Page 20 of Bad Blood

And now with the Santiagos attempting to backdoor my backdoor, the East Coast just became a powder keg of anarchy.

“If Sanders wants to join the game, let him,” I say, meeting Spader’s surprised gaze with a hardened stare.

“What?”

“Have your New York contact double Sanders’s offer.”Compliments of an offshore shell corporation.“While he’s there, have him drop by Sanders’ father’s office and give him this.” Pressing my thumb against another access pad, I wait for it to click before opening my desk drawer and pulling out a brown office-sized envelope. Monroe doesn’t say a word as I toss it across the desk. “That should deflate his balls for a while.”

He reaches forward, then stalls. He doesn’t want to look inside, but he will. The envelope is a forbidden apple, as tempting as it is poisonous.

It takes less than three seconds for him to give in. Dragging it off my desk and into his lap, he unpins the top, bows his head and peers inside, all the color draining from his ruddy cheeks. “Jesus, Carrera. Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“You’re already on it, Spader. It’s the only side I have.”

“Santi?” Monroe and I both turn as Lola appears in the doorway.

I toss her a hardened glare, her casual tone grating on me like nails on a chalkboard.

She rolls her eyes. “I mean,Mr. Carrera.”

Still petulant, but a concession.

“I’m busy, Lola.”

“I know, but—”

“That means no calls, and no interruptions,” I say, in a clipped tone. “If I need something, I’ll let you know.”

The temperature in the room plummets as her fingers tighten around the doorframe. I smile to myself as I catch a flicker of the infamous Carrera temper dancing in those icy blue eyes.

“Understood,sir. However, I thought you’d like to know that I just got a call from surveillance. One of your guests has been caught on closed-caption counting cards.”

“Then have security deal with it.”

“It’s your casino.” She shrugs, slowly closing the door. “So, if you don’t care about getting cheated out of fifty-thousand dollars...”

I’m rising from my chair before she can finish her sentence. Gripping the edge of the door, I swing it open, fire blazing through my veins. “Some bastard just gamed me out of fifty grand?”

“Oh, trust me.” Lola laughs, trailing behind me as I push past her. “The onlybastardaround here is you.”

Monroe and his sweaty forehead are forgotten as I exit the executive lobby with murder on my mind. I’ve already killed one man for stealing from me.

Spilling blood twice in the same day is only going to worsen my mood.

Chapter Seven

Thalia

There’sa word for that moment when victory is snatched from you, when you’re stretching for the finishing line and someone overtakes you with less than a foot to go.

Disbelief.

It fuses with another when there’s fifty thousand dollars-worth of casino chips stashed in your purse, and the heavy hand of authority just smacked down on your left shoulder.

“You need to come with us, ma’am.”

No, thank you.

His accent is scaring me more than his tone. It’s all flat vowels and thick syrup…