by Taylor Lee
As much as Dominic valued his clientele, he valued star poker players more. And there was not another poker player in the west that rivaled the Ace Angel in star power. Smart club owners like Dominic understood that while Gabe might walk away with a large percentage of the take in any one evening, he was a magnet to every asshole who was convinced that is was bad luck that he had lost thousands of dollar to the Ace Angel the last time he was in town. Like cattle lining up at a rendering plant oblivious to their unhappy future, the suckers came back for more. Certain that this time they not the Ace Angel would rule the night. These were wealthy men, accustomed to purchasing their pleasure, no matter how outrageous the cost. The idea of beating the Ace Angel was a feat they were willing to pay astronomical sums to accomplish. It was a test of their manhood. It was understood that anyone who beat the black-haired, green eyed phenomenon with the wicked grin would have bragging rights for life. But no one ever did and they still lined up.
The only one that got close to what Angel made in a night was Dominic. The more the chumps lost, the more they drank. And the more their manhood was threatened, the more enticing the Lucky Ladies seemed, even when the prices for their favors rose astronomically throughout the evening.
As the evening was coming to a close, the dealer slipped Gabe a note inviting Gabe to join him in Dominic’s private quarters. Dominic and Gabe maintained a cordial relationship, the kind of relationship cultivated by alpha males in prides that shared territorial boundaries. If neither overstepped their bounds, the relationship was mutually profitable. Both knew how quickly a thoughtless move or a grab for power could upset the tenuous ties binding them.
When the final game ended and the losers were carted off to the various boudoirs, as Dominic called the whore’s private parlors, Gabe made his way to Dominic’s quarters.
~~~
Gabe knocked on the door and entered at Dominic’s command. The diminutive, impeccably dressed Italian gave him a curt nod, motioning him to one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace.
“Make yourself comfortable, Gabriel.” Nodding to the bar, he added, “Jameson? Or would you prefer Bushmills?
Gabe smiled at the casual extravagance. “Please, the Bushmills. You could entice me here any time, Dominic, with that fine whisky. It wouldn’t even matter if your tables weren’t as loose as they are. You really should consider a head tax on the players, collected up front. I slaughter your little lambs so quickly that you barely have time to get them drunk.”
A slight smile quirked Dominic’s thin lips, ”I understand you had a good night.”
Gabe raised a brow. “As did you. I only earned a third again as much as you instead of my usual fifty percent more.”
Dominic snorted, as close as he ever came to a laugh.
Sipping on the fine whisky, Gabe studied his host, waiting for him to speak. Dominic never bothered with pleasantries and he didn’t now.
“What’s up with Chao Li?”
“Care to be more specific?”
“What the hell is this shindig about? This Saturday? Don’t act like you don’t know about it.”
“Why would I? You know I do some work for Chao. Any reason he wouldn’t invite me to what promises to be an interesting evening. I understand Senator Webster will be there, shilling for the next election. I presume you’ll be there, Dominic, given that Webster is authoring a bill against a poll tax on whisky. How much of a campaign contribution will that cost you?”
Dominic glared at him, then turned the tables.
“Heard you’re making it with Chao’s daughter?”
Gabe guffawed. “Who’d you hear that from? One of your illustrious members?”
“Does it matter?”
“Hell no, It‘s just that someone has quite an imagination.”
Dominic’s dark eyes gleamed and his hand moved surreptitiously to adjust his trousers. “Is it true that she is a virgin?”
Gabe’s gut roiled. Only years of detached practice kept his voice calm, kept him from choking on his gorge. “I wouldn’t know. Haven’t made it past the sniffing stage.”
Dominic’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “Angel? The Ace Angel? Hasn’t made it past the sniffing stage?
With a careless shrug, Gabe allowed, “Hate to admit it, but she’s a hard one, a cold one. She’d rather ride a horse than a man,” He grinned, “Even a man like me.”
Without warning, Dominic shifted subjects.
“You ever do work for your father’s gang, Red Regan’s men?”
Gabe took a sip of whisky, allowing the smooth alcohol to burn away the hatred he felt at the knowing reference to his father. “I haven’t seen or spoken to my father in twelve years.”
