Chapter 95: Unfinished business at the Casino
Aven’s POV
Aven’s POV
I had some other business to tidy up, like paying a visit to the den of coins, so I had to leave.
And with no words, just eye contact, we moved to the door. Becca waved at us, and we left.
Aria looked up at us, her face looked confused, and then she didn’t say a word; she just turned back to face Becca.
She has been acting so out of character since she left our house. I wonder what was wrong with her.
It could probably be the election stress; let me give her the benefit of the doubt.
My mind wandered a little to what my father had said, concerning a traitor in the school grounds. Larissa and Tracy were not the only ones involved with the vampires in this academy, my gut tells me.
How else could Larissa have known about the den of coins? The den of coins is not a place an ordinary teen wolf could access without fear; someone could have given her the courage.
We didn’t head straight for the Den of Coins. It wasn’t dark yet; therefore, the den of coins is as good as dead at this time.
Besides, walking in with school uniforms would have been as good as announcing ourselves to the whole city and the traitors involved will get prepared before we even arrive.
Instead, we moved straight to the dorm to change our outfits into something less announcing of our presence.
"A disguise will do for this sort of movement," Tristan suggested. He is the successor to the stronghold of trade. He was already very used to this sort of environment, therefore he knew what outfit would be befitting.
"It’s your call," I replied to him, and Damon nodded in affirmation.
"A t-shirt and a blazer can do, if we want to appear like potential business allies. From my studies, places like this don’t joke with wealthy visitors.
But also, in order not to draw some unwanted eyes, we wouldn’t appear so wealthy. Just something in between," Tristan explained, turning towards his room.
I can pull the attire off. Although I hated the idea of wearing a blazer and a t-shirt, I would manage that appearance for the night.
Men in the business world often act and dress very uptight, which I find very irritating.
Before we finished changing into something worthy for the event, the day had already gone dark.
"Now it’s show time," Ardyn my wolf spoke up, bursting out with excitement and energy.
"Yes, Paddy, let’s go crack some bones," I replied to him.
We stepped outside the school gates, using our royalty duty permit. In Ashwood Academy, only the royalty are given a permit card because it was expected that royalty had family and kingdom duties that would take them out of school at any time.
The streets were lively and bustling as usual, and this was the right time vampires loved to strike; they are night creatures after all.
"Phones off," I said, pulling out my phone to turn it off. "We wouldn’t want anyone tracking us now that we have pulled up in front of the casino.
We walked towards the entrance of the Den of Coins. The security had tightened more after the incident of Aria and Becca’s abduction.
"And who are you all?" the male figure in shades in front of the casino asked, without moving his body. He looked like a statue.
The thought that came into my mind was to hit the guard down, but then, negotiation has to go before violence.
"We have important business, just like the others in there do," I said, looking into those shaded eyes.
"Would you mind pulling those shades off a bit and knowing if you could talk to us in such a manner twice?" Damon added, his lips twitching.
The male figure didn’t say a word; he just stood there like a trained robot. How boring.
I attempted to enter the casino, but the guard blocked my way, deterring me, and I swallowed the growing anger within me once more.
"You won’t like to make a scene, especially with us, your boss, Malvin, won’t be happy knowing you fought his valuable client," I lied, looking straight into his eyes.
I have done a little research on the casino and its operators. I knew Malvin was the owner; he is a Beta rank wolf, therefore, he wasn’t even a match for me.
His face lit up in surprise, and then he bowed his head in apology, as if the so-called Malvin had programmed him to make specific gestures at a particular time and to every client he faced.
"You can go inside. Sorry for delaying your appointment, pardon me," he said, gesturing towards the door.
A triumphant smile curled up my chest. This was a little trick I learnt from military strategy classes.
"You owe us one, so keep that in mind.
Before we got in, we put on our shades so that we would be hardly recognizable.
As usual, the casino was filled with males and females alike, almost all the females in here were dressed half-naked, obviously hunting for the man with the largest pocket at the end of each game to spend the night with
The smell of alcohol and marijuana and the giggles from the female escorts filled the air.
We drifted toward the bar, careful not to draw attention. The bartender looked up as we approached, his eyes narrowing. For a second, his hand stilled mid-polish, the glass frozen in his grip. He recovered quickly, but not quick enough for me to miss the tremor in his fingers.
"What’ll it be?" he asked, voice even.
"Three whiskeys," I said. My tone carried weight, though not enough to make him stumble.
He poured without another word, but I caught the way his eyes flicked toward the stairs at the far end of the room. Subtle. Nervous. He set the glasses down, and his hand brushed against mine as he leaned closer.
He looked at us intently, as if asking, ’What have you come to do here?’
"Where is Malvin?" Tristan asked, and a look of shock appeared on his face, probably because their boss doesn’t like to be called by his middle name; he prefers to be called Mr Valtimore.