by Jade Kuzma
“Faye…”
He grunted my name before planting his cock as deep into me as he could. I groaned from the feeling of his dick throbbing inside of me. Thick streams of his cum splashed against my walls. I tightened around him, milking him for as much as I could. My body had taken complete control of me.
I wanted it to last forever. I wanted to stay in this moment with him inside of me and me on top of him.
But everything started to return to me. I felt numb as I came back down. I was completely drained and so was he.
His cock still deep inside of me, Hunter pulled me close and kissed me deeply. Half-naked and still trembling from my orgasm, I laughed into his mouth.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “You saved my life, Faye.”
“You’re my friend, Hunter. You were always my friend.”
“You don’t know how long I’ve waited to do something like this.”
“You’ve already told me that before.”
“I still feel the same way. Fucking you is better than I dreamed it could be.”
I pressed my forehead to his and tried to catch my breath. I kissed him and enjoyed the moment for a little bit longer.
It didn’t matter that I was working for Alvarez. As long as the ones I cared about were safe, I would do anything I could.
But the reality of the situation couldn’t be avoided.
“He’s up to something,” I whispered.
“I know. He wouldn’t be so kind if he didn’t want something in return.”
“When you talk to him tomorrow, just be careful, okay? You just got out of a dangerous situation. Don’t put yourself in another one.”
“You’re the only reason I’m here. I’ll do anything you want me to do.”
“Just be here with me now. That’s all I want.”
Chapter 19
HUNTER
Alvarez’s office was in Eden Casino, looking out onto the empty space between Holt and Ivory County. The view was just like Faye described. Nothing but desert in every direction with the small town of Ivory off in the distance.
It was easy to understand why a man like Alvarez made a name for himself in a place like this. He could have a monopoly over everything that happened here along with all of the people he made deals with. Big fish in a small pond.
And if Alvarez was anything, he was a big fucking fish.
I sat across his desk and watched him chow down on a slice of pizza. He chomped on the cheese with a big smile on his face. Some of the sauce and oil got caught on his mustache. I didn’t give too much of a shit how he indulged himself. I was more annoyed that he was making me watch.
“You’re a good player,” he said. “I remember the first time I played against you. I kept waiting for you to make a mistake but you never did. I expected you to bet and you’d fold. I expected you to fold and you’d bet. I expected you to give up but you’d bluff.”
“I’ve been playing cards for a long time now.”
“It shows. Shame you had to try and cheat me the way you did.”
He took another chunk out of his pizza and kept glaring right at me. The asshole was up to something. That much was obvious. I kept my wits about me. I was prepared for anything he might say.
“Tonight, Nirvana will resume,” he said. “You’re in the top 30. If you keep playing like you’re capable of, you’ll make it to the final table.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Yes… Things don’t always go the way that we plan though, do they? A stroke of bad luck is all it takes…”
He snapped his fingers.
“…Just like that, some punk who doesn’t know what he’s doing gets the one card he needs to win a hand.”
“If this casino is any kind of legitimate business, they’ll make sure that nobody in the tournament would do something like that.”
“Emerson’s been running Eden long enough to know how things work.”
Alvarez kept eyeballing me as he finished his slice. He didn’t hesitate to grab another one. He chewed with his mouth open. It was the only noise in the room.
“How was the VIP room?” he asked. “Did you enjoy yourself?”
“You might say that I did.”
“I’m glad you can appreciate my hospitality.”
Another few quick bites and his slice of pizza had disappeared. As sloppy of an eater as he was, he at least had the decency to wipe his mouth now.
“I’ve let you back into the casino after attempting to cheat,” he said. “I’ve allowed you to enjoy one of my VIP rooms. And all of it is because of my assistant. I wouldn’t have allowed it if it wasn’t for Faye.”
“I owe her a lot.”
“You’re close to her.”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Don’t answer that.
I wasn’t sure if Alvarez knew about my relationship with Faye. She never bothered to talk much about him when we were alone. I still had no idea why she was working for the bastard.
“There’s no point in denying it,” he said. “I know people. People who can find out exactly who Hunter Jacobson is. It’s not hard when you’ve got a criminal record.”
“Right,” I sighed. “That damn criminal database. You’d think they’d have the decency to hide why I was arrested.”
“Funny,” he said with a smirk. “But your record is of no consequence to me. What I find interesting is that you and Faye know each other from a long time ago.”
“A long time ago is a good way of putting it. I haven’t seen her in six years.”
“Yet here you are. And now the two of you are back together. She helped you get into the casino. To think, she’s in my office every single day. She knows what I’m up to. She knows all of the things I do. She’s aware of my business.”
“Your business is not a secret.”
“Perhaps not.”
Alvarez struggled a bit to get up from his seat. He walked around his desk with his hands behind his back. Even though he was so fat, that still didn’t stop him from puffing his chest out proudly.
