Ace in the Hole Read Online Free Page B

into the lobby. He spied an incoming figure moving fast and muttered, “Oh joy.”
    “Gentlemen!” Brittnay gushed. “How lucky am I? The two hottest guys in South Beach have graced our hotel with their presence. Call the paramedics—there will be women swooning all over my lobby.”
    He traded wry glances with Christian over her head.
    “Where are you two off to? Can I help you with anything?”
    Christian answered smoothly, pitching his voice with a hint of flirtation guaranteed to make Brittnay’s panties damp. “I was just going to show Mr. Jackson the ballroom where the casino night is going to be held.”
    “Oooh! Let me help.” She pushed between their tall bodies, looped an arm through each of theirs, and all but skipped down the yellow brick road toward the bowels of the hotel.
    “Are you always this… perky?” Stone asked dryly.
    “Oh yes. I was a cheerleader at Florida State, you know. I just missed being a Miami Dolphin cheerleader at my first tryout last year. Which is really great for a first-timer, by the way. Since then I’ve gone gluten-free, taken up hot yoga, and gotten crazy limber. I can get into all sorts of uhh- maze -ing positions now.”
    “The mind boggles,” Christian commented dryly.
    A snort of laughter slipped out of Stone, and he coughed hastily to cover it up.
    “I know. Right?” Brittnay chirped.
    “Totally,” Stone replied in his best valley-girl imitation.
    “Here’s the ballroom. It’s the most famous feature of the Imperium Hotel. Built in the 1920s, the structure has been refurbished, of course, but its original design and architectural details have been preserved. When the hotel was torn down and rebuilt in the 1990s, this part of the building was not touched.”
    She must have memorized that speech from a hotel brochure because it contained a number of multisyllable words.
    Stone supposed the room was pretty, but he paid little attention to such things. Instead he took note of the many alcove balconies running down both sides of the room overlooking the main floor. The big orchestra mezzanine across the back of the ballroom. The heavy velvet curtains lining the tall windows that could easily conceal a shooter. The row of french doors opening onto an oceanside terrace, every one of which provided an entrance and exit point. A raised theater stage crossed the far end of the room. Oh, goodie. That meant there would be catwalks and lighting rigs to secure.
    He turned to ask Brittnay where the gaming tables and buffet lines would be set up, but she was already on her cell phone. Attention span of a squirrel, apparently. Indeed, she wandered off as he strolled the perimeter of the space in silent horror.
    He glanced over at Christian pacing along silently beside him. “Gaming tables all over this main floor, I assume. Is there going to be a speech?”
    A grimace. “Yup.”
    “Podium on the stage?” he guessed.
    “Correct.”
    “Do me a favor, Christian. Go up on stage and stand where Senator Lacey will so I can check a few sight lines.”
    “Sure.”
    Stone watched appreciatively for a moment as Christian jogged up the side steps and took his place center-stage front. Stone followed more slowly up the steps, moving around the stage, peering past Christian, who was of similar height to the senator. He moved into the wings, stage right, to see how blind he would be if the senator insisted on his security team standing offstage while he gave his speech.
    Jesus. He couldn’t see a thing from back here. He’d be totally blind. Unable to see any threats. He took a few steps forward out of long habit as a bodyguard, scanning the shadows around the edges of the ballroom.
    Without warning, a red laser dot blossomed in the center of Christian’s chest.
    Stone didn’t think, just reacted in response to a dozen years of training and sprinted forward. He tackled Christian in a flying leap that sent them both to the ground, rolling over and over.
    Stone wrapped his arms