by Cassie Cole
But Xander shook his head. “I don’t have to be on stage for sound check for another hour and a half. I’m game to stick around and practice some more if you are.”
Eddie shrugged. “Works for me. I don’t go in until 11:00 tonight.”
We said our goodbyes and then Bryce and I walked outside. We got 20 feet before he turned to me and said, “Something on your mind?”
I made myself laugh. “You mean aside from the huge heist we’re about to pull?”
He ignored my joke. “Yeah. Something’s bothering you.”
Of course he was right: I was still bothered by Eddie’s phone call. I thought about it every time I looked at him today. The seed was firmly planted in my mind.
“How well do you know the other guys?” I asked.
“Pretty well. Like I said we were fantasy football buddies at first, but now we’re all close.”
“You trust them?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked.
Because Eddie’s up to something and he’s hiding it from the rest of us. His part was the key to all of this: pushing the cart down the hall. If he wanted to, he could screw us over.
“Honestly? I’d trust Eddie and Xander with my life,” he said. “Which is quite literally the reality of our situation. Our lives are in each others’ hands here. Does that make you feel better?”
“I don’t know…”
Should I tell him what I’d heard? Maybe he could confront Eddie about it. Get to the bottom of it. Or, better yet, come up with a plausible explanation I hadn’t thought of. Set my mind at ease.
Before I could, Bryce stopped and turned to me. “Look. It’s totally normal to get nervous. Lord knows I am.”
“Oh? You’ve robbed enough casinos that you know how normal is supposed to feel?”
“Nope, I’m a casino robbery virgin!” he said cheerfully. “But nervousness is a totally natural reaction. It would be weird if you weren’t a little scared.”
“Yeah,” I said, “but it’s just that—”
“Don’t think about it,” he interrupted. He stared deep into my eyes until they were the only thing I could see. “Focus on the tasks you can control. Alright? Put everything else out of your mind. Come on, I’ll give you a ride to the casino. My car’s parked three blocks this way.”
He took me by the hand and led me away, and his hand in mine felt so warm and comforting and natural that all other worries disappeared from my mind.
26
Sage
I had to admit a nice fringe benefit of plotting a robbery with these three guys was having lots of people to drive me around. That made all of this worth it even if we failed to steal the cash.
I changed for my shift and went out on the casino floor. Being bombarded with the lights and sound of the Volga helped put things out of my mind a little bit. That and my actual job serving drinks.
Time passed pretty quickly for a Thursday night. It was a blur of drink orders, tips, and not-so-subtle compliments from the guests. Whiskey sour, $5 chip tip, a flirty wink. Vodka tonic, no tip, and a hand brushed against my ass. Coffee for a very serious looking college kid, a $20 tip, and no unwanted advances.
Zeke was waiting for me by the door when I went on my first break. “Hey boss,” I tried to say cheerfully. “How’s it going?”
He followed me through the door with a scowl on his face. “Your… How is it called? Bedside manner? It leaves much to be desired.”
“I’m friendly to the guests,” I protested.
“You must be more than just friendly!” he declared. “You must wow them! Your smile must be full of promise and secrecy! Fuck them with your eyes, Sage.”
I tried not to laugh. “I’ll do my best.”
When my break ended I caught a glimpse of two of Yegorovich’s special guards walking across the casino. Eddie looked sharp in his suit, more so here in the casino than he had in our practice warehouse. He walked with a purposeful stride rather than a normal security guard’s careful amble. He wasn’t just patrolling—he had a task.
What are you up to? Was he getting to close to Yegorovich’s crew? Was that who he was talking to on the cell phone? If he was a mole, I don’t see why he would call them on the phone when he could tell them in person. Unless they wanted immediate updates about our plan.
I didn’t know what to think. That’s what bothered me most.
I caught Bryce’s eye from the blackjack pit as I returned to take new drink orders. He gave me a small, private smile before dealing out cards to the players at his table. It was a small gesture, but it bolstered my spirits for a while.
Xander came on stage not long after that. There was a big crowd cheering for him tonight as he took a seat on the stool with his guitar and started playing. I listened with half an ear while serving drinks. Maybe it was my imagination but he sounded better than normal. Yep, definitely not just my imagination. He was getting creative with the show, pushing the edges of his vocal range.
I helped with that.
That made me smile as much as Bryce’s look. Maybe even more. Geez, what was I going to do with these three?
The night went on and my tips added up. The customers were generous tonight, so I rushed back and forth to fill as many orders as possible. One particularly boisterous Texan was having a good night at blackjack, and I just so happened to be delivering his beer when he won a big hand. “Hot damn!” he shouted, jumping up and nearly knocking me over. He quickly apologized and tipped me with a single chip… Which ended up being a $100 black chip. I walked away grinning.
“Sage.”
Zeke intercepted me before I could get to my next table. “Hey,” I said.
“What was that?”
“Umm, what was what?”
He pointed. “That customer is happy! He is excited! And you delivered his drink like so.” He pantomimed carrying a tray, pulling a bottle of beer off the top and handing it down.
