The Big Blind (Nadia Wolf) (34 page)

“This is a casino. We bet on every thing.”

“We need to hurry. The towel is saturated.”

“I can take him,” Remy said.

“No, Nadia can take me. I want you to stay here and guard this room. Call the police and tell them the situation. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Don’t let anyone in except the police. Right now, I don’t trust anyone except you. There are people in this building who knew about this printing room. Until we determine who it is, I’m giving you all the responsibility. Tie Jason up so he can’t run away.”

Remy nodded. I ushered Greyson out the door. He would have talked business until he ran out of blood.

Greyson gave me the keys to his Ferrari as we hurried outside.

“You’re going to smear blood all over your car,” I said.

“The seats are leather. It should be fine. And if not, I don’t care right now.”

“Alright, hop in because I’m going to see what this car is made of.”

“As long as you drive to the hospital before I bleed to death, you can do whatever you want.”

I grinned.

They admitted Greyson right away. I was allowed to stay with him even though I protested. Blood and I have an unspoken agreement. It stays inside the body, and I don’t throw up. Once it escapes, the agreement is broken. I was heroic back in the printing room because I was hopped up on adrenaline. Being in the hospital made the blood seem more treacherous.

I let them patch Greyson as I stood in the corner humming. I figured show tunes were the way to go. I tried to think of something upbeat and peppy, but it ended up a compilation of several songs and was grating to even my ears. If Frankie was here, he could have belted out a song that would have made me feel better.

“Nadia, you can stop humming. It’s over.”

I turned to inspect Greyson. He had a gauze bandage over his wound. I could deal with a bandage.

“Does it hurt?”

“No. It’s tender, but they gave me something for pain.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s head back home.”

“To your house?”

“Yes, that’s what I meant.”

“I just wanted to make sure. You said before you didn’t think of the house as your home.”

“That was before. It’s grown on me.” Greyson took my hand as we strolled to the car. “Nadia, a part of me didn’t want to find the counterfeit money. I knew I would have to work an insane amount of hours to prevent the casino from falling down around my ears when the story hits the news. I’m sure it will have complete media coverage by morning. Any bits of a normal life I had are going to go with it. I’ll have to make calls to release statements as soon as we get back.”

I nodded. “You don’t have to explain this to me. I already know. I did like spending time with you. Not the life threatening parts, nor the parts when Mya dressed me up, but the other times.”

“I’m not going to lead you on, Nadia. If I did, I would have David, Mya, Remy, and you all kicking my ass. I’m going to tell you right now you probably won’t hear from me for a while. I tend to focus on work and forget the people around me. So, with that being said, can we make a date for six months from now?”

He was being honest. Something made me relax with his request. He wasn’t trying to ditch me. He had to work now and play later.

“I think that can be arranged,” I said, though part of me hated having to say it. I didn’t want to be separated from him after knowing him for such a short time.

“You’ll come to the casino and play, right? You won’t be afraid about giving me space, will you?”

“I might swing by. What if I want to play at a different casino?”

“Is this a trick question? Is there a hidden message?”

“Not really. I’m just trying to understand what you expect from me, and if it’s something I can live with.”

“It absolutely kills me to say this. I have no right to expect anything from you, nor do I have any claim over you. We are completely free from each other for six months. But in exactly six months, I want you at my house and ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“You know damn well for what,” he growled, bringing me into his arms.

“What if I fall in love with someone in that time?”

“Then I will have lost you.”

I nodded. This was the hand dealt to me. A six month break from a man I barely knew, but a man who could steal my breath away with one look. This wasn’t too horrible. I needed to work so I could fix my car anyways. I could live with this. Who knows what six months could bring?

A slow smile spread on Greyson’s face. “Nadia, that all begins tomorrow. I still have you for tonight. You aren’t allowed to sleep; doctor’s orders.”

“But what about the police? You told Remy you would go back to the casino.”

He smiled. “I never told him what time. And you, sweetheart, are mine tonight.”

Chapter 27

Greyson pulled his car to the front of the house, and we both slid out. He stepped in front, blocking me from entering the house.

“I’m going to make a few phone calls to start issuing statements. I’ll come find you in one hour,” Greyson said.

“Is that a warning?”

“Take it however you want. I will find you.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I should make you wait for six months.”

“That would hurt you as much as it would hurt me.”

I smirked and walked into the house. The sound of laughter floated from the great room. I followed its happy melody and found Mya and Frankie. I had forgotten they were here.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Oh, Nadia! You’re back! Where’s Greyson?” Mya asked.

“He’s here but has to make a few calls.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I wanted to see him. I think David came to me in a dream. He tucked me in bed and was saying sweet things. He even said he was coming home soon. I don’t know if I just dreamed him or if he’s dead and his spirit came back. The whole thing was really confusing because it was so real.”

“What does your heart tell you?”

“I’m hoping it’s telling me he’s still alive. I don’t think his spirit would tell he was coming back if he knew he was dead.”

I nodded. “That sounds reasonable. Some people are soul mates, and it’s been known they can feel and hear each other even when they are far apart.”

“I never thought about it that way.” She smiled. “I like that idea much better.”

“Oh, Nadia,” Frankie interrupted. “Before I forget to tell you, we have to be up and out of here by eight tomorrow morning. You have to pack so you can catch your plane.”

“Eight o’clock is in a few hours. Why do I have to catch a plane? Where am I going?”

