Chapter Fifteen
Zane walked with ease into the casino, Ellen hanging from his arm. He smiled easily at the employee sitting at the front desk as he casually watched the people moving around the front of the building.
Now that he was at the casino, his plan worried him less. Ellen’s new look, besides being hot as hell, did make her look totally different. And who would think that the woman they were looking for would stroll right through the front door?
Maybe confident was overstating things, but he wasn’t all that nervous either.
A quick glance in the corner revealed a security camera. So far he’d counted four cameras. If they even suspected it was her, they would see it all from those shots. Above all, he wanted to make sure that if the shit was going to hit the fan, they had a way to bail.
His gun pressed into his side, but with his jacket buttoned, no one was the wiser. Except maybe Ellen, who had gasped when he first took her arm.
Zane stepped up to the front desk. “I believe a friend dropped off something for me,” he said. “Name is Zane Lewis.”
He watched as the man shuffled around a few papers and then typed a few things into a computer. Zane chanced another glance around the area. No movement so far. Things were going well for once.
“Ah, here you go, sir.”
The man handed over an envelope containing two passes to the party.
“It seems we have you booked in one of the best rooms as well,” the man said, holding out a keycard.
Zane really owed Charlie for this. Being in one of the better rooms meant that he was more likely to get the chance to snoop in ways he wouldn’t normally get.
He nodded and took the keycard.
“If you could just take our luggage to the room, we’re running a little late for the party.”
The man nodded. “Of course, Mr. Lewis.”
They moved through the casino lobby into the main floor, which was filled with every type of slot machine imaginable.
The booming noise and near seizure-inducing lights were grating to say the least, but they did allow him the opportunity to speak to Ellen without the worry someone might overhear. She’d been clinging to his arm tightly the past few minutes even though she was doing a good job of not looking too nervous.
“Relax,” Zane whispered. “We’re just here to see who the players are. No hero shit. This is just to get something we can use.”
She nodded. He looked over and found her lips pressed tightly together and the color all but drained from her face. So much for not looking too nervous.
“Remember, we’re a happy couple. We’ve got to play the part.”
Ellen turned to him. “What if they ask me questions?”
He frowned. She’d never been good a lying. It was always clear when she wasn’t telling the truth.
“This isn’t CIA headquarters. This is a casino,” he said. “They aren’t going to ask you anything too personal, and if you get confused, just play like you’re a bimbo.”
Her mouth turned down and something about it made him want to kiss the corners of her lips.
He shrugged. “You aren’t a bimbo, but a number of the women here are,” he said. “You can blend in then. Sometimes the best way to fool someone is to just play into their expectations.”
“Right.” She sighed. “I’m just the eye candy.”
Zane gritted his teeth. He hadn’t thought about the fact that she was likely to get a lot of looks at an event like this. She looked stunning, and more men were going to notice than he wanted to think about.
“Just stick next to me, and it will be fine.”
They reached the door to the event hall. He held up his passes to the large well-dressed man standing there.
Zane almost chuckled. The man was one of the nicest-dressed bouncers he’d ever seen.
Ellen’s fingers bit into his arms as another man stepped up to where they were standing.
“Any more?” he asked the man taking the tickets.
The bouncer nodded to them. “Just these two and that should do it.”
The other man glanced over to them and gave Ellen an appreciative smile, his eyes lingering on her body for far too long for Zane’s liking.
Fucking prick.
He breathed hard, trying not to think how much he wanted to tear this guy limb from limb.
“Shut it up after them,” the sleazy man said before stepping back into the room.
“Enjoy your evening,” the bouncer said and held open the door.
It was classier than Zane expected for mobsters. A string quartet in the corner played soft Russian classical as people mingled in the low-level lighting. After the brutal assault on the senses of the area they just left, it was a welcome relief.
There were a several people, including a few people he recognized from reports at the firm, standing around tables situated around the room. Near the front of the room stood the head of them all, dressed to the nines with his flamboyantly bright blue shirt opened just enough to expose the hair there like he was on some 70’s sitcom.
“Stefano,” Zane whispered.
Shit. Right into the big boys, it seemed.
Ellen leaned over and pulled his ear to her mouth. “The guy that came to the door was the one who grabbed me in the parking lot. And him,” she nodded to Stefano, “he was the one who killed...”
The quaking in her voice filled him with pity. He’d hoped to stumble onto the right people, but that didn’t mean he liked Ellen having to deal with the fear of facing the men who were after her.
He turned to give her a kiss. She melted against him and sighed. When they pulled apart, he could see that it had worked.
“Let’s just mingle a little,” he said.
She nodded.
They walked around the room listening to snippets of conversation. Most weren’t anything all that relevant, just crap about investments in business or foreign trade. All things he didn’t really give two shits about.
What the hell sort of party was this? Just another frivolous waste of time?
He jumped when a firm hand landed on his shoulder.
“So you Charlie’s boy then,” a man said. The thick Russian accent suggested he wasn’t one of the local guests. “I heard from him you need job.”
Zane turned to find himself face to face with the man himself.
Stefano.
“Yup,” he said. “I go way back with Charlie.”
Stefano gave him a charming smile while several of his men lingered on the outskirts of their conversation.
“I’m also told you are good guy for hard jobs,” Stefano said.
