“Grumpy old man.”

His eyes narrowed on something she couldn’t see. “The grumpiest. I see Rory. And Luis. Poor kid. We’ll have to avoid him—he’ll recognize me.”

Baojia steered her toward the left, deftly avoiding the crowds as he made his way back toward a staff entrance. From his pocket, he pulled out a thick wallet and opened it. “Top card on the left side. Let’s hope they haven’t changed the codes.”

She pulled the card from the thick paper envelope that encased it. No doubt, the wallet and envelope were both necessary to protect the magnetic strip from the vampire’s natural electrical current. She quickly slid it into the lock and pulled the door open when the light lit green. Without a backward look, he slipped inside and she followed him, keeping her head up while glancing from the corner of her eye at the cameras which were sure to be following them.

“You’ve done this before,” he said softly, walking at the same confident pace she was.

“Breaking and entering? Half the trick is just looking like you’re not trying to hide what you’re doing. I wish I’d been able to get ahold of a waitress’s outfit.”

He shook his head. “No waitstaff allowed back here. Admin only.” He turned right, gently nudging her to follow him. “Hold on.” He stopped and waited near a water fountain. After a few moments, she saw him push the button and grab a handful of water, snaking it between his fingers in what almost looked like a nervous gesture.

“What are we—?”

“We’ll stop here. I can hear them. We’re close enough to the office now.”

“But I can’t hear them.” She tried to go farther, but he grabbed her.

“No. You’ll just have to trust my ears.”

She glanced between his hard eyes and the length of the hallway. Sighing, she gave up. She’d never get past him, and he was probably right. If he could hear, then it would be far safer to remain closer to the exit if they should happen to get caught.

“Fine, but what are they—”

“Shh.” He was already listening. Natalie crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, watching him. His face was a picture of concentration, his eyes narrowed, his forehead furrowed. The water continued to slip over and under his fingers before circling his wrist and traveling back to his palm as they stood idly in the hallway while Rory and the manager had their meeting. It was mesmerizing. She hardly noticed when a fine thread of it reached out and touched the end of her finger. Then she felt the sting of a small shock, like a burst of static electricity.

“Ow! How did you do that?”

“Pay attention,” he whispered with a grin.

“What are they talking about?”

He shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. They’re almost finished. I doubted the casino manager would be involved in anything shady. He’s human and he really likes his job.”

“What’s the next step?”

He tossed the water back in the fountain, then nudged her back down the hall. “Let’s go play the slots.”

Natalie frowned. “You mean… you really want to gamble?”

“No, but the nickel slots have a good view of where Rory will exit. And I want to know if he meets with anyone else before he leaves.”

They left the staff hallway with no questions asked and wandered over to the slot machines until Baojia spotted two stools in the right location. He nodded toward them, but she pulled him back. “They’re occupied.”

“No, they’re not.” He walked over and laid a hand on the retired couple that looked like slot machines were their second career. Both leaned toward him a second, then abruptly stood to leave, taking their giant cups of coins with them. Natalie just shook her head and went to a change machine nearby.

“What are you doing?” he asked from the now free machines.

“Getting nickels. Nickel slots are the luckiest.”

She waited for the machine to spit out a ticket, then walked over to the machine and sat down.

“You know the odds on these, right? None of them are actually lucky.”

“Oh, be quiet and let me dream, George. I’m gonna hit it big on the nickel slots while we surveil the bad guys. I feel lucky tonight.”

He laughed but let her start to play without any other comment, his eyes already sweeping the room.

“So, the thing you did with the people sitting here? Kinda creepy.”

“I avoid using amnis to manipulate humans, but sometimes it is necessary. And most humans aren’t like you; they would rather be oblivious.”

She pulled the lever on the machine, hoping to make her twenty dollars last longer. “You did that to me?”

“Sort of.” He shook his head at the approaching cocktail waitress, and the woman walked away. “You had a much stronger reaction than they did.”

“You mean I tried to kiss trans you? Bet you’re glad that didn’t happen with those two.”

She heard him laugh as she played. She looked around, too. But other than Luis, who she spotted near the door Rory had gone in earlier, she didn’t recognize anyone. She couldn’t even spot any vampires. If they were enjoying the games, they blended in well. But then again, even with their slightly paler skin, they definitely could in this lighting.

Baojia sat next to her, ignoring the slot machine in front of him but running an absent hand up and down the small of her back. She tried not to melt into a puddle. He probably didn’t realize the effect he had on her. Slow, steady, she wanted to take that hand and put it someplace far less appropriate, but she also didn’t want to get kicked out and arrested for public indecency, so her back was probably safer. She did, however, feel him tense when he recognized someone. She bit her lip and forced herself to remain looking at the slot machine.