“You’re playing in a segment of the Latin poker tour. I got you all hooked up.”

“I have no money. How is this possible?”

“I used your money from the gigs to buy the airplane ticket. You’re sharing a room to cut costs. But you’ll need to win some money; otherwise you’ll be stuck there.”

A Frankie alarm clanged in my head. “Why would I be stuck there?”

“I was only able to afford a one way ticket.”

The clanging grew louder. I think it was telling me to kill Frankie. “You took my gig money and bought me a one-way plane ticket to where exactly?”

“I’m not sure. All those names are foreign.”

“Where the hell am I going, Frankie?”

“I told you. It’s in Latin.”

“So . . . in South America?”

“Isn’t Latin a country? I was never good at geography.”

My eye twitched as the clanging grew deafening. “I’m going to go take a bath. I think I must be tired because I swear you told me I was flying to Latin tomorrow with no way of getting home. And I’m going to be sharing a room with an unknown person; and Latin is a country!”

“Don’t get your value-pack panties in a bunch. It’ll be good for you to travel outside of Las Vegas. I’m jealous! You’ll meet all my Hispanic cousins.”

“Frankie, you’re a tenth Hispanic. You don’t even know your heritage. You can’t even say hello in Spanish.”

“Who needs to say hello? Nobody here says it. And you need to spread your name out there. I have every confidence you’ll win enough money to buy a ticket back home. If not, I have your dad on speed dial.”

I stood to leave but stalled by a thought. “By the way, did you happen to get the scorpion video from Catarina?”

“Yes, and I had to pay a fortune for it. I took it out of the gig money for promotional purposes.”

I let out a threatening growl and stomped from the room. I retreated to Greyson’s room with the hot tub in mind.

My body ached from all the beatings and my head ached from Frankie and evil Catarina. That’s why she had dinner with Greyson. She wanted money and was going to get it any way she could. I knew Greyson well enough to know he might have dinner with her but wouldn’t give her a penny. I was itching to ask him the details of the dinner. I just couldn’t. If anything had happened between Greyson and Catarina, he wouldn’t be on my tail ready to pounce.

I should be hiding from Greyson right now . . . but he gave me an hour. I wanted his hot tub . . . and him. Even if it’s just the physical piece.
God, what a physical piece!

I turned the bathwater on and let the water run while I stripped off my clothes. My toe touched the water to test it. Perfect. I slid the rest of the way in and closed my eyes.

I let go of the urge to strangle Frankie, along with all the stress of the last few days. I only had two worries, but those could wait until after the bath. My first worry was Dagor who was still on the loose. The second worry was Frankie who was still on the loose.

I’d have to research online to find where the Latin poker tour was being held. As for Dagor, I didn’t know what to do about him. Maybe taking the trip to South America would get Dagor off my back. It could work.

“You look comfortable,” Greyson said from the doorway.

“I am. I’m trying to relax and your hot tub is making it so much easier.”

I watched Greyson as he unbuttoned his shirt, stripped it off, and let it fall to the floor. My pulse kicked up.

“You don’t think you’re coming in here, do you?” I asked.

“I know I am.”

“This tub isn’t big enough for both of us.”

Greyson smiled. “It’s a two person hot tub.”

“Only a pervert would buy a two person hot tub.”

He slipped off his belt and unbuttoned his pants. I watched as he slowly pulled down the zipper. I bit my lip.

“Only a pervert watches a man undress with such delight,” he said.

“Touché.”

“Move over or I’m dragging you out.”

My eyes quickly darted from his particularly well-endowed parts to his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“You know I would.”

I moved over and watched while he slid in on the opposite side of the tub.

“Your eyes are telling me a whole different story than your words,” he said.

“You can’t trust my eyes. They’re still bruised. They don’t make sense half the time.”

“Let me kiss them and make them feel better.”

“If you’re kissing things that hurt, I have a whole list for you.”

He smirked. “One thing at a time. I’m sure I’ll check each item off your list before dawn.”

“It’s nearly dawn now.”

“We better get started.”

I boldly moved towards him. He watched me as intently as I had watched him. His hands grasped at my hips as I neared him, settling me on top.

“This is much better,” he said.

I lowered my mouth to his. His hands ran up my back to my neck. He drew me in to deepen the kiss.

A cell phone rang in the distance. Greyson winced.

“Do you need to answer that?” I asked.

“Yes, but I don’t want to.”

I moved to the side, but his hands kept me in place.

“I’m trying to let you answer your phone.”

“I don’t want to.”

“You said you needed to.”

“They can wait.”

I shook my head. “No way. Both of us will be thinking about the phone call.”

“I sure the hell wouldn’t be thinking about a phone call. All I want is you.”

“Then it might just be me who will be thinking about it. You would flee from me and make a phone call when we were done. If we were married for ten years, I might give you that luxury. But we aren’t even dating, and you’ve been trying to coerce me to have sex with you for the last few days. Either I have you all to myself or the casino does.”

He nodded though his eyes were telling me he was somewhere else.

“Just go make your phone call and come back after,” I said.

He gazed at me for a moment before standing to wrap a towel around himself. I relaxed into the tub as he retreated to the bedroom.

I’m sure if he was with one of his usual girls, they would be quite happy to give him a quickie before he had to tend to business. I didn’t like to dwell upon it. Even I was having second thoughts. I fidgeted in the tub. I gave up and drained the water. I heard Greyson on the phone as I wrapped the towel around me and tiptoed into the bedroom.