Player: Stone Cold MC Read online

  I also knew how they killed.

  “Right,” I said.

  I looked up and woman walking by caught my eye. She wore a shirt the color of blood that made her skin look like condensed milk. She had deep brown eyes, hair the same color that hung over her shoulders like cloak, and she was honing in on the poker section. She walked as if she didn’t know she was sexy, even though she was drop dead gorgeous.

  There was a moment where she swiveled her head. Her longs stride faltered just a little when her eyes met mine, and I was lost in that stare. Then she turned her attention back to where she was headed and kept moving.

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t go down that road,” Ted said, watching my face when I finally looked at him. “That’s Alexandra, and she’s trouble.”

  “Why? Does she belong to the band of brothers?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Nothing like that. She’s not a threat when it comes to morals and all that, but she’s a hell of a player, and you don’t want to face her because you’ll lose. She’s the Queen of Blackjack. Everyone that plays her loses it all. She comes in and cleans up, and she’s always got those big innocent eyes and the pout when she does it. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s a winner.”

  “Sounds like my kind of woman,” I said. Good at cards and a body that made me sit up and beg. She looked like she could be a fun lay.

  “She also doesn’t respond to assholes,” Ted said.

  “Watch it,” I snapped. No one called me an asshole unless they had proof.

  “Hey, I’m just saying,” Ted said, holding his hands up in defense before throwing the last of his drink back. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve in a low class way.

  “Anyway, I’m out of here. Wife at home, gets pissy when I don’t show early enough. She’s scared I’ll gamble away all our money.”

  He nodded at me and walked away, leaving me alone at the tall table.

  I turned the empty glass around and around on the smooth wood for a while, pulling my act together, before I turned and decided to start my own games.

  I played poker for a while. Alexandra sat with a group of men, and by the looks on their faces, I was guessing she wasn’t just good at blackjack. After I won my last game, I stayed put, watching her. She moved with grace, and she didn’t peek at her cards once.

  A man in a crisp white suit and black collared shirt sat down. He wore those sunglasses what were just dark enough not to be cool inside. He had a lot of gold around his neck and on his fingers, and his black hair was slicked back with so much oil he looked bullet proof.

  “Mind if we join you, amigo?” he asked. His Mexican accent was thick. I nodded and waved at the empty seats.

  “Please.”

  He sat down with four of his friends. A man that I assumed was a bodyguard took a position behind him to his right. The dealer started dealing, and I ended up with a good hand. A seven and a king. Something I could work with if I played it right.

  I didn’t, and I folded the first round. The second and third hand were in my favor, and on the fourth, I won a load of money.

  “You’re better than you look,” Tex-Mex said.

  I shrugged. “I didn’t expect this to be such an easy win.”

  His smile faltered. It was still on his lips, but the light had left his eyes.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked.

  “No thanks, buddy. I’m into girls.”

  His smile disappeared completely.

  “There’s one thing that will never fly in a place like this, amigo,” he said. His voice was low and threatening. What a clown. “Surely you know that arrogance and gambling never go together.”

  “It’s not a gamble if you know you’re going to win,” I said. Yes, so I was being a cocky S.O.B., but the Goose had made me confident, and the win had made me feel invincible. The bodyguard leaned down and whispered something in his ear.

  “I am willing to give you one more chance,” Tex-Mex said. He was curling and uncurling his fingers with all the rings on them, the tanned skin complimented the gold I was betting was real.

  “A chance to take more of your money?” I asked.

  The bodyguard walked around the table as if he’d been given a signal. He grabbed me by the jacket and hauled me out of my chair. I cried out and swung my fists at him, but he was stronger than he looked.

  Also bigger from this angle.

  He started dragging me toward the door. Everywhere players were turning and staring at me. Some of them shook their heads as if I was a disappointment. At least Lady Alexandra wasn’t around to see my humiliation.

  The moment I thought it, I spotted her through the doors that led to the VIP section. She was sitting at a table with a lot of upper-class-looking men. So she’d gotten the golden tray. Dammit to hell. And I was being dragged out of the casino like a dog. And all my chips were on the table, still. No matter how well I’d been playing, I lost it all now.

  Macho dumped me outside the main doors. The security just glanced at me, doing nothing about it.

  “Thanks for having my back, guys,” I said when the bodyguard had disappeared back inside and I scooped myself off the pavement.

  One of the guys shrugged. “Your fault if you fuck with Jerrill,” he said. “It could have been worse.”

