Dark Ties (Made Men 9)

The door flung open, and a big, suited guy stood on the other side, not looking happy to see Maria, but he moved to the side nonetheless for her to enter.

Nadia couldn’t believe what she was looking at. It was another casino full of tables and risqué-dressed women all over. This casino, she was sure, was the best kept secret in all of Kansas City.

Still holding her arm, Maria said hi to the passing lingerie-clad women as if she was on a first name basis with them all. As she sat them at an empty blackjack table, Nadia could see she had no reason to fear for her life at all with the woman. She was the friendliest girl she had possibly ever met—

“You wish.” Maria flashed her left hand and shiny rock, practically taking a man’s eye out when he leaned too closely to her so he could whisper in her ear.

When his eyes drifted over to Nadia, then, her next words came out as a hiss, “Does she look familiar? Or did you happen to miss yesterday’s paper.”

Realization hit the man like a Mack truck.

The blonde’s pouty lips lifted into a wicked smile. “Unluckily for you, you happen to not only hit on his girlfriend, but his daughter in one fell swoop.”

Now the man looked like he was going to shit himself. “I-I’m sorry. Please tell your fath—I mean, Mr. Caruso—I apologize.”

“Hmm …” Maria tapped her chin with a manicured nude nail. “I’ll think about it.”

Correction: Maria eats men for breakfast.

Nadia would have a reason to fear for her life if she were a man, but luckily for her, she wasn’t. This poor sucker, however, wasn’t as lucky.

“That’s your cue to leave,” came from a female voice.

When the man scurried off, Nadia turned to see the woman who now stood on the dealer side of the table. Snickering with Maria, she was a different kind of a man’s dream of a woman than Maria was. Where the blonde bombshell was a tall, legged, sophisticated woman, fit for a runway, the dealer was every horndog’s wet dream—short, curvy for days, and had a pair of tits on her that Hugh Hefner would have wanted plastered on the cover of the next issue of Playboy. It would undoubtedly be a bestseller, too, and Nadia herself would purchase it.

“I’m Sadie, the pit boss,” she introduced herself with a fast shuffle of the deck. “But for Maria, I go back to dealing just for her.”

Watching Sadie take several hundred-dollar chips out of the tray to place in front of the blonde, she didn’t want to hold them up. “I’m sorry. I don’t have anything on me. I lost my purse the other day, and I didn’t think I’d be gambling when I came here.”

“Oh no, you will not be paying to gamble in my father’s casino,” Maria said, halving her chips and placing them in front of Nadia. “He owes you a lot more than this for getting you plastered on the front page of The Kansas City Tribune.”

“That’s right.” Sadie nodded firmly in agreement before giving her a wink. “Plus, what good is it to be the boss’ new girlfriend if it doesn’t come with perks?”

“Oh … I’m not …” Nadia couldn’t even say the words, knowing a one-night stand with the man was far from being called his girlfriend.

“Honey, we all saw the picture.” Sadie’s tone matched a mother’s telling her daughter that she knew everything there was about love. “If he’s not asked you to be his girl, he will soon.”

Maria simply bobbed her head in agreement, like the best friend who was telling her that her mother was, in fact, right.

“Oh God.” Nadia’s head fell to the table, her mind that was once clear wavered back into a jumbled mess.

“Don’t worry, honey. You came to the right place.” The pit boss assured her before yelling to a passing waitress, “Cherry, two tequilas and two waters!”

Maria patted her back in comfort. “Yeah, Sadie’s the woman whisperer. She’ll sort you right out.”

“That’s right. I sorted Maria out, and now look at her. She’s married to the second finest man in all of Kansas City.” Confidence slipped through the pit boss’ lips.

Again, Maria held up the big diamond as proof on her left hand.

“It’s beautiful,” Nadia told the girl again so she would finally put it down.

“Wait—who’s the first?” Maria went back to Sadie, catching that she had called her husband only the second finest man in Kansas City.

“Oh, buttercup”—Sadie tapped the tip of Maria’s perfect nose—“I love you and all, but if I told ya, then I’d have to kill ya. Now, how is Dom doing?”

“Good.” Maria laughed, letting her drop it. “He’s still perfect, of course.”

Nadia said a silent prayer for the man named Dom. Within the ten minutes she had known Maria, she was a handful and probably had the schmuck by the ball—