Piecing him with an impatient glare, Dominic’s eyes narrowed, “You didn’t answer my question.”
Gabe agreed. “Hmm, so I didn’t.”
Dominic’s knee jerked impatiently. He couldn’t hide the nervous gesture.
“I need information on Chao. What’ll it cost me?”
“What do you need?”
The contained man sat back in his chair and crossed one knee over the other. Flicking at an invisible piece of lint on his trouser cuff, he allowed a dismissive sniff, “I’ll let you know at the party.”
Gabe stood, drained the rest of the whisky in his glass, and set the empty glass on the carved side table.
“Thanks for the whisky. Dominic. I gotta stop drinking that rotgut they serve in less cultured places. Wouldn’t want to lose my taste for the finer things in life.”
He turned at the doorway and grinned.
“I’ll let you know at the party how much it’ll cost you.”
He gave him a slight bow, then turned and closed the door behind him.
~~~
As he walked through the nearly empty gambling parlor, Gabe nodded to the various bleary eyed dealers who were counting chips, sorting coins and bills into neat piles. Many of them acknowledged Gabe with a pleasant smile or familiar wave.
One rotund dealer who had been at Gabe’s table for most of the night called out. “Fuck, Angel, the poker gods was sure ‘nuff on your shoulder tonight. Maybe you are a fuckin’ angel, for real!”
Gabe grinned and slipped him a gold fiver. “Hell, Charlie, don’t know about any assistance from on high, but it helps to have an honest dealer. That way I just have to worry about the cheaters at my table without watchin’ the dealer.”
Charlie glanced over at the table in the back corner where Gunnar and Eagle were sitting with the madam who ran the brothel.
“You think I’m crazy, man? You may not have angels watchin over you, but those two fuckin devils in the corner are enough to keep any dealer honest.”
Gabe laughed with a disbelieving shrug as he moved toward his partners, smiling at Maude. He called out. “These two in the corner ogling Maude? Pussy cats, Charlie, mere pussy cats. Put ‘em next to a beautiful woman and they roll over and beg her to rub their tummies.”
At the knowing laughter throughout the room confirming the incongruent image of Gunnar and especially Eagle as a pussy cat, Gabe leaned over and kissed Maude on the cheek, giving her shoulder a familiar squeeze.
The still attractive older woman who ran the brothel like a general accustomed to keeping raw recruits in line looked up at Gabe and winked.
“Did you get what you needed from Dominic, Angel?”
“Pretty much,” Gabe allowed with a smile sinking into the chair next to Maude, “’Bout as much as anyone gets, I imagine.”
Maude tossed her fire-red curls and reached over to stroke his cheek with a bright red tipped fingernail. Her affectionate smile was genuine. “Now, Angel, don’t you be getting modest on little ole Maude. You think I don’t know that you never meet anyone big or small without a plan and a strategy – and just like at the card table, you don’t lose, do you, honey?”
Gabe quirked a brow and allowed a grin to tug at the corner of his mouth. “Not so as you’d notice, Maude.”
Maude
’s husky laugh filled the room as she reached over and refilled Gunnar and Eagle’s glasses and poured another and shoved it in front of Gabe.
Gabe raised his glass in a toast and winked at her as he took a hearty swallow.
Gunnar caught his eye. “We’ve been talking with Maude about some of the assholes we’re takin an interest in. As always, Maude knows more about the backroom deals going down in this corrupt town than the editor of the San Francisco Examiner. Hell, Maude, you should publish an anonymous scandal sheet daily. With the dirt you have on important men, you could rule this city.”
Maude gave him a salacious grin and tickled her fingertips along the inside of Gunnar’s wrist.
She turned back to Gabe and assumed a pretend pout. “We’ve been wondering how long you would be with that officious prick. My boss, that is. You really shouldn’t keep a girl waiting, Angel.”
She tossed Eagle and Gunnar a dismissive glance. “Hell, baby, I thought I might have to take up with one of these two big hunks of gorgeous men.”
Gabe took a large swallow of whisky and included the three of them in his response. “You’re gonna have to get it on without me tonight. I’m tuckered out.”
