Home > A Thin Disguise(2)

A Thin Disguise(2)
Author: Catherine Bybee

She circled around the casino, making mental notes as she went. Where the secluded rooms that high rollers congregated in for private gambling were located, where employees slipped behind walls and into kitchens or bars, the exits that dumped deeper into the casino, or close to an actual exit. She landed in the cocktail lounge with a view of the casino floor.

After ordering a club soda and lime, Olivia pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

A security screen masked her activity from anyone sitting close by, and certainly from any cameras above. She logged in to a secure space and pulled open a handful of pictures.

Players. All of them from the same family.

That’s what the mafia called those close to them.

Family.

And in the case of Mykonos Sobol, the man standing trial, he was both blood and chosen. Some of his extended family had flown in to support him. By support, that meant take over his connections and operations until his name was cleared. Olivia knew from experience that the same family was busy trying to bribe witnesses and make those that wouldn’t cooperate disappear.

The case against Mykonos was as solid as it could get so long as Marie was alive to testify.

Mykonos had bought the girl when she was sixteen.

For three and a half years, he sold her out as he saw fit. When she stepped out of line, or tried to escape his clutches, he made her pay. The last attempt at his idea of discipline nearly killed her.

At that point, Olivia stepped in. She’d been asked to return a favor. Be Marie’s shadow while the right people gathered their case and the girl could recover from her physical injuries. As her shadow, Marie never knew Olivia existed. She’d been by Marie’s side while she convalesced in the hospital and again when she was in the rehabilitation center. Her protective custody was taken care of by the federal marshals, but that didn’t mean Olivia wasn’t watching and following. And now, when tensions were high and the gavel was about to drop on the accused, moves would be made.

Navi, Mykonos’s “cousin,” had a presidential suite at the hotel. If he was a good little criminal, and Olivia already knew he was, the man and his entourage would be visible tonight. After all, they were all upstanding men with nothing to hide. And staying tucked away, out of sight, would bring suspicion to their activities. Navi knew he was being watched. Any “family” had a team assigned to them.

Since Navi was the biggest fish, Olivia was tracking him.

And the teams knew nothing about her.

Olivia scrolled through pictures and names and profiles, most of them Russian. Not Russian American, not born there and raised here . . . but born, lived, and killed Russian. Filthy rich, dirty money, mafia that lived and breathed by their own code.

With a tap on the screen, the images she’d been studying disappeared and a video game replaced them.

She lifted herself off her perch and left the lounge. The casino was picking up.

Families skirted the perimeter of the gaming sections with children in hand. Parents were not allowed to stop and toss even a quarter in a machine while their children stood by and watched. Nevada gaming did have its laws, loose as they were about everything other than gambling.

Olivia moved closer to the elevator tower that accessed the highest-price suites and waited. For nearly an hour, she moved her location to avoid suspicion. If she’d had even a little notice as to what hotel Navi was going to use, she would have set up something in the man’s room to alert her to his actions. But that hadn’t been possible, so now she was doing this the hard way.

Eventually, the hard way paid off.

Navi’s arrival on the ground floor of the hotel was hard to miss. Two men the size of small school buses flanked him, and one long-legged brunette hung on his arm like he’d paid for her.

If there was something Olivia prided herself on, it was her ability to gauge people and her surroundings. Navi’s men both had weapons, an easy deduction since they were obviously bodyguards. Their eyes were on the move and assessing the situation as they walked beside their boss. Navi wore a wedding ring, but his female companion did not. Men like Navi married for the social expectation and to bring legitimacy to their children’s names. Not to stay faithful to their wives.

Olivia stayed well beyond the eyes and ears of Navi’s party and watched as they walked into a steak house. She waited a few minutes before meandering by the entrance of the restaurant. When she did, she noticed the bodyguards taking a seat in the waiting area while Navi and the girl disappeared inside.

By her estimate, she had at least an hour and a half before Navi would emerge. She’d do a quick check inside the restaurant to ensure Navi and the girl were dining alone or make note of anyone they may have joined, and then retreat to watch him later.

She waited for a larger party to enter the restaurant and walked in quietly behind them. With her face diverted from the bodyguards, Olivia did a quick redirect and headed toward the restroom. She found a stall, waited a full minute, flushed, and emerged to wash her hands. When she left, she moved into the restaurant and looked around. It wasn’t long before an employee approached her.

“Can I help you find your table?”

Olivia smiled and glanced left and right. “I thought my party was already here, but I don’t see them.”

The waiter tilted his head. “The hostess would know if your party arrived.”

“Yeah, she was busy, so I thought I’d just duck in.” Over the waiter’s shoulder, she zeroed in on Navi and his date. A table for two with wine and candlelight.

How cozy.

The waiter leaned in and whispered. “We have a dress code in here. The manager isn’t fond of shorts.”

Olivia let her jaw drop. “Oh, shit. I should probably run up to my room and change.”

He smiled. “No one will force you to leave, but you might get a few dirty looks.”

She lowered her voice. “Thanks for the tip.”

The waiter looked her up and down. “Anytime.”

Turning on her heel, she made her way back to the front of the restaurant. She noted the bodyguards once again when someone’s shoulder nudged hers as they walked by.

“Excuse me.”

“It’s okay,” she said, looking up.

Her eyes caught his, and her smile froze on her face.

What the hell was Leo Grant doing there?

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

Leo diverted his attention from the couple that had walked into the restaurant and toward the woman he’d just bumped into. Dishwater blonde with mysterious eyes and full pink lips. Beautiful.

The back of his throat itched as if he should know the woman staring at him. Only he didn’t. He would have remembered.

“Do I know you?” he asked.

Her lips instantly closed, and she stood taller. “No.”

She turned to leave, and for some reason his hand found her arm and halted her.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m quite positive.” She glanced over his shoulder, eyes wide, and walked swiftly away.

Is that an accent?

Yeah, he would have remembered her.

He watched her leave before shaking off thoughts of the confusion on her face and turned back toward the restaurant. Then, because he felt someone’s stare, he looked to his left.

Brutis A and Brutis B stared, recognition on their faces.

Fuck.

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)