by Evelyn Glass
***
The food was excellent, but slow to arrive, so they were eating quickly, enjoying the milk-fed veal medallions with truffle risotto and fresh morel mushrooms.
“This is really good,” Beast said just as another fork of veal disappeared into his mouth.
“Told you,” she said as she forked another piece. “I wish we had time for dessert. I would like you to try—” The earsplitting shrill and flashing strobe of the fire alarm interrupted her thought.
Shayna bound to her feet. “Everyone! That’s the fire alarm!” she called loudly to be heard over the din. “Please proceed to the exit! Casino personnel will direct you! No need to panic, but hurry!”
Beast helped her get everyone moving, helping the rest of the restaurant staff herd the guests out like cattle. As the last of the guests exited, he took Shayna by the arm and pulled her back.
“What are you doing? I need to help!”
“No, I want you to stay here with me.”
“Beast, I have to help make sure everyone gets out safe!”
“No, you need to stay here with me. The rest of Tops can take care of the guests.”
Shayna began to jerk on her arm. “Let me go!”
“No! Listen to me! This is a classic ruse. Create a distraction then make your play. I need you to stay here, with me, until we know for sure there is a fire.”
“There’s an alarm!”
“Easily set off a dozen different ways, only one of which means there is a real fire.”
She stopped tugging at his arm. “You think this is to get at the contestants? What if it’s a real fire?”
“Don’t know. Maybe. Better safe than sorry. If we smell smoke, we’ll get out then, but until then, we need to sit tight.”
“What about the rest of the players?”
“That’s Tops concern. You’re mine.”
She stood looking at him a moment. “What are we going to do?”
His eyes were never still. “I think we should finish our dinner before it gets cold.”
“You’re shitting me!”
“No. But I want to be near the entrance so I can see what’s going on.” He propped the door open with a chair before he walked back to their table, picked up their two plates and set them at an open table just inside the open door.
“You’re crazy as shit, you know that?” Shayna said as he made a second trip carrying their glasses. He grinned as he pulled out her chair, holding it until she sat down.
They finished their meal in silence, watching the lurid red strobes of fire trucks reflecting off walls. She couldn’t believe they were having dinner after the casino had been emptied because of the alarm. It was so surreal as to be almost unbelievable.
As they finished the last of the meal, Beast dropped five twenties on the table, more than enough to cover their meal and a tip, and led Shayna to the door, his hand on her elbow. He gave her a small tug, holding her back, as he stepped out and quickly scanned the area. The casino was still empty, but he could hear the squawking of radios in the distance.
“Come on,” he said, waving his hand to call her to him.
“Where now?”
He shrugged as he guided her along. “Don’t know. If there had been a real fire, there would be a lot more activity than this. I guess back to the poker room to wait and see if they restart the tournament.”
She didn’t have a better idea so she allowed him to escort her down from the mezzanine to the ground floor. If there were a real fire, there would be plenty of exits to escape the building. Better than being trapped in their room on the thirty-fourth floor.
***
Beast and Shayna were sitting in the comfortable leather chairs at one of the poker tables as the players arrived in mass forty minutes later, escorted by five burly security men.
“What happened?” Beast asked, pulling one of the security personnel aside.
“False alarm. Someone pulled the alarm in the pit. Where the fuck were you? We looked everywhere for you.”
Beast put on his best poker face. “Sorry. I suspected something, so Shayna led us out a different way.”
“Next time, let someone know. We rounded up all the players and put a cordon around them. That was stupid of you to go out on your own, and we wasted time and effort looking for you.”
“Sorry, man. You have enough to worry about with everyone else. Let me worry about Shayna. Did anyone make a move?”
“No, but we had sixteen guys on the players. They were buttoned up tight.”
Beast smiled. “I need to talk to your boss about putting my clients up here. You guys know your shit.”
“Yeah, well, you aren’t making our job any easier when you go off solo.”
Beast chuckled. “In two more days we’ll be out of your hair and you can go back to tossing out hotheads, sore losers, and drunks.”
This time the security man smiled. “Are you kidding? Working this detail is the most fun I’ve had all year. It beats the hell out of tossing out hotheads, sore losers, and drunks.”
Beast chuckled again. “All part of the glamour of security. If people only knew.”
“Tell me about it,” the man grumbled with a grin before he turned away and took up position by the door.
***
It took another hour get everything sorted and for play to get underway again. So much for an early night, Beast grumbled as the production crew finally announced they were ready for play resume.
The tables had been shuffled so that all the leaders wouldn’t be at one table. Beast was set with a group of weaker player and the other amateur. He once again received his tap for luck, followed by the kiss, before Shayna moved off.
