Escaping Vegas (The Inheritance Book 1) Read Free Page A

delivered in a timely manner.
    By the time she returned her attention to the roulette game, she realized they’d both lost the last spin. Feeling adventurous all of a sudden, she pushed a stack of chips onto black. It had brought her luck before, and she could do with another win. Wishing for a fan to reduce the flush on her skin, Madalina watched the ball roll around the rim of the roulette wheel.
    The Grouch leaned against her shoulder once more, sliding a pile of chips next to her own.
    “Do you mind?” she said with just the faintest amount of irritation. Whether it was at him for his potency or herself for her weakness, she couldn’t be sure.
    “Not at all. I’m doing you a favor, you know. You’re weaving on your seat—too many drinks, too fast—and it’s my duty to make sure you don’t topple onto the floor. What would people say?” he retorted in a dry tone.
    Was she weaving on her seat? The drinks were catching up to her rather quickly. “I’m not weaving. I’ve only had two Gypsy Girls—as you probably know.” The tart reply earned a rumbling chuckle from the Grouch.
    “You should have a care how you word things,” he said, settling his body between her seat and the next .
    Madalina, fascinated by the broad knuckles and tapered fingers of Grouch’s hand, studied the pattern of veins running under the skin and contemplated whether he had soft palms or the rough ones of a man used to hard labor. As if he had caught her looking and guessed what she was thinking, he turned his hand over. A row of calluses greeted her questing gaze, which she diverted as soon as she realized what he’d done and what she was doing.
    The ball landed on black, she realized belatedly. She smiled in triumph. Reaching over at the same time as the Grouch, she bumped her arm into his by accident. An awkward rearranging of limbs ensued until she exhaled in exasperation and pulled her stack of winning chips closer. For all her bluster, Madalina admitted to herself that the Grouch wasn’t all that bad to be around. She could be standoffish all she wanted, but the stark reality was that she eagerly awaited the next lean of his body into hers when he placed his bet.
    It’s the alcohol talking , she argued with herself.
    “What numbers or colors are we playing this time?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
    Just as she opened her mouth to deliver a cunning little retort, a gentle yet firm pair of hands landed beneath her other elbow. Instinctively clutching her purse, Madalina glanced over her right shoulder. A man of Asian descent, attired in a sharp suit of black and white with an ice-blue tie, eased her from the seat with a cordial smile and gleaming dark eyes.
    “Pardon, Miss. There’s been a slight problem with your room,” the man said in a quiet voice. “May I have a word for a moment?” Not as steady on her feet as she hoped to be, she started to mention her forgotten chips. The Asian gentleman seemed to understand her hesitation.
    “The dealer will hold your chips and your place at the table. We’ll just be a few minutes.” With momentum on his side, he escorted her from the table.
    Madalina cut a quick look back at the Grouch, who stood near her empty seat, posture alert, eyes glinting with curiosity.
    I’ll be right back , she mouthed. Madalina thought she imagined the way his curiosity shifted to displeasure.
    “You see,” the Asian man said, drawing her attention back, “we are doing some remodeling on the room erroneously rented to you. Workers begin tomorrow at six in the morning, so we would like to relocate you to a suite—if that’s acceptable to you.”
    Madalina walked at his side, forced to take small, quick steps to keep up. The casino was a blur in periphery while she focused on her escort. They wanted to upgrade her to a suite? She wouldn’t have been able to afford such luxury on her own.
    “Well, that’s fine. Where are we going?” she asked as they left the gaming area. She