by AA Lee
Ella nodded and threw in her chips. The second that the dealer passed out all the cards, she picked hers up and shifted them in order.
“Your bet,” said Rafa.
“I bet a hundred.” Ella threw in two chips and thought back to when she was at home. Her mother and Mr. Sullivan used to play the game with her. Poker was not that difficult if she paid attention to the other players. Mr. Sullivan had taught her everything there was to know about poker.
Two players folded on that hand and Rafa and two others threw in their chips. Ella watched the man to the right of the dealer throw out his cards for exchange; except when he pulled in the new cards, he also snagged several chips underneath. How sly. It was such a subtle gesture; she was surprised that she saw it at all. Ella was not going to win with a cheater playing the game.
“Another hundred,” she said. One man folded. Rafa and the cheater remained. “I call.”
Ella turned over three tens, Rafa turned over a full house, and the man who took chips showed a pair of fives.
“Ante,” said the dealer as Rafa pulled in his winnings. All players did; then Ella noticed something funny about the dealer. He passed out two cards to the player to his left. Ella’s eyes narrowed as she glanced at her cards and threw them out.
“I fold.”
“What?” Rafa asked. “You aren’t even going to try?”
“I want to sit this one out,” Ella replied.
“Suit yourself.”
Now Ella watched every man at the table. One took chips. One took extra cards. The dealer misdealt. That left three other men, and Rafa kept whispering into an earpiece. Other than that, it played out as normal.
“Are you in this hand?” Rafa asked.
“I’m in.” Ella pressed her lips together as she received her cards. She glanced at Rafa as though he would know what she had. Ella peeked at the cards without ever lifting them up. If someone told him what was in her hand before, the person would have never been able to see.
She threw out two cards and received two more. Rafa placed a bet and she followed suit, but all of the other players folded. What a coincidence since there was no way they would beat her straight flush.
“I call,” said Rafa. Ella looked at the table where they played. The dark tinted glass made it difficult to see her cards from underneath, yet it was still made of glass. All of the men were deliberately manipulating the game. Why?
Ella turned over her cards, and Rafa only had a straight. She pulled in her winnings, merely replacing the chips that she lost. Now her chips matched what she had started with, neither gaining nor losing. She was finished and crossed her arms. Ella was not going to let them make a fool out of her.
“Sitting this one out?” Rafa asked.
“I’m not playing anymore,” she declared. “All of you are mocking me.”
The dealer halted his shuffling, and all of the men’s eyes focused on her, waiting for her to continue. Not a smile formed on any of their mouths. Somehow, they invoked fear and annoyed her at the same time.
Ella shook her head and stood. “That man to the right of the dealer is stealing chips. The dealer passed out more cards than he should have to the man to his left. And you…” She pointed at Rafa. “…are talking with someone through your earpiece.”
“Do you usually come up with conspiracy theories? Sometimes you just have to improve your skills and not accuse people of cheating,” Rafa instructed.
Ella glared at him. Was he not going to admit that the game was rigged? Ella rolled her eyes and looked away. At the same time, she felt underneath the table where she sat. Ella yanked a tiny metal piece from under the glass and looked at it closely, inspecting the circular screen that was no larger than the tip of her pinky finger. “Here’s your conspiracy theory. That seems like a camera to me.”
Was Rafa impressed? His slight smirk made her curious. Did they purposely sabotage the entire game to see if she could tell? The men did not please her at all. It was all in very poor taste. “The owner can have his chips back,” she said. “I’m not playing with any of you.”
She scooted out of her chair and pushed it back in. While the men exchanged curious glances, she left the poker sessions and walked around the dancers to the bar in back. She needed to figure out the purpose of the poker match.
CHAPTER 15
Ella gazed behind the bar. The VIP room had more expensive bottles of liquor than the main club had. It pleased her. She needed something strong and smooth and waited for the bartender to approach.
“May I see your pass?” he asked, his brown eyes staring directly in hers with not one slicked brown hair out of place.
Ella groaned. Did he not see Rafa bring her through the door? “I came with Rafa, one of the men at the poker tables,” she replied.
“I’m sorry. I cannot serve you unless the person who brought you orders for you. Those are the rules for this room.”
Ella noticed that many more customers now filled the tables and stools. She looked at her phone and saw it was ten minutes after six. She started to look back at the table with Rafa when a single man approached and slipped his arm around her waist. The man had dark brown hair and brown eyes with a smile on his face.
“I’m with this woman,” he said as he concentrated on the bottles of liquor behind the bar.
The bartender did not look convinced and tilted his face forward, eying the man with skepticism. “Really,” he said. “You came in with her?” The man nodded and rested his hands on the bar. “All right,” the bartender nearly scoffed. “What will you have then?”
“A shot of tequila,” Ella answered. “Do you have anything smooth?”
“The owner only orders the best for this lounge,” he said and set a shot in front of her.
Ella gulped the shot as if trying to erase a bad memory. The tequila was perfect and she found no funny aftertaste. “That practically slid down my throat with no burn. I usually can expect something mediocre when I order from the top. That was excellent.”
