Chapter 11

While Chloe was in Bruno's private office, Oliver managed to make his entrance into the casino, going through the same basic procedures as Chloe and using the password that Emil had discovered through his hacking and the identification that was created for him. He quickly looked around for her as soon as he pulled back the heavy curtain, and almost panicked when he did not see her among the crowds of people.

He had been put down for the roulette table, and was led over there.

Oliver was no stranger to gambling. He had done quite a bit of it actually, during that destructive period of his life and because of his usual drunken state back then, didn't usually come out ahead. Tonight his mind was definitely not on the game, although that was not due this time to being inebriated; he just couldn't care less and he quickly lost his money, as he was constantly scanning the room for any signs on Chloe.

He walked over to bar to get a drink, trying to decide what to do next. He was almost in a desperate state thinking that Bruno must have kidnapped Chloe, in the time between when she got into the casino and when he did.

Still contemplating his options, Oliver happened to glance over at the cashier's window and was shocked when he saw Chloe and a tall man walk out a side door of the room. He breathed an audible sigh of relief when he saw that she didn't look any worse for wear, so he was grateful that she had not been hurt. He wondered where she had been, though.

He watched as the man escorted her over to a blackjack table, and then left her alone. He, in the meantime, sauntered around the room feigning interest in some of the games being played at the various tables, all the while keeping Chloe in his eyesight. She had clearly gotten down to business and didn't waste any time taking over the game. He was reluctantly talked into another try at the Roulette Wheel, so again he gave a half-hearted try at it before once more losing his money. By the time he finally felt like it was safe enough to walk over to observe her game, she already had a rather large stack of chips in front of her.

So engrossed in the game, Chloe did not notice Oliver come up behind her at the blackjack table, not that she would have recognized him right away with his getup. He stood behind the others who were intently watching the game.

Chloe looked at her hand, setting the cards down on the felt table in front of her and placing her hand on top, indicating to the dealer that she would hold. After the dealer went around to the other players at the table offering up cards, she again placed her bet. After all hands were turned over, the dealer, said "We have a twenty-one," referring to Chloe, who then had the pile of chips in front of her grow even larger, while at the same time a gentlemen at the table lost all of his chips on that very same hand. The forlorn man stood and excused himself as he left the table.

The crowd that had gathered around the table broke into applause. Still a bit unnerved by her interrogation from Bruno, whom she knew was suspicious because she was winning so much, but couldn't prove anything, turned for a moment to look back at her cheering section. She felt now more than ever, that she was being intensely watched for any signs of cheating. She did a double-take, and then had to stifle a gasp when she noticed, standing behind her, a dark haired man with a mustache, dressed in a suit and holding a drink in his hand. He stared at her with the most intense brown eyes that she knew could only belong to one person - Oliver.

So he was the familiar figure I saw on the television monitor in Bruno's office! She had not been imagining things!

"Well played, Ms. Green, isn't it? I believe we met in Monte Carlo last year. Do you remember me, Max Worthington? I know you're on a winning streak here, but I would love to buy you a drink for old time's sake," Oliver said wanting to get her away from there but clearly trying not to blow her cover.

After recovering from her initial shock at seeing him there, Chloe replied as sweetly as she could manage, "Why yes, I do remember you Mr. Worthington. If I recall correctly, I pretty much took the shirt off your back at the poker tables. Nice to see you again. Wouldn't you like a chance to try and win some of your money back? We seem to have a sudden opening at this table," she said as she gestured to the now empty seat next to her.

"Yeah, last time we were together, you pretty much took me for all I am, uh worth, so to speak. I think I just may be out of my league against you, but about that drink. . ." he left the sentence unfinished as those eyes of his practically bore holes into Chloe, so intently was he glaring at her.

Clearly sensing that he wouldn't leave her alone, she knew that she had no choice but to go with him. She did not want to draw anymore unwanted attention to herself. She looked over at the dealer and said as she rose from her seat, "I'm just going to sit out a few hands." Looking around the table, she spoke to the other players, "If you all will excuse me please, I am going to quickly catch up with an old acquaintance." She picked up her chips and put them in her purse.

"You hurry back now, darling," a refined looking older woman said in a sickening sweet southern voice, "We want a chance to win back our money." Chloe was quite certain that hers was not a friendly request.

She grabbed Oliver's arm trying not to squeeze the life out of him and led him over to the bar.

"Single malt on the rocks," she said to the bartender trying to keep her voice steady. She knew she needed a stronger drink than wine right about now.

"I'll have the same," replied Oliver, as he placed his empty glass down on the bar.

As soon as the bartender poured their drinks, Oliver said, "I would like to go ahead and close out my tab." He knew he wanted them to get out of there as soon as possible

Chloe once again led Oliver by the arm to a table in a more secluded area of the otherwise crowded and loud room. They both sat down.

