Vegas: B 02

CHAPTER FOUR: INVESTIGATIONS

Holly was wrapping herself in a fluffy, cream towel after a long, pampering soak in her jacuzzi bath when her cell phone rang. From the tune, she knew this was the second of her phones and the one that only rang on specific occasions. As was her routine, she allowed it to ring and then waited to see if the caller left a message. Thirty seconds later the message came through.

It took her an instant to retrieve it and she leant back against one of the four pillows as she returned the call.

"You left a message," was all she said when she heard the voice at the other end.

"I have to congratulate you," came the voice she recognised as Joshua Smith's. "A very professional operation from what I understand."

"That's what you paid me for," Holly responded. Although it was her normally unbreakable practice to conduct 'business' by telephone, she always kept conversations to the minimum.

"Quite," responded Joshua. "The money reached your account?"

"I would not have executed the plan otherwise," she softly responded, speaking in the usual Irish accent to disguise her voice.

"And I believe I got two for the price of one..."

"Consider it a bonus," Holly replied, taking a sip from the chilled bottle of water. "No extra charge."

"You ran into a problem?" Joshua asked.

Holly frowned and sat forward on the bed. This conversation had lasted long enough.

"Was there anything else?" she abruptly asked.

She heard the sigh at the other end, followed by a pause.

"Yes. I explained during our first conversation that there were three people who damaged my business. You told me you would only accept... er, the job... one by one. I now need to engage you on the second."

Holly took a long drink as she eased herself from the bed and walked to look out of the window.

"One arrangement at a time is correct," she mechanically said. "The price is the same. Send the details by the same method. When the money is confirmed, I'll execute the plan."

"Everything will be in place tomorrow," came the reply.

"Tomorrow then," said Holly, immediately ending the call.

If she made it through the Main Event today, that would cause a small problem for her tomorrow. But then she was used to problems. And poker was only a cover. She knew where her priorities lay.

*

Lauren's heart pounded when she heard Grace's voice at the other end of the telephone.

"Hello, young sister of mine," Grace said with a smile in her voice. "I got your message, thanks. How is life in Los Angeles?"

"It's all good, Grace," Lauren lied sheepishly. "What about with you?"

"Fantastic. I have to go into a recording in five minutes and will call you again later," Grace responded cheerfully. "But you said your call was urgent."

"Recording?" asked Lauren.

Her purpose in ringing Grace was to make sure that everything was going well and that Samuel wasn't coercing her into entertaining his clients whilst at the same time trying to undermine Grace. If she was to meet his requirements, she first of all wanted to ensure that her sister was okay. It seemed she was.

"Another album," Grace gleefully said, her voice upbeat. "I can't tell you how well things are going."

That was all that Lauren needed to hear.

"But what's so urgent?" Grace continued.

"N... Nothing," Lauren stuttered as she sucked her lip. "I had... a bad dream last night and just wanted to make sure you were fine."

Grace laughed, her voice dancing over the airwaves. "You're crazy," she laughed. "But I'm fine thanks, Lauren. In fact, things couldn't be better."

Lauren felt a mixture of relief at her sister's happiness and a concern in the pit of her stomach that she would have to meet Samuel's terms.

"That's great. Oh, by the way, I bumped into Samuel the other day."

"Really," said Grace, and it seemed to Lauren that her voice brightened further. "That man has been so good to me, how is he?"

Lauren gave a soft sigh of defeat.

"He's good," she replied. "I won't keep you, I'll tell you more when we speak later."

"Great," Grace responded. "And you can bring me up-to-date with life as the queen of adult movies. I do envy you Lauren, do you know how long it is since I was with a man? This reputation they've cultivated for me is driving me mad."

Lauren scrunched her lips together and gave an ironic grunt.

"And I bet you are getting laid every night?" Grace laughed.

Lauren was pleased Grace couldn't see the expression on her face as she sighed heavily. You have no idea, she sadly thought. You have no idea!

*

Katherine was naked as she gazed out of her bedroom window onto the expansive gardens below. She was well aware that she was smoking her third cigarette of the morning but her thoughts were focused on the events of the last forty-eight hours.