“Well, I did say we carry the best.”
“Would you make me a margarita then with that same tequila? I would like it with salt please.”
The man next to her glanced at her with surprise. “That’s a lot of liquor all at once. Can you handle it?”
“Of course,” she answered as the bartender gave her a sly smirk.
“You do know that our private stock is more potent than the others. You may want to keep that in mind,” he said.
“Don’t worry. I know my liquor and my limitations,” she declared as a woman walked to the opposite end of the bar. The woman wore a tailored green dress with matching green heels. Ella did not think the color went well with her short red hair. The woman glanced at Ella with the man’s hand still around her waist and scowled. Even when Ella returned to take her margarita, she could still feel the woman’s eyes piercing through her heart.
“Does she have a problem with me?” Ella asked the bartender.
“Well, she might. Halsey there…” He pointed at the man standing next to Ella. “…came in with her. She probably doesn’t like his arm around you.”
Halsey interrupted. “Yes, but that interest is gone now that I have you next to me. That woman was a loudmouth. I should have never brought her up here.”
“Oh.” Ella twisted out of Halsey’s arm with the uncomfortable stare he now gave.
When the bartender left the two alone, Halsey looked at Ella. “Now that he’s gone, do you mind telling me exactly who you are?”
“My name is Ella,” she replied, though she did not feel like revealing her name after he blew off the other woman. Why did she not see it before? After hearing him speak, she knew he had an ulterior agenda by saying she was with him.
“Ella,” he said. “Yes, I like that. And since I lost my unlucky card tonight, you get to take her place. Come and join me.”
“Oh, but I can’t,” Ella said as he grabbed her hand without care to her response.
“I
got you a drink for being here without a pass, remember. So do as I say, and you won’t have anything to worry about.” Ella stared at him as he led her to one of the roulette tables. She did not want to make a scene when she was already in trouble with Angelo. How bad could a simple game of roulette be?
“All I want you to do is put these chips where you think they should go. Got it?”
“Okay,” she answered as Halsey set the chips in Ella’s hand. She did what he said. Ella put them against three different numbers.
“Black fifteen,” announced the dealer. Halsey seemed pleased that Ella had placed chips on that number.
“Do it again,” Halsey commanded. This time Ella bet on the same two numbers that did not win and chose a new number for the rest of the chips.
“Red twelve.”
“Very good, Ella,” said Halsey with a smirk. “One more time and then we’re leaving.”
Leaving? His words disturbed her as she placed his chips one more time. She did not pay attention to where she placed them. Ella stepped back slowly as Halsey waited for the balls to stop. She was not going anywhere with that man. Ella walked fast and ducked inside an open doorway at the end of a short hall.
What was this room? Ella fisted her hands over her stomach and closed her eyes. This was the worst hiding place that she could have found to escape. She would have had a better chance of surviving with Halsey; if anyone caught her here, she would probably die.
Black trays lined with cloth lay on top of several rows of tables. Inside were handguns, machine guns, and pistols. The rest of the trays carried rounds of ammunition. Ella could not move. What exactly did she discover? Then it hit her. Illusions, she thought. The club was a cover for something else…but what?
“You had to run, didn’t you?” Halsey walked into the room. His glaring eyes made Ella take slow steps back. The more he walked toward her, the further she backed away until her back hit the wall at the far end of the room. Halsey’s hands closed around both of her shoulders; his eyes scanned her body like a treat he wanted to enjoy. “Don’t try to run from me again, Ella.”
Ella felt desperate. Running was exactly what she would do. She kicked her foot off the wall and kneed him in the groin with every bit of power she could manage.
“You little bitch,” Halsey yelled. However much she had hurt him, it was not enough for her to run far. Halsey caught her in seconds and slapped her. His palm left behind a furious burn to her cheek. Her footing faltered with the impact and Ella stumbled; her forehead crashed against the corner of the table.
She lifted her body up but fell on her back. Blood trickled from her forehead and down her temple into her hair. She groaned. She put her hand over the gash and tried to sit up when Halsey shoved her back to the floor.
“You should have never tried to run,” he said and straddled her legs. Ella was losing energy too fast. Her meager attempts to shove his hands away were pointless as he lifted her blouse above her breasts. She tried to push him away once more when the door to the room slammed closed.
“We don’t allow that sort of behavior in this club,” said the familiar voice of a man. The sharp metal clicking sound made Halsey raise his arms. “You would have been better to shoot her than violate her. Either way, you touched the wrong girl. Filthy scum like you gives us all a bad name.”
Then Halsey fell sideways, lightening the weight off Ella’s legs. She tried to move. Her eyes struggled to open, but the only things that seemed to work were her ears as she heard the distant sounds of voices. Her body felt weightless as somebody scooped her up. Then darkness shut everything out.
CHAPTER 16
Ella opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. What a strange dream she had the night before, but as she noticed the unfamiliar surroundings around her, it had not been a dream after all. Ella looked around at the small room that was large enough for the bed she was laying in and a single table. The door to the room had another fingerprint sensor and no knob. There were no windows; the only source of light came from a single bulb in the corner. Ella felt trapped.
