by Raquel Belle
“Oh.” I can’t get out any other word beyond that sound. Technically, he didn’t lie. But a stinging feeling of deceit still runs through me. Deanna must see the shadow of disappointment that crosses my face because her rage is fueled with a fresh fire.
“So you even had to scam Lilly in the process, huh? Telling lies about your identity?”
“That’s not exactly what happened.” David says. “She’ll tell you so herself.”
“Whatever. I’m going to report you to the gaming commission. This is some shady bullshit and you know it.”
“Deanna, let’s go.”
“No. Not until he gives me a chance to win back my money.”
“Chasing your losses is never an advisable course of action,” David says quietly.
“I’m not chasing losses. I’m getting what I’m due,” Deanna snaps at him. “Double or nothing. Just you and me.”
“You’re going to be into me for $1.3 mil if you lose.”
I feel my heart drop. Deanna doesn’t have that kind of money. I don’t have that kind of money. Nobody we know has that kind of money. A hundred grand would have been amazing to walk away with tonight. It would have been life changing. What the hell is she doing?
“Deanna,” I put a hand on her arm. “We don’t have that.”
“We can use collateral,” she brushes me off briskly. “Right?” She looks to David.
“What do you have to offer?” He sits back down and looks at her expectantly, leaning back casually. The rest of the room is transfixed by this unexpected turn.
“I’ve got some Louis Vuitton purses.”
David snorts. “What are those even worth?” He looks expectantly to Tessa.
“Could be as much as 20k, easy,” she quickly chimes in.
“Fine. What else do you have other than purses?”
“My car. BMW 3 series. It’s only five years old. Not a lot of mileage.” What with Deanna’s DUI, she really doesn’t have use for a car anymore. So I bite my tongue and don’t protest.
“So that’s, what? 40 to 50k depending on the trimmings.” Maurice and Jeremy are nodding in agreement and I even catch one of the security dudes giving an affirmative jerk of the head. Everybody has suddenly become invested in Deanna’s mission.
“Anything else?”
“I have like 5k in savings. Lilly, what do you have?” Deanna whirls on me suddenly.
“Uh…like 20k.” I stammer out the words.
“Shit, really?!” Deanna pauses and looks at me incredulously. “I guess it’s easy to save up when you’re still living at home with Mom and Dad.” I know she doesn’t mean the words as an insult but they hit like a hammer, especially when punctuated with a derisive snort from that Jeremy guy.
“You’re barely hitting 100k worth of assets between you and your sister,” David says. “Nowhere near the $1.3 mil worth of collateral you’d need for a double-or-nothing final round.”
Deanna’s shoulders are already slumped in defeat. The fight is going out of her. And I have nothing else to offer.
“I think it’s time for the two of you to go.” David’s dark eyes settle on me, running over me. “Unless…” He pauses.
Deanna perks up, hearing the hint of hope.
“Unless you want to offer up your sister as collateral,” David goes on.
“What the fuck?” For once, Deanna’s rough choice of words is, in my opinion, perfect. “What, like you want to marry her?”
“I wasn’t thinking of such a long-term commitment.” A smile twitches at the corners of David’s mouth. “How much longer are you supposed to stay in Las Vegas?” He turns towards me, his tone commanding.
I’m too stunned to do anything but answer. “One week. I’m here for six nights total.”
“So, six nights it is.” His jaw is set firmly. “Double or nothing. One game. If you lose, Lilly is mine. For six nights.”
Logically, I know this is pure insanity. But that stormy darkness of David’s eyes has me frozen. I can hear the blood rushing in my ears and feel a shudder from my head to my toes as he rakes his gaze over me again. I notice his hands, large, strong and firm, resting calmly on the table. I remember the feel of my own slim fingers in his grip when we first met, when I thought he was still the white knight in shining armor—not the dark knight I see before me now. But I see his hand twitch ever so slightly as he stares at me and I can’t help but wonder, what might it be like to be under that hand? The hand of a man so rich, so powerful, that $1.3 million is mere pocket change?
“Lilly?” Deanna is staring at me expectantly. “You don’t have to do this.” She says calmly and clearly. A flash of sobriety has overtaken her. I realize that literally every pair of eyes in the room is staring at me. Everything depends on me right now.
“Yes.” I gulp. “I’ll do it.” Am I being fueled by champagne, adrenaline, fear, or all of the above? I don’t know. But I know I want to take this risk.
I see a brief flash of surprise cross David’s face. Deanna gives me a hug, whispering into my ear, “Don’t worry, I’m going to smoke this joker.” I wish I shared her confidence.
The others scoot back from the table, leaving only David and Deanna to face off. The dealer is nervously shuffling the cards, fanning them out and gathering them in his hand again before doling out two cards each, face down, to each of the players.
The first community card goes face up on the table. The jack of hearts. Both David and Deanna confidently check. Next up is a four of clubs. Again, both check. I pray that Deanna isn’t bluffing and that she actually has something this time. Next is a five of diamonds. Then a two of hearts.
“Check.”
“Check.”
And finally, the dealer plays the last card. The ace of diamonds.
Time for the showdown. Deanna triumphantly lays her cards down on the table. Two aces in hand. “Pocket aces,” Tessa whispers next to me excitedly. “She’s got three of a kind. That’s a good hand.” She gives me an encouraging nod.
David slowly places his cards down. Three of clubs. King of diamonds. I scan the cards on the table, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. It doesn’t look like anything cohesive at first. But then I see it all come together. Combined with the cards on the table, he’s got an ace, two, three, four, and five. It’s a straight, consisting of five cards of increasing value. An ace can go before a two or follow a king.
I piece together what the skilled poker players in the room have already seen. And I gasp as if a bucket of ice water has been dumped on my head.
“Take her to the penthouse,” I hear David say sharply. “My penthouse.” Instantly a large hand seizes my forearm.
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