I didn’t understand what he meant, so I said nothing.
“You see the problem?” he demanded. “You must be happy with him! Touch his shoulder! Congratulate him! Make him feel like a big shot, yes?”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll try to be more excited with the big winners.”
I started to turn away, but his hand flashed down and around and then up my skirt. His fingers dug into my ass cheek, squeezing and pulling me closer.
“Make love to them with your eyes,” he repeated from earlier, his breath thick with onions. His fingers tightened. “Use your body, yes?”
Every emotion ran through me in that instant. Rage that he thought he could do that. Embarrassment that it was happening out here in front of everyone. The crippling violation of having my body unexpectedly touched by someone who had no business touching it, and the guilt that followed. Like it was my fault.
I wanted to punch him. To knee him in the groin and pour my drinks on him. To scream as loudly as I could until my throat was hoarse and ragged. But this wasn’t the first time I’d been violated like this. As a woman, I knew it wouldn’t be the last. And beneath my white hot rage I knew I had to control myself because I couldn’t lose my job. Both because I needed the job and because we were only days away from our heist.
I put aside my selfish instinct and meekly said, “Okay Zeke.”
His palm remained on my ass a moment longer and then he let go and nodded. “I knew you would understand. Here at the Volga our women must—”
A fist came out of nowhere to strike Zeke on the temple. Bryce flew into view, his entire weight and momentum behind the punch as he fell forward with Zeke, landing on him in a whirl.
“You piece of shit!” Bryce shouted, grabbing a fistful of Zeke’s shirt. “Don’t you fucking touch her!”
Women screamed as Bryce punched down into my boss, knocking him back into the carpet. Zeke was ready for the next punch though, knocking it aside and countering with a jab of his own.
Security was there before the fight could go any further. They grabbed my def
ender under the armpits and dragged him off Zeke, who hastily jumped to his feet. His nose was crooked and leaking blood, which somehow made his face even uglier than it had been.
“The hell’s gotten into you?” said the pit boss as he came over. Everyone from the card tables was watching, too shocked to move.
I was frozen in place too. I shook it off and watched them drag Bryce away. Zeke followed, shouting and trying to get at Bryce while one of the security guards kept him back.
Oh Bryce, no!
27
Sage
“And that’s when he came out of nowhere, fists flying,” I said.
“For real?” Xander asked.
“Swear to God.”
We were in his truck driving away from the casino. I’d spent the last hour giving a report to security about what had happened. After that they told me to go home early. I’d gone straight to a stall in the bathroom and cried until my chest ached.
“What a fool. A God damned fool.” Xander glanced over at me. “How are you doing in all of this?”
“I’m okay,” I said, though I knew I wasn’t convincing.
“As soon as we get there I’m getting you something hot to drink.” He kept alternating looking at me and the road ahead. “How much of a grab are we talkin’?”
I put my hand out in front of me and mimicked the squeeze. “Full palm, underneath my skirt. His fingers were all up in my ass.”
Xander whistled. “Alright. It’s easy to berate Bryce from here, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing.”
“Because you men only think with your pride.”
“Maybe.”
“Not all women need to be protected you know,” I said.
“Not saying you do.”
But as much as I protested, I loved how Bryce came flying into the picture to knock Zeke down. The way he’d battled for my honor like it was the most important thing in the world. It didn’t matter how stupid and stereotypical it was. The cavewoman part of my brain was incredibly turned on by the act. It made me love him for it. A man willing to fight for me. Actions always meant more than words.
“Does this affect the heist?” I asked.
“I reckon it might.”
I sighed. “You sounded great tonight, by the way.”
“You’re just sayin’ that.”
“I’m just saying that because it’s true. That was easily your best performance. And I would know since I’ve heard most of them while on my shift.”
He kept his eyes on the road, and a reddish tint touched his cheek. “I was tryin’ to get creative with the act. Putting some extra mustard into it.”
“It shows.”
He smiled the rest of the way there.
The Las Vegas Police Department was a terribly depressing place full of prostitutes and gamblers who had lost everything. You could smell desperation in the air the moment you walked in, like a third rate casino dialed up to 11. An obese bail bondsman sitting in the corner looked up as we entered, sizing up whether or not we would need his services.
The process was smooth. Xander spoke with the cop behind the glass partition. The bail bondsman came over and made his spiel, and Xander politely declined. Then he went to the machine to get me a coffee.
“It smells like death, but it’s hot,” he said.
I gratefully accepted the steaming paper cup and smiled at him.
We waited an hour before they finally brought Bryce out. I cried out when I saw him; one eye was ringed with purple, and the cheek underneath was swollen. I ran to him and wrapped him in a hug, which made him wince with pain.
“I think I’ve got a cracked rib or two,” he said.
“Oh no! I’m so sorry!”
