Chapter 4 Rafe
RAFE
“That’s him, sir. The man who was accused of cheating the other night.” The man had been sent home along with his accuser before a fight broke out. “We noticed him on the floor again about half an hour ago.”
As I studied the view of the casino floor, my instincts told me there was more here than there seemed to be. “Did you review the footage of his play that night?”
“No, sir. It was an isolated incident, and—”
“Pull it up for me.”
I stepped closer to the screen and studied the man, who stood at a poker table. I’d heard about the incident and hadn’t taken it all that seriously, but something about this guy set my radar off. Something set my dick off too. The guy was fucking hot.
I guessed he was probably in his early thirties, seven or eight years older than me.
He was wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and a brown leather jacket.
Somehow, I knew he would smell divine. His dark hair was curly, and he was tall and lean, but the more I watched him, the more sure I became that he was powerful like a big cat.
I wanted to make him purr. But I was supposed to be doing my job, not fantasizing about a man I might need to ban from here or threaten or… what if…
A chill ran over me as I thought about Remington’s warning. Until now, no one had stood out to me; no one’s actions had seemed strange. I’d had my security watching more closely than usual.
“I’ve got the footage pulled up, boss.” My guard’s voice startled me out of my thoughts.
I worked to keep my face neutral as I turned to a different screen. I no longer wanted to watch the incident from the night before. I didn’t want this guy to be working for Ivanov. I wanted him to be the next treat in my bed.
But one way or another, it looked like we were going to meet tonight.
I watched his play from several nights ago, enjoying the way his hands moved, the way he seemed to caress the cards.
How could he make standing at a blackjack table so fucking sexy?
I wanted this man badly. But it didn’t take long for me to see he was counting cards.
He was right in front of a camera. Did he think we wouldn’t notice?
Probably. He was subtler than most cheaters we caught.
I rolled the footage back further, watching him earlier in the evening and seeing the same pattern at other tables.
He’d gotten more confident as the hours passed, and as I’d expected, I needed to have a little talk with him.
We didn’t allow cheaters here, though maybe he’d like to make a deal.
I had plenty of ideas of ways he could avoid being banned from the casino, and they all involved him on his knees.
I winced as I heard Remington’s voice in my head telling me he was counting on me. I knew I needed to investigate this man, not get involved with him. If he was working for Ivanov, I didn’t want him touching me, anyway. I wanted him dead.
You could use him first. It’s not like you’re that selective.
I told that devilish voice to fuck off. I didn’t want anything to do with a man like that. I’d fucked some evil guys, but what Ivanov did crossed every line I had.
I switched my focus back to the live screen, watching as the sexy man won hand after hand. It was time to end his winning streak and start my investigation.
“Pull him and bring him to my office.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard got on the radio and let a few of the officers on the floor know I wanted to see Mr. Gorgeous Card Counter.
I watched as they approached the table where he was playing.
He protested and tried to charm them, then got angry and tried to pull away as they grabbed his arms. One of them pinned his arms behind his back and shoved him forward.
I wished I were the one manhandling him.
Play had stopped at tables around him as everyone watched. I tapped an intercom button and made an announcement. “Everyone, return to your play. The situation is under control. Enjoy your evening at Casino Fortuna.”
Slowly but surely, people went back to their drinks and their games.
I waited, watching a different camera where I could see the security guards cuff our cheater’s hands behind his back, then march him down the hall. I enjoyed the confident way he moved. It was almost like he wanted to get caught.
That thought bothered me. What was his game?
Please don’t let his motive be getting a foothold for Ivanov.
When I reached my office, the two security guards were there with Mr. Gorgeous held between them. His hands were still cuffed behind his back. It was a good look on him, but I wanted him to feel more relaxed while he talked to me.
“Check him for weapons, then uncuff him and leave the two of us alone.” The guards looked at each other like they weren’t sure that was a good idea.
“We don’t want to put you in danger, boss,” one of them said.
I scowled at them. “I can hold my own with one unarmed man, I assure you.”
“Yes, sir.” They hurried to obey.
They extracted a small pistol from an ankle holster and a switchblade from his pocket. How the hell had he gotten in here with those?
