Chapter 31
I watch Cypress in the mirror behind the bar as he sits to play, barely able to contain my agitation at him being so goddamn cavalier about this whole thing until I see it.
His hand is resting on the table over his cards, his thumb tap, tap, tapping the surface as he stares at the men across from him.
There’s five at the table plus a dealer, but I can tell it’s these two that he’s most focused on.
Both dressed in dark colors, both with blood-red bandanas around their necks and beat-up wide brim hats on their heads.
I can’t make out their faces, but I don’t really need to, because I can make out Cypress’s.
Especially as they turn more than once to look toward the other end of the bar.
There’s a young woman down there, one of the dancers flirting with the bartender, who is so flustered by the attention that she keeps nearly dropping the glass she’s polishing to within an inch of its life.
I chuckle, covering my mouth so they don’t think I’m laughing at them should they happen to notice anything but each other.
Funny how people can be so lovestruck. Poor souls.
My amusement fades, however, when I look back at Cypress, still tapping, still watching the men across from him as they watch her, and I start to get a feeling in my gut that I know better than to ignore.
“Dolly,” I call quietly, turning in my barstool to where she’s having a conversation with a few customers nearby. When she doesn’t hear me, I get up, walking the few paces to her side and ducking down to talk to her without sparing a glance at her patrons. “Can I have a word with you?”
She peers up at me, clearly not pleased at the intrusion, but the moment she sees my face she seems to recognize I’m not going to go away easily and excuses herself.
“What’s got you all in a tizzy now?” she asks as soon as we’ve stepped out of hearing distance. “You lose track of him already?”
I glower at her. “No, I know where he is, and I’m not—” She makes a gesture with her hand for me to hurry it along, and I roll my eyes before tipping my head at the table that’s captured my interest. “You know them? The two across from Cypress?”
Her gaze flicks that way, but she shakes her head. “No, they’re travelers. Almost everyone in here tends to be. Why?”
“They’re making Cypress anxious.”
“What makes you think that?”
For a brief moment, I almost tell her about the tapping, but decide against it since she might tell him and give away my advantage. “They keep looking at the girl down at the end of the bar.”
“Looking how?”
“Not in a way that’s friendly.”
“See what you mean,” Dolly mutters, frowning while she watches them. “I’ll make sure Lou’s not left on her own.” Her eyes flit to me again, then to Cypress. “So much for keeping things contained. You probably ought to make sure he’s not left alone either.”
I don’t need to ask why.
“Thought you were supposed to have rules in here,” I say, even more irritated than I was before that barely five minutes have passed since we walked in the door and I’ve already got a problem to contend with.
“We do,” she replies, tone icy. “As well as consequences for if they’re broken.”
I jerk my head in the direction of the men again. “They know that?”
She looks toward the table once more, her eyes fixing on Cypress, and if I were a betting man, I’d wager right there that she doesn’t even need me to point out his tell to her. “I suspect they’re going to find out.”