Maude arched a disbelieving eyebrow, but before she could respond, Gunnar shook his head and gazed at his partner in mock despair.
“You’re gonna have to forgive our partner here, Maude. I think our boy has gone and got goofy over a certain little princess type.”
Maude’s eyes widened. “You can’t mean it Gunnar. Angel? The specter in every father’s nightmare and the basis of every mother’s latent lust? Our boy? THE Angel?”
Before Gunnar could get off anther taunt at Gabe, Eagle rose and tossed back his whisky, draining the glass in one hearty swallow. With a slight bow to Maude, he held out a large hand and said softly, “Let’s leave the Mick out of this tonight, Maude. Let’s make it a threesome.” He nodded at Gunnar in mock despair. “I’m the only one besides Angel who can keep this lecherous asshole in line.” He shook his head with a disarming smile that belied his huge muscular body, “C’mon Maude, I’ll protect you.”
Maude’s husky laugh echoed over the nearly deserted hall as the two huge men surrounded her, circling their arms around her waist. Gabe smiled in amusement when Gunnar’s hand slipped over one full cheek swathed in red satin and gave it a visible squeeze. Maude’s giggle invited more of the same.
Gabe lounged back in his chair, crossing his long legs at the ankles. When Eagle glanced back over his shoulder, Gabe raised his glass in a salute and gave his friend a grateful smile.
~~
Chapter 20
Bright colored lanterns flickered over the courtyard, challenging the glow of the dark starry night. The sound of gay laughter echoed by deep rumbles of responding mirth punctuated the excited chatter of the crowd inside.
Gabe winked at the two extraordinary men beside him and murmured, “You two ready to shake things up a bit?”
Gunnar laughed, “I don’t know about shaking it up, but I have a feeling this is one party that that Penelope woman you’ve told us about is going to remember for a long time.”
Gabe’s voice hummed with ill disguised disgust.
“Ah yes, Penelope. You two are in for a treat. Remember that nest of vipers we scared up on the trail outside of Sacramento?”
Eagle whistled. “How can I forget? If Gunnar here hadn’t been so quick on the draw and killed three of them before I could jerk Shadow out of the way, I would have lost my best mare.”
“Well, Gunnar, my friend, get those pistols and chopping blades of yours at the ready. You haven’t seen a viper until you’ve met Ana’s aunt.”
As if she’d been summoned by their low reverberating chuckles, Penelope appeared in the doorway. Stepping forward in the role of gracious hostess, she pulled back, a sharp frown crossing her face when she saw Gabe. Quickly covering her anger, she pasted a false smile on her lips, and said with a nervous laugh, “Why, Gabriel, I wasn’t sure you would attend the festivities tonight. How… what a pleasant surprise.”
Gabe took her hand and bowed slightly. “Why, Penelope, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Your parties are the talk of the county. My friends and I even heard them discussed in San Francisco last evening.”
Penelope looked behind him and hesitated, then her sallow cheeks pinked slightly, the contrast an unpleasant one. Gabe followed her uneasy glance and nodded to Gunnar and Eagle.
“Penelope, Id like you to meet my friends.” Nodding to Eagle, he said, “This is Lucas and this Swedish looking fellow is Gunnar.”
Eagle stepped forward, a dark towering presence, his large hand dwarfing her small gnarled fingers. He bowed and said, “Pleased to meet you, maam. My friends call me Eagle.”
Penelope jerked her hand away and stepped back scrubbing a t her hand as if she could remove an unpleasant stain. Making a visible effort to hide her distaste, .she muttered. “I…I am not surprised that they do…Mr…Mr. Eagle.”
Eagle’s quiet chuckle rumbled over the cobblestones. “Just Eagle will do, Mamn.”
Gunnar stepped forward, his dark blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Tossing his shoulder length hair, he grinned at Eagle. “C’mon, Eagle. Don’t monopolize this lovely looking lady before I’ve had a chance to meet her.” He bowed low over her hand sweeping his lips inches from her bird like hand marked with prominent veins and dark brown spots.
