Dirty Lies: Harbourview Casino, #3

By Kristy Mallory

Love and lies don't mix…

 

Meg Wallis wants two things: to be promoted to general manager at Harbourview Casino, and to stay alive. The last thing she needs is complications from the sexy high roller who keeps hitting on her. Twenty years ago, she witnessed a murder, and her testimony helped put her biker boyfriend away for life. She's been in witness protection ever since, but with the end of her nightmare in sight, she might finally be able to take a chance on a relationship. Until someone from her past walks into her casino, bringing chaos with him.

 

Daniel McKnight is a cop, deep undercover in the Gladiators MC. He's been walking a fine line while laundering the gang's money through Harbourview and flirting with Meg. He shouldn't be imagining a future with her once his sting is over. His entire operation is jeopardized when Meg's life is threatened. No way will Daniel allow anyone to hurt her, and he needs to keep her close, so he makes her an offer: pretend to be my old lady, and I'll protect you.

 

Keeping their dirty lies straight is tough enough without pretending to be in love. In the end, it's their hearts that could end up betraying them.

This book features mature main characters, and includes fake dating, mistaken identity, and only one bed tropes.

CW: This book contains themes of violence, criminal activity, and sexuality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harbourview Publishing
• Release date: May 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9781777615154

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

LC: McKnight just pulled in .

Meghan Wallis squashed the immediate thrum of attraction sparked by the name on the screen. The text from Les Carpenter, Harbourview’s head of surveillance, threw a wrench into her already busy Friday night. She could not afford to be distracted. She needed to talk to Daniel McKnight, had needed to talk to him for almost two weeks. His timing could not be worse.

At the moment she was headed to one of the high-limit rooms to deal with an angry guest. After she placated the guest, she needed to meet with two team members over discipline issues. Her night was full, but she would make the time. Even though he was a regular player at Harbourview, it might be two more weeks before Daniel came back. This conversation couldn’t wait.

As acting general manager, some of these issues shouldn’t be on her plate, but since no one had been promoted to fill her old assistant manager role yet, she was doing double duty. If only the new Coastal Casino board of directors would make her promotion permanent, she could backfill her old position. She could focus more on strategy and bringing in players, and less on the casino’s daily operating issues.

MW: Have to deal with Sheng Lei. Call me if you think he’s leaving.

A thumbs-up emoji appeared in response, and Meg slid her cell phone back in her pocket and went to find Sheng Lei.

He wasn’t hard to find. As soon as Meg stepped off the elevator into the second-floor high-limit room, his angry voice drew her attention. Sheng stood next to a baccarat table with a stack of cash sitting on it, gesticulating excitedly as he spoke to Jie Xiang, one of the Harbourview table-games managers. The men were arguing in Mandarin, which made Meg, who spoke limited Mandarin, grateful for Jie’s presence.

Mr. Lei. Meg greeted him with a small bow. We’re very happy to see you tonight. What seems to be the problem?

They won’t take my money! Sheng waved his hand at the stack of bills sitting on the table.

Meg held back a sigh. Ever since the money-laundering scandal broke back in May, the British Columbia Gaming Corporation, or BCGC, had been implementing new policies to prevent gangs from laundering large quantities of cash in the casinos of British Columbia. One of those policies said that all cash over $10,000 needed to be accompanied by a receipt from a bank, proving the cash came from a legitimate source. After being away all summer, Sheng probably was not aware of the new policy. Now he was angry, and Meg needed to salvage the situation. Sheng was highly regarded in the local Asian business community, with many friends and a broad reach. If he decided not to play at Harbourview, he could take a lot of other local players with him. It would be one more blow to Harbourview’s bottom line.

We’re always happy to have you here at Harbourview, Sheng. I’m sorry no one informed you of the new policies before your arrival. For tonight, we can allow you to buy in for any amount under $10,000 with the cash you brought with you. As an alternative, if you wish to buy in using a credit card, or with a direct bank transfer, that would allow you to play for higher amounts. I’m afraid the new rules are clear, and our hands are tied. Meg gave Sheng an apologetic frown, one that she’d been giving to players for weeks. Hopefully, it would pacify him.

