Tuesday, May 8th, 8:33 AM

Mako walked out onto the casino floor after descending the balcony stairs. He pretended to wander like a lost guest, and the staff members nearby didn't seem to mind. All the while, he kept Nikolai in his peripheral vision, studying his rigid movements. Mako detected a bit of paranoia in the young man similar to Elise's and assumed the same fear that Dmitri ruled with shadowed him like a black cloud.

Grazing the tops of the poker tables with his ...