Chapter Thirteen

“YOU MADE IT, Letti,” Tony said with an expression closer to genuine pleasure than anything Cary had seen him display all evening. He got up and showed the woman to the empty seat next to him, and then turned to the other players. “For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is my sister, Leticia.”

“Gentlemen,” Leticia smiled with a general nod to everyone and sat down gracefully, while Cary picked up his tray and hastily retreated.

Sister. Cary could definitely see the resemblance. Leticia boasted the same striking good looks as her brother—with the added feminine twist—though the sense of danger that was so apparent in Tony was hidden deeper, under the flair of long dark hair, the stark white pantsuit, and the subtle makeup. But the edge was definitely there, and it was no less sharp. Cary sensed it instinctively, even without knowing anything else about her apart from her being a sorceress.

The other men murmured their greetings, although Cary could tell not all of them were happy to see her. Rossi was frowning, while Biagi had the bad taste to ogle her cleavage. Sebastian nodded curtly and promptly folded out of the round, to everyone’s surprise. He sauntered over to the bar and leaned casually on the counter, grazing out of the Chex Mix and peanuts bowl while Cary got him a beer.

“She’s a sorceress all right,” Bas said in a barely audible whisper, taking the cold bottle from Cary’s hand. “A damn strong one, too.”

It was all Cary could do not to glance at Leticia. He wanted to ask how Sebastian could judge that from simply looking at her, but that would be wasting precious moments. If he said the woman was a strong sorceress, Cary had better believe him and focus on the implications.

“Can she tell you’re a sorcerer, too?” Cary asked, keeping his voice down and going through the motions of wiping a cocktail glass.

“Depends on how suspicious she gets. If I try anything now, she’ll definitely pick up on that. I can’t risk her probing either of us too far,” Bas said in the same low tone and took a swig off his beer.

Cary had no idea why the sorceress would probe him, but either way, they were in pretty deep shit. Ty had postulated Tony might have the sorceress close by to guide him, but not having encountered her so far, they’d believed they wouldn’t have to deal with that particular challenge. Leticia’s presence now rendered Sebastian’s presence practically useless. And that meant he and Cary would have to rely purely on trickery to pull this thing off, because jumping ship at this point was out of the question.

“I’ll distract them somehow,” Sebastian said, pushing away the half-empty bottle. “Watch out.”

Cary nodded. He hoped Ty had heard the exchange, although he realistically could do nothing to help them. It would give him a heads up if the situation went sour, but if it did, Cary wasn’t sure he could count on Ty to help him out. Whatever feelings Cary was stupid enough to have developed toward him, he knew all too well when push came to shove, sentiment was a hindrance.

He flexed his fingers and took a deep breath. These thoughts weren’t at all relevant to the task at hand. This was no different than fishing a wallet out of someone’s breast pocket. He’d done it plenty of times. Magic or no magic, there was no reason to be nervous about it.

Cary repeated the lie to himself, but it did nothing to reassure him.

“Are you in town for business, Ms. Giordano?” Gladden asked with a smile no doubt meant to be charming. The previous round had ended with Biagi raking in the winnings, though he still didn’t come close to beating Sebastian’s current score.

“You might say that,” Leticia said, somewhat enigmatically, and didn’t elaborate further. Cary could only guess that the “business” was closely related to Tony’s experimental application of the amulet. She didn’t join in the game, he noted. It was unusual to have someone sitting at the table without participating, but no one had the bad sense to point that out.

“Leticia is a corporate lawyer,” Tony said. “She’s here to work out a legal strategy for our new joint venture.”

“Don’t tell me you’re buying a hotel casino.” Biagi laughed.

“Not with the market being what it is,” Tony said lightly. “I have something else in mind, but it’s too early to talk about it.”

Rossi, who no doubt was in the know on Giordano’s political aspirations, if not the magical component that would make them a reality, grunted in agreement. Gladden glanced between the siblings curiously; Cary could almost see the possibilities running through his head.

“May I have a champagne, please?” Leticia said, waiving imperiously at Cary.

“And a gin and tonic,” Sebastian piped.

The guy was knocking down drinks like there was no tomorrow, but to be fair, they all were. Cary could hardly tell Bas to lay off the alcohol if he wanted to keep up with the rest. He mixed the gin and tonic and poured the champagne, and brought them over to the table.

“To the lovely lady,” Sebastian declared after they’d been served. He stood up and raised his glass in a toast of typical gallant chauvinism, which Cary assumed to be some sort of move. Leticia gave a tight smile as she sipped her champagne with mild disgust.

Sebastian beamed at her drunkenly and brought the glass to his lips. The effort of coordinating his movements, however, must have been a little too much for him in his state, because he swayed unsteadily, almost toppling over. The full glass slipped from his hand and tumbled onto the beige felt, splattering liquid all over the tabletop, the cards, and the chips.

For a fraction of a second, everyone froze in place, and in that moment, Cary moved in, taking advantage of the unexpected diversion while the attention of the players was rooted on the table. He swooped past Tony, his fingers brushing ever so lightly against the side of the man’s jacket and dipping into the breast pocket. He felt the familiar roughness of the amulet’s embossed surface and nearly recoiled at the heat. Cary remembered how warm it had felt against his skin when he’d used it in the past, but it was practically burning, the metal so hot it almost seared his fingertips. Perhaps it was something to do with Tony’s way of using it, with no magic of his own to feed to the thing.

In any case, Cary didn’t stop to think about it. The amulet slipped into the pocket of his trousers unnoticed, and he started to reach for Tony’s hand for the ring.