As a gesture of our appreciation of your business, please let me arrange a private dinner for you and a guest at Pearl. Meg named the high-end seafood restaurant at Harbourview, knowing it was a favourite of Sheng’s.

Sheng grumbled something in Mandarin before nodding. I accept your apology. The new rules are stupid. Why are honest businessmen such as myself not able to use our own money?

Not everyone is as honest as you, Meg replied, relief flooding through her that Sheng’s temper appeared to have cooled. The new rules are designed to prevent criminals from laundering their money at casinos in BC, but honest players are being affected too.

The new rules badly impacted Harbourview’s revenues. The rules made money laundering much more difficult, which was their purpose, but they also impacted players who ran cash-based businesses, who liked to bring that money in to play. The loss of their international business hurt the most. Players from foreign countries couldn’t bring in large quantities of cash anymore. Keeping local players like Sheng happy was crucial to Harbourview’s survival. Meg needed to find ways to keep Sheng and players like him coming back. Her opportunity to be made general manager permanently depended on increasing their revenues.

With a quick movement, Sheng picked up most of the cash from the table and pocketed it. He shoved the remaining amount towards the dealer. At a glance, Meg estimated it to be a little over $5,000.

I will play with this tonight. I will bring a bank draft tomorrow. I will bring my wife to Pearl next weekend.

Meg smiled, and this time her smile was real. Just let us know what day and time, and I’ll arrange everything. With another small bow, she turned and left Sheng to play, her mind racing ahead to her meeting with Daniel McKnight. His situation needed even more diplomacy than her conversation with Sheng.

A disturbance near the casino entrance distracted her as she crossed the gaming floor towards the back hallway that led to the stairs to her office. A team of security officers surrounded a man who was screaming obscenities at them. She detoured around a bank of slot machines to observe the incident up close.

You’re intoxicated, and we need you to leave, Meg heard her security supervisor tell the man in a firm voice. Firm, but never hostile or belligerent—all her team had been trained in nonviolent conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques. The man they were dealing with tonight appeared to be high as well as drunk, with red-rimmed eyes and jerky movements. Two additional officers hovered near their supervisor, ready to assist if the confrontation became physical.

The risk of violence was always present in incidents like this, but her team knew how to handle themselves, and she was proud of the fact that there were rarely physical altercations at Harbourview. Local laws that prevented anyone from carrying a weapon helped keep danger to a minimum too. Meg had witnessed altercations at international casinos where guns had been drawn, and she was grateful that never happened here.

With another curse, the man leaped towards the supervisor, swinging his fist. The supervisor blocked the blow as the other two officers each grabbed one of the man’s arms, and before anyone else made a move, they had him restrained, with his hands cuffed behind his back. The team might not carry guns, but they were good at their jobs and kept the casino safe.

Without saying a word, Meg turned on her heel and left her team to take care of the problem. She still needed to deal with the internal issue before trying to find McKnight. She checked her phone, but there had been no word from Les.

MW: Done with Sheng. Will be at least another 30 before I can talk to McKnight. What room is he playing in?

Seconds later the answer blinked on the screen.

LC: He joined Liu Chen in a private room upstairs. There’s another guy with them, came in with McKnight. Looks like an old-school biker.

A frisson of long-suppressed fear ran through Meg when she read those words. The odds of this person knowing anything about her history, being able to identify her, were slim. That didn’t stop her from worrying.

Daniel McKnight: high roller, valued player, ex-cop convicted for evidence tampering, suspected gangster. His history was well known within the casino walls, his fall from grace having been splashed all over the local news after he’d been arrested several years earlier. His being part of the Gladiators Motorcycle Club made her nervous, but she had done her homework, and he had grown up in BC. There was no way he should know about her past. During all their interactions over the past year, he’d never hinted he suspected she was anything other than who she claimed to be: Meg Wallis, casino manager.

Another member of the outlaw biker world? That created a new risk. Meg took a deep breath. She would find out soon enough.

