“The game will take place on the second floor,” Trojan said. “Your name is Henry Williams, ex-con turned millionaire in the motor business.”
I smirked at him. “Really?”
He shrugged, before I saw his attention divert to someone else in the room. “What the fuck ishedoing here?”
I turned to see who he was referring to, only to have my gaze catch on to someone who definitely shouldn’t be here. Fuck.
My eyes cast toward Reaper who had his eyes on his son, now making friends with Ironborne across the room.
Shit.
“Go and talk to him,” I told Trojan. “Before Reaper blows a gasket.”
Trojan did just that, heading over toward our Prez’s wayward son, now making a name for himself as the co-owner of The Pit,but that didn’t mean we couldn’t keep an eye on things from our perspective.
I cast my eyes over the crowd around us, looking for anyone familiar. Looking for her. My chest was tightening as I searched every woman’s face, that I didn’t notice the boys move about. Mannix was making a move, and I clocked it. He motioned with his head for me to follow. I found Shadow by the edge of the room, watching on at a game of Blackjack.
“Be back.”
Shadow nodded, watching where I was headed before I disappeared down a dark corridor, until I came to the end, a doorway opened with a light on. My hackles rose but I had no option. I pushed the door open to see Mannix in the room, alone.
Closing the door behind me, I waited for him to speak.
“She’s alive, and she’s here,” he said. “Are you sure you can beat him? The men he plays with are world poker tournament enthusiasts.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked him, moving closer.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it over to me. I looked down at the auction site, with several women on the screen but none were Tavi.
“We knew this is what he was doing.”
“Scroll down to the tournament section.”
I did, seeing the poker tournament announcement and special prize ofThomas Charman’s only daughter. The words underneath had my blood running cold.
Proven breeder, compliant and able to come back from choking, degradation, punishment and more. Papers are available upon request for a quick exit out of Australia.
Motherfucker.
“Mannix.”
“My hands are tied. I shouldn’t even be talking to you right now, but I couldn’t very well share the link, now could I?” hesaid, pocketing his phone again. “Now, get your ass to the table and win my fucking sister before she’s shipped off to a trafficking ring, and we never see her again.”
Mannix pushed out of the room before me, and headed back into the casino. My heart was fucking racing, my stomach churning violently with the little I’d been putting into it today while I waited.
What if I lost?
What if I was the reason she was shipped off to a fucking sicko and couldn’t be found again? Would Van ever forgive me?
You can’t lose.
I took a deep breath, composed myself enough to rejoin my brothers outside and looked for the back room where the table would be set up.
“This way, Mr. Williams,” I heard someone say from beside me. I was about to shrug him off, before I realised that was meant to be my name. I followed him, with his little iPad and my profile–my fake profile–on it. That’s how he’d clocked me. I couldn’t see where my brothers were but I knew they’d be here somewhere.
Watching.
Once we headed up a few steps, we walked past machines zinging with that loud, winning sound, before we turned a corner and headed down a darkened corridor, much like the one before with Mannix, and at the end, we turned into a large room, the double doors open. A large rounded table sat in the middle of the room, with chairs scattered all around. Decks of cards were piled on the table, alongside little computers at each spot.
