Chapter 41 Canaries and cougars
FORTY-ONE
Canaries and cougars
REED
Well, shit. Some prick with a greasy combover has taken my normal spot at the bar. I’d kick the bastard out of my seat, but I don’t want to cause a scene. Judging by his demeanor, the combover is the least of his problems. I bet he bought that drink with his last dime after a run of bad luck.
Poor bastard.
I scan the room for another seating option, then begrudgingly select an alternate where I can see Lila’s blackjack table at all times.
“Hey, stranger. It’s been a while.” Katrina tosses a cocktail napkin on the bar in front of me, then scans my attire. “Nice to see you dressed down for a change. Did you get fired?”
Instead of a suit and tie like usual, I’m in a simple black tee and dark denim jeans.
Smirking, I lower my head to draw her closer, then whisper, “Someone told me I tended to dress like a cop, so I thought this would be better for blending in.”
“I approve.” She clicks her tongue three times, appraising me openly. “In fact, this look on you might bring out my inner cougar. Especially with them tats out.” She whistles facetiously. “I didn’t know you had ink. Better watch yourself, cub.”
My cheeks burn with a rare blush. Katrina’s never been one for flirting. Quite the opposite, actually. She uses her snark to keep men at bay. She once told me her tips are worse when she’s sweet or flirty than when she employs her sassy bitty energy—her words, not mine.
Wearing a shy grin, I wave her off. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I am taken.”
Her head kicks back, and her eyes bulge. “No way. You? Taken? Since when?”
“It’s new.”
And old.
She leans her forearms on the bar. “Who’s the lucky gal?”
My earpiece crackles, Hemsley’s voice coming through. “The canary is landing on her perch.”
I throw a glance at the casino floor, noticing Lila arriving at her table. When we came up with her code name, it took me all of a half-second to pick.
Careful not to stare, I thrust my eyes back to my bartender, realizing I’ve inadvertently answered her question.
“Oh, really? Her?” Katrina hums, her gaze darting between Lila and me. “Took you long enough to make a move.”
In the interest of maintaining my cover, I should probably dispute her assumption. But I don’t. Because the mere idea of denying that Lila’s mine is repulsive.
Besides, Katrina doesn’t pose a risk to the operation.
I shrug at her, acting indifferent. “There’s something to be said for patience.”
“Well, I approve.” She straightens, pushing off the bar with both hands. “What can I get you, big spender?”
She takes my order, then shuffles off. Poor thing doesn’t get two steps away before she’s waved down for refills from a large party. Another guest is hounding her for his check. She throws me an apologetic look over her shoulder.
I’m in no rush, though. I’ll be here all night. Unlike other times I’ve camped out here, I’m on the job tonight.
Since I’ve spent so much time at the bar, I figured it’d be easy to blend in like normal from in here. If I decided to play a game or troll around the floor, that might stand out to anyone who’s been watching me.
Agents Carson and Andrews are monitoring everything from our surveillance van, which is parked near the loading dock.
Agents Hemsley, Romero, McBride, and Fowler are scattered around the gaming tables, all of them posing as gamblers.
The whole team, myself included, is outfitted with hidden comms that capture audio and video.
The more footage we get, the better for the case.
Lila’s decorated with more than her card-marking thumb rings. She’s also got a few pieces of jewelry on that capture video and audio. Anything we need to tell her will be transmitted via a tiny earpiece.
When Lila tried to call Silas earlier, it went straight to voicemail. He finally replied to her after about an hour, instigating a text exchange. Without him on an actual voice call, we couldn’t ping his location from cell towers.
However, the text conversation went better than we hoped. He practically did all the work for us.
In essence, he said he couldn’t see her until she was done with her work—meaning he wouldn’t meet with her unless she kept marking cards.
Rather than caving right away, she played it the way she normally would, resisting and trying to convince him she’s already done plenty.
If she would’ve immediately folded, he would have seen it as a red flag.
In the blink of an eye, Lila seamlessly worked her way back into the cheating ring. Technically, she never left, aside from her last few scheduled days off and her dismissive texts from the other night.
For the first hour of her shift, nothing much happens. She marks the cards, but never utters the code phrase to indicate the cheaters have swarmed. She’s paid enough attention over the last few weeks to have a good idea of what most of them look like.
