Intercepted by Love: Part Five: A Football Romance (The Quarterback's Heart Book 5) (9 page)

“You win, eighteen to one.” He counted and stacked eighteen chips for Andie. “You gonna bet again?”

“Sure. Let’s do it.” Andie smiled. This was her last bet, and either because of Cade’s interference or the scuzzbucket before him, her ‘contact person’ had not materialized yet.

Following instructions, she placed a single hundred dollar chip on the spot between zero and double zero.

The croupier’s mustache wiggled like he wanted to say something, but he went ahead to stack chips for a new player who took the empty seat on Andie’s right.

It was Ronaldo.

“Bud, what are you doing here?” Cade leaned over. “Is this some field trip or what?”

“He’s busting my cover,” Andie whispered to Owen. “Do something.”

“Hey, kindergarten hottie.” Owen hooked Cade around the neck. “Why don’t me and you take a walk on the wild side.”

Cade’s jaw set and he got that look that said he wasn’t going anywhere. He stacked his chips and placed them next to Andie’s, daring her to protest.

Beside her, Ronaldo said, “You win this next one, and I’ll have you do the remake of
Barbarella
.”

Andie’s heart stuttered and she froze.
Barbarella
was the code word. Ronaldo was the contact? Was he working for the Feds or for the crooked gamblers?

Natasha had said not to assume anything. Andie had to trust the process, not think or speculate. She’d already made a mistake by freezing.

“My favorite movie,” Owen said to distract everyone. “I always had a thing for Jane Fonda.”

“It’s goofy, but then so is winning on green numbers,” Ronaldo said with a careless shrug.

“Luck of the Irish,” Andie muttered just to say something.

“No more bets.” The croupier looked around the table let the wheel go.

This time, Andie’s heart raced and her hands got sweaty. Cade was risking his money, although it was only a hundred dollars. But more seriously, had he just compromised the entire sting operation? Would her handlers call for an abort? Or should she go along with Ronaldo to the private high roller room—otherwise known as Whale Stadium.

Her eyes remained on the pearl colored ball, her heart ticking like the toc, toc, toc, as it bounced while the wheel clattered. As it slowed, she jumped up and grabbed her hair. It had stopped on zero. She’d won.

“Impossible.” The skeeze who’d been harassing her earlier shouted from somewhere among the spectators.

“We won.” She hugged Owen. “Oh, this is the best part of our honeymoon.”

Cade sat stock still, staring at Ronaldo, clearly upset at the entire scenario. Andie had to get away, and fast.

Without collecting her winnings, she handed her purse to Owen. “I’m feeling sick. Gotta run to the little girls’ room.”

She slipped between the spectators right when Owen sloshed her drink all over Cade.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Let me clean you up. This is so embarrassing. Wait, wait.” Owen was clearly giving his best show, but it wasn’t working.

Cade was after her, and she had to get away before he blew it for the entire operation.

“Andie, Andie.” Cade’s footsteps pounded behind her.

“Over here.” Ronaldo grabbed her arm, and jerked her toward the bank of slot machines. “The private elevator.”

Andie tottered along with Ronaldo, wishing she could remove her shoes and run. Her ankle twisted and she slipped on the marble floor.

Ronaldo flashed a badge of some sort, and the doorman opened the elevator. Right as the doors opened, and Andie was being pushed in by Ronaldo, a large hand grabbed her hair.

It was Cade. “Andie, don’t do this. Don’t go with him.”

Ronaldo shoved Cade, and the doorman pushed the door close button.

“Let go.” Andie screamed, as three security guards grabbed Cade from behind.

The door closed and her hair was caught.

A searing pain slashed across Andie’s scalp as a clump of hair was torn from her.

She clapped her hand on the bleeding spot and collapsed to her knees. The transmitter was gone, falling down the elevator shaft while she was going up to the private game room—alone with Ronaldo—a man who could be the biggest crook of all.

“Are you okay?” Ronaldo dabbed her head with a monogrammed handkerchief. “You still up for playing?”

“Of course I am.”

“Good.” He appeared too serious to be the Ronaldo she knew. What the heck was he up to now?

“
A
ndie
, Andie!” Cade surged from the grasp of the security guards and pounded on the closed elevator doors.

“Cade, cool it.” Owen tapped him. “You’re screwing everything up.”

A raging tide welled up from Cade’s gut, and he turned on Owen. “What the heck are you guys up to? Tell me now.”

“Not in here,” Owen hissed, his eyes darting at the gawking bystanders. “You have to calm down.”

“Fine, but you’re telling me everything.”

Owen guided Cade from the main casino floor and out the lobby. “We don’t have that much time before I have to be back in the hotel room and finish playing newlyweds.”

“Why you—” Cade grabbed Owen by the lapels.

“Stop the macho alpha male bullshit.” Owen brushed Cade’s hands from his suit jacket. “It’s to throw off the bad guys. Andie and I are working with the FBI.”

“No, no. This can’t be happening. She’s in danger. Tell me how to get up there.”