Knowing that cameras were all around and that she was being watched, she faked a smile for all she was worth. Speaking through gritted teeth, she looked around the room making sure no one could overhear their conversation. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Oliver feigned a smile as well, although his came across more like a smirk, replied, "I could ask you the very same thing, except I am going to rephrase it. What the fuck are you doing? What were you thinking?" He too looked around, and said, "Do you know how dangerous these people are, what they could do to you, if they even think you are conning them out of their money?"

"I'm a big girl Ollie. I know exactly what I am doing. How did you find out where I was and how precisely did you get in here?" Chloe asked, not quite as harsh as before.

"Well, I knew you didn't have a damn hair appointment and you were up to something. Let's just say, I have my ways, same as yours," he replied, not wanting to tell her his methods. Knowing her the way he did, he had a feeling he would maybe have to resort to using them again.

"I am just trying to get your money back. I told you before, I borrowed the cash. I always intended to pay it back," she said defiantly as she took a sip of her drink, again looking around as she spoke. She looked uneasily at one of the burly bodyguards that worked the casino, who seemed to be staring intently at the two of them.

"I don't give a shit about the money," he emphatically spoke, his eyes blazing. He grabbed her arm, not caring if anyone was watching. "You are all I care about." He almost told her he loved her, right then and there, but held back as he knew she wasn't ready to hear that yet.

Chloe softened her gaze towards him, but said stubbornly, "I was only trying to make things right."

"Well the only way you can do that is if you leave with me right now and never, and I mean never, come back to one of these places again."

Before she could reply, the two of them were startled when the bodyguard she had previously noticed across the room appeared right beside them.

"Everything all right, Miss?" he asked in a deep voice.

"Oh, yes, uh, everything is fine," Chloe managed to say trying to regain her composure.

Oliver stood up to face the towering figure, but had to look up to him as he was much taller. And wider for that matter, he also noted. Trying to play cool, he winked as he said, "The lady and I are old friends and I think we are just going to go somewhere and get reacquainted, if you know what I mean."

Staring down at Oliver with a menacing face, he again spoke in his deep voice, "I'm not sure the little lady wants to go."

Chloe, fearing for Oliver's safety, rose up as well and put her arm on his and spoke to the man. "Oh, I definitely want to go with him. He's helping me finance one of my latest business ventures," thinking to herself how that was more true than not. She smiled flirtatiously at the man.

The large man didn't speak, but glared at the both of them one last time, before stepping out of their way. They wasted no time walking away.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Oliver whispered to her. Chloe finally admitted to herself that she had probably "pressed her luck" more that she should, simply nodded her head in agreement.

He led them towards the direction of the door.

Chloe stopped abruptly in her tracks and said, "No, wait. I have to cash in my chips."

"To hell with the chips, Chloe. Let's just get out of here while we can," Oliver replied emphatically, trying again to lead her to the exit.

"I am not leaving here without the money," she insisted, refusing to budge.

Oliver did not want to make a scene and knew when he was beat; she was not going to back down, so he walked with her over to the cashier's window.

She hesitated just a moment before she looked over at Oliver, then back towards the Blackjack table. She somewhat reluctantly handed over all her chips, as a part of her wanted to return to the game. She honestly felt that given time she could have made a major dent in her debt to Oliver, but he had just made it very clear he didn't want the money that way.

She noticed the bodyguard from earlier was now whispering to another shady looking guy in a suit wearing a headpiece over his ears, the both of them looking over their way. Now she was rethinking the whole, cash the chips thing. Maybe they should have left when they had the chance.

"Are you sure you want to cash in, Miss," the cashier said. "The night is still young."

"I got a better offer," she smiled as she nodded her head toward Oliver.

"Looks like you did quite well for yourself tonight," the woman said referring to the winnings she was now counting out for Chloe, but also alluding to the tall, dark, handsome man standing next to her, whom she was stealing glances at behind her window.

If you think he looks good now, you should see him as a blond, Chloe mused to herself, as she too glanced over at Oliver.

She turned her attention back on the cashier. C'mon hurry up. She wished she would stop talking and just hand over the cash.

Once again, they were met with stares by those running the show, so as soon as the money reached her hands, they headed for the exit. Outside the initial door to the casino, the man that had the headset on, suddenly appeared at the end of the hall, and called to Chloe and Oliver. "Hey, the boss would like to have a word with you two. Come with me." He started walking rapidly towards them.

Oliver grabbed a hold of Chloe's arm and they raced past him before he could react, knocking him off balance and into the wall. They found a stairwell, and after Chloe stopped for a moment to take off her high heels, ran down it as fast as they could. Peeking out an exit door, they found they were in a dark parking garage. They carefully darted between the parked cars, weaving in and out of them whenever they saw that the coast was clear.

