Deadly Odds Read Online Free

something. After a moment, he held his hand out again. “I need to go. Don’t disappear on me, Katherine Daniels.”
    She tapped the fat stack of chips in front of her, then grabbed his hand. “Call me Kate. And I’m not going anywhere.”
    I can promise you that.
    * * *
    After finishing in pit eight, Ross’s crashing sugar reminded him he’d come downstairs for a reason. Other than his annoying curiosity about a spectacular and highly suspicious redhead, his body begged for sustenance.
    Too early for lunch, but he needed to eat and with another ten hours of meetings ahead of him, he might not get time again.
    He hit the cafe for a sandwich. Turkey. On whole wheat—one hundred percent whole wheat—heavy on the lettuce and tomato. He left the cafe carrying a black plastic tote emblazoned with the gold Fortuna logo on both sides. One thing about Samuels, he didn’t skimp on the details. Even the take-out bags were high quality.
    Thunderous yelling came from the craps table where, no matter what time of day, a crowd gathered. People couldn’t resist the rush and the yelling and the camaraderie. At this particular table, a group of guys from the Middle East high-fived. Keep playing, gentlemen . The house wanted to win its money back.
    Beyond craps, slot machines lined the aisle, their blinging sounds loud and inviting. The sounds of heaven. At least for Ross. He lived for this. Even with the stress and Samuels constantly on him about everything from the restroom soap to profit margins, he couldn’t get enough. Running a casino brought excitement and change and risk. All that chaos offset any chance of boredom setting in when it came to number crunching.
    And he’d just met Kate Daniels, a woman he’d be tracking down as soon as he got to his office. A woman he wouldn’t mind, as he’d told Don, keeping an eye on. Chances were she was a hotel guest. After watching her, both from his office and now from the pit, he didn’t peg her as a crossroader, a cheat.
    But something was up there.
    Given that he spent fifteen hours a day at this place—and female distractions had been in short supply these last few weeks—he’d have plenty of time to learn all he could about the lovely Kate.
    Yeah, a little downtime by way of a gorgeous redhead might even out his mood. Even if this particular redhead was more girl-next-door than vixen. Unusual for him. But, he liked that hair and her creamy skin that begged to be touched.
    Pretty much, he needed a woman. That woman.
    In a bed.
    Soon.
    He passed the elevator bank and hooked a right, pushing through the emergency exit. No sense taking the easy way when he could use the stairs. His dawn workouts had suffered since the opening of Casino Fortuna and he needed to get back to the gym before he wound up with extra weight and a heart attack.
    For Ross, a mind numbing, body-shredding workout attacked stress and demolished the insanity that came with running a casino.
    He set his thumb against the pad at the door, waited for the beep and pushed through the third floor entry, where he was met by the double doors leading to the executive suite. Once again, he scanned his thumbprint and waited for the beep.
    Don’s office was the first on the left and Ross’s was last on the right. In between were the offices of the V.P.s of finance, hotel operations, human resources, and marketing. All reporting directly to Samuels and wearing the battle scars to prove it. Working for Samuels meant sustaining the constant pressure that came with a guy who loved the tiniest of details. Nothing was too small for him. Even the toilet paper.
    Some called him a lunatic. Probably a fair assessment. Lunatic or not, Ross was grateful. Samuels had given him the job of his dreams.
    At the end of the hallway, he reached the open area across from his office and found Marcia, his assistant and all-around girl Friday pounding away on her keyboard. Her long dark hair was twisted on top of her head and secured with a