“I don’t know. We have to trust the agents. They have a listening device on her and they’ll move in if they have to. Don’t worry. They’re professionals.”

Cade’s skin prickled white hot and he felt like ripping it off. How could he stand around and do nothing while Ronaldo was taking Andie to meet the kingpin of the operation?

“Did you know Ronaldo was a part of this?” he asked Owen.

“No, they don’t let us know these things. Keeps it safer so we don’t give anything away.” Owen checked his watch. “Why don’t we go to the bar and watch the game?”

“Don’t tell me Andie’s part of the gambling ring.”

“You got it. There’s someone on the team who’s transmitting bets from the field. These last two minute bets are the most lucrative if the score swings drastically. Most of the time, they don’t pay off, since the game’s a snooze fest, but when something wild happens to the spread …” Owen spread his hands wide and wiggled his fingers. “Whoohoo!”

“They’re putting Andie in danger. How do you know they won’t hurt her?” Cade gripped his fists until his knuckles cracked.

“They won’t. Someone high up in the organization vouched for her. They called her, but we were already prepared. We set up the deal with the FBI ahead of time.”

“When did you do this? I can’t believe Andie didn’t tell me.” Cade felt a riptide of emotions churn in his chest. “I’ll kill you if she doesn’t come out of this.”

“Calm, calm.” Owen led the way into one of the sports bars. “It was Andie’s idea to talk to your sister and see what she knew. From there, all we had to do was contact the FBI and let them know we had an ‘in’ to the organization. Since she was dating you, and you’re a prominent member of the team, the baddies probably thought she was good as gold.”

“She’d better be okay.” Cade slumped himself onto a barstool. “What do you know about Ronaldo?”

“Hey, I was just as surprised to see him as you were.”

“Well, I’m calling him. He’s already seen me, and I’m sure they know by now that Andie’s doing this without my approval. I can’t see how it would blow her cover.” Cade took out his phone and punched in the speed dial number for his one-time mentor and buddy.

There was no answer. Dammit. Why had he expected Ronaldo to be on his side?

A
ndie’s heart
was fit to burst from her ribcage. Ronaldo pulled on a pair of dark glasses and did not make eye contact. He acted as if he didn’t know her. Was he on the Fed’s side or was he with the crooks? There was no telling, and now that she’d lost her voice activated recorder, she was on her own.

The elevator opened into a dimly lit suite at the top of the casino. Smooth jazz played through the sound system. In the background, the rattle of chips, cards, and bouncing roulette balls filled in the space between the low mutter of conversation interspersed with the clink of cocktail glasses.

Ronaldo steered Andie away from the gambling tables and pushed her into a corridor. A man standing guard opened the door to a room full of …

Andie blinked, her eyes adjusting to the redness throughout the room. It looked more like a torture chamber than a bedroom, although prominent in the middle of the room was a bedlike structure covered with blood-red velvet. She gulped at the racks full of whips, chains, belts, and hooks. Some kind of pulley mechanism hung from an iron beam over the center of the bed.

“Wait, this wasn’t what I signed up for,” Andie protested, as Ronaldo shoved her into the room. “I was supposed to play at a whale table. Hundred thousand dollar chips.”

Ronaldo’s hand cupped over Andie’s mouth, and he shoved her onto the bed. Andie’s scream was cut off by a sash tight across her mouth. Visions of razor blades, knives, and blood clouded her with terror as she thrashed on the bed, whipping her head back and forth and scratching and kicking.

Other hands restrained her, how many, she didn’t know, except her dress was ripped from her body, and rude fingers yanked her panties and tossed her bra.

She was pushed face down on the bed and examined. Even though her FBI trainer had told her to relax, to let them frisk her for wires, Andie’s veins were flooded with adrenaline and she bucked and twisted as hard as she could.

“It’ll be easier if you cooperate,” Ronaldo said, his voice as cold as ice. “Tie her up.”

Cuffs clamped her hands and feet, and someone pulled the chains over the bed, ratcheting them until she was stretched to the limit, her arms and legs at all four points of the compass.

Again, the fingers examined her from head to toe. Tears leaked from Andie’s eyes and she whimpered, no longer caring to be tough. She should have gone with Cade and aborted the mission. What if they left her here or killed her? Her screams were useless anyway, and she didn’t have her transmitter.

“She’s clean,” one of the goons announced after the poking and prodding stopped. Someone else fitted an earpiece into her ear and swept her hair to cover it.

“We’re going to uncuff you, only if you cooperate. Otherwise, you forfeit your share,” Ronaldo said with his ice cold voice, in contrast to his usual joking snark.

Andie nodded and tried to relax. The worst part was over. Adrenaline zinged through her veins and she was ready for whatever came next. The most important thing was to nail the crooks and rescue Cade’s mother. Her mind sharpened, no longer fuzzy, and she focused on the endgame. “I’ll cooperate. Don’t worry about me.”

“Good, get dressed and meet me outside,” Ronaldo said. “The game is winding down. Five minutes.”

