Between HeVan and Hell (14 page)

“Yes, Sir. This is my youngest
brother. Justyn drove the last leg of the trip back and wanted to
rest. He didn’t come with us tonight.”

“A pity. Some other time, perhaps. For
now, let’s go back into the Lounge. We will open some champagne and
drink a toast to your upcoming marriage.” When he finished shaking
Jett’s hand, he spun around and walked into the Lounge, expecting
them to follow.

Grace gave Jalen a big smile. “I think
he likes you.”

Just before they entered, a woman
walked up, interrupting them.

“Excuse me, what time does the floor
show start?” she asked.

“There’s one at Nine, Eleven, and the
last is at One A.M.,” she answered.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw
Mr. Kadyrov pause and then proceed inside. As they were walking to
the owner’s table, she said, “Now, doesn’t this outfit match the
theme of your club better than those other ones? That nice lady
could tell I worked in the club even without the horns and the
tail.” She did a little twirl in a circle.

“She probably saw you directing the
staff, but I’ll take it under advisement,” he said in a crisp
voice. He didn’t appreciate having his grandson’s taste criticized,
even though he agreed with her.

She turned to Jalen. “That’s his way
of saying no. He likes to soften the blow,” she said with a
wink.

“I’ll remember that after we’re
married,” he answered, raising his hand to the small of her back
and guiding her to the table. The waitress came over and Mr.
Kadyrov ordered the champagne as they settled into their
chairs.

“You malign me, my dear. I will
discuss it with my grandson. He chose the current designs. He
should have a say if we change them,” he said.

Well, that’s that, then.
That perv won’t change a thing. Anton Kadyrov is totally
tacky,
Grace thought to herself.
Hopefully after we shut this place down, new
owners will make changes.

“Mr. Kadyrov, I can see that you care
for Grace. She is wonderful, isn’t she?” Jalen asked. “Still, she’s
been working for you less than a week and I’d like her to quit. I’m
concerned she’s picked up a stalker.”

“A stalker! But this is horrible. Why
do you say that?” asked Kadyrov.

“We went to pick out rings today. The
jeweler called us. About twenty minutes after we left, some man
went into the store. He told the owner, an old woman, that he was
Grace’s brother. She’s a charming lady, and as she was talking to
him, he grew enraged and struck her. He must be a crazy person. So
you understand why I’d like to keep her near me where she will be
kept safe,” said Jalen.

“Awful; what is the world coming to, I
ask you. And the store owner, she is well?” he asked.

“Her granddaughter is with her. She
told us she was calling the police and that she wasn’t hurt too
badly. Since this crazy person seems fixated on Grace, I don’t
believe she’ll be attacked again. I told her to call us back if she
needed anything and she didn’t call us back. So I suppose the
police were able to help her,” answered Jalen.

Mr. Kadyrov turned then to Grace.
“Good, that’s good. Grace, have you noticed anybody following you
around?”

“That’s just it. I try to be aware of
my surroundings so I look around. Guys are always trying to pull
something with me. I haven’t noticed anyone following me. Or even
seen the same person over and over again,” she said
seriously.

I can’t play the airhead
here; he knows me. I have to just be oblivious.

Then she turned to Jalen and said,
“I’m not sure about quitting my job, though. I don’t want you to
have to support me. I think I should work until we start having
children.”

Their champagne arrived, and as the
waitress was putting down Jalen’s glass, Jett turned to Grace and
said, “If my brother has his way, you’ll be married within days and
the babies will follow as quickly as possible. We like children in
our family.”

When she huffed, they all
chuckled.

“Grace can work here as long as she
likes. She is friendly and a good worker,” said Kadyrov. He took a
sip of his drink and turned back to Jalen. “Grace tells me you are
a broker, Mr. Contadina. What do you broker?”

Jalen gave Grace a sharp look and then
answered the question, “My specialty is ancient weapons, though I
will broker other related antiquities, as well.”

“How interesting. I’ve never heard of
you but perhaps we can do business.”

“That would depend on whether you were
buying or selling, Sir. I only accept commissions from a small
group. They know me well and trust me to get them top dollar for
their merchandise with the least amount of fuss. Of course, I’m
always looking for new buyers,” Jalen said with a smile.

“Unfortunately, I just delivered my
latest commission and transferred the payment to the seller. I have
nothing to offer at the moment. Are you a collector of ancient
weaponry? It’s a rather small community and I’ve never heard of
you, either,” said Jalen.

Damn, I wish Jalen wouldn’t
anger Kadyrov; we might not leave here alive
, thought Grace.

“If you gentlemen are going to talk
business, I’m going to powder my nose,” said Grace.

Jalen and Jett rose as she stood up.
“Hurry back,” said Jalen, with a brush of the lips. After she left,
Jalen turned to Kadyrov. He didn’t have much time before the
nano-patches Grace had managed to transfer to the old man’s face
became fully integrated in his brain and started recording
data.

“Mr. Kadyrov, why did you really want
to check us out? Grace has been working for you for a total of
three days. She may believe you’re a kindly old man. I don’t think
she’s watched the news or read anything other than gossip magazines
for years. She doesn’t have the first idea about the allegations
made against you and your people.

“I love her and want to marry her. I
worry about her working in your establishment. I don’t care if
you’re the crime czar the papers make you out to be or not. My only
concern is for Grace. Had I been in town when she went looking for
a new job, to tell you the truth, I would have done everything in
my power to convince her not to work here,” said Jalen.

