“Well, then I guess that’s all we can hope for.” Bones slams his palms down on the table and stands, exiting. Obviously pissed off. That’s pretty much how Bones is most of the time.
“I rushed into work for that?” Grave snorts. “I could have slept in another hour.”
“Welcome to being a responsible adult,” Titan says, slapping Grave on the shoulder and getting up before leaving.
I close my Zippo and put it in my pocket before I stand. I would usually ask him if he wanted to go to Glass—the strip club to blow off some steam, get fucked up, and fuck strippers—but Grave doesn’t do that now, and for once, I’m not in the mood to go.
I wasn’t surprised to see Derek at Lucky’s last night. I knew who he was the moment I saw him. I’ve done my homework on Alexa. Father left when they were younger. Mother’s dead. Derek is all she has. And he hates me, as he should. I’m not good for her, but it doesn’t mean I’ll stop seeing her.
“How did things go last night with Ethan?” I ask Grave, trying to get her off my mind for now. I know that’s where he had Nite take him. He wanted to keep me out of it for a reason. Maybe so Bones won’t find out. We all know Nite doesn’t talk, but he knows all of our secrets.
He shrugs. “Same ole shit, just a different day.”
I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I don’t dig. If Grave has a problem that needs to be fixed, he’ll come to me.
I make my way down to the casino floor and over to my tattoo shop. I opened up Tit for Tat about two years ago, and it’s my baby, other than Kingdom. The guys and I share the hotel and casino, but we each have something that is just ours.
Titan has the Queens. They are our ladies of the night. Our very discreet escort service we supply for the elites around the world. Men fly in from all over to be with one of our girls.
Grave has the nightclub—Crown.
I have the tattoo shop.
And Bones … well, he buries himself in Kingdom. His other businesses are outside of these walls.
I push open the glass door for Tit for Tat and see the brunette’s head snap up from behind the front desk.
“Cross …” She rushes out from behind it. “About last night …”
“Don’t care,” I tell her, walking through the lobby and to the hallway. I’ve been fucking my assistant ever since I hired her. Not my best idea, but we were both very open about it not being serious. She needed this job because she slept with her fiancé’s brother, and he called off the wedding. So, it wasn’t like I expected her to belong to me. I know men get shit for this, but not all girls are for you. Some are just to use. And women see men the same way.
“It’s not what it seemed.” She goes on, trying to explain herself.
“I don’t care,” I say honestly. Why she thinks I care who she fucks is beyond me.
“Cross …”
I come to a stop and spin around, her body running into mine. I reach out and place my hands on her shoulders. “It’s fine, Rachel. You are free to fuck whoever you want.” I’m not going to tell Alexa what I saw at the Airport. I highly doubt she’d care what Mitch is up to. She has definitely moved on from him no matter what their past is. They weren’t married—I checked—and they don’t have kids together. So she is free of his ass.
“But …”
“Now, I have an appointment in twenty minutes, and I need to get set up.” I push off her and turn, giving her my back and entering one of my many rooms, ready to start my day with a gorgeous bleach blonde with green eyes still heavy on my mind.
ALEXA
I SIT IN my car outside of Kingdom, my fingers hovering over the text that I got from Cross earlier today.
Cross: Good morning, gorgeous. See you tonight?
Gorgeous? Why do I smile like an idiot every time I read that? I’m not the type of woman who cares about pet names. Or so I wasn’t. And the see you tonight part? I’m glad he’s keeping it sexual and not trying to take me to dinner. I can buy myself dinner.
Placing my cell in my purse, I exit my car just as a guy walks up to me dressed in a three-piece black suit.
“Good afternoon, miss. Are you checking into the hotel?”
“No. Just here to try my luck,” I say, handing over my keys. Half true. I’m not here to gamble, but I’m not sure how well Cross will take to me just dropping by to say hi. Casual sex and clingy woman can look the same to a man.
I make my way up the stairs and step into the casino. Machine’s ding, and people are hollering at the tables. I’ve never been much of a gambler and haven’t stepped foot in a casino as much as I have in this week at Kingdom.
I’m not sure where to find him exactly. I know that tower one is for the Kings only and where their suite is, but it’s midday. I know he’s not in bed. I pull my cell out of my purse and call Jasmine.
“Hello?” she answers, sounding half asleep.
“Quick question. If I was at Kingdom looking for Cross, where would he be?” It’s a long shot, but the best one I’ve gotten at the moment.
“Tit for Tat,” she answers through a yawn.
“And what is that exactly?”
“It’s his tattoo shop. If he’s not there, then he’s on the thirteenth floor of tower one. That’s where their offices are.”
“Okay. Thank you. Go back to bed now.” I laugh.
“No. No. I need to get my ass up. In fact, I need some food. You’re at Kingdom now?” she inquires.
“Yeah,” I say, looking around to see where the hell Tit for Tat is.
“Lunch at Empire? Give me an hour?” I hear her shower come on.
“Yep. Meet you at the restaurant.” I hang up and see that I had a new text message come through while I was on it.
CUNT: Please call me. I need to talk to you.
Ignore.
A cocktail waitress dressed in a black halter top with black booty shorts walks by, carrying a tray of drinks. I step out and stop her. “Excuse me? Where’s Tit for Tat?”
“Walk past the poker tables and take a right. You can’t miss it,” she says, nodding toward the tables to my left.
I thank her and adjust my purse on my shoulder. My heels dig into the soft black carpet covered in what looks like gold confetti. This place is a dream—literally. People come here hoping to win big and return home a completely different person—a wealthy one.
I pay attention to the gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to avoid the fact that I woke up this morning and shaved my entire body after reading his text. Even though he’s already seen it, I wanted it to be as smooth as possible and smell amazing. I even did a conditioning treatment. Like hello? What the fuck am I doing? This is not how a woman acts over a fuck boy. But then I remind myself nothing is wrong with self-care, and my mind was back on track. Hygiene is important.
Passing the end of the poker tables, I turn right and see the red neon sign that reads Tit for Tat above the black tinted windows.
Bingo!
Reaching up, I fix my hair to frame my face and take in a deep breath, smoothing my shirt down. Then I walk over to the door. Opening it up, I have a smile on my face, but it drops off the moment I step inside and see the woman standing behind the desk.