Page 38 of Diamonds (Aces Underground #2)

ALISSA

S o that’s the plan. We’ll play Blackjack, hope to God that we end up on a hot streak, enough to get Rouge’s attention on us. Then Maddox will slip away into her office unnoticed and figure out what lies in Rouge’s safe.

Only about a million things could go wrong with this strategy, but it’s the best we have.

We stop at the Spades section, where DeeDee is manning the bar.

“One gin and tonic, please, DeeDee,” Maddox orders, “but hold the gin this time.”

DeeDee raises an eyebrow.

“I’m on a cleanse,” Maddox explains. “Trying to stay dry between Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s.”

DeeDee grabs a glass, places three ice cubes in it, and pours some tonic water in it, garnishing it with a lime. She turns to me.

I bite my lip. “I’m also doing the cleanse, I suppose. But a dirty martini without alcohol would just be olive juice in a glass.” I fake a laugh.

DeeDee narrows her eyes.

I swallow. “So I’ll just have the same as Maddox.”

DeeDee turns away from us and prepares my drink.

I lean into Maddox’s ear. “Keeping our wits about us, I imagine.”

“Exactly,” he whispers back. “But if we still have drinks in our hands, it will look like we’re drinking. Like we have nothing to stay sober for.”

I nod. “I thought so.”

DeeDee hands me my drink.

“Thank you so much, DeeDee,” Maddox says. “Those will both go on my tab.”

DeeDee rolls her eyes. Two glasses of tonic water garnished with limes probably costs five bucks at the most.

We take our drinks over to the Diamonds section.

It’s a lot less busy tonight. It’s no longer Valentine’s Day, after all. We easily find an available Blackjack table, manned by the same gentleman who was our dealer last night.

He nods to us both. “Ms. Maravilla, Mr. Hathaway. A pleasure to see you both again this evening.”

I smile at him. “Thank you. Remind me of your name.”

She reaches out a hand. “Shellby. Terrence Shellby, ma’am.”

Right. Shellby.

“Are you both playing tonight?” Shellby asks.

Maddox nods.

Shellby grins. “Excellent.”

He deals cards to me and Maddox.

Maddox has a King and a Queen. He stays.

I have a five and a ten. Harder choice. But I decide to ask for a hit.

Shellby deals me a card.

I turn it over. The six of clubs.

Yes. Blackjack!

Shellby deals himself another card, and he turns his over. He busted.

He slides us both some chips.

Off to a good start. We keep playing, and Maddox and I are both winning more than we’re losing. Pretty soon we have patrons looking over our shoulders, watching the game.

A smooth female voice sizzles into my ear from behind us. “Another winning night, Maddox?”

I turn, expecting Rouge.

But it’s not. It’s another woman.

Tall and gorgeous. Short blond hair in a bob style.

Maddox flashes her a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Lovely to see you again, Pia.” He gestures to me. “This is my girlfriend, Alissa Maravilla.”

Pia raises an eyebrow, her lips pouted. “A new girlfriend already?”

What the hell does that mean?

Something squeezes at my heart.

Another ex of Maddox’s? I’m not sure I can handle meeting two of them within twenty-four hours. Three, if you count his liaison with Rouge.

Maddox blinks a few times. “It’s been something of a whirlwind, but yes, she’s my girlfriend, and I love her more than anything.”

The fist around my heart loosens its grip.

Pia cocks her head. “A loss for womankind.” She sits down next to Maddox. “But a game between friends can be nearly as fun.” She scratches the table. “Hit me, Shellby.”

The game continues. Pia is not nearly as good as Maddox, or even me, and she busts quite a few times. I get the feeling she plays just for the sport of it, not really caring how much money she wins or loses.

I don’t like how her bare shoulders are brushing against Maddox more than they should be…

She’ll stay away from him if she knows what’s good for her.

The crowd around us grows, and finally, like a hot knife through butter, the haughty voice of Rouge Montrose breaks through the murmurs around us.

“I see the King and Queen of Diamonds are once again defending their titles.”

My pulse quickens, but I swallow down my nerves.

This is the plan. We’ve drawn Rouge here like a moth to a flame.