Oliver stopped quite suddenly alongside a large SUV and put a finger over his mouth motioning for Chloe to be quiet. They both peeked around the corner of the vehicle as they observed some of Bruno's men come out of the stairwell door and speak to a security guard who came running up when they yelled to him. They overheard the men giving descriptions of Chloe and Oliver's disguises and Bruno's orders that they were to be found at all costs. This betrayed the obvious fact that the guard was on the mob's payroll as well and could not be trusted. The men scattered and went off in different directions.

When all was quiet again, Chloe and Oliver left the safety of their hiding spot and went around the corner of a wall. There, they quite literally ran into two other mob associates. Oliver, used to his intense workouts and training, thought he would have no trouble getting in a few good hits to these men despite their rather large size. Unfortunately his punches didn't even cause the men to flinch. Fortunately for Oliver, because of their large size, they were much slower to react so his lithe stature allowed him to dodge all their blows.

Everything was happening so fast that Chloe didn't have a chance to reach for her gun, so she instead used her diminutive but powerful frame, to trip one of the men who by turn, fell into the other, causing them both to slam into a car, thus setting off its blaring alarm. They used this loud distraction and the shocked reactions of the henchmen to escape outside the garage and race across the street to where Oliver had left his car. He was glad he went with his gut and had not parked using the club's valet service. He had a feeling they would maybe have to make a fast getaway, which was indeed what they needed to do right now as the shouting they heard was getting much closer.

They managed to jump in the car, slam the doors, and speed away just before the mobsters reached the curb. They buckled their seat belts as Oliver hastily accelerated his car putting quite some distance between them and the men who had gotten out their guns preparing to shoot at them. It was no use. The car was now out of sight.

They both laughed nervously as Oliver, looking in his rear view mirror making sure they weren't followed, finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That was fun, where should we go on our next date?"

"Seriously, Ollie, I was doing fine, until you showed up."

"Fine? When I discovered your plans, I also stumbled on to the fact that your 'friend' Bruno had placed a hit on you. I don't know when they were going to do it, but I wasn't taking any chances that it might be tonight."

"Are you serious? A hit?" She asked incredulously.

Oliver looked over at her and nodded.

"Geez. And here I thought he and I were tight," she replied sarcastically. "Well, I appreciate your concern, but I had everything under control," Chloe said as she hiked up her dress and removed the gun from her garter belt holster, holding it up for him to see.

"Holy shit, Chloe!" Oliver exclaimed as he fought to straighten the car after he accidentally swerved a bit off the road from the shock. "Is that thing for real?"

"Oh yes. It is most definitely real," Chloe replied as she admired the gun for a moment more. She emptied the cartridges of its bullets and placed everything safely inside her purse.

"Since when did you start packing heat? Are you hiding anymore weapons under there?" he asked, suddenly thoroughly aroused at this new side of Chloe, as he placed his hand on her thigh and tried to slide up her dress.

She swatted his hand away. "I'm not stupid, Ollie. I knew I was 'playing' with the big boys. I wasn't going in there completely naive, you know."

"Damn! You are armed and dangerous alright." His voice calmed, and he said to her touchingly, "Still, next time come to me and let me help. I'm on your side, you know." He looked over at her. "Always. No matter what."

"I know you are," she softly agreed. "It's just hard for me. I am used to being on my own. It's been that way for a long time now."

"You are not alone anymore," he said. He wanted to tell her, as far as he was concerned she would never be alone again, but he did not want to scare her off. So, trying to lighten the mood, he said, "And you'll always have Olivia and Max."

"No, I think we can say goodbye to Olivia Green," she sighed. "I'll have to erase all traces of her in cyberspace, maybe get rid of her, permanently, so to speak, so Bruno won't keep looking for her. We should probably do the same thing to Max Worthington."

"Good idea," Oliver agreed.

Chloe took off the wig, placing it in her lap, and running her fingers through her own hair, shook her head, grateful to be free from the hairpiece.

"Hey, I kind of like you as Olivia Green," he jokingly said emphasizing the name.

Chloe sheepishly began, "Yeah, about the name . . ." She was unable to finish her sentence because even she couldn't fully explain to herself why she had chosen it.

"I think the red hair fits your personality, by the way," he said momentarily letting her off the hook.

Chloe looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Well, I myself definitely prefer you as a blond," she said as she reached over and ripped off his fake mustache.

"Ouch! That hurt!" he yelled, as he gingerly rubbed his upper lip at the same time trying to stifle a laugh.

"Sorry about that," she said in an amused tone, as she clearly wasn't sorry.

Oliver took off his dark hairpiece, and threw it behind his seat. He continued in a lighthearted manner, relaxing now that they were both out of harm's way. "You know Chloe; let's forget all about the money. If you really want to pay me back, I think I can come up with a way you can do just that. It involves you and that dress, and the heels, that garter belt most definitely, and the wig of course, and-" Chloe cut him off before he could finish, when she playfully swung the wig at his chest.

Smiling at her, he reached over for her hand in the darkened car and clasped her fingers in his. She smiled warmly back at him, as she tightened her grip on his hand, while they sped the rest of the way towards home.