“That’s a total load of shit,” Neil groused.
“Are you kidding me?” Tom said as he watched Shayna sway to her position. “At this point it will take more than a tap and kiss to turn my luck around, but it sure as hell seems to be working for him. I had her give me a knock for luck last week, and I got my ass kicked that entire round.”
Beast chuckled. “If you talk to The Professor, he will tell you there is no such thing as luck.”
“So why do you have her do it?” Tom asked as the blinds were tossed in.
“Two reasons. One, never cross lady luck, just in case.” He paused as his hole cards arrived in front of him. “And two,” he continued after looking at his cards, an Ace of Diamonds and a Queen of Clubs, “what red blooded American male wouldn’t want to be kissed by her?”
Tom looked at his hole cards, a Six of Spades and a Jack of Hearts. Bupkiss again! “Yeah, well, you’re one lucky bastard, I know that. And not just at cards.”
“Can we just play?” Neil barked, tossing in a couple of chips for a call, sitting pretty on a pair of Sixes in the hole.
***
Tom was a good sport when Beast beat his Jack high Flush with four Fives, taking him out of the tournament. On the very next hand Beast folded early and Neil bled Rick badly, Neil’s Two Pair of Kings over Jacks beating Rick’s Two Pair of Jacks over fours. Beast knew Rick was likely to be the next player out, but he couldn’t figure out Neil’s game play. It was all over the place, wild and chaotic. There is no way in hell he’d have gone one hundred fifty thousand in on Two Pair with a pair of Fours in the flop, even on Kings over Jacks. It had worked for him, this time, but he either was the shrewdest poker player he’d ever seen, or the craziest.
The next hand, Rick scraped back a little of his losses, but then Roger knocked him out with the next hand. There was a hand in play at their table as Fawn wiped out player number four at her table, ending play for the night.
“Call,” Beast said as he slid two hundred fifty thousand dollars’ worth of chips into the pile, “and raise another five-hundred.” Another stack of chips, twice the size of the first, was added to the pile. This was the final hand of the night at their table, and the other four players had folded, leaving Neil and Beast in a duel.
Orson studied Beast. “I think
you’re trying to buy the pot.”
Beast smiled. “You know how to find out.”
Neil tapped the table then slid most of his chips into the pot. “Your five hundred, and five hundred more.”
The pot was well over two million dollars and Beast studied the pile, thinking. The Flop was the dog’s breakfast of cards and he should have him. There wasn’t anything better than Three of a Kind, but only if Neil had a pair in the hole. He had the Queen and Three of Clubs in the hole, which would give him Two Pair with the Queen of Diamonds and the Three of Spades in the Flop, so unless Neil also had a Queen in the hole, he’d still have him on high card if Neil had Two Pair, as well.
“Call,” Beast said, shoving in the chips, smiling to himself as Neil went slightly pale.
The two men flipped their Hole Cards for the others to see. “Two Pair, Queens over Threes beats Two Pair, Fives over Twos,” the dealer stated. Neil slapped the table with the palm of his hands as the dealer called the hand for Beast.
“Guess I wasn’t,” Beast said with a grin as he raked the chips to him. One point five million on Two Pair, Fives over Deuces?
Neil glared at Beast then shoved hard back from the table, picking up what few chips he had left on the table. Beast knew he wasn’t out of the game yet, but he’d bled him, and bled him badly, in that hand.
“Ouch,” Louis said as he counted his chips to bank them for the evening.
“Ouch is right,” Cliff chuckled. “I’ve sit with him before. His betting is all over the place. I saw him bet tight on a Queen high Full House. I would have been all over that if it were me. But then he’d turn around and bet the farm on Three of a Kind.”
Louis looked at the leader board. “He’s still at number ten, so it seems to work for him.”
“Maybe, but not if he keeps playing like that,” Roger chuckled then looked at Beast. “And you, you lucky bastard, I hope they don’t seat me at your table tomorrow.”
***
“How’re you doing?” Shayna asked as she followed Beast into the room.
“Tired. Stressed out.”
“From cards or everything else?”
“Both.”
“You’re number four in the room,” she pointed out as she followed him into the bedroom.
“I know, but did you see Melichek’s total? And LeMay? She isn’t that far behind him.”
“Are you worried?” she asked as they undressed.
“No more so than I have been since I started this. I know if I lose I’ve only lost fifty thousand, but when there is a couple of mil in the pot, that’s a little nerve racking, yeah.”
She thought about what he said as she scrubbed her face and brushed her teeth. She could understand that. If she were making decisions for ten or twelve hours a day that could cost her millions of dollars, especially when a certain amount of luck was involved, she’d be nervous wreck.
