Chapter Thirty-one
~Jessie~
Jessie needed to figure out who this “Executive” was and fast. He was tired of playing catch up in someone else’s game.
Plus, after Pierre confessed to being there to take out Elliot or picking a fight with Cassie, it was personal.
Someone knew intimate details about his family and not only was that incredibly violating…
but it was just rude. It was one thing if Jessie knew this guy.
If he’d personally pissed him off, ran game on him, whatever—he could understand someone going this hard for a personal vendetta.
But I don’t fucking know this guy! He doesn’t know me except for what he can pull from the council’s files. To go this hard over a stranger?
The Executive was too dangerous to be left to his own devices.
If he wanted to go after someone’s kneecaps, then he was going to come for Jessie’s alone.
Which is exactly why he sauntered through the back yard of the shop, finding Nik face first in Katarina’s car while she handed him tools from down below, Sera sat on some part of the engine and holding a light for Nik.
He chirped, “On a scale of one to ‘fuck you Jessie’, how busy is everyone right now?”
A loud chorus filled the air with, “Fuck you, Jessie!”
“Alright, alright,” he chortled, hands up in the air. “I was just going to tell y’all to wrap it up. We’re going to the casino tonight.”
“What?” Sera squawked, looking up from the dark abyss where most of Nik was gone.
“LiiiGhT!” Nik wailed, stomping his foot.
“Shit,” Sera hissed. Returning the light back to where it was, she spoke again, “Why are we going to the casino?”
“Drinks, dancing, and a good time.” Jessie squatted, studying Katarina who held something still while he saw the hint of Nik’s fingers weaving something into place. “What are you doing?”
“Making an ass of myself, apparently,” Katarina cackled.
“I mean, you have an amazing ass—” Jessie stopped as Nik howled in victory somewhere deep in the car. His bugbear pulled back, pumping his arms up and down in the air. Then Nik whirled around and gave the engine both his middle fingers. Jessie smirked, “You good there, Fluffy?”
“Fuck you!” Nik laughed breathlessly, dancing away from the car. “Yeah, let’s go to the fucking casino. I need a victory drink.”
Jessie waited till Katarina started to squirm out from under the car and tugged her out by the ankle. She beamed up at him, smeared in grease and pink cheeked from the sun, but she looked happy. “I think she’s almost ready to run.”
“Let’s celebrate then.” Jessie winked.
“Who’s going to watch the Bug?” She sat up.
“My mom. Already asked her; she’s excited because she’s got some big bake sale for the healer’s hut tomorrow and said Isabella will have a blast making stuff tonight, and if we’re not back in time, she’ll just take her with tomorrow to hand out sweets to people.
It’ll be fun.” Jessie extended a hand to her, hoisting her up off the dusty ground.
“You sure?” Katarina furrowed her brow.
“My mom loves Bella,” Jessie laughed as he extended the same courtesy to Sera to hoist her off the car.
“She will take any excuse to steal her for grandma time. Don’t rob her of this, Little Momma.
Plus, Penny is going with her girls so there will be plenty of pretty pixies cutting it up on the dancefloor with you. ”
“What? Don’t you dance?” Sera teased.
“Oh, I dance…I just don’t dance well.” Jessie grimaced at the gnomish woman who tossed her head back, cackling from deep in her gut. Jessie could still see Katarina’s face. She wasn’t sold yet.
“Come on Babe, let’s go dancing tonight. I’ll drive home, scrub off the dirt, grab Ellie, and we’ll meet you at the Casino at eight?” Sera shimmied her shoulders at Katarina suggestively. When that didn’t work, Sera pouted with fluttering puppy dog eyes.
“Okay, okay, we’ll go,” Katarina snorted. “Let me just go grab Bug and get her over to Lailee before I shower.”
“Atta girl,” Jessie purred in her ear, making sure to give her backside a loving smack. “I’ve got a shop to close up, but I’ll meet you back at the house shortly.”
