by Jade Kuzma
I was a tornado that she was caught in. All of the shit she put up with. The way I held her back. The way I left her behind. The way I got her into trouble when she saw me again.
She was twisting around in the air. I had to set her back down on her feet.
“I call,” I said.
“Jacobson calls!”
Alvarez was still smiling at me.
He flipped his last card to reveal his hand.
“You missed your straight,” he said.
“Alvarez is showing three of a kind!”
Three threes for Alvarez. Good enough to win most hands, especially when it was between two players.
“It’s all right,” Alvarez said. “Sometimes the best decision is the one you didn’t wanna make. No reason to be upset about losing this hand.”
“I’ve played enough cards to know that,” I replied.
I smiled back at him. Everybody was waiting for me to reveal my hand. But I wouldn’t do it. Not until I saw that satisfaction disappear from Alvarez’s face.
It slowly started to dawn upon him. His face twitched slightly. His lips started to quiver. Now I knew I had him.
“You’re right, I did miss my straight,” I said.
I looked down at the nine of hearts and smiled back at him. Then I slowly flipped my hole card over.
“It’s a good thing I hit my flush.”
“Jacobson has a nine-high flush! Jacobson takes down the pot and the tournament! Hunter Jacobson is the champion of the first-ever Nirvana tournament here at Eden Casino!”
The crowd was loud around me. They were all clapping and celebrating like they’d won the damn thing themselves.
I stayed calm because I knew this wasn’t over. Judging from the look on Alvarez’s face, the gears were in motion for whatever he was planning. I had to be ready.
“Hunter!”
Faye rushed up to me and wrapped her arms tight around me. Feeling her in my embrace was enough to make any pressure I might’ve felt disappear for a moment.
“You did it!”
“I did it,” I said with a laugh.
“Congratulations, Mr. Jacobson.”
I looked up and saw a man in an overpriced suit standing in front of me.
“James Emerson,” he said as he shook my hand. “It’s a pleasure you have you as the first ever champion of Nirvana. How did you do it?”
I looked at Faye as she smiled up at me. Looking into her eyes, I saw everything that mattered to me.
“I just got lucky,” I said. “I’ve been lucky my entire life.”
“Luck or not, you played well. Congratulations. You can pick up your cash later tonight after the paperwork is all sorted out.”
“Thanks. I don’t need the money right now. All I need is a drink.”
“I’m sure we can do something for you,” Emerson said with a chuckle.
He patted me on the back and left me alone to celebrate next to the table. I looked across and saw Alvarez was already on his phone. He kept eyeballing me the entire time.
“Faye… I need you to listen to me…”
I put my hands on her arms to make sure that I got through to her.
“What?” she said.
The excitement on her face had disappeared suddenly.
“Something’s gonna happen tonight,” I said.
“What?” she exclaimed. “What are you—”
“Just listen to me. Please.”
She nodded softly.
“Whatever happens, I just want you to know that I love you. You’ll get everything you’ve ever deserved. I promise you.”
“Hunter… Hunter, why are you talking like that?”
I looked across the table and saw that Alvarez had disappeared.
“Because I mean it,” I said.
“Hunter…”
She sighed before she said anything more.
“…I’ve known you long enough,” she continued. “Things are never so simple with you.”
“Just a little bit longer,” I said. “Then it’ll all be over.”
Chapter 25
FAYE
There was no point in badgering Hunter about it. Something was wrong but he wasn’t going to tell me what it was. Being with him was enough to calm the growing anxiety in my stomach but it wasn’t enough to eliminate it completely.
“Why did you park back here?”
I followed Hunter into the back lot of the casino where most of the trucks and transports were located. There were barely enough lights to see where I was going but it was clear that there wasn’t much else out here.
“Come on,” he said. “I have to get you out of here as fast as I can.”
He took my hand in his and led me to where his bike was parked. When I got to his ride, I finally tugged my hand free.
“Hunter.”
He finally paused for a second to look at me.
“Tell me,” I said.
He sighed through his nose. I knew how serious it was just from the look on his face.
“It’s not safe here for you,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t it be safe?”
“It’s… It’s just not safe, okay? You shouldn’t be here—”
“Going somewhere?”
A familiar voice broke the silence of the night. I’d been around Alvarez long enough to know exactly what he sounded like.
My boss walked forward slowly, flanked by a team of personal bodyguards. I was always intimidated by him but now he looked more menacing than usual. The way the moonlight cast shadows down his face made him look like the threatening man most people knew him as.
“You didn’t think I’d let you walk away, did you, Jacobson? You can’t play cards for a living and have that bad of a memory.”
Hunter stared back at Alvarez and stood his ground.
“Hunter—”
“Stay back, Faye.”
Hunter put his hand up and brushed me off to the side behind him.
“Leave Faye out of this,” he said. “She’s got nothing to do with this.”
“You’re not in any position to tell me what to do,” Alvarez responded. “I’ll do whatever I see fit with my assistant.”
“I said leave her out of this.”
“You should’ve thought about that before you decided to call my hand.”
