Deadly Odds

by Adrienne Giordano

  The lovely Kate Daniels sat near the far railing overlooking the casino floor, her head slightly tilted and that lush red hair falling over her shoulders as she made notes on a legal pad. She must have sensed the we-need-to-get-laid signals from the three men at the adjacent table because she’d set her briefcase on the vacant chair across from her and had spread papers across every inch of open space on her table. The whole setup screamed “back off.”

  Before joining her, Ross checked in with two of the waitresses and the bartender. He wouldn’t mind a vodka rocks, but he still had hours of work ahead of him and settled for a club soda with lime. While waiting on his beverage, he snuck a glance at Kate, still head down and oblivious to his presence. Damn, he liked that.

  She reached for her phone, lifting it to her ear and plugging the other with her free hand to block the casino noise.

  The bartender slid his drink across the bar. “Here you are, Mr. Cooper.”

  “Thanks, Heidi.” He nodded in Kate’s direction. “Whatever Ms. Daniels is having, add it to my tab.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Angling around customers, he made his way to Kate, still on her phone. On his approach, he slowed to give her privacy, but she looked up, her mouth easing into a slow, sexy smile that had him calculating how long it had been since he’d taken a woman to bed.

  “That sounds good,” she said into her phone. “See you later. Call me if you’ll be late. Don’t leave me sitting there.”

  Boyfriend maybe? Right now, with Samuels sending him this redheaded spy, her being in a relationship might be the only thing that kept his horny body at bay. As miserable as it would make him, he didn’t fool with spoken-for women.

  She set the phone down, tapped the screen. “Hi. Sorry about that.”

  “No problem. Dinner plans?”

  “That remains to be seen.”

  Interesting. “Come again?”

  “Nothing. Sit.”

  She reached over, grabbed her briefcase and set it on the floor next to her. Then she gathered up her papers and shoved them into her briefcase while Ross shot a glance at the idiots next to them. The one guy made eye contact and Ross nodded, letting him know, without question, Kate was off-limits. Nice try, ace.

  He set his glass down, eased into the chair and let his good sense take a nap. “I guess whoever that was cancels on you a lot.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “And it’s your business how?”

  Ross shrugged. Good sense definitely lights out now. “It’s not. Except I like to consider myself fairly savvy when it comes to women.” Kate snorted and he grinned. “Please. Give a guy some credit. As I was saying, I’m fairly savvy when it comes to women and I’ve learned one vitally important lesson.”

  “I can’t wait to hear this one.”

  “I bet you can’t.”

  One of the waitresses cruised by, her uniform revealing enough around the chest area that the idiots behind him made a lewd comment. Ross turned, gave the one guy a look that shut his mouth. Before he left he’d tell the waitress to call security if these idiots got handsy.

  He brought his attention back to Kate and her hair that fell in thick waves he imagined wrapping his fingers around. The sharp emerald eyes only added to the drama. His body seized. This kind of want, this hunger, he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  Working too hard.

  “The lesson,” he said, “is that I never leave a woman like you sitting alone in a restaurant. Or anywhere for that matter. Women like you shouldn’t wait and you sure as hell shouldn’t sit alone.”

  “I just waited for you.”

  “Is this a date? If so, we need to start over.” With her not working in his casino.

  Kate shifted, glanced over the railing at the casino floor where a shout rose from one of the card tables. “Someone’s a winner.” She came back to him. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but that call was my brother. He’s passing through Vegas on his way home. He’s used to being on a ranch, where his life isn’t ruled by meetings and conference calls. He gets sidetracked easily. Surely a man who works your hours understands that.”

  “Absolutely. I’m a guy who sleeps on a pullout sofa in his office when I want more than four hours of sleep. So, yeah, I get that more than you know. I’m also a guy who understands that my loved ones deserve my attention when I’ve set up time with them. Even if I screw it up sometimes, I try to let them know ahead of time.”

  Kate smiled. “He’s my brother and that’s life with him. When I’m home at the ranch, it’s not an issue. If I want to spend time with him, I go out and work alongside him.”