“How clumsy of me!” Sebastian exclaimed as he tried, even more clumsily, to straighten up the mess. Tony leaned over to push his chips away from the spillage, and Cary quickly snatched his hand away. There was no way he could take the ring off Tony’s finger without him noticing.

Instead, he rushed to wipe the table with the tea towel draped over his arm. He hoped it was enough to cover for him moving so closely to Giordano. Cary’s heart was pounding in his ears, but it was drowned out in the din of annoyed exclamations, the sound of chairs being pushed back, and Bas’s fussy apologies.

Cary dabbed at the spreading stain with the towel. The amulet was so hot it felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket, but he’d done it. He’d gotten it back. Cary could hardly believe it had been that easy—a mere flick of his hand, and there it was, back where it belonged.

 

“THAT’S ENOUGH,” ROSSI snapped at him, and Cary stepped away hurriedly.

“Well, that was great fun, but I’m afraid that was my cue, gentlemen,” Sebastian said. He checked in with the dealer, tipped the guy a hundred-dollar chip, and gathered his winnings. “I really should call it a night. So sorry for the mess.”

Cary could tell that did not sit well with the others. Rossi leaned back in his chair, watching Bas through narrowed eyelids. Biagi, who was even drunker than Sebastian was pretending to be, glared at him with open resentment. Even Gladden dropped his fake smile and was frowning, looking from one man to another. Enjoying a bit of a lucky streak—up to a point—was okay, but no one had counted on Sebastian actually winning and making it out with the money.

“That’s too bad, Mr. Monroe,” Tony said. Cary could tell he was far from pleased but making an effort at appearing congenial. “Accidents happen, but there’s no reason to cut and run just yet. Why don’t you stay a while longer, keep us company?”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Sebastian said. He shrugged apologetically and made toward the door.

Leticia stirred in her seat and sat up sharply, looking at her brother with concern. “I can’t feel it on you,” she said.

The forced smile slipped from Giordano’s face like an ill-fitting mask. There was no mistaking the moment when realization dawned that things weren’t going as seamlessly as they had the entire evening. His hand went to his breast pocket, looking for the amulet.

“No one leaves,” Tony said quietly.

The tone of his voice gave everyone pause. Even Bas halted, his hand on the doorknob. Sensing a change in his boss’s mood, Rossi half rose from his chair, ready for action.

“Which one of you took it?” Tony said in the same deceptively calm voice, as Leticia stood abruptly and paced around the room. The plush cream carpet muted the fall of her stiletto heels, and Cary could have sworn she was sniffing the air.

“Took what?” Gladden asked, frowning in confusion. The dealer reached slowly under the table, no doubt to press the emergency security call button, but a warning look from Rossi stopped him in his tracks.

Giordano didn’t answer. Instead, he let his gaze wander from face to face, until finally it came to rest on Cary, who was trying his damndest to blend into the background.

“It was you,” Tony said slowly, his eyes locking with Cary’s.

Cary’s mind reeled, scrambling frantically to come up with some kind of a response that would take him off the hook, but he already knew it was futile. Giordano wasn’t stupid—Cary had been the only one, save Leticia, to come anywhere near enough to fish the amulet out of his pocket.

He took a step back, shaking his head mutely and hoping fervently he’d pass for an innocent bystander. He didn’t have to fake being terrified, because he really was scared shitless.

At the same moment, Leticia paused and turned to face Sebastian, like a bloodhound catching the scent of its prey.

“A sorcerer,” she hissed, making some sort of weird gesture with her perfectly manicured fingers. Sebastian flinched, as though she had struck him. “I should have known.”

“What are you talking about?” Biagi huffed. Like Gladden, he looked from one person to the next with a flabbergasted expression that would almost be comical if Cary was in any mood to laugh. “What the fuck is going on here?”

His question hung in the air, unanswered. Without waiting for Giordano’s instructions, Rossi moved to counter the perceived threat, placing himself between Leticia and Monroe and reaching inside his jacket for a weapon that was no doubt hidden there. At the same time, Tony took a step in Cary’s direction, extending his hand.

“Hand it over. Now,” he said in a deceptively quiet voice. The gleam in his eyes was like light reflected off a steel blade.

Cary slowly took the amulet out of his pocket. Its embossed surface was still warm, but no longer searing hot. The chain he’d used to wear it on around his neck was gone. He glanced toward the door, where Sebastian was still poised mid-flight, but he was too far away to make it. Tony was crowding him, and there were too many people, too much heavy furniture, and too many guns in his way.

There was nothing for it. No matter what he did, he was screwed. He raised the amulet above his head, desperately hoping he was making the right move.

“You want it? Come and get it. Catch!” Cary swung his arm in a wide arc and threw the amulet across the room.

Tony’s head jerked to follow the amulet, just in time to see Sebastian catching it. “Get him!” he shouted, but Bas was already pushing through the door, even as Rossi lunged after him. Cary ducked, taking advantage of the momentary disruption, and ran around the poker table, ignoring the dealer’s shocked face and Biagi’s swearing. He was sure he was about to hear gunshots from the hallway, but there was no time to worry about that. At least Sebastian would lead Rossi and the bodyguards stationed in the hallway away. He doubted Tony would actually shoot him with so many witnesses around. If he could only reach the door…

He almost made it. He was so close, only a few steps away. But then Leticia raised her hand again, and he went flying halfway across the room, as if thrown by a powerful blast. He hit the wall so hard the lamp on the side table next to him rattled with the impact.

Ty, get out, Cary thought, but never had the chance to say it out loud. Pain blossomed in the back on his head and darkness closed in.