  So that was Jerrill. Me and my big mouth. First night in town and I’d already attracted attention from the one man whom I didn’t need to know about me. Nicely played, Peterson. Nicely played.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Standing outside the casino like a criminal, with the bouncers ignoring me as if sympathy was fresh out of stock, sucked. On my first night in town, I’d managed to piss off Antonio Jerrill—a big deal around here, apparently—and get kicked out of the casino, losing all my winnings. And my name had been floating around the place because I’d told Ted whom I really was. Who else had heard me? Who else would find out?

  I doubted Ted was a rat with ulterior motives, but I should have given him another name. Ben, like I’d used at the hotel. I’ve been so many different people the past while though, that it felt nice just to be myself for once. Besides, Rip really was a badass name as Ted had pointed out. Pride and all that.

  I felt like such an idiot. As someone who did this often, I should have known better. Casinos were shark infested, and you had to watch your mouth. I usually did. But Jerrill had the kind of face that had looked like he’d thought the world of himself and that kind of attitude always got me riled up. Some people were just begging for their teeth to be punched in. Although that would have ended worse for me.

  Good thing I’d just been running my mouth and nothing else.

  I should just have found out whom I was saying it to. Besides, hadn’t Ted warned me? What was the point of finding allies and contacts if I did nothing with the information?

  Yes, an absolute idiot. And now I needed a new game plan, because carrying on this way was only going to get me killed. That was the end point for someone like me. If I fucked up, it was a bullet in my brain. None of these guys—the Stone Cold Club, or the Crucifix Six, or any other Corny Name Club—were going to make things work out for me so that I could go home with a busted kneecap or something. Dead was on the cards, and when that was the case, I preferred to fold.

  I found my box of cigarettes and pinched one between my lips, pulling it out. I lit up and inhaled deeply, pulling the smoke into my lungs, relishing and hating the burning sensation all at the same time. I’d been smoking since I was a teenager, and I still didn’t like it, but what was I going to do? Addiction was a bitch, and there were worse things to be addicted to.

  I exhaled a cloud of smoke in front of my face and jammed one fist into my jacket pocket, feeling my lighter press against my knuckles.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” a voice asked behind me. It was a woman’s voice. In all the time Stone Cold had been hunting me, they’d never sent a woman, so there was no fear, just curiosity. None of the girls I’d slept with would be around these
parts. I’d left a trail of women as far as Minnesota, but this was very far south. I turned around slowly, cigarette pinched between my lips, and looked down at her.

  It was the woman I’d seen earlier. Alexandra.

  She stood in front of me, her dark hair making her dark eyes stand out, and that red of her shirt made her look fierce. And she was furious. Her eyes spat fire, and she had her hands by her side, fists clenched into balls, and she leaned forward a little, like she wanted to attack but she was holding herself back.

  “You owe me money.” Her voice was hard and melodious, all at the same time.

  “What?” This was a new one. I’d seen her once, didn’t know her at all, and she was already making demands.

  “Don’t be a jerk,” she said.

  “I wasn’t aware I was one.”

  “Your little stunt, getting kicked out, is going to ruin your rep.”

  I chuckled, took the cigarette from between my lips with two fingers, and tapped it to get rid of the ash. “Nice of you to worry about my rep.”

  “I don’t give a shit about yours. But you ruined mine, too. When you start taking down innocents, you need to rethink your strategy.”

  I dragged on my cigarette again, nodding as I did. The word ‘innocent’ was amusing. It didn’t really fit the look she was sporting.

  “Right,” I said, smoke billowing out as I spoke. “So how much did you lose?”

  “Fifty large,” she said. I fought hard to keep my face neutral. She’d been sitting on fifty grand?

  “If you can’t hold onto your cash when there’s drama, you shouldn’t be playing with the big boys.” I didn’t sound as surprised as I felt. Point for me.

  “I lost my count, asshole,” she sneered. “If everyone’s being civil, I’m fine and dandy, but if a caveman like you waltzes in, they really ought to bar you at the entrance. There will always be casualties with men like you.”

  Her mouth was mesmerizing. She was giving me a tongue-lashing in a big way, and all I could do was stare at her lips, full and pouted, meeting at a cupid’s bow below her nose in a way that made me want to taste her. I forced my eyes back to hers.

  “Did you just call me a caveman?” I asked. She rolled her eyes and looked toward the casino. Maybe she was waiting for someone. Maybe it was longing for all that cash in there. Maybe she thought about calling over one of those bouncers. It gave me a chance to look at her. I let my eyes slide down her body. Perfect proportions. Voluptuous. And that attitude to boot. I was willing to bet all the money in my black duffel that she used her looks to her advantage.

  I could use someone like her, and not just as a lady to get horizontal with. She had balls bigger than mine, sassing a stranger like that, and she had a quick mind and a quicker tongue.