But Pia is here, too. That wasn’t part of the plan.

I paste on a smile. “Nice to see you.”

“Isn’t it?” Rouge’s lips twitch as she switches her gaze between me and Maddox. Her eyes finally land on Pia. “And it appears you’ve adopted another royal into your deck tonight. A Jack of Diamonds, perhaps? Or in this case, a Jacqueline?”

Pia wrinkles her nose. “Perhaps I’m vying for the Queen’s title myself.”

Rouge raises her dark-red eyebrows. “A challenger. How exciting.”

I glare at Pia. “I’ve won more hands than you this evening.”

“There is more than one way to become a Queen,” Pia shoots back. “Sometimes you just have to marry a King.”

My first instinct is to shut this woman down by ignoring her taunts.

Then I realize that this could create the perfect distraction for Maddox to slip away.

I twitch my eyebrows toward him, hoping he understands.

I turn to Pia. “Listen, bitch. Maddox Hathaway is mine, and if you think you’re getting within two inches of him tonight, think again.”

Pia drops her jaw. “The kitty has claws.”

“You bet your arse she does.” I pick up my glass—still half full of tonic water—and throw it in her face.

People in the crowd gasp. Several women clutch at their necklaces.

Maddox gets to his feet. “Ladies, please.”

I look up at him. His lips are twitching upward. He knows this is a ruse.

I rise, staring Pia down. “How about you get the hell out of here?”

“I was about to say the same to you.” She grabs my arm, digs her long fingernails into my flesh. “My friend and I had the loveliest time with your so-called boyfriend just a few weeks ago. It was a cold January night, but we warmed his bed right up.”

That actually hurts.

Logically, I know that I have nothing to fear from this woman. At least, I know she’s not a threat to my relationship with Maddox. In terms of whether she could beat me into a pulp, she could be.

I grab her hair and pull it.

She screams.

Rouge grins. She’s enjoying the spectacle. It probably isn’t often that a brawl breaks out at Aces.

Clearly, she wants a show. And a bloody show I’ll give her.

I tackle Pia to the floor, and the crowd circles around us. She tries to get a punch in, but I keep her arms pinned to the ground, kicking at her legs with my feet.

I wore high heels tonight. I stretch my leg up and dig the heel into Pia’s thigh.

She cries out in pain.

Finally a strong pair of arms is on me, lifting me off the ground.

I turn to it, about to chastise Maddox for not taking this chance to go into Rouge’s office.

But it isn’t Maddox who’s pulling me off Pia.

It’s Chet.

I look around. Maddox took my hint. He slipped away while I was fighting with Pia.

“Miss Wonder, perhaps you should take a moment to cool down.”

“Get off me, Chet!”

I try to wiggle out of his grasp, but his grip on my arms remains firm.

“Thank you, Chet,” Rouge says. “I was worried that this might get out of hand.” She looks around. “Where did Mr. Hathaway go?”

Chet raises an eyebrow. “I believe he was grabbing Miss Wonder’s coat. They’ll be heading out.” He lets go of me and turns to Rouge. “But I do need to speak to you for a moment, Rouge. Somewhere private.”

She nods. “My office.”

Chet raises a hand. “I’d rather not meet there. We’ll just go into a private area.” His lips twist. “It won’t be a moment, I promise you.”

She narrows her eyes but then relents. “Fine.” She turns to me. “Ms. Maravilla, I hope you know that we have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to physical altercations at Aces Underground.”

I brush myself off. “I didn’t see you stopping us.”

She chuckles. “In an outfit like mine? I don’t think I’d be very successful. That’s why I called Chet.”

“It took him several minutes to get here.” I meet her gaze. “Admit it. You were enjoying the spectacle.”

She widens her eyes, making the wings framing them take flight. “Nonsense. I loathe violence. Nothing upsets my poor heart more.”

I hold back a laugh. A woman who loathes violence would hardly behead one of her own employees for a simple violation of her absurd rules.

But I can’t let Rouge know I’m aware of that.

Not yet.

Not until Maddox reveals what we’re looking for.

Then we can put her behind bars for life.