Page 65 of Corrupted Pleasure

“If all else fails, I’ll pull the handle on the fire alarm,” Ivy joked around. “That’ll cause panic and people will stumble out of there. It will be like a stampede.”

“Let’s not joke around about it. People get hurt in stampedes,” I warned her.

“We should have a warning signal if all our other shit fails,” Juliette suggested and it was the best advice she came up with.

“That’s an excellent idea,” I agreed. “A whistle?”

“Yes,” Juliette eagerly nodded. “Hunger Games,Rue’s whistle.”

“Are you fucking for real?” I objected. “Rue’s whistle.”

“Yeah,” she answered nonchalantly, then quickly reached for her phone, scrolled through it, and then pressed play. The whistle from the movie sounded through her speakers. “This one. See, easy peasy.”

I stared at her blankly.

“Maybe we’re taking thisHunger Gamesthing too far,” Wynter said softly, though I could hear humor in her voice.

“So what?” Juliette sneered. “It’s a good sound and there are no chances anyone else would whistle it in a casino.”

“Because nobody in the casino is childish like that,” I muttered.

“Exactly,” Ivy agreed, grinning.

“So there will be no way of confusing the whistle,” Juliette reasoned.

I shook my head in disbelief. “So we are still going with theHunger Gamestheme?” I asked incredulously.

Juliette and Ivy grinned stupidly, despite the fatigue on their faces. Even Wynter’s lips were curved into a smile.

“Maybe I’m just cranky and tired,” I muttered.

“You need some millions,” Juliette explained. “Once we all get lots and lots of millions, then we’ll all be swell. Though Hunger Games continues. So may the odds forever be in our favor.”

“Happy Hunger Games!” Ivy exclaimed.

A choked laugh escaped me. Here we were graduating from Yale and acting like the biggest idiots.

“Okay, Rue’s whistle it is. I’ll practice in the morning. I guess all of us will. Now back to the preparation,” I concluded the discussion. “Ivy, you'll be on the south side of the poker table.” I showed her the floorplan and pointed to the area. “Here is the emergency exit door that will dump you right by the area we’ll park the Jeep in. If something happens, just head out that way. Juliette, you’ll be on the west side of the poker table.” I pointed to the area where she’d be standing. “There is an exit right here.” I tapped the circled door. “Something happens, run out that way.”

“Hold on. I will be at the poker table,” Juliette corrected. Damn it, I wished she’d realize there was no chance in hell she’d win even one round of a poker game. She was usually the first one out.

“We all need to give another look to all the ways out of the casino,” Wynter chimed in, saving me a response. “And the moment we walk in, we need to spot them so we can orient ourselves to them.”

Juliette and Ivy nodded their heads.

“Okay then,” I concluded. “We’ll be robbing a casino tomorrow night.”

CHAPTER28

Davina

Royally Lucky.

More like royally fucked up.

Ivy and Juliette identified the blind spot of the parking lot. It wasn’t too far from the entrance. It was on the left corner of the building, right under a single large oak tree. So it was where we parked.

The casino and steakhouse was more extravagant than anything I’ve seen. Located on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, the tall glass building glimmered like a castle of sin.