She knew she should have telephoned Joshua, but was also aware that her life would be in severe danger should she even contemplate such a thing. She was equally worried about Daniel. It was quite possible he would go to the police and that could prove her downfall also.

The only thing she was sure about was that she needed to sit tight and follow the rules Big Eddie had laid down. And she was determined to do exactly that. On reflection, her position and lifestyle in Joshua's employ had been deteriorating since that bitch Carly had appeared on the scene. And whilst she still had hopes for Daniel, she knew she could do far worse than hook up with Big Eddie.

Such was her concentration on her thoughts that she did not realise her new benefactor had quietly entered her room until she felt his lips on her neck. She heard him laugh as she jumped at his touch.

"God, Eddie, you nearly gave me a heart attack," she gasped.

She attempted to turn towards him but he held her in position facing the window. When he pressed against her, she realised that somehow he was naked, too.

"Lost in a world of your own," he remarked. "I wonder what thoughts were running through that pretty head?"

It was as if he had set her a challenge. As he spoke, she felt his strong hands run up her sides, tracing along her waist from her hips to her breasts, before he cupped them gently.

"I was thinking that I may have fallen on my feet with you," she half truthfully replied, her nipples rising against the warmth of his black palms.

"I'm sure you will get a number of opportunities to prove your gratitude," he growled. "Better make sure you take them."

"Oh, I will, Eddie," she purred, pushing her bottom back into him to emphasise the point.

She could feel the response between his legs and placed her hands over his. She rotated her buttocks against him whilst both pairs of hands caressed her tits. Katherine sighed with arousal. His butterfly kisses along her neck was sensational. The way his thumbs and forefingers took possession of her hard nipples sent a delicious shiver through her.

As she pressed harder backwards against him, she could feel his erect manhood pushing into the valley of her buttocks. A soft moan escaped her lips as his cock slid between her legs. She placed her hands against the window pane to steady herself. But as much as she wanted him to, it appeared he was not yet ready to fuck her.

Instead, his tongue licked along her neck, across the top of her shoulders, and then left a wet trail behind as it moved deliciously slowly down her back. His hands left her breasts as he gently lowered himself behind her, his teeth now nipping at her buttocks. Once on his knees, he slid around to sit in front of her and wedged his back against the wood beneath the long window.

As his fingernails dug into her buttocks and he pulled her hot sex to his mouth, Katherine arched her back and watched her breath steam up the window. She thrust her hips forward, groaning as she felt his tongue taste her.

He seemed intent on taking his time and slowly licked back and forth along her hot furrow before taking her slippery clitoris into his mouth. She cried out as he gently worked on it, as if attempting to suck her orgasm right out of her inner core. It took only seconds before her climax overwhelmed her.

The redhead took one trembling hand away from the window to grasp his head, keeping it tight against her as she shuddered. Throughout her orgasm, his wonderful mouth kept sucking. The gentle stroking of his fingertips along her thighs prolonged the sensation until she felt weak.

This man was a thoughtful lover, she realised, and for him to have been as tender with her as he had brought tears to her eyes. She knew from experience that other men would have just used her for their own pleasure.

She wanted to repay him. At last she let go of his head, sinking down to straddle his body. With his back against the wall, he was fully under her control and she loved the dominance she felt.

Her hand snaked between them to guide his black shaft to her aching sex. His eyes were half closed as she enveloped his thick cock completely. He made her feel deliciously full! She gasped, lovingly taking his head between her hands. His face remained slick from her juices and she tasted herself as their mouths and tongues urgently entwined.

Katherine gave a soft cry of pleasure as his hands began to knead the fullness of her breasts. She began to undulate on him, her knees banging against the wall.

She growled in annoyance, whispering, "Wait a second, baby."

The panting redhead leant backwards so that she could rest her hands on the carpet behind her and then began to ride him. Men loved watching themselves driving in and out of her neatly trimmed sex. Eddie was no different.

She fucked him with hard downward thrusts before pausing every so often to rotate her hips in small circular motions. The delectable friction of her clitoris against the very bottom of his cock with each rotation was almost too much and she realised she was close again.