Alvarez snapped his fingers and a couple of his security guards moved forward.
“Stay back,” Hunter said to me again.
I felt hopeless as I followed his instructions. I wanted to step between all of them but there was nothing I could do.
The guards advanced on Hunter and swung at him. Hunter managed to move and send a few punches their way. His fist collided with their faces to give them something to think about.
Alvarez wasn’t deterred. He snapped his fingers again and a couple more guards moved forward. Hunter held his ground, fighting them off. But there were so many of them that they eventually managed to hit Hunter and knock him down to a knee.
“Hunter!”
I yelled out to him but my words fell on deaf ears.
Hunter gritted his teeth and kept fighting. He swung. He kicked. Knees and elbows went flying as the guards kept advancing on him.
It didn’t matter what Hunter did. There were too many of them. An endless stream of guards who were following Alvarez’s orders like the drones that they were.
Hunter gritted his teeth. Every blow he took, he stayed on his feet and kept his hands up.
“Why are you denying the inevitable?” Alvarez said. “Make it quick. Spare yourself the pain and the agony.”
Hunter fell to one knee. Blood trickled from a cut on his cheek and his swollen lip. The rest of his body was probably bruised and battered underneath his shirt. I wouldn’t have been surprised if something was broken.
“Stop!” Alvarez said.
The guards stumbled back to where my boss was.
“Hunter!”
I rushed up to him and put my arms around him, trying
to pull him back up to his feet. He turned his head up and I saw just how bruised his face was.
“Ahh…” Alvarez started. “Now I see… You’re not just old friends. It’s something more. The two of you care so much about each other. Emotions. Feelings. You should know better than to let any of that get involved in your decision making, Jacobson.”
“Why are you doing this?” I said.
“That man doesn’t deserve to play at this casino. A cheat. I should’ve done something back when it first happened. It looks like I’ll just have to do it now.”
Alvarez pulled a pistol from inside his jacket. He took a step toward Hunter and raised it up to him.
“No!” I shouted.
I moved in front of Hunter and blocked Alvarez.
“You can’t do this!” I pleaded.
“Oh, Faye,” Alvarez sighed. “You’re a wonderful assistant. The best assistant I’ve ever had. Step out of the way.”
“No!”
“Don’t make me do something I’ll regret.”
“No!”
“Faye…”
Hunter’s voice was soft. I turned to him and he kept smiling at me.
“It’s all right,” he said with a nod. “I’ve got everything under control.”
“What?” I exclaimed. “What are you talking about—”
The silence of the parking lot was broken again when I heard the rumble of an engine. It was loud enough to make Alvarez lower his weapon. He took a step back and turned his attention to a pair of headlights heading right toward us.
A couple of men on choppers drove right up to Hunter and me and got off. I’d seen one of them before.
“All right, all right,” one man said. “Fun’s over.”
“Jesus,” Hunter muttered. “What the fuck took you so long?”
“Hey,” the other man said. “I didn’t know where the fuck you were parked.”
Hunter rolled his eyes at the two men who were smiling back at him. I stood up and stared at the two men.
“Who are you?” I said.
“Roman,” one man said with a nod. “New Devils MC. At your service.”
The other man, Sebastian, I remembered seeing him at the bar I was at with Hunter.
“What the fuck is this?” Alvarez muttered, more hostility in his voice than I’d ever heard.
Sebastian took a step forward in front of Hunter and me. I watched him put his hand behind his back and reach for the gun planted in his waistband.
“You heard what he said,” Sebastian said. “New Devils MC.”
“Why should I give a shit about your MC?” Alvarez responded.
“Because we’ve got a lot invested in this man. And we’re not gonna just let you kill him without getting our investment back.”
Roman and Sebastian stood there, ready to draw their weapons. Alvarez shifted his eyes between them. There was still anger in his eyes when he started to smile.
“That’s it?” he said. “You really think two of you will make a difference?”
“It looks like Jacobson roughed up a few of your boys already,” Sebastian said.
“Leave,” Alvarez said, no longer smiling. “Or you can die with Jacobson.”
“I can’t let you do that.”
“You don’t have a choice!” Alvarez said.
He snapped his fingers and the guards all pulled their weapons out. The two club members did the same.
Hunter pushed himself back up to his feet and stood proudly. His confidence wasn’t enough to ease the bad feeling in my stomach. There were still just three of them. They were outnumbered and outgunned. And there was nothing I could do to stop whatever was about to happen.
“I’ll give you one last chance,” Alvarez said. “I have no quarrel with you two. Go back to Ivory or wherever the fuck you came from. Go back or you can die here.”
“I’m gonna die,” Sebastian replied. “But not tonight.”
“Oh, I don’t think you have a choice—”
The sound of a car approaching filled my ears. Everybody turned their attention to the unmarked vehicle slowly riding up toward us.
Who is that?
I narrowed my eyes and got a better look at the men stepping out of the car. They all looked familiar. It didn’t take long for me to figure out who they were.
Alvarez didn’t seem to know who they were though. His brow furrowed his anger, he fumed where he stood.