“A hug from you was worth it.” His smile disappeared. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I ruined everything…”
Xander slapped him on the arm. “No use crying about it now. We all might have done the same, I figure. Come on. We’ve got the truck waiting. Oh, and you owe me money for your bail…”
*
We crammed in the truck—Bryce took the passenger seat, leaving me to sit in the console with my legs on either side of the shifter—and drove straight to the diner. Bryce went into detail about what happened after he was dragged away: they put him in a back room, tied his hands behind his back, and let Zeke have five uninterrupted minutes with him.
“Good thing he’s a weak puncher,” Bryce said with a weak smile.
After that, Vladimir Yegorovich himself stopped by the room to gloat about Bryce’s stupidity. Then they turned him over to the LVMPD.
We fell into a resigned silence as we parked and sat at our regular booth in the corner. After the initial round of jokes and well-wishes none of us was in the mood to chit-chat. The waitress took our drink orders—three coffees—and then went into the back, and then a plump woman with short blonde hair came over and laughed. She looked like the owner.
“That’s a hell of a shiner!” she said to Bryce.
“I’m not in the mood, Susan.”
She barked a laugh. “I wouldn’t be either! You ought to tuck your tail and head home to lick your wounds.”
“Two dog metaphors in one sentence. You really know how to cram them in there.”
“I’m a better linguist than you are a fighter!”
“Fuck you,” Bryce said. That made her laugh even harder as she went back into the kitchen.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“Just Susan being an asshole,” he said.
“I’m surprised she didn’t kick you out for what you said back.”
Bryce snorted. “She wouldn’t. She gets more enjoyment making fun of me.”
I must have looked totally confused because Xander leaned over and said, “She’s his sister. She owns the diner. That’s why we meet here.”
“Oh!” I said.
Susan returned with an unlabeled glass bottle and a single tumbler. She poured two fingers and placed it emphatically in front of her brother. “Drink.”
He obeyed, knocking back the brown liquid. She refilled it, watched him drink again, then tossed a bag of frozen peas onto the table before leaving.
“She’s the one who taught me how to cook,” Bryce said, wincing as he put the bag of peas against his face. “She still thinks she makes a better carbonara, but she’s wrong.”
“Maybe I’ll order hers and decide which is best.”
“Hey, no fair! Mine was reheated.”
The front door jingled as Eddie came inside. He sneered at Bryce all the way over to the table. “You’re the talk of the casino.”
“I always wanted to be popular,” Bryce muttered. “What’s the damage?”
He removed his suit jacket and carefully laid it over the booth. “If it wasn’t obvious, you’ve been fired. The notification went up in the security room to remove your access.”
“Neato,” Bryce said. “Good thing that doesn’t matter at this point.”
But Eddie’s face was grim. “You don’t seem to understand. They’ve put you on the Volga’s blacklist.”
The three of us stared at him.
“Fuck!” Bryce said at the same time Xander grumbled, “Aww hell.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“I’m not allowed to set foot in the casino,” he moaned. “They’ll detect my face the moment I walk through the front door. Which means…”
My heart skipped a beat. “You can’t compete in the poker tournament.”
“Bingo.”
A silence stretched around the table.
“I guess this means we have a lot more time to practice the switcharoo,” Xander said. “On account of we don’t need to do the job this Saturday.”
“Fuck!” Bryce hung his head in his hands. “I can’t believe I let my emotions get the best of me. This is all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said.
“Yes it is.”
Eddie cleared his throat. “Not to pi
le on, but I’m with Bryce on this one. It’s totally his fault. Dude, what were you thinking?”
“He grabbed her ass. I don’t remember thinking anything after that. I just saw red.”
Eddie looked like he wanted to berate him more, then he softened. “We’re lucky you’re not an integral part of the plan. The rest of us can still perform our tasks.”
“Yeah, we’re lucky,” Bryce said dryly. “That’s totally the word I would use.”
“So what’s our plan now?” I said to get them off the topic.
“Although we have more time to practice the switch, we do have a hard deadline,” Xander said. “I’m only booked at the Volga three more weeks. Which means three chances to make the grab.”
“Three weeks to figure out a new way to distract Yegorovich,” I said. “Any suggestions?”
“Maybe we can turn this into a positive,” Xander said. “Yegorovich has it out for you personally. Both after the poker match last week and this… incident. What if you come storming into the Volga demanding to see Yegorovich himself? Talking a lot of smack. He might want to see you again to gloat more.”
“Doubtful,” Eddie said. “They’d probably just throw you in the back room and rough you up some more. Maybe Yegorovich would pay you a visit, but he certainly wouldn’t delay checking on the money to do so. He’d let you stew.”
Bryce tried to smile, which ended up looking pitiful with half his face swollen. “I’m opposed to any plan that requires me to break any more ribs.”
“Do we recruit someone else to distract him when the time comes?”
“No way,” Eddie snapped. “Four is already the max I’m comfortable with. We can’t expand our circle of trust.”
Funny that you’re worried about trust, I thought.
“Let’s think outside the box,” Xander said. “What if one of us distracts old Yeggy? Once we make the switch you and I are free, Eddie. I could intercept him outside the hall and thank him personally for booking me at the casino. Maybe chat about extending my contract longer, or doing personal shows for people in his inner circle.”