“I don’t know who or what you are, Jacobson. You might be up to something. I don’t know that for sure. But I can assure you that I’m not someone you want to cross.”
His voice wasn’t any more threatening than it usually was. I didn’t bother letting it worry me.
“I’m not up to anything,” I said. “The only thing I’m trying to do is win a tournament.”
“A 2.7 million dollar prize pool. Coming in first place in Nirvana would be a massive payday.”
“It’d be something.”
“It would also be a massive loss for the casino.”
“The casino gets its fair share from the buy-in for hosting. It wouldn’t be a loss at all.”
“But it can minimize the loss if it didn’t have to pay a winner.”
Alvarez slowly turned to me. He was obviously getting at something. I had to hold back and try not to do anything stupid. Not for me but for Faye because she worked for the bastard.
“I’ve offered you my hospitality, Jacobson. Now I’m asking a favor from you.”
“And what kind of favor is that?”
“If you happen to make it to the end of this tournament, forfeit your winnings.”
I waited for him to tell me he wasn’t serious but he didn’t say anything. I didn’t stop from laughing right at him.
“Why would I do something like that?”
“Because I allowed you to come back and enter this tournament in the first place. I’ll give you the money you’ve earned so far. You’ll get your buy-in back and a little bit of profit.”
I put my finger up to my chin and pretended like I was thinking.
“Lemme see… I could either keep all of my winnings or forfeit because you’re such a nice guy who let me into the tournament. Tough choice.”
Alvarez took a step toward me. He still had a confident smile on his face.
“And Faye suggested you’d play along,” he said. “I was af
raid it would come to this.”
“Come to what?” I said.
I clenched my jaw and held back from doing anything.
Alvarez could tell that I was fuming from the mention of her name. The grin slowly appeared on his lips as he took another step toward me.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “Faye pleaded for me to let you back in. You are friends. And here I thought you were just some lowlife she was looking out for. She’s gonna be so disappointed in you.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’ll put it simply for you. Forfeit your winnings… or I’ll kill you.”
He chuckled to himself. The confidence he had was starting to get annoying.
“So brave,” he said. “I guess that’s what happens when you live your life gambling.”
“I’m not afraid of dying.”
“No, you’re not. But how would Faye feel if she worked so hard for you to get back to Eden only for you to end up with a bullet in your head?”
I jumped out of my seat and balled my fists. Alvarez stumbled back and put his hands up. I advanced on him but he still kept smiling at me.
“Careful now,” he said. “You don’t want to do anything you might regret.”
“Who said I’m gonna regret this?”
“Oh, you’ll regret it. I have security cameras in my office. I have guards posted at every door leading all the way to the front entrance of the casino. You won’t walk out without getting a pair of cuffs tossed on you. Unless you like prison, I wouldn’t recommend doing what you’re about to do. More importantly, I’m sure Faye would regret it.”
I clenched my jaw so hard that it started to hurt. My fist balled, I close my eyes and loosened up slowly. If I was gonna do something to Alvarez, I couldn’t do it here.
“Take my offer,” he said. “There’s no need for you to try any harder. You’ll have made a nice profit. Faye will stay by my side and she’ll be paid quite well. And you’ll live to see it.”
“Faye’s not the kind of woman who enjoys working for a man like you. I can convince her to leave.”
“Can you? Do you know why she’s working for me? Have you ever figured out how a smart woman like her ended up by my side?”
I was still fuming but I managed to maintain my composure enough not to do anything.
Alvarez laughed at my lack of a response.
“No, she hasn’t told you, has she? What a shame. And I thought the two of you were close. It’s no matter, things always work out for the best. A man could get lucky one hand but in the end, the better player always wins.”
He moved back to his seat and plopped down. He pulled another slice of pizza and stuffed his face like I wasn’t even there.
“The tournament resumes tonight,” he said. “Keep playing hard. I hope you make the final table. When you do, I know you’ll make the right decision to forfeit your money. It’s the only way to make sure that Faye gets what she wants.”
I stared at him, trying to figure out a way to get one over on him.
“I think you’ve enjoyed enough of my hospitality today, Jacobson. You can see yourself out while I enjoy the rest of my lunch. Tell Faye to come into my office to see me.”
I turned around and left his office to find Faye standing right next to the door. She was busy with some paperwork on a clipboard.
“Hey.”
She greeted me with a bit of a smile. She couldn’t be too happy because she knew what kind of a man Alvarez was. It wasn’t a shock that the asshole told me some fucking bad news.
I was too busy going over everything in my head to respond to her.
“What did he say?” she asked. “Are you all right?”
“Faye…”
I looked into her eyes, wondering what it was she wasn’t telling me. I’d known her all of my life. Now she was keeping a secret. It was fucking embarrassing that I was so pissed that she wouldn’t tell me.
“Hunter, what’s wrong?”
