Sins & Needles(81)

As if in slow motion, I rested my hand on the bar top. I focused on it like obsessive woman possessed, how close it was to his hand as it held onto a drink I knew was Bombay Sapphire and tonic water. His hand was tawny, speckled with scars. I had held that hand many times, marveling at how dark his skin got in the summer, and I’d kissed every bump and mark. Hands that knew my body inside and out. Hands that were so often covered in someone else’s blood.

“Ellie Watt,” he said to me. His accent was soft and seductive, his voice light. “I have to say I like your real name a lot better. It suits you.”

He reached for my hand and I snatched it out of the way before he could touch me. I brought my eyes to his and steadied myself.

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

He tilted his head, observing me with an appreciative smile. “Your hair, it’s different too. I like it. You’re far too angry to be a blonde.” He nodded at my arm. “I told you I’d be looking for you, didn’t I?”

I knew that tattoo would come back to bite me on the ass.

“What do you want from me, Javier?” I said again, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I had to do this fast.

He frowned but somehow he was still smiling, as if I was a child who didn’t seem to get the lesson.

“What do I want?” He tugged at his ear, something he did when he was excited. “Oh, Eden, Ellie, you. I want the world from you.”

Time to make my move. I kept my eyes cold and impassive. “I can’t give you that. But I can give you a way out.”

I opened my purse and took out my pocketknife. Its blade glinted under the casino lights as I brought it close to his stomach. We were so packed in at the bar that no one there could probably see what I was doing. But that didn’t mean other people in the casino couldn’t see and that’s what I wanted. Most people wouldn’t be paying attention, but the men who were paying attention, they’d see right away.

He sucked in his stomach to move it out of the knife’s way. I kept my hand as steady as possible.

“I’m going to stab you right here,” I told him. “Leave you to bleed.”

He raised his brows and gave me an anxious grin. It faltered slightly, which meant he was buying it. He was worried, just a little, and it was enough. “I suppose I’d deserve it,” he said carefully, his eyes darting between mine and the knife. “As if you taking Jose and the money wasn’t enough.”

“It wasn’t enough,” I answered truthfully.

He licked his lips. “Still so much spite, I see.”

I edged the knife forward so it pricked the fabric of his shirt and whispered, “You see nothing.”

That extra movement was all it took. Suddenly Raul and Alex were beside us, ready to protect their man. I didn’t bother looking their way. We’d never gotten along.

Javier jerked his head at them. “If you’re planning on killing me, you know they won’t let you.”

I smiled broadly at him. “Oh, I’m not planning on killing you.”

With one quick motion, I put the knife back in my purse, then screamed “Help!” and whirled around to face the bartender who was just about to pour a drink. ”Help me!” I yelled at him. ”These men are trying to rob my winnings!”

Javier, Raul, and Alex barely had any time to act. They were surprised, caught off guard, and after the bartender pressed a button underneath the bar and made a few hand gestures to people hidden across the casino, they had nowhere to run. Four big security guys in dark suits and Bluetooths suddenly grabbed them just as they were getting ready to leave.

Javier’s eyes could have burned right through me. I felt nothing. I looked at the security guys, aware that everyone in the casino was gasping or watching with interest. “They were trying to rob me, they said they had guns.” Raul and Alex objected as the security started patting them down. I knew they’d find guns on them, but I was not sticking around to find out.

I grabbed the closest guard to me. “I need an escort, now!”

The guy nodded and took my arm, leading me away from the scene. That was the great thing about Vegas, you could ask for an escort at any time and you got it just like that. Otherwise, Vegas would be even more of a crime hotspot than it already was.

“Where do you want me to take you, ma’am?” the big-knuckled bruiser of a guard asked. “You might need to file a police report.”

“Just take me to the lobby, I want to put my cash away, I feel too vulnerable,” I said as we hurried along. Once we reached the lobby we heard a cry from behind us in the casino. It sounded like a fight was breaking out.