Penelope jumped back, clasping her hands in tight fists. She seemed aware that the three young men were laughing at her, that they saw her distaste and were amused by it. Her cheeks flamed an unpleasant reddish purple. She squished her lips in an even thinner white line. Drawing herself up to her full height, she glared up at Gabe. “As I said, Gabriel, I am surprised that you showed up tonight. I trust you and your friends will not make a scene. There are important people here tonight. Gentlemen.”
Gabe met her gaze and smiled. Not attempting to hide his amusement, he said, in a voice rich with irony. “Me, Penelope? A scene? Why ever would you think that I would cause a spectacle? I know how important it is that you make the right impression on your wealthy guests. I assure you my friends and I will be perfect gentlemen.”
Penelope spit out a warning. “See that you are, or you will regret it.” Turning on her heel she marched in the house, her head held high
Gabe bowed low and swept his arm toward the entrance. Chortling, he murmured, “After you, Mr. Eagle.
Eagle bowed deeply in return, “No. No I insist, Mr. McKenna, you first. You’ve proven yourself more adept with vipers than I am.”‘
Nodding at the clusters of men inside, Gabe murmured, “It will only get more interesting. I’ve already spotted four of our targets. We gonna need to split up.”
Eagle chuckled, “I get the side wherever Penelope isn’t.”
Gunnar gave a low whistle under his breath. “And I get whatever side of the earth that gorgeous creature is inhabiting.” He gave Gabe a sharp poke in his ribs. “Holy, Christ, Gabe, if that angel staring at us from across the room is Ana Ming Li and you haven’t already bedded her, you damn well better hurry. You know I’ve never been one to cut in on a friend. But, hell, if Eagle and I have to wait until you take her first, we may just have to shift the rules. Then again that’s one foursome that’ll be worth waiting on.”
Gabe fought his fury, managing to keep from burying his fist in Gunnar’s gut. “There won’t be one.” His voice was steel.
“What do you mean by that? One what?” Gunnar seemed genuinely perplexed.
“A foursome or…a threesome,” Gabe spit out, his words like sharp pointed tacks. He saw Gunnar and Eagle exchange a surprised glance and pinned them both with a glare.
Gunnar shrugged. “Damn, you’ve already raised it and you haven’t even…”
Eagle reached out and clapped Gunnar on the shoulder. “That not the impression I get from the look on Gabe’s face, Gunnar. Hell, if it was any harder his whole damn face would crack. Given that Penelope doesn
’t want a spectacle. Maybe you better back off. I think Gabe beating the shit out of you would qualify as a scene.”
Gunnar looked from one to another of his friends and a slow smile spread over his face. He held Gabe’s gaze.
“Well, well, I’ll be damned. You are serious, aren’t you, Gabe? Not that I blame you. She comes damn close to perfection. Christ, her face is one thing, but that body…”
With a mighty effort Gabe controlled his rage. Christ. what the hell was wrong with him? He and Gunnar had been sharing women since they became partners. It was a given. Less often he and Eagle teamed up. Sometimes if the woman was up for it, all three of them took the stage.
At that moment, he met Ana’s gaze. The people and the noise around them faded. He only saw her. In that instant of time he knew he would kill Gunnar or Eagle or both of them if they or any other fucking man touched her.
He felt Gunnar’s sharp nudge and amused caution. “Hey man, if you don’t want to trip on your tongue, maybe we should just head over there. How’s this for a plan? Eagle and I will take out the men standing three deep around her. When we’ve got them all on the ground, you rush in, sweep her off her feet and make like a bandit for the door.”
Gabe startled. “What, what the hell are you talking about, Gunnar?”
Gunnar chortled, “I’m trying to help you out, man. Okay, let’s forget the three staged kidnapping. Have to admit, it’s ambitious and would definitely fit in the spectacle realm. Instead, let’s go over and meet the woman that has my best friend tied up in about fifteen hundred knots.”
~~~
Ana saw them when they came to the door. They were impossible to miss. She’d tried not to watch for him, reminding herself again and again, that this nightmare would soon be over and he would be gone. Forever. Her chest tightened at the thought and she struggled to breathe. But now he was here. Watching for him had been annoying but seeing him was painful. If she could run away she would. At some level, she knew he would come after her. He wouldn’t let her go that easily. He hadn’t conquered her yet. And after all that was what he did.