“Who the fuck are you?” Alvarez said.
“Henry Alvarez,” he said. “We haven’t been properly introduced. Tagawa Takahashi.”
Takahashi straightened his suit jacket and did the same with his tie as he walked toward Alvarez.
“What the fuck do you want?” Alvarez muttered.
“I can’t allow you to do what you’re going to do,” Takahashi replied.
“I don’t give a shit! You can’t tell me what to do.”
“If you put a finger on Jacobson before I get what’s coming to me, I can assure you that it won’t be pretty.”
Takahashi was flanked with enough guards to outnumber Alvarez’s. Along with Sebastian and Roman, Alvarez was in a bad spot.
“Look at that,” Roman said as he looked at Hunter. “You’re Mr. Popular.”
“Yeah,” Hunter sighed. “Everybody wants to fucking kill me or take my money.”
I stayed off to the side while Hunter took his place between everybody.
“Look!” he shouted. “I don’t care if I die tonight. But if I die, nobody’s getting shit. And if that happens…”
He looked right at Alvarez.
“…I can promise you that wherever I’m going, you’ll be coming with me.”
Takahashi and his men had their weapons ready. Sebastian and Roman did the same. The growing frustration on Alvarez’s face made it clear that he was having trouble finding a way out of it.
Hunter stood his ground even with all of the weapons pointed at him. His jaw clenched and his eyes intense, Hunter looked like he was ready for anything.
The tension in the parking lot was so thick that I thought I was going to pass out.
“What is going on out here?”
Another voice came from the darkness off to the side. I turned and saw James Emerson slowly emerge. The man who ran Eden Casino had decided to come out here and see for himself what was going on.
“None of your business,” Alvarez responded.
“This is on my property, Alvarez,” Emerson responded. “Everything is my business.”
“Go ahead,” Hunter said. “Tell him what you did.”
“Tell me what?” Emerson said.
Emerson was waiting for Alvarez to speak but my boss didn’t say anything.
“He doesn’t know, does he?” Hunter said, a growing smirk on his lips. “He doesn’t know that you threatened to kill me just for winning the tournament.”
“Is that true?” Emerson said.
“Think about it. Killing every man who wins Nirvana. Imagine when word gets out. It’ll break your entire casino, Emerson. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you’ll have angered the Yakuza and an MC. You’ll never be comfortable.”
Emerson examined all of the men around him then eyeballed Alvarez. Alvarez clenched his jaw before finally lowering his weapon.
“I’m looking out for the casino, dammit!” he grumbled. “This man is a cheat!”
“I played you and I cheated,” Hunter said. “I admit that. I cheated. Once. But I beat you straight-up in that tournament. I outplayed you and everybody. Emerson… This casino is making money hand over fist. What’s one man walking away with something you make in a few days?”
Emerson kept his eyes locked on Alvarez while Hunter spoke to him.
“I’m in charge,” Emerson said as he raised his index finger up. “This is my casino. This is my operation. You don’t ever try to go under me ever again. You hear me?”
He pointed his finger up to Alvarez’s face so close that Alvarez’s face started to twitch.
�
��If I ever hear about you doing anything like this again, I’ll take care of you myself,” Emerson said. “Don’t ever try to backdoor me. You hear me?”
Alvarez breathed hard through his nose.
“You hear me?” Emerson said, raising his voice this time.
“I hear you.”
Alvarez glared at Hunter. But he didn’t do anything. He just turned and waddled away with his team of security right behind him.
Everybody else lowered their weapons though. A wave of relief washed over me. It felt like all of the weight in the world had been lifted from my shoulders.
“I can assure you that Alvarez won’t cause any problems any longer,” Emerson said. “I’ll keep a close eye on him from now on.”
He walked up to Hunter and put a hand on his shoulder.
“And you,” he said. “Make sure you come back into the casino and collect your winnings. Let everybody know who the man is that walked away with the biggest prize at Eden. I want more people to come back to Nirvana again.”
Emerson nodded to me and left to follow after Alvarez.
Everybody circled Hunter. He was still breathing hard and bleeding from his injuries but through it all, there was still a smile on his face.
“Sixty-percent,” Sebastian said. “That was the deal.”
“Sixty-percent?” I said as I raised an eyebrow at Hunter.
“Don’t worry,” he said to me. “I know how to negotiate. I’m sure these fine gentlemen will be more than willing to take what I’m offering.”
Sebastian. Roman. Takahashi and a slew of security. I looked at each one of the men and the intensity on their faces.
Through it all, Hunter was smiling. He was smiling so much that he started to laugh. The only man in an empty parking lot, cackling like a madman.
I didn’t know what came over me but I joined him. Whatever it was he was going through, it finally felt like it was all over.
Chapter 26
FAYE
“Facial lacerations. Deep contusions. A couple of broken ribs.”
Dr. Johnson listed off all of Hunter’s injuries.
“Like I said,” Hunter said. “Nothing a few stitches and some rest won’t take care of. Am I right, Doc?”