  “So you’re a counter, huh?” I asked. Her face sobered, eyes widening just a little. I’d hit home. Her hands finally unclenched and hung loosely by her sides. The anger had drained out of her body.

  “What’s it to you, asshole?” she asked. Man, I loved it when she called me names. I could just imagine getting so much dirtier behind closed doors.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” I said. I dropped the cigarette butt and ground it out with my heel.

  She leaned back, shifting her weight to one leg and crossing her arms over her chest. Her face had a chances-are-slim look on it, but she jutted her chin up in a half nod, ready to hear me out.

  “Let’s—you and me—work together. You do your thing, I’ll do mine, and we’ll split the winnings. When you have your fifty back, you can split and we’ll go our separate ways, no strings attached.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “You want me to share my winnings with you until I make the fifty? What if I make it all by myself, and then I get there twice as fast?”

  “But it will take you longer to get there. Come on, working together always turns out better. Besides, you have talent that will work with mine, and I have goals. Together, we can make it work.”

  “Talent,” she said. Her tone suggested she didn’t believe me. She was grating me. I liked it.

  “So you’re a hustler,” she said. Statement, not a question. I looked over her shoulder, irritated.

  “You know, I’ve always resented that term. Hustling is for kids. What I do is the real deal.”

  She snorted.

  “Right. I saw you real-dealing it in there.” She nodded toward the casino. Not my finest moment. If she could drop it, that would have been awesome.

  “Come on, Alexandra,” I said, not responding to her taunt.

  She narrowed her eyes at me.

  “Who’s dropping my name?” she asked.

  “Who says someone was talking about you? Who says I don’t just have my own contacts?”

  She shook her hair so it slipped over her shoulders. The stuff was thick and glossy, and it looked like it would feel like silk.

  “If you had your own contacts, you would know that I go by Alex, not Alexandra.”

  I smiled. She had me there.

  “Alright, Alex,” I said. “I’m talking money. Just come out to dinner with me, and I’ll tell you what I have in mind.”

  Again the eyes narrowed. Why had I just done that? But it was out there now, and I had to admit to myself that I wanted her to say yes, even though I wasn’t sure why I’d asked in the first place.

  “And you think this is going to work for me, being in a team with someone?”

  She worked alone. That made sense. I knew what it felt like, refusing to team up. But sometimes it was just better with two.

  “It’s just business. No pleasure, no funny business.”

  “So you say, but you just asked me out to dinner.”

  She had me again. I sighed, scrambling to find more answers. She was keeping me on my toes. I loved it. I hated it. She spoke before I found something else to say.

  “Tomorrow night, Cisco’s. I’ll be there at eight.”

  She turned quick enough that her hair spread out around her, and then she marched back inside. I couldn’t follow her. I didn’t need to. The view of her ass swinging from side to side as she walked was a reward in its own right. And I was going to have dinner with her.

  I pushed my hands into my pockets and watched her until she disappeared through the doors. She didn’t nod at the security guys. They didn’t acknowledge her. Low profile. I liked that.

  And assertive, too. She told me where and when—even though I’d been the one to issue the invitation. Working with her might just work out.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  I had to admit she had damn good taste. Cisco’s was a classy joint, the kind of place that anyone could go to; the food and drink wasn’t too expensive, and when they were in there, they felt like a million bucks.

  I arrived a bit early because I liked to think that I could be a gentleman if I really wanted to. I got a table in the back, and I watched the people coming in, sitting down, laughing, drinking, and eating. It was comfortable. It was warm and fuzzy.

  I hated it. I wanted to run a mile. This was the kind of place that reminded me of Emmett and the attitude he’d had toward the world. Since I’d lost him, I tried to avoid everything that was warm and fuzzy and full of life.

  Cisco’s was all that.

  The décor was a bright green with dark wood and gray finishes instead of cream. It gave the place a modern, fresh look, not the drab every day kind of feel that most restaurants sported.

  At eight on the dot, she walked in. She wore a stunning version of the little black dress, with capped sleeves and a plunging neckline that showed off the swells of her breasts. The dress was short, too. Just halfway down her thigh, and it accentuated her curves perfectly.

  Her hair was in a loose ponytail, emphasizing her sharp features.

  “You’re early,” she said in the same tone I imagined she would have used if it was late.

  “I wanted to make sure we got a table. Place looks busy.”

  She nodded, glancing around.
The waitress noticed the addition to my table and brought two menus. She smiled at us.

  “Give us a minute,” I said, and her face fell. She turned and walked away. I glanced at Alex over my menu. Her eyes moved as she read over the options. She seemed guarded, cautious. I didn’t blame her. She didn’t know me at all. I was hoping we could change that. If there was one thing we needed for this to work, it was trust.