Con Money

Chapter One: Jinx POV

Music blared in the club as I slithered inside, pulling my sister, Linette, along with me. I bit my lip, gasping in joy at the chaotic scene before me. Tourists and native New Yorkers alike writhed on the dance floor to hot sinful music that moaned about s*x and drugs. Seam from bodies and a fog machine had the neon strobe lights looking more majestic the usual. I breathed in the smell of sweaty bodies and alcohol, basking in the unadulterated scent. This was as close to heaven as a sinner like me would ever get.

I dropped Linette's hand, swimming through the crowd to the dance floor. I wanted a few moments to myself before the work really started. Hands glided over my body and I closed my eyes, moving with the crowd to the heady bass. It pulsed through me as I undulated my body. Hands gripped my hips and bodies rubbed against mine. My head lulled back as I moaned, feeling hot skin and warm lips at my neck.

Linette frowned at me from the bar, annoyed with my antics. I winked, grinding back against the stranger and pulling the girl in front of me closer to dance. She smiled back at me, rolling her hips into mine as the guy behind us reached up to touch us both. Too soon the song was over and I was racing back over to Linette.

"We're here to run game, not play games, Jinx," she said in annoyance. Linette was always so serious, especially when it came to working a potential mark. Linette was a wiz at the honey trap and badger game. She could spot a rich man willing to cheat on his wife from a mile away and Club V was the perfect spot for men with more bucks than brains. Each week a new slew of tourists slipped in, and if they were relieved of some extra cash in the meantime, that was on them for being too stupid to see us coming. While Linny caught money shots to blackmail married men, I'd sneak down to the basement to hustle cocky assholes at cards.

"Mmmm, yeah, but I love games, Linny. We never get to come unless we're on the grift," I pouted.

Linny rolled her eyes. "We gotta find Roger, he said some bigger fish were coming in tonight. All the VIP sections are filled."

I looked around before spotting our cousin, Roger, talking into an ear piece at the other end of the bar. He saw the two of us and waved us over.

"Roger, cop dodger," I joked with a wink as I hoisted myself onto a stool beside him. Our nicknames were corny, sure, but they made since when you knew the story behind them. For example, Roger's first long con had gone so bad he'd had to fake his own death while being chased down by the boys in blue. Hence, Roger, cop dodger.

"Still better than Jinx, you clutz," he joked back, giving my shoulder a light love tap with his fist.

Mine was a testament to my own ability to get in and out of trouble with ease. For every three luck spells I had, three bad luck spells would follow if I didn't follow my little rituals... like going out to dance before trying my hand downstairs.

"Or Linny Long Legs," he shot to Linny before she could say anything. Linny's name spoke for itself, long legged and gorgeous, anyone who looked at her either wanted her or wanted to be her.

She rolled her eyes, but I could see that she was amused. "Give me the deets, Roger, and don't skimp this time. Last guy was so bland I almost fell asleep up there." She nodded to the balcony VIP section with distaste as if remembering Bland Sam, that's what we'd started calling him.

"Oh, lucky you, Bland Sam is back and asking for you. Rumor has it he went to the jewelry store today."

Linny perked up at that. "Wow, maybe he's got more gumption than I'd thought."

"Yeah, but I've got bigger fish for you tonight. Dmitri Volkov: rich, hot as hell -according to the ladies- and very picky about who comes into his circle." Roger ticked off three fingers as he spoke. "I've sent almost every girl in the club up to him and nothing. He just sends them all packing. I'm half tempted to start sending the guys up if I didn't think he'd kick my ass."

"Well," Linny purred, "you know I like a challenge."

"Then go on, I'll walk Jinx down to the cards. We gotta talk shop, kid." Roger turned his attention to me, looking serious as Linny sauntered up to the VIP lounge.

"What's up?" I asked as we made our way down.

"Don't count cards tonight," he whispered, pulling his mic away from his face like someone could listen in.

"What!? No way, you know I can't play without counting."