  The surprises from this woman kept coming.

  “You grew up on a ranch?”

  “I did. I lived there until I went to college. UCLA.”

  “From a ranch to UCLA?”

  “Yep.” She squeezed her thumb and index finger together. “Slight change in atmosphere.”

  He laughed. “I’ll say. Did you like Los Angles?”

  Kate shrugged. “Parts of it. I loved the opportunities. I wanted a career. I like challenging work. I know you understand that. I wanted to serve and needed the pace of L.A. I missed the ranch though. And my cowboy boots. The quiet at night, laying in the grass and staring up at a brilliant sky, that’s heaven.”

  Having grown up in Vegas, he couldn’t relate to ranch life. But after the insanity of the last few weeks, he wouldn’t mind trying it. “How’d you wind up in Vegas? And, by the way, there’s a wicked pair of cowboy boots in the promenade shop. You might want to check those out.”

  He wasn’t into cowboy boots, but those weren’t typical. Black leather with a snakeskin upper, those babies had a four thousand dollar price tag and were custom made for Fortuna. He could picture her in them. Classy and elegant, but with an edge. She nodded. “I saw them when I was with Don. And, Mr. Cooper, we’re way off topic here.”

  “Good. Then my evil plan is working.”

  That earned him a smirk. He was, after all, her client. Her work history was pertinent.

  “I was a special agent with the FBI for a few years.”

  “Really?” Somehow, he couldn’t picture Kate Daniels with her big green eyes and sweet face flashing a badge. Then again, he supposed those particular assets served her well in that line of work.

  “Don’t look so shocked.”

  “I guess I had another vision of FBI agents.”

  “Don’t let the outfit fool you. I even worked undercover.”

  Now he wanted to play. And something told him she did too. “No!”

  She twisted her mouth into a grin. The you’re-such-a-dope grin women excelled at. “Yes. One of my assignments was an undercover op in a casino on the strip. Before the op started I went through an intensive crash course, taught by my current boss, on all the ways cheats rip off casinos. I found I had an affinity for spotting cardsharps. When the op was over—” she stopped, swirled one finger, gesturing proudly, “—and, eh-hem, the bad guys were in jail, I was lured to the private sector.”

  Fascinating, beautiful and smart. Could this get any worse? His deprived body didn’t think so.

  “Anyway,” she said, “I know how to blend in.”

  “I’m sure, but let me just say, looking like you do now, you don’t blend. Not by a longshot. You, Ms. Daniels, are stunning.”

  She fiddled with the diamond bracelet at her wrist. “Well then, I guess I did my job. My goal was to fit in around here. Look the part of a wealthy, pampered woman. And thank you for the compliment, but typically, you’d find me in a business suit or jeans and my boots.”

  Fascinating. And definitely looks he’d like to see on her.

  She held up her pen. “Now that you’ve drilled me and verified my credentials.”

  “I wasn’t doing that.”

  “Maybe not consciously, but that’s okay. I showed up, apparently unannounced. You have a right to know my qualifications. I certainly know yours. Oh, and how’s Mrs. Miller?”

  �
��Don’t know yet. The doc didn’t think anything was broken but they took her to x-ray. Her son is with her.”

  One of the guys behind him barked out a laugh, made an off-color joke best suited for behind doors and Ross bit down. Before he left here, he’d probably be introducing himself, buying them a round and suggesting they improve on their social skills.

  He moved closer to Kate, waggled a thumb toward the dopes. “They weren’t bugging you were they?”

  “I shut that down fairly quickly.”

  Of course she did. More and more, he liked her. “And how did you do that?”

  The side of her mouth quirked and being a man, Ross appreciated that slow smile that made him think about long nights and driving his aching body into the woman sitting across from him. Jesus. He might be sweating.

  “You’ll love this,” she said. “I pretended Don was my husband.”

  And that damned vision came back. The one of Kate and Don tearing up the sheets. Freak show that it was, this time he wasn’t repulsed. This time he saw the humor. Kate being so fast on her feet should have terrified him. For many reasons. The first being she could get him in major trouble with his boss.