Her breasts began an erotic bouncing dance across her chest as she frantically resumed her downward thrusts. She needed to finish herself off. She leant backwards and dug her fingers into the carpet behind her as she gyrated on him. The sensation overwhelmed her. Her second orgasm arrived only seconds before she made him cum, too.

Her body shuddered and her breath was shallow, but she was determined to milk every last drop of his seed. Her face contorted as she pulled herself forward and wrapped her arms around his strong neck. She jerked her hips down on him in rhythm with his intense spurts. She released a long, low howl of pleasure as she somehow reached a third, mini-orgasm.

Eddie held her close through her further climax, panting, "Fuck, Katherine, you know how to satisfy a man."

It was then that he heard Tommy's wrap on the door. "Boss, Desmond's on the phone. It's urgent."

*

Holly was excited and nervous and as remarkable as she found it, it seemed her adrenalin was just as high as when she was carrying out the hit yesterday. She realised with a rueful grin that during the year in which she had learned to use poker as a cover for her primary occupation, this was the first occasion that she had actually experienced the full, unexpurgated thrill that it had to offer.

That feeling had been prompted following a conversation with Daniel. He had told her of his exploits last year and her subsequent hour or so of internet research had seen her learn more about the Main Event and its history than she had in the previous twelve months.

And although she still regarded the Event as a considerable second to her main occupation, the competitive instinct inside her drove a desire for her to try and emulate Daniel's feat. The likelihood was that she would never play in the Main Event again and she wanted to give it her best shot.

She looked at her first hand and saw the worst starting hand that the game had to offer. Smiling to herself, she decided to push Joshua and any thought of her last or next targets out of her mind and make an immediate mark.

She raised in an attempt to steal the big blind but unfortunately for her, both the small and big blinds responded to the challenge. Holly gave a soft, inward, sigh and was starting to consider how aggressive she wanted to be post flop when the cards changed her thinking.

Seven-Seven-Two.

After two checks, Holly did the same, attempting to induce a bet later in the hand. It came after the King on the turn. Small Blind raised the size of the pot and despite the sizeable bet against him, Big Blind pushed all-in.

Holly sat quietly, attempting to put him on a hand. Pocket Kings would take her out, but that was the only hand that could harm her. If he held that hand, Holly figured that that Big Blind would almost certainly have re-raised her pre flop raise. Pocket two's was his most likely hand, she reasoned.

"Come on tits," the Big Blind insultingly said. "It's a man's game. Women have no balls."

The others at the table laughed, looking across at Holly as if expecting her to cower away from confrontation.

"Highly original," Holly dryly replied, pushing her chips into the middle.

A buzz of expectation ran around the table and it seemed that Small Blind got caught up in the atmosphere.

"I've got balls, too," he responded as if a macho stance was required, pushing the rest of his stack in and turning over Big Slick.

"You're out of your league," Big Blind responded. He flicked over his pocket two's to show his full house and added, "Okay, tits. Let's see 'em."

Holly slowly turned over her cards and the table gasped as they saw her better full house.

"Goddam it," Big Blind cried. "You fucking raised pre-flop with that crap?"

Holly made no response, sitting impassively as she waited for the dealer to administer the final coup de grace. There were no cards in the deck that could help either opponent.

"Fucking ridiculous," Big Blind snarled after the dealer flipped over the turn and river.

He stood up aggressively, staring over at Holly. "You won't last another five minutes," he snarled.

"Maybe not Big Balls, but that will be five minutes longer than you," Holly responded, finally allowing herself a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some chips to stack."

The other players at the table laughed as he grabbed his jacket and turned on his heels, following Small Blind to the rail. As he walked away, he began to regale anyone in his way on the injustice of life at the poker table.

"Okay, boys," Holly drawled, looking around the table through her dark sunglasses. "You can all see my tits so now let's see who really does have balls."

*

Parker was burning with anger. He was not going to be pushed around by Desmond, Big Eddie or anyone else, although common sense told him that Ming was correct and he needed to take care. He resolved to stay out of Desmond's way, but if and when the opportunity came along to make his mark, he would be ready.

He was hungry and it seemed easier to go out and eat rather than wait for the hood to return and cause another scene. He made his way out into the heat of the day and trudged along the few hundred yards to his favourite eating joint. As soon as he had grabbed an empty booth, one of the elderly waitresses greeted him warmly.