He watched the pair of women trot back toward the waiting room, likely to rouse a slumbering child. The second they were out of earshot, Nik came slinking back up beside him.
“So why are we really going to the Casino for?”
“The Executive or his lackeys hang out there. They caught Bobby whining obviously. They caught sight of a delivery being shipped to me. I say we go try and meet the man running this shit show and have a talk finally.” Jessie twisted to look at Nik over his shoulder.
“And maybe to see Katarina dancing in a short dress.”
Nik scoffed, rolling his eyes. “That knot’s going to be a problem tonight.”
“Mmm, which is why I’m bringing you and Rex.
” Jessie could already feel the heat creeping up his chest. Like last night at the game, it was going to prove a nuisance.
Which is why he needed backup. Likely, at some point he was going to need to take care of things.
And who knows how often that would have to happen.
Knox’s casino had a floor that was just a club. Dance floor, bar, great music, and booths that could be intimate if one pulled the curtain closed. Was it a wise idea to have sex in the Devil’s casino booth? No. Definitely not…
But that was a problem for knotty Jessie in a few hours.
“So, you’re getting the night off, but I have to work?” Nik teased as he elbowed Jessie. “Ass.”
“I’m the bait,” Jessie scoffed, elbowing Nik back.
“Huh?” Nik furrowed his brow.
“This guy is trying to fuck with me, what better way than to loudly give him the opportunity? So, I told everyone in the shop we’re going to the Casino, even had Penny ask all her friends to come drinking.
And then I’m going to parade my sweet little succubus around the casino, play a few tables, dance for a bit, and basically be out in the open.
You and Rex are simply going to be observing and if anyone seems a little too interested in talking to us, maybe you have a conversation with them first? ” Jessie arched a brow.
“Ah…bait.” Nik hummed as he nodded. “Just don’t get stabbed with your cock out.”
“No promises.” Jessie ruffled Nik’s sweaty mop of hair. “And shower, you smell like a sweaty rat.”
“Fuck you!” Nik howled with laughter as he stomped off, ruffling his sweaty fluff.
Jessie watched him leave, ogling his backside without a drop of shame.
Oh yeah, this knot’s going to be a problem.
But that was the beauty of the game. He wasn’t there to spot suspicious behavior, he was there to be bait.
Jessie was good at being the charming, easy-going, fun-loving owner.
So it’s about time I use it to my advantage.
The shop closed up precisely on time, everyone chattering about what they were going to wear or do or bring to the casino.
Jessie locked up just as Katarina got back from dropping off the tiny one off with his mother.
Before they even got to the townhouse, he got a selfie from his mother with Isabella licking icing off her fingers.
Hot pink icing covered in edible shimmer.
Oh dragons above have mercy on my mother.
He showed it to Katarina who shook her head in disbelief.
Everyone got their own showers, and Jessie spent a few extra minutes in the blow dryer to melt his muscles, he popped down into the kitchen while Katarina got ready.
He knew better than to go to the Casino on an empty stomach.
Their food was good, but it was more for topping oneself off instead of counteracting the copious amount of alcohol.
He whipped up a roast turkey grilled cheese with extra kettle cooked chips on the side and a whole apple for himself and then was making some for the others in his house when soft hands snaked around his torso.
Katarina hugged him tight from behind. “Mmm, dinner and drinks? Has anyone ever told you that you spoil them?”
“Well, it’s not easy being with me,” Jessie breathed, twisting so he could throw an arm around her.
Katarina fit perfectly in the crook of his arm as he threw a chunk of his dinner into his mouth.
After a few chews and a polite swallow, he spoke again.
“I’ve gotta make it worth your while to stick with me. ”
“The problem is, Jessie…that it’s super easy being with you,” Katarina leaned back in his arm so she could look up into his face. “You make it easy to love you.”
Jessie’s eyebrows went up on his face as she pressed a kiss to his chest, stole a chip from his plate, then danced out of his arm back toward the table.
