Fall Into Place (Taking the Fall 5)

Opening the bathroom stall, I look at myself in the mirror. I look like a lot of the other girls walking around Vegas. I apply more make-up than I’d normally wear and brush out my hair. The easy part is going to be stealing from whatever man I’m going to target. The hard part is going to be talking to him. I might be trained to take care of myself, but I wasn’t trained to seduce.

The only men I’ve been around were my father’s bodyguards, and they were more the grunt-when-they-talked type. I’ve watched movies, though. I can do this. I fluff my hair and pull the top of my dress down a little, trying to push my boobs up. I don’t have a ton of cleavage. I’m kind of small all over.

Making my way out of the bathroom, I head to the first bar I see, taking a seat and eyeing the men around me. Two bar stools down is a chubby man in a suit that looks like it might be a smidge too small. He gives me a look that tells me he likes what he sees. When he shifts I notice his watch and drop eye contact, turning away. Fake Rolex. I need someone with a bigger wallet to steal and a watch I can actually pawn somewhere.

Maybe I should try another bar. There seems to be one about every thirty feet in Vegas. Going to stand, I turn and run into a wall of a man. He doesn’t even budge. He reaches out, grabbing me by my hips so I don’t fall on my ass in these four-inch heels.

“Fuck, you smell delicious,” the man says in a deep voice, pulling me closer. I should step away, but instead I place my hands on his chest, dragging my eyes up to him. I have to tilt my head back to meet his gaze, even in my high heels.

Looking up, I lock eyes with the coolest blues I’ve ever seen. I don’t feel like they match the rest of him. His eyes are the only soft thing about him. His grip tightens on my hips, and fire like I’ve never felt shoots through my body. Desire. That’s what this is.

I’m already this close. I might as well go all in. I let my body mold into his, and he takes my mouth in a deep kiss. My first. I have no idea what I’m doing so I let him take control. Like I even had a choice to begin with. He dominates and controls it as he parts my lips with his tongue. It’s fierce and passionate, and I’ve never felt so consumed.

“Wow.” Pulling my head back, I realize what I’m doing and drop my hands, which had been gripping his ass. I take a step back, using my hand to push away from him. What the fuck just happened? Shaking off the fog, I get my thoughts back in order. “Thanks for the kiss.”

I turn to leave, and he grabs me by the waist, pulling me back to him.

“You’re coming with me, or I’ll tell security you just stole my wallet and watch.” My heart jumps into my throat at his words, making me clutch my bag. Where I did, indeed, have his wallet and watch.

“Blin.” I repeat the Russian word for ‘shit’ again. The only Russian I know is from my father. Words he used when we were training, so they are mostly curses.

The man pulls me with him, and I have to half-run to keep up with his long strides. He walks me through the casino, and I make no motions to break free, not wanting to draw attention. Maybe when we’re alone I can get away from him.

He’s big, though. I’ll have to take him by surprise.

Chapter 2

Samuel

When I left Tony in the truck, I knew what I had to do. There wasn’t any messing around. Something happened when I saw her picture, and I can’t explain it. At first glance, it was as if I knew her, like I’d seen her before somehow. But the more I looked at the picture, the more I realized that I’d never met her, but she was mine. My dad tells me all the time about how it was that way for him when he saw my mom. He was a lot older than she was—she was sixteen at the time—but he said one look and he was done. I laughed at him for so long, but as I walk into the casino, my heart beating, my palms sweating, I know what he was talking about.

Nika. She’s the one.

I go straight for the bar, not passing go and not collecting two hundred dollars. I’m on a mission, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with getting a bounty. I spot her from fifty paces and see her eyeing a guy at the bar. My dad taught me everything he knows from the time I could walk, and I know she’s checking out a mark. She’s eyeing him up, and the guy must come up short if the look of disappointment on her face is anything to go by.

My eyes track up and down her body as she flips her shoulder-length brown hair back away from her face. She’s wearing a tight, low-cut sequined dress that blends in perfectly with the people here. The dress is too goddamn short, letting her long, trim legs show. I grit my teeth as I look down every inch of them, seeing she has on some of the tallest heels I’ve ever seen. They would rival some of my mom’s shoe collection for height.

Clenching my jaw and making fists with my hands, I take a breath and try to relax. I’ve got to play it cool. Walking over, I come up behind her chair just as she’s standing up. She runs straight into my chest, and it feels like I’ve been hit with a truck. I don’t move an inch, but inside, my heart is about to explode.