Zane could feel Ellen shaking beside him and knew he needed to get her out of there quickly.
He wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her flush against him.
“Baby, why don’t you go get something to drink?” he said, hoping she could read between the lines. “Maybe see what the girls are up to. I’ll come find you in a moment.”
She gave a small nod and glanced at Stefano, who couldn’t seem to stop checking her out. Zane could only hope that he didn’t recognize her.
With ease Zane pulled her in for a deep kiss. It was all for show, but there was more than a small part of him that wanted to make sure it was known she was branded as his.
When they pulled apart, she turned on shaky feet, but not before checking over her shoulder one last time.
The men watched as she walked over to where a group of women were chatting before Stefano turned back to him.
“Lucky man,” Stefano said with a smile. “Is beautiful woman.”
Zane didn’t trust this piece of shit. In a world like this, it wasn’t uncommon for a guy like Stefano to demand some time with another man’s woman. There were a lot of things he would do, but there was no fucking way this piece of shit was getting anywhere near his woman.
The thought flittered through is mind before he could even stop it in its tracks.
“So I hear you know a lot of people,” Stefano said.
Zane nodded. At least Charlie had given him something to go on with all this. He actually did know a number of people. Most he’d like to forget, but the connections were still there.
“Yeah,” he said. “I know people all across the state.”
“Good. This is good. It’s useful.” Stefano nodded in excitement. “I have special job that needs connections,” he said and pulled Zane to the side of the room.
He could see the people around them giving a wide breadth of space and knew that most weren’t likely more than investors who liked the thrill of hanging around shady company, but who didn’t really want to know what sort of sordid things their hosts were up to.
“Last guy fuck everything up,” he said quietly. “So I fuck him up. You know how things go. It’s nothing personal. Is business.”
Zane nodded. A little intimidation wasn’t unusual in a situation like this. He just needed to keep his cool, let them know he was their man.
“So what’s the job?” Zane asked.
Stefano gave him a wide grin. “I like you,” he said with a laugh. “Right to point, right? No bullshit.”
Zane shrugged. Sometimes a simple shrug or nod was enough to solidify his reputation.
“You meet at back door at four AM. I show you job, and we talk shop.”
Zane nodded. “I assume we’ll talk pay then as well.”
Again, Stefano laughed. “Right to point. Yes, yes. We talk dollar bills, then. You do good, you get good money. You do badly…” He shrugged. “You won’t need money, right?”
Zane nodded, not worried about Stefano’s attempt at intimidation. He turned to find Ellen among the crowd. Above all, he needed to get her the fuck out of there before whatever was going down at four in the morning.
* * *
Ellen sipped her champagne as she stood near several of the women. Most of the talk was vapid and annoying, but it helped keep her from running back to Zane. The last thing she wanted to do was stand close to that killer Stefano.
“Your date sure is something,” the blonde next to her said.
“He is.” She smiled.
Ellen blushed. Even though things were absolutely insane right then, she couldn’t help but agree. She wasn’t sure what the future would bring, but the one ray of light in the situation was that she and Zane were together.
The blonde raised a brow. “So you together or what?”
Ellen opened her mouth to say something. “We—”
“Doubtful, but she’s sure as hell in love with him.”
Zoe. She turned to find her sister standing behind her in a beautiful red gown.
Ellen wasn’t really sure what to say. If Zoe wanted to, she could rat them out in an instant. Of course, it would also be like pulling the trigger herself. Although their relationship wasn’t the best, she doubted Zoe wanted to see her killed.
“Old friend,” Zoe said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She smiled at the other women. “Can I have a chat with you?”
Zoe grasped her elbow and pulled her hard enough that she really didn’t have a choice in the matter. Ellen had to either come, or her sister would make a scene.
When they were just far enough away, Zoe whirled around on her.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” she hissed.
From this angle Ellen could see that no amount of makeup was going to hide how hollow Zoe’s cheeks were, and as she leaned in, she could see the faint purple on her sister’s cheek.
“Did he hit you?”
Instantly her sister looked around like they had been caught stealing the crown jewels.
“You can’t just say that sort of thing,” she said in a panic.
As much as Ellen didn’t want to admit it, she had to keep in mind just where they were.
Zoe glared at Ellen. “Why are you even here?”
Ellen swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m here to take you home.”
Zoe shook her head. “It just doesn’t work like that,” she said. “You think I can just leave here? Leave him? Leave them?”
Ellen looked around. There were men with unusual bulges on their side. Bulges in the shape of a gun.
“We can get you out,” she said. “I’m sure Zane—”
Zoe got a sort of sad look in her eye as she shook her head. “I’m sorry I got you involved in all this, but I can take care of myself. You should get out of here before they catch on.” She leaned in. “Because they will catch on, and they don’t look the other way.”
Ellen shivered at the ominous tone.
“Go home, El. Be happy.”
Ellen didn’t even have time to call out before Zoe had slipped into the crowd and out of sight.
She jumped when a light hand landed on her forearm.
“It’s me,” Zane said. “Let’s get out of here.”
She turned to frown at him but didn’t question him. She’d found Zoe and then lost her again. There was no point chasing her around the room. Plus, she’d had enough of pretending to smile.
Ellen was over all this bullshit and just wanted to get out.
“Yeah, let’s go.”