  Yeah, he could conjure all sorts of things he’d like to happen when alone with her. Possibly naked. And, wearing those boots from the shop in the promenade.

  Ross leaned over, got right up to her ear like he had one hell of a secret. “I guess I showed up too late and Don had all the fun.”

  When he spoke, his lips brushed against her skin and her hair tickled his nose. The killer floral scent ignited something in his brain and he closed his eyes, breathed in, imagined this woman under him, on top of him, any way he could get her.

  Then she did it. She tilted her head toward him, almost nuzzling against his mouth. As far as encouragements went, this was a class-A green light and—hell—his very male body responded with a rock hard, seriously embarrassing, can’t-stand-up erection.

  Time to resume control. He backed away and brought his gaze to hers. Any doubt about having her attention went bye-bye. Fast. Her cheeks turned a deep red and instead of shying away, she held his gaze, let him see all that heat.

  And, as she’d done right before he’d met her for the first time on the casino floor, she fanned herself.

  Priceless.

  “According to the internet, you’re quite the catch.”

  Ross forced himself not to think about his raging erection. The big brain definitely needed to be back in charge before he humiliated himself.

  The internet was full of all kinds of stories about him. Some true. Some not. All he knew was he was living the dream he’d been pursuing since childhood when he’d received a scholarship to a private school for academically gifted students. With a blue-collar background, Ross never fit with the elite crowd. Despite that, thanks to his hardworking parents, he knew his worth. He also knew he’d one day have enough money to afford to send his own kids to that hot-shot school.

  Now he was on his way and if people chose to comment on his activities on the internet, so be it. As long as the casino ran smoothly and rumors that Ross Cooper and Don Sickler weren’t afraid to deal with cheaters, it didn’t matter.

  He shrugged. “Can’t believe everything on the internet. If I accomplished half the stuff that’s out there, I wouldn’t have time for my job.” He waved a hand. “This place is my priority.”

  “Obviously. I did some research before I came over. I’m sure you realize this, but gaming thinks you’re their future.”

  The waitress stopped at the table. “Can I get you anything else?”

  Kate slid her empty glass over. “I’ll have another iced tea. Thank you.”

  No drinking during business hours. Another thing to like. The waitress left and Ross focused on Kate again. “So, do you miss the FBI?”

  “I miss my friends, but I still see them sometimes. I like what I do now. It’s interesting and constantly evolving. And I get to meet the Don Sicklers of the world.”

  Nothing about the Ross Coopers of the world. And didn’t he sound like an egomaniac? Or maybe a desperate, horny egomaniac.

  His phone rang. Marcia’s ring tone. Not now.

  “Do you need to get that?”

  “Probably.”

  Kate leaned forward, made direct eye contact. “Just so you know, I get paid either way. You can take the call.”

  In other words, the lovely Kate Daniels wanted to impress upon him the fact that they were not, in any way, having a social visit. “I’m still not taking the call. It’s Marcia. She knows where I am. If it’s an emergency she’ll find me.”

  Kate sat back again, picking up her pen and pad as she went. “Well, then, I know you’re busy. Shall we talk about your casino?”

  * * *

  In the middle of Ross explaining the chain of command for the dealers, Kate’s phone rattled against the table. She glanced at the screen.

  Dev.

  And if she didn’t answer, chances were he’d keep calling. Considering he’d called three times in the last fifteen minutes. The man was a maniac with his constant calling and micro-managing. Long term, working for someone like Dev, someone who expected her on-call 24/7 wouldn’t work. But for now, the job paid well and gave her an opportunity to build a name for herself.

  Ross pointed at the phone. “Why don’t you take that?”

  “Thank you. I’m sorry. It’s my boss.” She scooped up the phone and hit the button. “Hi, Dev.”

  “Where are you?”

  Where else would I be? “I’m at Fortuna meeting with Ross Cooper. Do you need something?”

