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“Yeah. They become soulless. Lifeless.” She shrugged. “All the makeup in the world can’t hide it. And it gets worse the longer they do it.”
The next round of cards was absolutely terrible, including the two the dealer flipped over. Everyone took their stacks back. All except the first one, which always went to the house.
“Look, we’re here because we need your help,” Silas leaned in. “We need some info.”
“Everyone needs something,” Veronique shot back. “For example, I needed my wallpaper peeled by a trio of really tall guys who can reach all the way to the ceiling.”
“I know,” Silas said guiltily. “But—”
“I also need shoes that don’t make my feet swell when I’m standing eight hours a night,” Veronique went on. She adjusted her glasses. “And I need my eighteen-year old eyes back. And maybe a bright yellow Lamborghini Countach.” She sighed wistfully. “Made it all the way through the 80’s, and I never did get that one.”
She dealt out the next hand. I decided to lay the rest of the cards on the table, so to speak.
“The red princess behind us? Her brother is missing. He’s been gone a while, but we might have a lead on where he could be.” I leaned in, lowering my voice even further. “And we might be able to bring him back alive if you helped us.”
Veronique continued her work, reading hand signals and pushing chip stacks as people bet, stayed, and pulled back. Something in her demeanor changed, though. It was softer around the edges now. More compassionate.
“She’s a friend of yours?” she asked abruptly. “Someone loyal?”
“A good friend,” I answered quickly. “Very loyal.”
The dealer frowned a little, then bit her lip. Eventually she sighed.
“My shift ends at eight,” she said finally. “You want my help? Fine. But you boys are taking me out to dinner.”
Silas grinned. We both nodded quickly, before she changed her mind.
“Agooddinner too,” she warned. “No Mickey Mouse ten-dollar buffet bullshit.”
“Would we ever do that?” Silas protested.
“Yes,” she said firmly. “Yes you would.”
I laughed out loud at Silas’s wounded expression. He shot me a dirty look.
“You can have anything you want tonight,” I said eagerly. “Sky’s the limit.”
At that Veronique’s trademark smirk returned. It had an evil twist to it, though.
“Really?” she asked. “Anything?”
I glanced uncertainly at Silas. But only for a moment.
“Uh… sure.”
Veronique swept my chips away, as she’d done a hundred times before. Her smile grew wider as nimble fingers stacked them into her tray.
“Just remember you said that.”
Thirty-Seven
SILAS
“So Sugaree takes this water bottle right out of the guy’s hand and brings it straight back to Cassidy. She punctures it with her teeth, and they both start drinking.”
Veronique talked rapidly as she ate, not stopping for a single second. So far she’d worked her way through two appetizers, three glasses of wine, and three-quarters of a porterhouse steak, medium rare. All for a woman who couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and five pounds.
The whole thing would’ve been shocking if we weren’t so impressed.
