Death On the Flop by Jackie Chance Read Free Book Online Page A

mind over this, I’ll be happy, and as long as he can get close to beating some guy named Steely Stan, he’ll be happy.”
    Frank frowned and snapped, “What do you know about Steely Stan?”
    His tone was so ominous, I took a step back into my stool. “I don’t know anything about him, except that my brother seems to dislike him. Ben thinks he’s a bad sport, bad ambassador for the game. I guess he’s the best player and the guy to beat. It sounds like overblown competitive male egos if you ask me.”
    “I hope it’s just that,” Frank said seriously, laying a hand on my forearm. “Just tell your brother to be careful. Stan Trident is a powerful guy.”
    “Oh.” I leaned in, whispering, “Like Ben shouldn’t rock the boat because these tournaments are fixed?”
    “No.” Frank shook his head decisively. “This one isn’t fixed, I can guarantee that. Just tell Ben to play his game, but not to get on the wrong side of Stan outside the tables.”
    I folded my arms over my chest. “Sounds a little over-dramatic to me.”
    Frank glowered. “This is serious stuff. Where are you two staying?”
    I shrugged. “Ben failed to tell me before he ran off to lose money.”
    Standing, Frank reached into the back pocket of his well worn Levi’s, stretching the old denim impressively over his hips. I forced my gaze back up. Bad girl. He grabbed my right hand and put a business card in it. Uh-oh. Not another Cyrano.
    He met my gaze with his dark-eyed one that bored into my core. Frank was nothing if not intense. I resisted the shiver that tickled at the base of my spine. “Listen, if you need anything while you are here, call me,” he whispered quietly but not softly. “That has my cell phone on the front and my room number at the Lanai is on the back. Call me if you have any questions or need any help. Okay?”
    Great, I hadn’t been in Vegas an hour and I already had two men force their phone numbers on me. I guess I wasn’t totally over the hill yet. Of course, I don’t think either one wanted to sleep with me. One wanted to watch me sleep with someone else and the other just wanted to protect my brother. Here we go again. Life was all about other people. I sighed. “Thanks, Frank.”
    Turning his back to me, he reached into his pocket again and I resisted the urge to be jealous of his hand. He threw a wad of bills on the bar, knocked on it and pointed at the waitress, another secret signal, no doubt. She waved him off with concern in her eyes. Frank spared me one more deep glance carrying a meaning I couldn’t interpret and strode off toward the front door of the casino. He was taller than he’d seemed slumped on the bar stool, about six-one, and his long strides consumed the floor so confidently I wouldn’t have believed he’d had as much to drink as I’d seen. Maybe his whisky had been watered down. I picked up his empty glass and sniffed. Nope.
    When he was out of sight, I opened my fingers to read the card in my hand.
     
FRANK GILBERT
Security
     
Security? A Bruce Willis commando type or polyester uniform security guard type? What or who was he securing anyway? I turned the card over. In a bold, heavy script he’d written Rm 2521 . Did he have this handy to pass out to every available woman he encountered?
    And if he was a Las Vegas local, why was he staying in a casino hotel?
    “Don’t hurt yourself,” the bartender, whose name tag read “Spring,” warned as she collected Frank’s glass.
    “What?”
    She laughed, deep and throaty. “Smoke’s coming out your ears, girl.” She shook her head at me. “Let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t try to make things make sense in Vegas, just take things as they come. And don’t try to figure out Frank Gilbert. There’s a reason he lives in Vegas, and the reason is he wants to keep his secrets. Here, we let him.”
    “So, Frank’s your friend?” I asked.
    “I know Frank. I see him around here a couple of times a week. I wouldn’t call