  He paused. “You’re at Fortuna? That’s nuts.”

  Wow. Had her boss been hitting the bottle today? “Something wrong?”

  “I had a message from Samuels,” Dev said. “He wants a meeting in thirty minutes with you and Cooper. At Fortuna. Have you seen him?”

  She glanced at Ross, busy cruising his own phone. What was Samuels up to now? “Not yet. Let me call you back.”

  She disconnected and Ross shoved his phone in his inside jacket pocket. “Problem?”

  Another awkward situation because clearly Ross’s boss hadn’t alerted him to their upcoming meeting. Yes, indeed, she’d learned a few things about Samuels on her first day in his employ.

  Then there was Ross. And his amazing voice. Deep and raw and oddly soothing. Hello, weird, trembling feeling in my lower half. God, she hated that. For crying out loud, she was a professional. Not some pea-brained woman begging to be part of the redhead rotation. Because, yes, when she’d pulled the photos of him from the internet—some from business settings, some social—she’d noticed the parade of redheads on his arm.

  “Mr. Samuels called Dev and scheduled a meeting in thirty minutes. With you.”

  Ross sat back, those big shoulders of his thrown against the chair.

  “I’m assuming you didn’t know about this meeting?”

  “You assumed correctly. I haven’t gone through my voicemail messages yet though. Apparently, I need to do that.”

  Once again, her client had made her the cause of Ross’s day collapsing around him. If Samuels wanted her to form a good working relationship with his staff, his methods were a bit obtuse. And once again he’d forced her to apologize. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “That he keeps shoving me at you.”

  A long pause ensued, but his gaze was on her, glued to her face, dropping to her lips and…ooh…she wanted to crawl right into that brain of his.

  “Ross? Did you hear me?”

  “I heard. I was about to say something borderline unprofessional.”

  With the way his boss kept undermining him, who could blame him? “I’m not easily offended.”

  Except for the time during her Bureau days when a prisoner asked her to prove she was a natural redhead. That was fairly offensive. And one heck of a welcome into the world of female law enforcement officers.

  He grinned. “I’m not wil
ling to risk it.” He stood, held out his hand. “Let’s see what my boss wants. One thing about him, he never lets us get bored.”

  * * *

  Whatever Kate expected in Robert Samuels, she didn’t get it.

  He entered the executive conference room, his tall, wiry form moving at a brisk, almost hyper pace as he circled the gleaming mahogany table. He had a thick shock of gray hair, and his deep-set eyes may have been the color of whiskey but lacked any warmth when he reached across the table to shake her hand.

  “I apologize about the last minute notice. Glad you were able to accommodate me.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  While waiting for him to take his seat, she perused the room. If the designer’s intention was to bring the casino’s opulence into the conference room, the goal had been reached. Kate had never been blessed with interior design skills and marveled at the choices. On one wall hung a painting of a Native American woman holding a child. The opposite wall? An Andy Warhol.

  The hand-carved molding from the casino and the neutral paint had been utilized here as well. The room might have been meant for business, but there was nothing cold about it.

  The eclectic mix worked. Even the high-backed chairs boasted the softest leather Kate’s rear had ever encountered.

  Samuels dropped into his chair at the head of the table. That left Don beside her, Ross directly across and the other twelve chairs unoccupied. After her years at the Bureau, Kate’s skin had thickened enough that she no longer squirmed at being the lone woman in a meeting.

  Men, in Kate’s opinion, were fairly simple creatures. If things went their way, they were happy. Unfortunately, their way didn’t always make sense.

  And with this much testosterone in play, well, she’d have to stay sharp.

  Samuels scanned their faces and settled on her. “I heard you caught someone switching a bet.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Excellent work. I’m bringing you on as a full-time consultant. Watch every detail of our security and report on it.”

  For a few seconds, she sat, dumbfounded. Full-time?

  Assuming Ross had gone into respiratory distress, she glanced over, found him casually leaning back, one elbow resting on the arm of the chair. Any anger had been hidden under the façade of an in-control executive.