She sauntered out of the bath, sliding under the cool sheets with him. It was nearly two and she yawned as she settled in beside him, tucking in tight. It was hard to believe how natural it felt to be curled up in the crook of his arm considering she had known him less than two weeks, and had been sleeping with him for only a few days.
She yawned again then stroked his chest, her fingers tracing the contours of his body. “I think you’re going to go all the way,” she said softly.
“So do I, but that doesn’t mean I’m not stressed about it.”
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. It’s gotten you this far, it’ll take you all the way.”
He smiled in the darkness as sleep tugged at him. “You keep giving me those kisses and I can’t lose.”
She grinned as she rose up and kissed him slowly. “There’s one as a down payment on tomorrow,” she whispered as she settled back into position.
He pulled her a little tighter, holding her more firmly a moment before relaxing his hold, listening to her breathing until it became slow and deep. Lying in the darkness, eyes closed, he couldn’t believe how at peace he felt. He still wanted to win, but cuddling with the warm softness at his side, her slow and steady breathing lulling him to sleep, he realized that the poker tournament wasn’t the only thing worth winning.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Beast and Shayna stepped off the elevator and made their way to the poker room. They’d lazed between the sheets, snogging, until it was too late for breakfast and he was forced to drag her out bed by the foot as she shrieked and squealed in laughter. Two quick showers later and they had just enough time to grab a pastry before gameplay started for the day.
As they approached the room, two security men were at the door, wanding everyone before they entered the room.
“I wonder what that’s all about…” Shayna said quietly as they approached.
Beast didn’t have time to answer before they stopped in front of the door. He turned his phone in at the concierge table and then held his arms out to his side as the man expertly ran the wand over his body before waving him through. Shayna stepped up and the procedure was repeated. Inside the room there were four more men standing silently, but their eyes were in constant motion.
“Something must have happened last night,” Beast muttered as he and Shayna stopped at the buffet.
“I wonder what?”
He shrugged as he picked over the pastries and fruit. He was turning away from the table when Trevor entered the room looking pale and haggard.
“Good morning, everyone,” he said, his normal enthusiasm missing. “As you might guess from the extra security, we had another incident last night.” He held up a piece of paper with writing on it. “This was given to me early this morning by Fawn LeMay. It was waiting for her on the floor just inside her door. It says, ‘This is your last chance. Lose today or die.’ Three others have given me the same threat. Anyone else?”
Beast looked around the room and every hand went up except his and Shayna’s.
“What’s this shit?” Cliff said as he looked around the room. “Everyone gets a threat except Boyd? Does anyone else find that slightly suspicious?”
“What are you suggesting?” Beast asked. “If it were me, I would have to be colossally stupid to not raise my hand, don’t you think?”
“Well, it’s obviously one of the players,” Cliff responded. “I’ve played with every man, and woman,” he added with an acknowledgement to Fawn, “in this room before except you and Orson. Nothing like this has ever happened in the past.”
“Yeah,” Roger chimed in. “I think, for everyone’s safety, Orson and Boyd should be disqualified.”
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” Trevor called, trying to get control of the situation. Having to disqualify Conor would put a real damper on the ratings. “There’s no proof it’s anyone in the room, much less Boyd or Orson.”
“Who else would it be?” Cliff asked. “And I still wonder why Boyd didn’t get a threat.”
“Shayna and I are the only ones in a suite. Harder to get to and more obvious with the glass elevator. We’re also changing rooms each night.” Beast continued to meet Cliff’s eyes. “I will remind you, the only person who has actually had an attempt made against them was Shayna. The rest have only been threats.”
“That could have all been staged. Convenient, don’t you think, that the people who you said tried to kidnap her managed to get away?”
“If you have something to say, say it,” Beast said setting his coffee aside, his voice going cold and hard. “But you better be ready to back it up with some proof because I don’t like being called a liar.”
“Everyone, calm down!” Trevor snapped. “Nobody is saying anything. Tops is providing extra security today. Everyone will stay together today so you can be protected. Tonight there will be only eight players left. With so few players to watch, each person will have their own member of security assigned to them. Even Boyd,” Trevor said with a hard look a Cliff. “They will keep you safe and if it’s one of the players, they won’t have an opportunity to act on t
he threats because they will be under constant surveillance. Good enough?” Trevor waited but no one spoke. “If anyone wants to withdraw, I will refund their bankroll and fees.”
Shayna watched the room. Trevor was playing the room like a fiddle, the cameras moving about as they captured the reactions of the various players, while others focused on Trevor, the room and the security men. If anyone quit, they would have to do it on national television.
Trevor stood silent for at least thirty seconds, letting the tension build, before he turned to Martin. “Get them started,” he said as he stomped away.