me to be hands-on with the Casino but I leave most of the work to Antonio. He has the authority to make decisions and I could have simply instructed him how to go about handling the woman, but part of me is curious.

I’m intrigued…

“Keep your ears and eyes open around the Irish,” I say once we’re in the lobby. Antonio simply nods before walking away.

I step into the crowded room, ignoring the people trying to get my attention as I make my way to the blackjack table and then… I see her.

I stop a few feet away from the table just as the dealer is shuffling the cards. I stay back and watch in amusement as the brunette plays. She is counting cards, quite subtly at that. I would have missed it if I wasn’t watching her so keenly, and it’s no surprise when she wins.

I don’t miss the shocked and slightly panicked look in the dealer’s eyes when he looks up to see me watching them. I give him a quick nod so he knows that I am not upset.

As if feeling my gaze on her, she looks up instinctually and our eyes connect. Just like that, for the first time in my life, I forget how to breathe.

They are emerald green; her big, pretty eyes. I’ve never seen eyes that color before and I find myself getting lost in them. Our eyes stay locked on one another and, for a second, it’s just the two of us in the entire building.

All the background noise fades away she becomes my main focus.

She doesn’t look away. I would expect her to, but she seems shocked, so when I step forward she startles into motion, taking a step back. She visibly swallows, turning to her friends and then back to the game at hand.

“This is so much fun, right? So much better than the strip club,” slurs the dark-haired girl beside her who’s nursing a glass of wine.

“Uhm…”

My little green-eyed cheater looks up and meets my gaze. It’s pretty obvious to both of us that she was doing something she shouldn’t have. I watch in amusement as she tries to determine whether or not I am a threat to her little game.

Oh,little girl, you have no idea.

Chapter Three

Ivy

I should have known when to stop.

Fuck!

You know how you go out to the park and start swinging? How at first, it feels great to have your feet off the ground for a while and just lose yourself in the soothing motion, a gentle breeze caressing your face and then you get this idea, to go higher… swing higher and faster until you’re flying?

The adrenaline rush you get only lasts a few minutes before your fingers slip from the rope and then you’re flying through the air and for about a second, it feels unreal.

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