AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“All right,” I said, checking her over. I dialed Chase, who picked up right away, and adjusted the sun-shaped pin on Brooke’s dress. “Chase, is the pin camera working?”
“Yeah, it is. Everything looks great,” he said. “And Brooke, can you hear Lucas through your earpiece?”
Brooke paused, then said, “Yes, I can.”
“Good.” I adjusted her pin again, then gestured to the one-way glass on one side of the office. “I’ll be able to see you through there, okay? Table five is all yours.”
She nodded, putting on a brave face. I opened the door for her, and she went out to the casino floor.
I sat down at the desk in front of the glass. Even though I knew it just looked like a mirror to everyone else, being on this side and seeing everything made me feel exposed. But it was worth it to be able to see her.
She went out to the blackjack table and started to set up. Chase had asked the staff to send blackjack players in her direction instead of to the regular table where the criminals hung out because of some bullshit “safety” reason. Thankfully, no one questioned it, and some players came over. At first, it was the early crowd—couples that weren’t experienced gamblers but wanted to have fun, anyway, and younger people who were probably there for a bachelor or bachelorette party.
I watched Brooke from the side as she dealt, laughing and talking with the guests. I unmuted the security camera feed so I could hear the sound coming from her earpiece. Eventually, some of the people we suspected of criminal activity came by and sat down at her table. I played with my watchband and jiggled my leg, my stomach twisting in knots.
At first, it was all basic stuff, just the game. A few of them made flirty comments, but Brooke responded politely. Good. The flare of jealousy that came up in me was ugly and unnecessary, even though Brooke wasn’t ever going to reciprocate their feelings.
My eyes flicked between a few of the security feeds until I spotted something—a man coming up behind his friend and tucking something into the pocket of his jacket. Brooke stuttered before clearing her throat and glancing toward the security guard.
The tone around the table changed. The felons got quieter, the conversation and drinks flowing much less smoothly. What was Brooke waiting for?
Finally, a few of the men passed something to each other again, and Brooke gave the signal, tapping a button underneath the table a few times.
“What’s that about?” one of the assholes asked her, his tone sharp. “What’re you up to?”
“What?” Brooke asked with a nervous laugh.
The security guard was coming toward the table, but not fast enough for me. I bolted out of the room and onto the casino floor, where chaos had erupted. One security guard wasn’t enough. Even though the guy we’d hired was huge, the felons weren’t just soft tourists on a night out.
The other security guards came rushing over, too, to handle the other men, but Brooke was left wide open, the criminals hurling abuse at her. I put myself between her and them, stepping backward to get Brooke away from them.
“You fucking bitch!” one of them said, wiggling out of a security guard’s grip and lunging at us.
I hadn’t been in a fight in a long time, but my muscle memory kicked in fast. I dodged the man’s punch and landed one of my own, right into the soft cartilage of his nose with a crunch. That didn’t slow him down, though, and he took another swing at me. He clipped my jaw with a wild swing that left him wide open, allowing me to put him in a headlock.
I got the man on his knees, begging for mercy, before an additional security guard took over for me.
“Brooke?” I whipped around and found her cowering as far from the scene as possible. I rushed over to her, taking her by the shoulders and studying her. Her skin was so pale that her freckles stood out even more, her green eyes haunted. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get out of here.”
She let me put my arm around her as I guided her toward the back room again. I punched in the code to the door and nudged her inside, the door shutting behind us. The shift from the noise to the silence of the room took the edge off of my nerves right away.
“You okay?” I asked, steering Brooke to one of the office chairs. “Did you get hit?”
“No, I’m okay. Physically, at least,” she said, sinking into the seat. I pulled up one also and sat across from her, keeping her hands in mine. They were so small and cold. I wrapped mine around them to warm her up. “I should be asking you if you’re okay. You got punched, Hunter! That’s so much worse than being yelled at.”
“Clipped me, really,” I said. “I almost forgot that it happened, honestly. Look, there’s hardly a mark on me.”
I turned so she could see the side of my face. I didn’t have the telltale throb of a forming bruise anywhere on my jaw. Brooke scanned me, her green eyes narrowing. But she believed me.
“That was just a lot. And I know I shouldn’t complain because it’s what I signed up for, but—”
“You didn’t sign up for nearly getting attacked, Brooke,” I said, my eyes widening. “You signed up to help us spy and catch some of these guys in the act. And you did a great job.”
Brooke looked at our joined hands but didn’t pull hers away. If anything, she settled her hands further into mine.
“I don’t know. I just feel bad that I ended up making a scene.”
“You didn’t make a scene. They did.” I brushed some of her hair behind her shoulder again. “You don’t have to blame yourself. If anything, we should be the ones to take the blame for putting you in this situation.”
