Sleight of Hand by Anne Marie Becker

Author:Anne Marie Becker [Becker, Anne Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780990314561
Publisher: Anne Marie Becker

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Emily was setting up to open for lunch when Mason, sans Samson costume, sank onto a barstool in faded jeans and a soft T-shirt. Thursdays were his day off from performing his act, as it was comedy night in the theater.

“Weird to see you out of uniform,” she said.

He eyed her. “You duck me for weeks, and now you want to make small talk. What’s going on?”

“This is the last time. I can’t do this anymore.”

He arched a brow. “Tend bar?”

She narrowed her gaze on him. “Can’t inform anymore,” she said in a lower voice. “Ryan’s watching me like a pit boss and now innocent people might get hurt.”

His eyes softened. “Your father. Though I’m not sure he’s so innocent.”

“In this case, he is. Is he okay? Were you able to connect with your prison contacts?”

“He’s okay for now.” Mason met her gaze.

She didn’t like the concern she read there. “But?”

“He was in a fight in the prison yard this morning. Nobody will say how it started, or who’s responsible. His attacker hit fast and hard, landed a few good punches, and then walked away.”

She sank down on a barstool beside him, her legs suddenly weak. “He’s getting treatment?”

“Yes. The wounds were superficial, bruises and scrapes. I’ve talked to the guards.”

“Thank you for watching out for him.”

He touched her fingers where they lay on her thigh. “And what about you?”

“I’m fine.” And if she died in this mess, nobody would miss her. Maybe her mother, a little bit, but she was trapped in the past most of the time. Karen Moore’s memories seemed to stop in her mid-thirties most days, but she was happy and pain-free in those years. “Ryan wants me to bring him Tanner, and something related to the Redemption Club that Tanner apparently has.”

“The ledger?” Mason asked.

“Ryan has that. He laid it right here on this counter.”

“So close.” Mason’s jaw tightened. He’d been after the ledger for months now, too. “Maybe it’s time I question him, do a search of his suite? The LVPD has been pussyfooting around him. They started to build a case against him as a suspect in Blake Toll’s murder. But then another of the poker players, some guy who calls himself Bubba, came forward to say Ryan left with him, and couldn’t have killed Toll. If you have anything on him that can get me a warrant, that info would be much appreciated.”

“For an egotistical asshole, he’s surprisingly cautious. He hasn’t given me anything to implicate him, but I know he’s guilty of a lot of bad things.” She could feel it in her bones. “Besides, a warrant would put my parents in further danger. I’m not supposed to go to the cops.”

“And yet you are.”

She looked up to find him watching her, a baffled grin on his face, his head cocked to the side as if she were an inexplicable puzzle. “What?” she asked.

“I saw your detective walk you in earlier, so I waited in the casino area until he left.

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