Chapter 4
—Remember, life is not a fairy tale.—
“Tell me what you’ve got,” Lucy said quietly to Nathan. He was her extra set of eyes and ears, and he wasn’t friendly with Marco, which was a big plus. She actually trusted Nathan.
“His name is Spencer Johnson. Comes from family money, but seems to have done well with his money on his own. Through investments and real estate. I can’t know for sure but he might be in town on business. This is his first time here. Normally when he gambles, it’s in Vegas or Atlantic City. But he has been to Biloxi at least on one occasion. Just never New Orleans. Or more accurately, he hasn’t been at The Sapphire.”
Lucy glanced around the floor, taking in the sights and sounds. Some people were dressed to the nines, as if they were going to the opera, while others wore velour track suits. Of course, there were at least two bachelorette parties enjoying themselves tonight. It was the weekend, so they usually had one—or half a dozen—bachelor or bachelorette parties coming through here. The casino had a dress code, but it was New Orleans, so occasionally they let some things slide.
“Sometimes it scares me how well you dig up stuff on people.”
Nathan laughed once. “This was all just surface stuff. I barely dug anything up on this guy at all. Trust me, anyone here could’ve found this stuff out.”
Nathan was self-deprecating but he actually sounded as if he was telling the truth this time. Still, she didn’t go around digging up things on people, so it was all impressive to her. No, she didn’t even have social media accounts. Naturally the casino did, and she checked in at least once a week to make sure it was being run properly because she understood how things that went viral could get out of hand quickly. But her uncle had been so adamant when she’d been younger that she not have any social media, and he was the same way with his daughter. His influence had just stuck with her. Anytime she thought about starting an Instagram account, she could hear his voice in her head telling her it was stupid and that her personal life was just that, personal. That the more she shared, the more it gave people ammunition to hurt her. Considering someone had tried to kidnap his daughter more than once, she could understand his concern.
“What kind of money is he spending?” she asked, shelving thoughts of her uncle’s influence on her life.
“Midlevel now, but he’s just getting started, I believe. He’s losing and seriously doesn’t seem to care. A quick scan of his financials—which, yes, did take more than a surface look—tells me he can afford to have a good time here.”
“Any other vices I should know about?” There were only a few things that she wouldn’t tolerate in the hotel. Something Nathan very well knew.
“Not that I could find,” he said.
She nodded once. Good. “Why don’t you get out of here? It’s pretty late and you’ve put in more than a full day.” She knew he should have left an hour ago, but he’d stuck around because she’d asked him to look into this new guy throwing a decent amount of money around. Nathan got paid overtime, but still, she wanted to respect his time. “You can come in late tomorrow too.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice. I’ve got a hot date lined up.”
She snorted. When didn’t he? “Kyle?”
He grinned. “Kyle and Marta.”
She blinked once, but knew she shouldn’t be surprised. Nathan was such a player that she never knew who he was coming and going with. “Have fun, then.”
“Oh, I will,” he said, heading out with a wave.
Lucy glanced down at her iPad and scanned more of the information Nathan had given her on this Spencer Johnson. She always paid attention to new people who appeared as if they’d be big spenders.
Lucy smiled at the blackjack dealer as she approached the table the dealer was currently shutting down.
“Mr. Johnson,” she said, smiling at Spencer Johnson. “I believe this is your first time at The Sapphire. I’m Lucy Carreras, the executive manager here.”
The man turned to look at her and she got the full effect of him. When Nathan had told her that he came from family money, she’d made the assumption that he was some trust fund kid—and she’d pictured him somehow younger. And softer. She’d only seen him from the back, and looking at him now he was definitely all man. With dark hair, a structured jawline and dark, haunted eyes, he pinned her in place for a solid moment before she managed to shake herself out of whatever was going on with her.
He left his chips on the table as the dealer said, “Would you like me to move your chips to table twenty?”
Mr. Johnson nodded and slid the guy a hundred dollar chip as a tip, but kept all his intense focus on Lucy. When he stood, she realized how tall he was. At least six feet. Give or take. It was difficult to tell since she was wearing her favorite five-inch, black-studded Valentino heels tonight.
“This is my first time in the casino, though not my first time in New Orleans. And I definitely would have remembered meeting you.” He didn’t speak in that charming, schmoozing way she was used to. He said it matter-of-factly as he held out a hand. And he had a buzz cut that reminded her of military guys. The cut definitely fit his strong face.