"Hi Parker, how's it going?"

He returned the friendly smile, feeling the warmth of her greeting help diminish the antagonism he was feeling inside.

"I'm good, Marge," he responded. "And you?"

"Never better," she beamed.

That was one of the things that Parker liked about Marge. She was always sunny, no matter what the situation. He allowed himself a long smile as he leaned back in the booth, cupping his hands behind his neck.

"That's good to hear. And Thomas?"

"Ah, he's as grumpy as ever," she responded, but then they both knew what her answer would be. She and her husband were like chalk and cheese.

"You want the usual?" she asked, her pen and pad at the ready.

"That would be good," Parker grinned. "But if you could hurry with that cold beer, I'd be grateful."

"Coming right up," she grinned, heading back to the bar.

*

It was early afternoon when Daniel walked into the Carousel Club. He had heard nothing further from Katherine and had decided that if his visit to the club was fruitless, he would have no option but to call in the police. As he stood at the bar and ordered a Jack Daniels, a beautiful oriental woman approached him.

"Hello stranger, I haven't seen you in here before."

Daniel smiled politely. "You would remember?"

Ming smiled back. "Oh yes, I'd remember. I know all our regular patrons and you are not one of them."

"You work here?" Daniel asked and immediately realised the stupidity of his question.

"I'm the Manager," Ming said, her keen eyes watching him closely. "You look like you have something on your mind. Looking for a girl?"

Daniel's eyes widened. "Well, yes. How did you know?"

Ming laughed out loud, raising her hand and sweeping the room. "We have lots of girls, stranger. That's what we do."

Daniel blushed. "Of course, a little naive of me! But there's one girl in particular I'm looking for."

"So you have been here before?"

"No, no," Daniel hurriedly said. "But I understand she may have worked here."

"Her name?" asked Ming.

"Katherine."

The oriental woman shook her head. "No-one called Katherine has ever worked here. What does she look like?"

"Redhead. About five foot six. Sparkling green eyes and, well, quite a body."

Ming smiled. She knew there was no Katherine but if it was a green eyed redhead he wanted, she could certainly help.

"Not sure," she lied and watched his face drop. "But I'll tell you what, Rosie is dancing next," she added, nodding towards the stage. "She knows all the girls around here. I'll get her to talk to you straight after her performance to see if she can help."

*

Parker had just finished eating when the attractive girl approached his table.

"May I speak with you?" she politely asked, running a hand through her brunette locks.

His eyes creased as he attempted to recall whether they had met before. She answered the question before he asked it.

"You don't know me but I've heard of you," she softly said.

"And what have you heard?" he cagily asked.

"That you own the Carousel Club. I'm looking for a job."

Parker smiled and resisted his first instinct, which was to immediately dismiss her. Girls were always approaching the club for a job. But there was something about the way she stood, leaning to one side with her left hand on her hip, her full breasts pushing against her thin top, that made him hesitate. He nodded and she slipped into the booth, her leg pressing against his as she settled beside him.

"I said we could speak, not that you could join me," he rasped.

Her hand dropped onto his leg as she turned full on to face him.

"It's Parker, isn't it?" When he nodded, she continued. "I really need a job, Parker. And I'll be very grateful."

As she spoke, her right hand moved along his thigh and lightly stroked his crotch. It was such an obvious manoeuvre but with this girl, it was an effective one, too. Parker began to feel himself react under her scratching fingers.

After a long pause whilst she brought him to full erection, he finally spoke. "Tell me more..."

He watched the girl smile, almost as if she had won. In other circumstances such a smile would have seen him turf her out on her ear, but her continuous stroking was proving to be a powerful aphrodisiac.

"There's not much to tell. I arrived in Vegas around a week ago and have been looking for a job since then. I've holed up in a cheap motel and my money has just about run out."

He stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes taking in her features. She had something sexual about her face, her eyes. His gaze dropped; he could tell how delicious her breasts were going to be. He was entranced by the full outlines of the nipples that had appeared to grow as she had explained her position. He felt himself becoming more and more excited and his eyes dropped to her hand in his lap.