Daniel McKnight cast a sideways glance at his companion, Murray Scott, and fought to quell his anger and frustration. He wanted to kill Donnie for this. As the head of the Gladiators MC, his brother Donnie McKnight had every right to make Daniel take Murray with him to meet Liu Chen. Daniel was brokering the biggest deal the Gladiators had ever been involved in. Donnie wanted at least one other member of the club up to speed on the details of the agreement. As the man who ran the Ontario wing of the national club, and who would be responsible for making sure the operation ran smoothly out there, Murray was the obvious choice.

The problem was who Murray was. Liu Chen was a consummate professional who wore custom-tailored suits and rubbed elbows with high-ranking politicians and diplomats. Liu was polished, urbane, Oxford educated, and spoke multiple languages fluently.

Murray Scott was none of those things. A stereotypical old-school outlaw biker, Murray spent some time in federal prison for manslaughter. His hair was long and shot through with white, his beard reminiscent of a member of ZZ Top, and as a gesture of courtesy to Liu Chen, he’d worn his good jeans and leather jacket to the meeting at the casino tonight. Close to fifty years old, Murray was still solid muscle—and covered in tattoos. He was dangerous, and he looked it.

By contrast, Daniel wore designer black suit pants and a black dress shirt with diamond cuff links, paired with expensive black leather loafers. His clothes might be off the rack, but they were obviously high quality, something Liu Chen expected from his business partners.

Daniel knew Murray’s presence irritated Liu Chen. He was not alone in that sentiment. If Donnie’s decision to send Murray along to this meeting scuttled their deal, Daniel didn’t know what he would do. It wouldn’t be pretty. He’d sacrificed almost five years of his life to get to this point.

Daniel leaned back on the sofa in the private suite, sipping his baijiu. Murray’s appearance annoyed Liu, but his refusal to drink the imported Chinese liquor that Liu preferred offended Liu. Liu and Daniel had a ritual. First they shared a drink while their chips were being prepared by the cashier and delivered to this private gaming room. Then they played baccarat. How long they played depended on if Liu won or lost. Finally they would discuss business. Liu would not be rushed, and Murray was not a patient man. Anger burned in Daniel’s belly as he felt this deal slipping through his fingers.

I need a beer. Murray stood abruptly and moved to the room’s private bar. He began digging through the fully stocked fridge, ignoring the bartender. The woman glanced at Daniel, who shrugged. Murray would do what he wanted, and there was no point getting visibly upset about it. That would give Murray power over him. Daniel turned back to face Liu.

I apologize for my companion, he said formally. He hoped he had built enough goodwill over the past year for Liu to overlook Murray.

Liu frowned at him, but after a long pause, he nodded. We can only control our own actions. Sometimes, in our line of business, we have to deal with people we would rather not.

A tiny bit of the tension knotting his muscles loosened at this, and Daniel began to relax. He needed to be prepared for a long night. Tonight should be the final meeting between him and Liu, where they reached an agreement on the details of the business partnership between the Gladiators and Liu’s international criminal organization.

Liu offered a pipeline of guns, drugs, and prostitutes from Asia. The Gladiators wanted to run the Canadian side of the operation, which included laundering all the money for Liu. When rumours had started floating that Liu was looking for a Canadian partner, Daniel had been the logical choice to represent that Gladiators in the negotiations. He was second-in-command, but better educated and more polished than Donnie, which Liu appreciated.

The competition for this partnership had been fierce, with every gang in the Lower Mainland courting Liu. Gang violence had recently reached an all-time high, with shootings happening on a regular basis. The entire community had been in an uproar, especially as popular restaurants and quiet residential neighbourhoods were shot up.

In the end, the Gladiators had won by staying out of the war. They did not want to draw any attention to the club. It was exactly that low-profile approach Liu had been looking for. The relationship Daniel had built with Liu made the decision an easy one.

The biggest hurdle now was the money laundering. The original plan had been to launder most of the money through casinos across Canada, with the bulk of the money flowing through BC and Ontario. Then a local reporter had exposed collusion between Harbourview Casino executives and Vancouver gang members to launder dirty money, and every level of government cracked down.

Liu had been impressed by how easy it was to launder money in the casinos. But the recent changes made him question the Gladiators’ ability to clean the millions of dollars their partnership would generate. Tonight Daniel would explain how they would do it.

