Stormy Vows - Iris Johansen [107]
Jane peered eagerly out the window, her golden eyes blazing with curiosity and excitement. The parking lot was crowded even this early in the evening, she noticed. The large one-story prefab building that housed the casino was painted an astounding flamingo pink, and the name Tropicana was blazoned in nauseating chartreuse over the double doors at the front entrance.
“Disappointed?” Jake asked lazily, when she made no comment.
Jane shook her head. “Oh, no,” she said positively. “It's just as I imagined a dive would look.” She frowned in puzzlement. “Except for all those lights.” Both the front and rear of the casino were lit by several brilliant streetlights that illuminated the area until it was almost as bright as daylight.
He shrugged. “At a place like this it's probably necessary if you don't want to come back to a car with no tires.”
Benjamin nodded in agreement. “I've seen thieves completely strip a car inside and out in ten minutes,” he said dryly. “And that was in downtown Mexico City!”
Instructing the taxi driver to wait and ensuring his compliance with a sizable monetary exchange, Jake ushered them leisurely from the car, through the double doors, and into the crowded, smoky interior of the casino.
“It's utterly fantastic,” Jane breathed ecstatically. “It's like the movie set from Casablanca.”
Jake flinched. “Please,” he protested, with a pained expression. “Rick's Place at least had a certain class. This is more like the cantina scene from Duel in the Sun.”
The entire far wall of the room was occupied by a long narrow bar. The rest of the large room was furnished with several green baize tables, offering various games of chance. The dimly lit room was crowded and noisy even this early in the evening. The patrons were almost exclusively male, for the most part Mexicans, dressed in dark trousers and the ubiquitous long white shirts and sandals.
The exception to the masculine atmosphere was provided by several voluptuously endowed señoritas in low-cut scarlet gowns who were presiding as dealers at the gaming tables. The old-fashioned ceiling fans served only to shift the smoke-laden air rather than freshen it, and the faces of the gamblers were shining with perspiration as they crowded close to the tables as if magnetized by the red-gowned dealers.
“Stay close to either Marc or me,” Jake ordered. “And keep that cap pulled down!”
Jane nodded eagerly, jamming her hands in the pockets of the oversized jacket Captain Benjamin had provided, and swaggered after the two men with what she hoped was a boyish gait. Jake and Benjamin's goal was the crowded roulette table where Benjamin elbowed a place for Jane. Marc Benjamin and Jake swiftly purchased chips from a dark-haired beauty, who gave them a dazzling smile, and they proceeded to play for several minutes, with indifferent success.
“Would you like to try your luck?” Jake asked quietly, pushing some chips in front of her.
Jane shook her head. “I'd rather watch.” The excitement and tension on the faces of the players was infinitely more interesting to her than winning or losing.
Jake shrugged. “It's really not my game either,” he said, looking around restlessly. “I think I'll try to find a blackjack table. Do you want to come with me?”
“No, I'll stay here with Captain Benjamin,” Jane said absently, her eyes on an obese man whose good luck was being raucously celebrated by much back-slapping and shouting. She was vaguely aware of Dominic's withdrawal.
For perhaps an hour she continued to watch with undiminished interest the goings-on at the roulette table before she, too, became restless. She looked down the table at Benjamin, hoping that he would also be ready to move on to another table. He looked quite content, however, his eyes fixed intently on the spinning wheel and a large stack of chips in front of him. He was winning heavily and would probably not even notice that she'd gone, she decided. She hadn't received more than a passing glance from any of the clientele of the casino. It should be safe enough for