“Strong words, young man. Look around
you. Do you see sleazy criminals and people doing drugs? This is a
respected business establishment. I take care of my people. I don’t
like you accusing me of not having Grace’s best interests at heart.
It makes me angry to hear you say these things. Look, over there is
the Superintendent of Police. Currently at the Baccarat tables are
two City Councilmen. Would they come here if they thought I was a
crook?” asked Mr. Kadyrov.

While the gentlemen continued to
posture, warn each other off, and feel each other out, Grace was in
a stall in the bathroom, applying a new supply of nanos to her
hands. When she was done, she flushed the toilet and then left the
stall. Luckily, no one was at the sink area. She ran the water and
went through the motions. Jett had told her they were waterproof
but she didn’t want to take the chance of washing them off. She
started to leave and was checking her make-up in the mirror by the
door when it opened. As two women came in, she could hear familiar
voices in the hall.

Great, Anton Kadyrov is
here, too. I have to get these nanos on him if I
can
, she thought.

Grace pulled open the door and stepped
out into the hallway. She didn’t immediately see Anton, so she
began to walk back to the Lounge. As she exited the hallway onto
the main casino floor, she saw Anton Kadyrov speaking with Gregor,
the pit boss from her regular shift. She was in luck. Her path back
to the Lounge would take her right past them.

She walked in their direction. Even
though she’d only been working there for three days, the nature of
her assignment and her own disposition led her to meet and make
friends with many of the staff. Margie, the cocktail waitress, was
headed her way.

She must be on a
break,
thought Grace.

“Hey, Stilts,” Margie said as she came
to a stop in front of her. “You look beautiful tonight. Now, show
me the ring,” she demanded, bouncing up and down a little on the
floor.

Grace held up her hand with the palm
facing her body so the ring was at eye level. “Hiya, Betty Boop.
I’m glad you got to take a break before we left.”

Her first day on the job, the two of
them had run into each other in the dressing room. Grace was
already dressed, wearing the requisite three-inch heels, putting
her up to six feet in height. Then Margie had come in wearing flats
and looking up from her own five foot three, and had immediately
called her Stilts. When Grace saw Margie’s small, curvy shape,
short, dark hair and large, brown eyes, she dubbed her Betty Boop,
and it had caught on quickly with the rest of the staff.

She saw Anton and Gregor look over her
way.

Actually, this is better.
He’ll walk over to me, instead of me intercepting him.

“Oh, wow! That’s just gorgeous. Is
that a ruby?” asked Margie.

“Actually, it’s a red diamond
surrounded by other smaller red and white diamonds to make this
flower pattern. He let me pick it out this afternoon. We had to
wait while they set the stones, but I didn’t mind. I really wanted
to wear it right away. I’m so happy, Margie, I can’t wait to get
married,” said Grace with a smile.

“I saw him and I can’t blame you.
You’ll have to introduce me. Though I think they’re out of my
league.”

“What do you mean? You’re just as
smart and nice as everyone else,” Grace said staunchly.

Margie laughed. “Yeah. But could you
honestly see me together with one of those giants? I’m in the
Pee-Wee League and they’re Varsity.”

Grace laughed along with her, now that
she understood her friend was talking about the height differences
and not anything else. It was about then that Margie got a good
look at the gown Grace was wearing.

“This dress is great. Is this the one
you were telling me about yesterday?” she asked.

“Yes. I saw it in the store the day
before I got this job. And I took it as a sign. Then I saw the
street walker outfits we had to wear and bought it to show how we
could look sexy without looking like sluts.”

Just then Anton Kadyrov walked up and
stopped near them.

“Good evening, ladies.” Turning to
Margie, he said, “You should take your breaks in the break room.
But I’ll forget the oversight this once.”

Margie made a quick exit, winking at
Grace behind his back. He then turned to Grace. “I overheard your
last remark. Maybe you aren’t aware that I chose the design for the
floor uniforms, Miss Kelsey?”

“Your grandfather explained it to me
just this evening. I thought it would be nice to have an
alternative,” she said.

“You are not paid to think. You are
paid to deal cards and look good enough to distract the player’s
concentration.”

He glanced down at her hands and
grabbed her left.

“So, you are engaged. Does that mean
you're leaving us?”

Grace wiggled her fingers, pretending
to pull out of his strong grip. Anton Kadyrov was five-ten, lean
and all muscle. He had the same piercing gray eyes as his
grandfather. His hair was sleek and black as a raven’s wing, while
his grandfather’s was mostly white. With her heels, she was an inch
taller, so she was eye-to-eye with him.

“It’s true that Jalen wants me to
quit, but I don’t want to live off him. I’ll continue working until
we have our first child. Then I want to stay home with the
children,” she said, as she continued to press as much of her palm
into his hand as she could, transferring the nanos. “May I have my
hand back, now?” she asked. She found it hard to be polite to Anton
Kadyrov, he made her skin crawl.

“But of course. Allow me to walk you
back to the Lounge; that is where you are headed?” At her nod, he
moved his grip from her hand to her arm and then to the small of
her back. He started to run his hand down over her hip and she
lengthened her stride. He chuckled as he kept pace with her,
touching her shoulder and her back as he wished.