She forced her body to sit in the bed but groaned with pain. Her hand immediately touched her forehead, feeling the bandage placed over the wound from the night before. Did Halsey have his way with her? No, that voice had saved her, but she could not recall the voice now with the throbbing of her head.
Ella laid her face in her lap and held her head, trying to relieve the pressure of the pain. After a few minutes, the door opened quietly and people stepped inside. Ella looked up. It was Angelo, Rafa, and Brett. Ella sat up and stared directly at them, waiting for them to speak. Angelo and Rafa both crossed their arms; Brett’s hands hid in the pockets of his jeans.
“Are you going to let me live?” she asked. Her distressed tone sounded more like a plea. She wondered why they stared at her and did not say a word.
“I warned you,” Angelo said, “and now you have gotten yourself into a situation. The owner decided to keep you here for the time since you saw more than you should have seen. The company I work for does not take chances.”
“Did you shoot that man last night?” she asked.
“Halsey won’t be misbehaving anytime soon,” Rafa answered. “You’re lucky that we stopped him from raping you. Why would you talk to a complete stranger like that anyway?”
Ella’s shoulders slouched as she looked at the floor. What were they planning on doing with her? She could not stay here forever. People would wonder where she was. She had a restaurant to run. The employees and customers would notice that she was gone. “So what does the owner intend to do with me?” she asked.
Brett smiled. His eyes were innocent yet he made her afraid with his gentle expression. His boyish charm perfectly masked the danger he posed on unsuspecting minds. Ella knew better. If he was with this company, he certainly was not at all innocent. “We are here to give you your choices.” He grinned.
“Choices,” Ella frowned. “What sort of choices?”
Angelo glanced at Rafa but pointed at Brett. Then both he and Rafa stepped out of the room. Brett turned around and watched them go. As he did, the butt of a gun handle showed from a holster on his waist. Ella flinched. Was he a hitman? Was he going to shoot her?
“Well,” Brett began. “I would say sorry that you got mixed up in all this and I might say I would love to let you go.” He smiled. “But if I said that, I would be lying, because it really doesn’t matter to me. The boss has made his intentions perfectly clear anyway.”
“Wait. Are you calling the owner boss or Angelo boss?”
“I don’t know.” Brett shrugged. “They are kind of both my boss. Pretty much, though, everyone is my boss. They tell me what to do and I do it. It’s an easy job.”
“Okay,” Ella said.
“Anyway, you have two choices. The first is that I kill you.” He pulled the gun from his back pocket and showed it off. “Isn’t it a beauty?” he asked. “And it is brand new…never been used. I’m kind of looking for a reason to use it.”
Ella stared at him with shock as she faced the possibility of being killed. She found nothing exciting about him using the new gun to shoot her. “And number two?” she asked before he forgot there was a number two.
“Right.” He snapped out of his daydream and slipped the gun to his back pocket again. “Number two is in that table drawer over there, but I’m going to get back to work while you think about it. The boss has work too, but Rafa will come back in a little while. See you later, Ella.”
Brett waved to her. He scooted out of the door as though they had a friendly chat on any normal day. What was wrong with him? How did he take the matter of her life and death choice so lightly? What sort of operation was the owner running here?
Ella gazed at the drawer that held option two. What if there was some sort of explosive device waiting for her on the inside? Maybe what she really chose was the method in which to end her life. No, that would not make sense. If they meant to kill her, she doubted they would take
the trouble to wrap her head.
Ella got out of the bed and slid the drawer open an inch. Her overactive mind was working against her. She half expected to uncover some sort of wiring, but the drawer seemed empty instead. Ella stared at the empty drawer and then closed her eyes; she jerked the handle until it slid all the way out. When she opened her eyes back up, something reflected from the back of the drawer. Her hand immediately moved to her chest, relieved that the entire room did not explode. Then she picked up the object. It was a beautiful ring with tiny black diamonds and a band made from solid white gold. The ring belonged to a man but was sized to fit a much smaller finger. It looked expensive. Ella examined the astounding detail. Then she remembered that this was option two. What was she supposed to do with it?
The door creaked open. As though he read her thoughts, Rafa walked inside the room and looked down at her. She was kneeling on the floor with the ring in her hand.
“Have you decided?” he asked. She found nothing humorous about the ring and wondered about his smirk. Why did her predicament humor these men?
“What does the ring mean?” Ella stood up and sat back down on the bed.
“That,” he pointed, “is not your ordinary ring. It would mean that you belong to the owner from now on and do as he says.”
“You mean the same owner who let me play poker?” Ella needed affirmation.
“That’s right. That is his personal ring that he used to wear. You will be subject to his demands.”
“Who is the owner?” she asked. “I want to meet him first.”
“You will find out soon enough. Choose option one and I will take care of you quickly.” Rafa opened up the right side of his coat and let his gun reflect in the light. “Or I can send Brett back in to have his fun.”
“Fine.” Ella forced the ring on her finger and covered her chest with her arms. They were starting to make her mad. Maybe that was what they wanted. All she could think about was the old man that Angelo had taken her to see at the restaurant in Miami.