She shook his hand once, keeping her smile in place as she registered the calluses on his palms. Half the time she had to fake smiles at work for the customers. While she loved her job, dealing with some wealthy men and women was exhausting because of the way they treated people. But so far, no fake smiles for Mr. Johnson. “Thank you for being so accommodating with us and moving to another table.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I can lose or win at another table just as well as this one.” He fell in step with her as they started walking across the casino floor.
Lucy noticed that he slowed, matching his stride with hers. “How long are you in town?”
“A week at least but my time is open-ended right now, so maybe longer.”
“I see you’re in one of our executive suites. Our Presidential Suite just opened up, and I’d like to offer it as a comp during your stay if you would like.” Of course he wasn’t going to say no.
He didn’t look surprised at her offer, just nodded and smiled. “That sounds great, thank you. How long have you worked here?”
This question took her off guard. Patrons rarely asked her personal questions. Which was just fine with her. She was here to do a job. “Two years.”
“Well, it’s a great hotel. I’ve heard very positive things about management.”
Despite herself, she found her cheeks flushing slightly. She had improved business since taking over. Her uncle had put a total moron in charge for the first year the casino had been open, but as soon as she’d taken over she’d made a lot of changes. It was a casino—it was easy enough to make money. But unless you had the right people running things, you could also lose a ton. Because hotels themselves were very expensive to run.
“Thank you,” she said as they reached the new table. “If you need anything, just let me know.” She handed him her business card, which included her cell phone number. Well, the cell phone number used for clients, not her normal cell phone. That was reserved for friends.
“Would it be totally inappropriate if I asked you out to dinner?” he asked, fairly abruptly.
Because there really wasn’t a way to transition into that.
“I don’t generally mix business and pleasure, so if you’re asking me out on a date, then the answer is unfortunately no.”
“Fair enough. What if I wanted to take you to lunch and to learn a bit more about the city from an insider? I’m thinking about buying some property here. It’s the reason I’m in town. And while I trust my real estate agent, I’m curious what a local thinks.”
Lucy was pretty certain he was still asking her on a date, but…he seemed sincere. Although the truth was, she found herself intrigued by those dark, haunted eyes. His outward appearance was strong, built, and so very muscular—there were some things a suit jacket couldn’t hide. But his eyes were what drew her in. He appeared almost sad. “I think I can manage one lunch. As long as it’s not at the casino and as long as you understand that this is just a professional meeting. I’ll take you to a local place in the Quarter.”
He nodded once, something a lot like interest sparking in those dark eyes. “How about tomorrow?”
Gah, what the heck was she doing? It wasn’t as if it was against hotel policy to get involved with customers. Well, not technically. She nodded once. “Just call my cell phone. We’ll set something up. And to be clear, this is definitely not a date.” She didn’t smile as she said it, keeping her voice firm.
He smiled at her, and she saw just a tiny hint of sensuality peeking through.
Only when she stepped away from him was she able to breathe again. She started across the casino floor and swore she could feel his eyes burning into her back.
To her left, she heard someone shouting as they won one of the slot machine payouts. She glanced in that direction and, against her better judgment, turned back around.
To her surprise, he was watching her walk away with a very heated stare.
She quickly glanced away, not wanting to get pulled in by those eyes again. Seriously, what the hell was going on with her? She got asked out all the time. Daily. Usually by jackasses either here or in her non-work life. She was able to brush off date requests, no problem, able to brush off men in general with no problem.
She knew why too. God, she’d thought her parents had the perfect marriage, that they were fairy-tale happy. But she’d just been a stupid kid who’d apparently not been able to see the darker side of their relationship. Some days, she wondered how she hadn’t seen that something was wrong. Even when she racked her brain, trying to think of something she’d missed…there was nothing. Her father had completely worshipped her mother. And he’d been a doting father who had no problem spoiling both her and her mom.
Then he’d killed her mother and then himself.
Her entire childhood had been a lie. She must have just built their relationship up in her head, imagined how happy they’d all been.
She swore she’d never do that to herself. Never let a man lie to her, pull the wool over her eyes. Dating was fine, though she rarely did that with how busy she was. Marriage and relationships, however? No, thank you. Not that she had any reason to be thinking of that anyway.
Shaking off thoughts of the sexy, rich man with callused hands and sad eyes, she pulled out her work cell phone and checked in with security. She had a busy night of work and definitely did not need a distraction of the male variety.
* * *
“How you doing?” Leighton asked Gage through his earpiece, keeping his tone low. Not that it mattered. The casino was loud and seemed to be getting louder every minute that passed. He was fine being here for an op, but holy shit this would wear on him day in and day out.
Thankfully the place was smoke free, but the constant chatter, shouts of glee, groans of distress, and never-ending ding, ding, ding sound of the slot machines was maddening. Not to mention more than one woman had rubbed up on him as he’d played blackjack.
