Lift You Up (Rivers Brothers 1)

I can't say for sure exactly what I had been expecting. Maybe something dark and seedy. Like poker games in the back room of a butcher shop in mob movies. Tables, chairs, cigar smoke in the air.

Whatever I had been anticipating, this certainly was not it.

This was, essentially, an actual casino. Underground.

Everything was there from a small row of slot machines against a wall, a long bar with a stacked back bar full of mirrors, and an oversized, intricately carved card table complete with cupholders and a place to store your chips. The center was made of black felt for the cards to glide across.

Black, that was the theme.

Black and gold with a very subtle hint of red.

The walls sported oversized canvas art in moody black and white, some with the occasional splash of red or glint of gold like a gun.

And just like any real casino, there were cameras and guards everywhere.

"Wow," Savea said with a dreamy exhale, half turning in a circle to take it in.

"Yeah," I agreed, wrapping my arm around her shoulders, holding her close as everyone moved around, greeted one another. They'd been oddly silent at the pick-up location, everyone all but ignoring everyone else.

Maybe when they were still on the street, they all felt like they needed to be who they were, keep up appearances in case anyone saw them.

But here, it was clear that everyone was old friends in a detached sort of way. They got to let down the guards their professions - whatever they may be - and coexist.

"How did Harry fit in here?" Savea asked, shaking her head at the people who, while seemingly from very different lifestyles, all oozed wealth and importance.

And Harry, well, didn't.

Not even close.

Hell, we didn't even fit in and we had gone all out dressing like we did. I'd never seen Harry in anything but jeans and various old t-shirts.

"Alright, so who are you?" a woman's voice asked, making us both turn to find her standing there, a perfectly manicured hand wrapped around the stem of a white wine glass.

She was beautiful. In a way completely opposite of Savea. In a rather cold way from her perfect ice blonde hair to the cutting light blue eyes, the impeccable bone structure, the svelte figure draped in gray slacks, an ice blue silk blouse, and sky-high stilettos. Diamonds glittered at her ears, understated, but undeniably real. Expensive.

"Don't worry. We do names here. When we walk back out these doors, everyone agrees - we have never seen each other before."

"I'm Kingston Rivers. I have a private security company. This is Savea."

"I manage a pet store. We're just here because I got kidnapped and beaten up," she supplied, making one of the woman's perfectly groomed brows raise slightly.

"I believe they're the guests of honor tonight," Richard Balefire declared, walking up beside the woman.

"I know you!" Savea declared suddenly, making my head turn to look down at her, finding her gaze on Richard.

"Maybe you saw me on the news..." he started.

"Don't get her started on the news," I mumbled, feeling her elbow jab me in the stomach.

"No. I know you from the store I work at. You came in with your daughter and her bunny... um... Ted. His name was Ted. He was a girl," she added, smiling big as Richard seemed to soften a bit in her presence. "I thought that was cute. Did he like the yogurt drops? Oh, and did those nail clippers work?"

By the time she stopped talking, Richard's lips were curved up, his eyes bright.

"She renamed her Tedadora once you told her that he was actually a she. And, yes, the nail clippers work perfectly. And I have to buy those yogurt things in bulk. It's nice to see you again..."

"Savea," she told him, reaching out to take his hand.

"Richard. And this is Faye," he added, nodding his head toward the woman at. "Our resident madam."

"Yes," Faye said, slowly raising her glass, taking a long sip, making us wait. A power move. "As in madam," she went on, lips curved up when Savea's lips fell open slightly. "With bone structure and an ass like yours, you could be making a fortune," Faye went on casually.

"Well, that's..." Savvy started, making me tense, not wanting her to offend any of these clearly influential people. "Incredibly flattering," she surprised me by blurting out. "That you think anyone would pay to have sex with me," she added, beaming. "But I am pretty happy with this guy right here," she went on, curling into me a bit more, placing a hand on the flat of my stomach. Almost possessively.

"Yes, well, you would be, wouldn't you?" Faye asked, eyes roving over me in that cool, assessing way. "He hangs a suit well, but in a way that says he looks much better without anything on."