"Then don't play, or be subtle as f**k. Word is the big boss is in and he knows about someone hustling."

I looked up at Roger seeing how anxious he was. "Has he talked to you? The 'big boss', I mean."

Roger shook his head. "No, not yet. f**k, I don't even know who the guy is, Pete won't tell me. What I do know is that our regular dealer got switched so there's no guarantee we can pay him off if you get caught."

I bit my lip contemplating the odds. It'd been a while since I'd last been caught counting cards, the good news was it technically wasn't illegal. The bad news was Club V wasn't a legal gambling casino, which meant if I got caught I'd be facing something worse than police. Finally, I shook my head and opened the door to the basement.

"Stop worrying so much, Roger, I'll be fine," I called over my shoulder as I slipped down the stairs.

They had a nice setup in the basement. Fancy card tables and plush velvet chairs. A new security guard stood at the entrance and shook his head at me.

"No," he said the one word with thick accented English and a boat load of contempt.

"Come on big guy," I purred, pretending to be like Linette for just a moment. "You know you want to let me in." I flashed him my wad of cash, all hundreds, and ran my nail across the stack with a sharp 'rrrrrrrrt'.

He kept the stoic look, frowning even more. "I said, 'no'. Ladies are not allowed down here. Back up stairs where you belong."

What the actual f**k?

I c****d my head looking him up and down. "You're serious?" I asked in disbelief.

"Dead serious. Now, go." He pointed a beefy finger up the stairs.

My jaw set as I became even more determined. "Buddy, you'd better get your boss down here, cause I ain't going anywhere until I play a round."

"Then you will stand here all night."

I stretched up on my toes looking over his shoulder. "Hey, Petey, what the f**k is this? Out sourced help? If you were so hard up for me to loose all you had to do was say so!" I demanded to Pete, Roger's co-conspirator and boss.

Pete looked up from the card game sheepishly. "Sorry, Jinxy baby, he's above my pay grade."

"Well then you'd better get his boss and tell him to move his f*****g ass in a language he can comprehend."

The man mumbled something under his breath that wasn't English, Russian maybe? I smiled, patting his chest. "Don't worry, I have that effect on everyone, doll. Now, call your boss so I can play a f*****g round, Ruski."

He rolled his eyes and spoke into a mic at his collar. Fancy.

"You're going to regret this."

"Oh, I f*****g hope so. It's better that way, baby," I said with a flirty wink.

Pete was fidgeting at the table. "Don't tell me you're f*****g listening to this i***t, Sasha? He doesn't need to bother with her. She's just a dumb kid that thinks she's good at cards."

"Hey," I yelled at him, practically climbing over Sasha to make Pete look at me, "I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-two! Also, put your money where your mouth is old man I had you crying at this same f*****g table last week!"

Pete cursed under his breath as the door upstairs opened and closed. Music from above filtered in for a moment before the soundproofing cut it off. Heavy feet marched down the stairs at a measured pace. Slow, easy, completely unbothered. Sasha looked up behind me and said something in that language again. It was definitely Slavic. He pointed to me and I could feel the annoyance. I stuck my tongue out at him and his tirade grew louder.

"Hey, if you're going to talk s**t, at least use a language I can understand, you f*****g gorilla."

He said something else but I didn't need to speak the language to understand the meaning, 'Do you see what I f*****g mean?'.

"Now," I said whirling around, "who do I have to talk to, to play a round?" I stopped dead in my tracks. The most handsome man I'd ever seen in my life was standing on the last stair. The first thing I noticed about him was how big he was. He had to be at least six and a half feet and his broad shoulders filled out the navy blue suit jacket he was wearing like it was tailor made for him. Brilliant jade green eyes casually perused my body, sending shivers down my spine. He licked his full lips as his eyes met mine and I was gone. I wanted to stretch up like a cat and rub my body against his. I wanted to lick his jaw and feel his light stubble graze my thighs. I sucked in a breath. Holy f**k, this man looked like a god. And he was staring at me like I'd just committed sacrilege.