Once the first shipments of guns and drugs came in, and Liu started supplying the trafficked women, the deal would be done. After five years of working undercover, pretending to be the worst of society, he would be able to bring down everyone. His original assignment had been to infiltrate and gather evidence against the Gladiators. Once negotiations had begun with Liu, though, Interpol had gotten involved. They wanted Liu badly, and Daniel’s membership in the Gladiators put him in a position to get evidence to convict Liu. What should have been an eighteen-month assignment had stretched on now for five years, and he was so close to the end he could taste it. But first, he needed to prevent Murray from ruining everything.

CHAPTER 2

After the door to her office closed behind the exiting employees, Meg dropped her head to her hands and groaned. Her workload was impossible. She needed to talk to Jules Roberts, the acting CEO of Coastal Casinos, and get permission to promote someone to backfill her old position, even if the promotion was only temporary. Either that, or the board needed to hire someone to replace Eric West, the former vice president of operations. Meg felt like she was juggling three positions at present, and doing none of them justice.

She needed her armour in place for her meeting with McKnight. He liked to flirt with her, and only her position kept her from responding. Daniel was attractive, intelligent, and dangerous, qualities that pushed all her buttons. Meg picked up her coffee mug and took a fortifying mouthful, then grimaced as the cold, bitter liquid hit her taste buds. She forced herself to swallow, then stood and carried the mug to the staff kitchen before heading to meet with Daniel.

Arriving at the third floor, Meg walked down the hallway leading to the private gaming rooms, searching for any flaws. The private gaming rooms were an enclave of subdued opulence, designed to make the richest players feel pampered. Decorated in neutral colours and adorned with expensive art, Harbourview had been specifically designed to anticipate everything its players would want or need. Everything had to be perfect—no dust, no smudges, no stains in the carpet. With the recent budget cutbacks at the casino, housekeeping might be neglecting this area. Tonight, at least, everything looked up to standard.

In the past, before the money-laundering scandal, both private rooms would have been reserved weeks in advance on a Friday night. Tonight, only one room was in use. Liu Chen and Daniel McKnight were two of the few high-roller players who still regularly played at Harbourview. Far too many players had been getting their gaming cash from the gangs. Now, those players couldn’t access funds to play in BC, and Harbourview’s private rooms frequently sat empty.

Trying to reverse their precipitous drop in revenues was only one of her many responsibilities. Which meant that even though Daniel McKnight was rumoured to be a gang member, as long as he kept bringing in cheques from his legitimate trucking company to cover his buy-ins, she needed to keep him happy.

Tonight’s conversation had her walking on eggshells. Confronting him about suspected illegal transactions taking place on Harbourview property? Talk about a good way to turn off a big player.

Handling delicate situations with high rollers was part of the job. No one but the general manager would be trusted to handle a conversation like this, and whether his activities were legal or not, involving security was not an option. Fortunately, nothing Daniel had ever said or done made her worry about her safety. She wasn’t afraid of him, just of her reaction to him. Her physical attraction to him was unwelcome and unwanted. Daniel McKnight was forbidden fruit in every way.

Meg forced herself to smile as she swiped her electronic access card to gain entry to the room where Daniel played.

Daniel and Liu Chen were seated at the baccarat table, bets in front of them. A dealer and supervisor ran the game, and a bartender waited by the bar to fill any food and beverage requests. The other biker Les mentioned was not visible, although he might be behind the closed door of the suite’s bathroom. She had no reason to think this biker had any connection to her past, but her sixth sense had been going off ever since Les mentioned him. That sixth sense had kept her alive for a long time. She wouldn’t be able to relax until she knew he didn’t pose a threat. Keeping a smile on her face, she moved to greet the men at the table, waiting until the hand had been decided before speaking.

Mr. Chen, Mr. McKnight, welcome back to Harbourview. Please pardon my intrusion on your game. She made an apologetic gesture to Liu Chen. Liu could be fussy and temperamental about being interrupted, especially if he was experiencing a lucky streak. She would have preferred to wait until the two men took a break, but if Liu was on a streak, he would play for hours without getting up. Since the game was played against the dealer, and not against the other players at the table, taking Daniel aside to talk with him wouldn’t interrupt Liu’s game.

