Dirty Deals by Nicole James Page 0,3
me to follow him out, and we walk to the living room. He pulls an envelope from his pocket. “Mr. Crow wanted me to convey his gratitude for tonight and give you this as a token of his appreciation. He sees it as a personal favor. Of course you’re discretion regarding tonight’s players is expected.”
“Of course,” I say, taking the envelope. “Thank you. Please tell Mr. Crow it was my pleasure.”
“And this one is from Mr. Leona.”
I take it, feeling something odd inside. It better not be a hotel room key card. “Okay. Thanks.”
“I’ll show you out.”
“I just need to use the restroom, if I may.”
“Of course, Miss Fox. It’s there.” He gestures to a door in the hall leading out. “You can see yourself out, then?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I grab my shoulder bag and walk to the restroom as he heads toward the gaming room.
The hall bath is large and as luxurious as I’ve ever seen. There’s a small velvet tufted bench in front of a makeup mirror. I sit and remove my heels, rubbing my aching feet. I take a pair of black flats from my bag and slip them on, shoving my heels inside. I wash my hands and splash water on my cheeks.
I lean to the mirror, studying the dark circles under my eyes, then check my watch. It’s almost five am. In a half hour the sun will rise.
I glance at the envelopes I’d lain on the counter. I rip open the one from Axle. It’s ten one hundred dollar bills. I tuck it in my bag and look at the second envelope from Ricardo Leona. I tear it open. Rather than money, it’s a gaming chip from the Del Sol. My eyes widen at the value. I’ve seen one before, but only a select few ever play with them. It’s our gold chip worth one hundred thousand dollars.
My jaw drops.
Angry voices jolt me from my numbed stare. I turn to look at the closed door, straining to hear. It’s garbled. I crack the door, turn off the light and peer out. I know the importance of the non-disclosure I was asked to sign when I arrived. Anything I overhear I can’t tell anyone. That doesn’t keep my curiosity from getting the best of me.
They’re arguing about the game. Someone is calling another a cheater. Oh crap. I’ve seen this type of behavior before, and it never ends well.
I can only see part of the room. Ricardo Leona is yelling at one of the other two men. There’s a loud bang, and Leona clasps his chest, staggering back.
I cover my mouth, my eyes huge. A second later, I hear Thomas say, “No, no, please.”
An arm raises, and the hand holds a gun. There’s another blast. I cover my mouth with both hands, tears filling my eyes. I try so hard not to make a sound. My whole body shakes.
I hear murmurs, something about moving the bodies. Both men come into view. The brothers were introduced to me as the Rialtos, Nick and Luca.
“He’s dead.”
“So what?”
“What the fuck, Nick. You kill a man over a hundred grand?”
“I’d kill a man over a hundred bucks if he cheated me. Besides, I don’t like the way he treated Carmella.”
“Gonna kill every man who screws over our sister? And the butler? What’d he do?”
“He saw us.”
“Lotta people saw us.”
“They didn’t see us pull the trigger. Might have been a robbery gone bad or one of Axle’s crazed stalkers.”
“Come on, help me clean our prints from the place. Grabs some towels from the kitchen.”
“Think he’s got cameras in here?”
The voices retreat into the other room. Now’s my chance. I slowly and silently open the door and tip-toe out. I open the door leading to the vestibule with the elevators. As I’m closing it, I see one of the brothers. He looks up, spots me, and starts running toward me. Adrenaline floods my system, and my fight-or-flight instinct kicks in. I hit the elevator button, and the doors slide open. I jump inside and beat on the button to close the doors and hit the first floor button. As the doors slide slowly shut, Nick bursts through the door to the penthouse, his gun raised. I hear it fire, and a shot comes through the top of the door. I shriek at the loud blast in the enclosed space, covering my ears. Time seems to move slowly as I stare up at the numbers, and they begin to descend. Thank God the