I shrugged and refrained from commenting that I’ve given tougher performances. Still, she ranked several notches higher in my esteem. Especially now that, for the very first time, I could see her eyes, uncovered by specs, glittering with adrenaline rush.
“So,” she commented, wiping her mouth with a washcloth. “What’ll we do until checkout time?”
Feigning fatigue and nonchalance—though I knew she could read me, too—I faked a yawn.
“I wonder what’s on pay-per-view.”
* * * *
The Mazellas were on to something with their betting system. Word spread among bookies—Vegas and online—not to try nibbling at the Golden Palace oddsmakers.
Thanks to the tap that Ludmilla and I planted, Sophia Van Took’s team quickly zeroed in on the GP secret sauce—an improved algorithm for weighting wagers from a