“Should we wait outside the door, boss?” the same guard asked after their search was complete.
“No, I want to have a private conversation with this gentleman.”
“Yes, sir.”
I waited until their footsteps moved down the hall before gesturing to the chair in front of my desk. “Have a seat.”
He did as I said, and I leaned against my desk, looking down at him. The fucker was almost as tall as me when he was sitting down. A picture popped into my head of his long, lean body stretched out in my bed. I forced out a long breath and let the fantasy go. Business first.
The man didn’t look concerned to be alone with me. His posture was relaxed, his expression neutral. He had been in this situation before or one similar to it. What did that mean? Maybe he was simply a professional con man.
Or he could be working for a man who made me look like a candidate for sainthood.
“Did you really think we wouldn’t notice you? I hope you don’t think that’s how we run this place.”
The fucker smiled at me, and I hated that my cock responded.
“What’s your game here?”
“I came here for a few friendly hands of blackjack, but I keep getting harassed.”
“You’re being harassed because you’re a fucking cheater, and no one cheats me.”
He didn’t flinch. Most men would have. I knew how unhinged I looked, and if he knew anything about this place and my family, he knew we weren’t to be messed with.
“Let’s say you’re not an idiot, although the fact that you would come in here and flaunt your cheating says otherwise. If you’re not stupid, you’d look for cameras, yet you put yourself right in line of one a few days ago and again tonight.”
“So you know about that night?” he asked.
“I know about everything.”
He lifted a brow. “Do you?”
Was the fucker flirting with me? Maybe. Did I like it? Fuck yes, I did, so he better not be a fucking evil bastard.
And what are you if not evil?
I didn’t traffic children, and I didn’t fuck anyone who didn’t want it.
“I know everything that goes on at this casino. I know about men like you and how you think.”
He lifted a brow, somehow looking even hotter. “Do you?”
“Why are you here, and why were you counting cards right in front of the camera when you’ve already been kicked out for doing it before?”
He started to speak, and I shook my head. “Don’t deny it. I know what I saw.”
“It’s a habit. I’m good at it, and it’s hard to turn it off.”
“You came back after you’d been caught. There’s a reason. Who sent you here?”
That got a slight reaction from him. Nothing more than a widening of his eyes for half a second. Still, my pulse sped up.
“Tell me.”
He didn’t say anything. I pulled out my gun, took a step forward. and pressed it against his forehead. “If we’re still going with the idea that you’re not a fool, then you know I won’t hesitate to kill you. You’d disappear off the face of this earth. No one would find even a trace of you.”
He forced out a laugh. “No one would come looking. Not for me.”
“You can’t convince me you think so little of yourself.”
His eyes met mine, and his gaze seemed to penetrate deep into me.
I looked away, focusing on his gorgeous hair.
I wanted to wrap one of his curls around my finger.
I wanted to touch his skin and see if it was as soft and smooth as it looked.
I wanted to order him onto his knees. I wanted to see his pink lips wrapped around my cock.
But this was business. Important business. I wasn’t going to fail Remington.
“Who sent you here? Who do you work for?”
“No one but myself. I’m in the business of making money. Aren’t we all?”
I had to admire how relaxed he was with my gun to his head. “You coming into my casino and cheating isn’t helping me make money. So we’re going to need to figure out how to handle that.”
The bastard just smiled at me. “We can do that.”
I wasn’t giving in to his attempts to charm me, not yet anyway. “If all you wanted was to make money, you would’ve figured out how to be more subtle. If you had good sense, you would’ve chosen a different casino. We have a reputation for extracting harsh penalties on anyone who crosses us.”
I drew the gun down the side of his face and brushed it over his lips. “I have a lot of ideas for how to punish you for your crimes, but the first thing you’re going to do is talk.”
The fucker nuzzled his face against the barrel of my gun.
“I had to find a way to get your attention.”
“So you have a death wish?”
“No, I want in on your most exclusive high rollers. The one you don’t tell anyone about.”
He was as much of a psycho as I was, and he’d come here looking for me. This was definitely the sort of thing Remington wanted me to watch out for, but my gut told me he wasn’t the sort of man who’d work for Ivanov.
Does your gut tell you that or your dick?