Thank you, Ms. Wallis. Your hospitality lives up to your usual high standards. Chen gave her a nod of dismissal, but at least he didn’t seem upset.

Meg, I’ve told you to call me Daniel before. No need to be so formal after all this time. A teasing laugh accompanied his words.

Meg turned to face Daniel and found him standing to greet her. Tall and muscular, he should be physically imposing, but she never felt threatened by him. He wore his dark hair cropped short, and it was streaked with silver, something Meg found incredibly sexy. But his eyes were his most compelling feature, a light greenish-blue hue.

The familiar pull of attraction she always experienced around Daniel hummed through her body, and she fought to control her physical response. Daniel McKnight was off limits. He was a player, an ex-con, and a member of an outlaw biker club. Any one of those would be a good enough reason to avoid him. All three in the same gorgeous, combustible package? Men like Daniel were her kryptonite. Why oh why did she always fall for bad boys?

Daniel, Meg conceded. I need to talk to you about a private matter. Do you have a few minutes?

Daniel shrugged and followed her as she led him out of the suite and across the hall to the other private gaming suite. Unoccupied, it would provide them with the privacy necessary for this conversation. As soon as the door closed behind him, Daniel began speaking.

What’s this about? Or are you finally going to take me up on my dinner invitation?

His voice rolled over her like a caress, and desire unfurled low in her belly. Meg clamped down on her body’s response. This could not happen. Without turning around to face him, she led him to the lounge area of the suite and seated herself on one end of a sprawling sectional sofa.

Harbourview is always happy to arrange dinner for you. Would you like me to make you a reservation? She met his eyes as he sat down across from her, thankful he kept some space between them. She kept her own tone strictly professional.

He flashed a smile full of wicked promise. That’s not what I want, and you know it. But if you won’t have dinner with me, what did you need to talk to me about?

Daniel’s eyes sparkled as he spoke, setting off butterflies in her chest, and Meg felt her palms dampen. Meeting him alone was necessary, but being alone with him amped up the temptation to give in to his request, to find out if he could deliver on his unspoken promises. The aura of danger he exuded was a siren’s call for her. Just once, she wished she could fall for a nice, respectable man. An accountant. Or a librarian. Someone who was the polar opposite of Daniel, of the other men in her past.

Meg took a deep breath, focusing her attention on what mattered tonight, then launched into the real reason for the meeting. Two weeks ago, there was an incident. I need to ask you a few questions about it.

What kind of incident? Wariness edged his voice.

We caught two players cheating at roulette. Normally, I wouldn’t tell you any of this, except by strange coincidence, at precisely the time my security team was dealing with the cheating incident, something unusual took place in our parking garage. Care to comment? Meg arched an eyebrow, waiting.

She had video evidence of Daniel exchanging a black bag for a large handful of Harbourview’s $5,000 chips. Cameras caught the chips being counted by the recipient, and they totalled $100,000. Surveillance had not been able to identify the contents of the black bag. His partner in this enterprise? Liu Chen. The whole transaction seemed dirty, and Meg needed him to realize Harbourview had witnessed the exchange—and would not let it happen again. Harbourview couldn’t prove anything illegal happened, but it definitely looked sketchy. The challenge was finding a way to do it without losing his business.

Fuck. Daniel knew exactly what night Meg meant. After all, he had hired the players to cheat in an effort to distract Harbourview security and surveillance. Why Liu Chen had insisted on making the exchange at the casino he never understood, unless it was a test to see how well Daniel and the gang could subvert traditional security measures.

Obviously not well enough, if someone had identified him making the trade. If Chen found out, this could kill the entire deal.

Keeping his features impassive, he shrugged. You’re sure it was me, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation. What about it? He leaned back against the sofa, feigning a lack of concern.

Daniel felt Meg’s blue eyes on him, as if she were trying to decide whether to believe him. From her expression, he didn’t think she was buying what he was trying to sell. Too bad. He really didn’t want her involved in this mess. He wanted her naked in his bed, but that was a different problem.

The silence stretched between them. As a detective, he had learned to use silence to make suspects nervous. He found it interesting that Meg seemed to be attempting the same trick on