The four cuffs clicked, unlocking, and everyone left the room. Andie found a jade green dress and a necklace—a green four-leaf clover which fronted a voice activated transmitter. Natasha had said she shouldn’t assume anything, so she put on the necklace, and slipped into the too tight and clingy dress.

They hadn’t bothered to leave her any underwear, so she pulled the dress over her butt, barely, and found sparkly green stilettos at the foot of the bed.

Every beat of her her heart punctuated her nerves, but Andie took a deep, cleansing breath and opened the door.

Without a word, Ronaldo took her hand and kissed her cheek, then led her like a trophy to the gaming table. This time, she didn’t need to put any money down.

As soon as she took her seat, the croupier passed a pile of chips to her, and she waited for the voice to connect in her earpiece.

No one was at the wheel except for her and the croupier. Even Ronaldo had disappeared. All casinos had video monitoring above every table, the so-called eye in the sky, so Andie was sure the bookmakers were watching her every move.

The connection was made, and she heard the noise of the football game. Coaches shouted plays and whoever was connected to her breathed heavily, as if he were full of nerves.

The crowd roared and the referees’ whistles blew.

“Miss, you there at the table?” the man’s voice said.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Andie replied.

“Bet on red and put another chip on four.”

She cast in her mind whether she’d ever heard the man before. His voice was deep and honey-toned, almost like a singer’s bass voice. Melodious.

“Red and four,” Andie confirmed. She placed one chip inside on the number four and another one outside on the word ‘Red.’

This was really too easy, except for the subterfuge. Who was this guy?

“If I need you to back out of it, play zero,” the voice said.

“Got it.”

“Wait for the play.”

Meanwhile, in front of her, the croupier said, “No more bets.”

As if there were anyone else around the table. Andie watched the turn of the wheel and the hopping little ball while she listened to the noise on the field—the thudding of the men hitting each other and the ‘Shit’ expelled by her contact.

“Okay, I need you to back it out. Play zero.”

“Sure, no problem,” Andie replied. “Zero on the next spin.”

A few minutes later, the voice said. “Go black and six.”

“Got it, black and six.”

Again, she heard the background of coaches shouting. Someone said, “Hey, Rob, you talking to your girlfriend again?”

“Fuck,” the voice said right before cutting the connection.

Rob Cash! That asshole. She should have known. The problem now was to prove it was him. Her effing voice recorder was gone, and it would be her word against his. But glee rose in her heart and she felt like jumping up and down and clapping. Rob was the crook. They’d gotten their man.

All that remained was to find out why he wanted to kill Cade’s mother and where he was holding her.

The little ball rolled and rolled, jumping and skittering. It landed on six, a black number.

“Squee!” Andie bounced on her seat and clapped. “I win. What do I do now?”

The croupier put the glass dolly on her chip. “I reckon you collect. Thirty-six to one on a hundred thousand dollar chip. You’re one lucky girl wearing the four-leaf clover.”

Andie waited, but her earpiece was not connected again. Ronaldo returned to the room and clapped a hand on her shoulder. “Game’s over. Warthogs blocked the field goal attempt and ran it back for a touchdown.”

“Warthogs won? Flash lost?” Andie clarified.

“Yep, and the spread was exactly six. Good job.” He clamped an arm over her shoulder and kissed her on the lips, short and impersonal, while slipping the earpiece from her ear. He handed her a green leather purse. “Here are your winnings. You’re free to go back to your husband.”

“You mean back to my room?”

“Yes, don’t ask any more questions.” Ronaldo pinched her arm, pushing her into the elevator. He tapped a code into the panel and stepped out of the elevator right before the door closed.

Andie opened the purse and gasped. It was full of chips. But why was she going back to the room she shared with Owen? Wasn’t she supposed to turn the chips over to the crooks so the Feds could catch them in action?

Suddenly, she wasn’t feeling well anymore. Dizziness overtook her as her mind worried over the details. A jolt froze her veins and her heart slammed in her chest. What if Owen was the mastermind of the entire operation? What if all the FBI people she met were criminals? What would happen to her now?

No one was watching her. She could throw the chips away or call the police and turn them in. But would they believe her or think she was crazy?

The elevator door opened to the main casino. Andie stepped out as the doorman held the door. She glanced at her surroundings, but no one made a move toward her.

What to do? What to do?
She had no identification, no cell phone, nothing but the bag of chips worth millions of dollars. The only person she could trust was Cade, but where was he?

They couldn’t possibly let her go with all this money, just walking around. Should she go back to her room and find that prepaid cell phone so she could contact Cade? But then whoever they were could be there, waiting to ambush her.

Andie wobbled on the stilettos that didn’t quite fit her. Decision made. She wouldn’t go anywhere until she found Cade.

Walking around the casino, she peered at the groups huddled around the gaming tables. When she was young, her mother had always told her to go back to the last place she saw someone if she was lost.

Cade hadn’t been at the bottom of the elevator. Perhaps he was waiting for her at the fourth roulette table. Andie rounded the corner toward the roulette area.

An arm clamped around her shoulder and a female voice said, “Give me your purse.”

It was Barbara, Cade’s mother.