If her shift goes as planned, the first person from the gang will ask an innocuous question about luck when they approach her table, waiting for her to respond with the signal that the cards are marked and ready before taking a seat.
So far, no sign of them.
Fifteen minutes into hour two, McBride opens his microphone so the entire team can hear him, not just the van duo. “Those are some nice rings, ya got there, pretty lady. Did you buy them in town?”
“I don’t remember where I got them,” a meek female voice responds.
Luke continues, embellishing his twang more than usual. “That’s a cryin’ shame. My kid sister’s birthday is right around the corner. I reckon she’d love some sparkly rings like ‘em.”
I scan the casino floor, looking for his stupid hat. He isn’t at Lila’s table or any of those immediately around her. Standing, I arch my back and act like I’m stretching. I take a few steps to the left, nonchalantly searching for him.
Oh shit. What the hell is he doing?
He’s taken a seat at Dana Ross’ table, going completely off script.
The plan was to monitor her from afar while we were here, getting a look at the people running through her table and comparing them to those we identify from Lila’s interactions as part of the ring. I guess McBride has other plans.
Either that or he’s flirting with her.
Dana wasn’t on the casino floor when we arrived, but the manager told us she’d be on shift tonight.
As a result, Andrews was relegated to van duty with Carson.
We didn’t want to risk her recognizing him as the agent who questioned her.
As for me? Dana’s seen me here plenty of times, as most of the staff have.
And since I’m not positioned on the gaming floor, the risk is minimal.
Andrews comes through the comms, addressing the rogue cowboy. “Shift an inch or two to your left, McBride. Your cam isn’t giving me a clear enough view of her hands.” He takes a breath, then says, “Perfect.”
After a short pause, he comes through again. “Stay there for a few hands, and we’ll see if we can catch her marking with those rings. Although they look different from Lila’s, they might work the same way. But we don’t need you there long. I don’t want to spook her.”
Apparently, Andrews is on board with this. Maybe they talked about it earlier when I was prepping Lila and forgot to mention it to me.
If Dana is involved, it’s probably because they threatened her family and not because she’s a diabolical mastermind. But I’m good with them sniffing around anything that smells fishy.
There are enough of us here protecting my cookie to allow Luke to do some hunting nearby.
Another ten minutes pass until there’s action at Lila’s table. She finally gives us the code phrase. “Do you smell that?”
A brunette at her table responds, “All I smell is my future bankruptcy.”
Lila laughs softly. In a lower volume, she mutters, “Smells like it’s coming from over by the ATM.”
From this spot, I can’t see the ATM. It’s killing me not to get up to look, but since I just got up and stretched a few minutes ago to see McBride, I don’t want to do it again so soon.
Agent Carson addresses her. “We see him, Lila. Act natural. You’re doing great.”
Knowing they’re monitoring her so closely helps ease my nerves some.
Hemsley’s voice comes through next, volume modulated so no one around him hears. “I have eyes on him.”
I catch sight of Grant sliding into a seat at the table directly behind Lila’s. From there, he’ll have a great view of the players at her game and can get to her quickly if needed. Not that we’re expecting trouble tonight.
STK would need to have solid brass balls to make a move on Lila right here in the middle of the casino. The real danger will come when she finally gets that damn meeting with Silas.
Two new players amble up to her table. A tall, blond male and a redheaded female, both of them dressed to the nines. Hemsley peeks at them from under the brim of his ballcap. No doubt Romero and Fowler are honing in on them too.
The male newcomer leans over the edge of the table. Through Lila’s audio, I catch the expected question. “Is this table as lucky as it looks?”
“Only one way to find out,” Lila responds, her voice coming through perfectly calm.
She rolls her neck and shoulders, signaling that the cards have all been marked.
For the rest of the night, nobody else will need to exchange signals with her unless she happens to be moved to a different table.
It seems the gang members communicate with each other once a card deck has been verified, as they’ve just done.
The pair takes the last two open chairs and joins the game.
And we’re rolling.
By the time Lila’s due for her meal break, Carson has identified the initial pair of cheaters through facial rec.
She also ran every other player at the table, searching for gang affiliations, criminal records, or other red flags.
Already, we’ve got a vast amount of leads.
There are far more players involved than Lila estimated.
At least five times as many.
And Lila’s shift is only halfway over.