Those green eyes of hers were always so innocent. She was intelligent. She was smart. But more than anything, that vulnerability was always there.
I couldn’t push her. Not when I knew Alvarez was threatening to do something to her. The last thing I wanted to do was make her worry.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“What?” she said, confusion tattooed on her face. “I just asked you—”
“I’m talking about last night. Are you all right?”
“Of course, I am,” she said with a laugh. “I had a great time. You know I did.”
“Yeah…”
“Hunter, what did he say to you?”
“…Nothing. He didn’t say anything to me. He just wanted to wish me luck at the tournament tonight.”
No. I can’t worry her.
Faye knew better than anybody what a man like Alvarez was capable of. But there was something else. Something she wasn’t telling me. I had to wait for the right opportunity to ask her.
“He wanted to wish you luck? That’s it?”
“He said he admires me as a player. Said he hopes he makes the final table, too, so that he can challenge me.”
“Okay…”
“He also said to get back into his office. There’s some work for you to do.”
“Of course.”
She leaned forward and kissed me softly on the cheek.
“I’ll see you tonight,” she said. “I’ll be rooting for you.”
I didn’t say anything more as she walked into Alvarez’s office.
I shook all of the thoughts I had out of my head. I couldn’t get distracted. Regardless of what I did, I had to focus on the tournament tonight. I would deal with everything else later.
Chapter 20
FAYE
With less than 30 players left in the tournament, there was something in the air at Eden Casino. The crowd seemed a little bigger. The conversation seemed a little louder. Everybody had come out to see who was going to get their piece of the more than two-million-dollar prize pool.
I blocked most of it out though. My focus was on the two men who appeared to be doing everything they could to make sure they won.
For all of the things I disliked about him, Alvarez knew what he was doing. He backed up the confidence he had by stacking more and more of the other players’ chips to his side of the table. He was a detestable, shady man but when it came to cards, he was just a player that everybody was forced to respect.
Hunter drew some attention to himself because of the way he looked. A tattooed biker in a leather jacket that leaned back in his seat was probably a strange sight to most people. You wouldn’t have thought there was so much money on the line when you looked at him.
Nonetheless, Hunter played about as well as everybody else. Everybody at his table respected him to the point that it didn’t matter what he looked like. Hunter wouldn’t have gotten where he was if he didn’t know what he was doing.
I stood among the gallery and watched it play out. Hand after hand. Bet after bet. Every time either one of them was involved, I grew anxious. My anxiety faded when they both eventually came out on top.
It took hours but one by one, players started to drop out. As each player was eliminated from the tournament, there was more money left on the table. Hunter didn’t have to do anything at all and he would’ve made more than enough money to take care of his debt.
The evening wore on until suddenly there were only a dozen players left. All eyes were on the table where multiple players had pushed their chips in. Alvarez was one of them.
The crowd gasped in surprise. They murmured to one another about what was about to happen.
“Wow, three players are all-in.”
“That guy could knock them all out at once.”
“He’s gonna have a massive lead if he wins this hand!”
The cards were dealt. Sure enough, it all resulted in Alvarez with that smug grin on his face as he stacked more chips to his side of the table.
“Lad
ies and gentlemen!”
An announcement was made over the PA system.
“We have your final nine players for the Nirvana tournament!”
Alvarez, Hunter, and seven other players were among the final table. Each one of them would get their piece of the biggest prize Eden has handed out since it was built. But only one of them would get the lion’s share.
It didn’t matter who won to me at this point. Hunter didn’t need to push himself any farther. Even if he was eliminated on the next hand, he’d pocketed enough money to take care of himself.
The tournament ended for the night with the final hands to be dealt the following evening. The crowd started to disperse, still talking among one another about what they’d just witnessed and what was about to happen tomorrow night.
I remained at the side of the venue, patiently waiting for the man that I worked for.
“Faye,” he said. “Make sure my room is prepared for the evening. Get me a couple of ladies. I have to celebrate making the final table tonight.”
“Yes, sir. Of course.”
I looked over to the side and saw someone approaching us. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit. His hair was combed so neatly on his head that it looked fake. His face was clean-shaven and his smile was whiter than anybody else’s I’d ever seen. Even with a suit on, I could see how built he was underneath it. The man appeared to take care of himself quite well and from the looks of things, he had the money to afford it.
Of course, I already knew it was Emerson. If you were around here long enough, everybody eventually learned who he was.
The woman by his side was pretty. An expensive-looking outfit accentuated her appearance. It made sense that being with a man like him you had to look as good as you possibly could.
“Alvarez,” the man said. “Congratulations.”
“Ah! Emerson,” Alvarez responded. “You were watching.”
“Of course I was watching. This tournament was my idea, remember? Look at how many people have come out to witness it. The pot is near three-million dollars. Everybody wants to see who will walk away with the grand prize.”