He liked his space and didn’t appreciate people touching him without permission. But he brushed it off, acting as if he didn’t care.
“More than good. Managed to clone the manager’s phone. One of them anyway.”
“One of?”
“Yeah. His niece has got two phones on her person. I cloned one because the security is shit. I’ve also been able to hack into a couple employees’ phones and use them to my advantage. Managed to infiltrate part of their security system.”
“Seen anything good?” Casually, he headed toward the cashiers’ cage, ready to turn in his leftover chips. He’d lost a lot tonight, which was good for his cover.
“Maybe. I don’t have access to all the cameras. Just a few of the exterior of the hotel and none on the actual casino floor. They’ve got the hotel and casino set up on different systems. It’s interesting.”
Interesting could be good or bad.
“I’m pretty sure this is a security oversight someone missed during an update and I’m taking full advantage.” Gage started muttering to himself then, and Leighton figured he’d lost his friend for a while at least as he worked.
After turning in the chips and getting cash back, he headed to one of the cocktail bars. There were a few empty seats, but he didn’t want to have to deal with bullshit small talk with anyone, so he chose a single seat in between two separate couples. No one would bother him this way.
“What’s Nova up to?” he murmured even as he motioned to the bartender. The place was so loud that no one would be able to overhear him talking to Gage. If anything, they would assume he was talking into a Bluetooth. And in his experience, people were so self-involved they wouldn’t be paying attention anyway.
“What… Oh, she’s sleeping. She’s insisting on helping with one of the recon missions tomorrow.” There was frustration in Gage’s voice.
Leighton understood, because he wasn’t sure how he would deal with having a significant other who was part of their world. He’d probably worry all the time. Unless of course his significant other was someone like Skye. Then he’d just worry for the rest of the world. But…she wasn’t remotely his type. Hell, he didn’t know what his type was.
And he was annoyed as fuck that he found himself seriously attracted to Luciana Carreras. She had curves in all the right places, full breasts that should be too big for her petite frame, but simply looked perfect under that sexy black and white dress she’d been wearing earlier. Damn, and he’d only seen her with clothes on. Imagining what she’d look like naked was… Damn it. Not something he needed to be doing. He’d just asked her out as part of their failsafe plan to get close to her if necessary. If Gage couldn’t work his magic.
For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about how soft her hand had been in his when he’d taken it in his much bigger one. Or how her bottom lip was bigger than her top, giving her a perpetually pouty look—or how her bright blue eyes had seemed to see straight through to his soul.
Fuck him. He lifted up the bar menu and pointed to the beer he wanted as the bartender headed over. The guy simply nodded and grabbed one for him.
Leighton cleared his throat, taking the beer the bartender set in front of him as he said, “She’s more than capable.”
“Yeah, I know. Still don’t have to like her being on this op.”
“You’d prefer her to be at home, hundreds of miles away?”
There was a pause, then, “No.”
“All right, then,” he said, taking a swig of his beer. “Be glad your girl is here with you.”
Gage just made an annoyed mutter, the sound of the keyboard clacking away in the background. “Hey, I think I might have something. I ran a facial recognition… You know what, never mind. But one of Kuznetsov’s men is definitely at the casino now. And I’m talking one of his actual guys, not the random people he has working for him in various cities.”
“Where is he?” Leighton tossed a bill onto the bar and stood, his body practically vibrating with the thump of the music over the speakers.
“Second floor, entering a stairwell. Ah…west side of the hotel.”
So, opposite of where Leighton was. He wasn’t going to race over there for no reason. “What’s he doing?” he asked, heading toward the elevators. He’d have to stop talking once he got in the elevator on the chance it was being monitored. It definitely was being monitored in the general sense, but there was also a chance security wouldn’t be listening in unless they had a good reason. Their main concern was making sure people weren’t stealing or doing other illegal stuff. But mainly, they were concerned with the security aspect of the casino.
“Give me a sec,” Gage murmured.
“All right. Getting in the elevator.”
“Okay…guy’s name is Misha Popov. He’s in the top tier of Kuznetsov’s organization. Whatever the reason he’s here, it can’t be good. Probably why the Feds are in town. He’s leaving out a side exit. I’ll tail him using CCTVs if possible. Gonna check in with Skye and Colt. Hang tight.”
As he rode up to his room, Leighton waited as Gage added them onto the comm line. He wanted to leave and join the others, but on the off chance he was being watched, he didn’t want to do anything suspicious.
Sometimes that was the hard part about these operations, having to stick to one part of the op when he wanted to get involved with everything.