You make it easy to love you… He followed her for a long moment as she propped her foot up on Nik’s thigh, letting him strap her calf into the heel.
They were speaking but all Jessie could hear was ‘you make it easy to love you’.
Over and over on repeat as he stared at her.
The warmth in his chest doubled but he couldn’t tell if it was the heat or something else.
Jessie returned to whipping up dinner for his boyfriend and girlfriend, unable to ignore the flutter in his chest.
“Welcome in, Mr. Bonesaw. We’ve added a secluded VIP booth to your keycard on level three, the rest of the Bonesaw party has access to the group room on level four.
As a reward for booking with us ahead of time, each member in your party has been awarded a free drink on the house.
Have them just tap their tokens at the bar to redeem.
And if you need anything else, flag me down.
My name is Buttons and Mr. Zrazduel has put me in charge of seeing over your entertainment tonight.
” A sweet-faced woman waitress wearing raccoon themed attire, including tail, round ears, and whiskers smiled at him.
Her eyes never lifted, but anyone who came to the casino knew Buttons didn’t have any.
She decorated her eyelids with heavy smokey shadow and liner to make up for it.
The Devil collected many types of souls in his casino.
Knox wasn’t the first ‘Devil’ of King’s Fall.
He was just the first one who was a fiend.
The story went that Knox took King’s Fall out from under the thumb of a guy named Declan.
What Jessie did know about Declan he learned from his father.
Those were different times. Knox collected the defectors, the broken, the downtrodden, and those in need of work without asking many questions.
At least on that front, Jessie and Knox saw eye to eye.
Bonesaws often employed those who couldn’t get work elsewhere or didn’t have the references to make it.
“Thanks, Buttons,” Jessie slipped her a small sack of gold as a tip. “Where’s the best place for me and my girl to play a few hands? My pockets are still too heavy for dancing.”
Katarina snorted, elbowing him in the side.
Buttons bowed her head to him before politely taking his coin. “Right this way.”
Jessie glanced back over his shoulder at Nik and Rex, giving them a solemn nod.
They let him walk ahead, slipping back into the heavy crowds of the casino.
Most people thought the easiest place to go unnoticed was a dark alley or in the shadows.
Jessie found it was the crowded places, where people wove in and out of crowds, moving purposely from table to table with their only focus on not spilling liquor or coin, that it was easiest to go undetected.
Buttons motioned to a large poker table with two seats still untaken.
Jessie purposely sank into his chair and plopped Katarina on his lap.
The others at the table might have been put off if there weren’t two other couples doing the exact same thing.
A large rock giant with a lithe pixie draped over his lap bowed their head to Jessie.
An orcish woman with a pretty elven woman perched on her thigh said nothing but gave him a two-finger salute.
“Good to know we’re in good company,” he chortled, tugging Katarina back into his chest with an affectionate squeeze. “Put some chips down for me, baby girl.”
She gave him a questioning look, but his girl was smart, she’d clocked something going on the second they met up with the whole crew outside.
He saw the little wheels in her head turning as she plucked a stack of chips from the tiny case they’d been handed when they strolled in.
Setting some chips into the pile at the center, the dealer bowed their head to Jessie and took his buy in.
“Room for one more?”
Jessie glanced for only a second to his right and offered a smile to the newcomer. A man in a pin-striped suit, long black hair slicked back behind his pointy ears, tossed chips into the center before he settled in the chair.
“Perfect. We’re all set. Game is Dragon’s Hold ‘Em. Anyone unfamiliar with the rules?” The dealer scanned each of the seven players then nodded. “Let’s begin.”
Jessie spared a look at each of his playing partners, but it wasn’t his job to study any of the people at his table, or even suspect anyone.
But, if he had to make a wild guess, the slick man in a well-tailored suit to his right?
The one with a smile that never reached his dark, brown eyes?
He’d put money on him hanging around all night.