Table 3 was a couple back from table 5, just a few meters behind it. There was a man having what appeared to be a mediocre night, his stack nothing to speak of, his expression one of rueful disappointment at losing so regularly.
But I knew the truth. He was having a great night really.
His eyes kept darting to the dealers back at table 5. When the dealer lifted his cards, the man at table 3 could see them clearly. He'd see the cards, communicate to his friend at table 5 via text and, lo and behold, they'd take away a nice pot.
It was something I'd seen often. These guys would cruise round casinos, looking for weak dealers, and exploit their inexperience. There were 101 ways to scam a casino, and this was one of the easiest.
I walked back to my floor manager, who lingered in the background as I did my Sherlock Holmes bit.
“Table 3, the guy with the beard. He can see the dealers cards at 5, relaying it to the guy in the cap.”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Bring them round the back. Do it quietly, don't make a fuss. I'd like to have a word. Oh, and fire the dealer at 5, the whole world and his fucking wife can see his cards.”
....
I stood in the storage room of the casino, a warehouse out the back where old slot machines and stacked chairs lined the walls. It was a place that I had also used for another purpose over the years. Punishment.
The door opened and a group of security men came bustling in, dragging the two cheats from the casino floor in behind them. Their eyes were wide with fear as they struggled. It wasn't going to get them anywhere.
The guards lined them up in front of me, standing them to attention as they cowered. Their guilt was palpable.
“Do you know why you're here?” I asked.
Neither of them spoke. They just looked at each other and dropped their heads.
“I'll take that as a yes.”
“Now, my name is Mr Logan and I own and run this casino. Clearly you think you can get away with stealing my money. Is that it?”
One of them stayed silent as the other shook his head violently. “No, Mr Logan, we didn't...”
“You didn't try to steal from me tonight?” He went silent again.
“I'm sorry sir,” the other one piped up, “please, let us go and we won't ever do it again. It was a stupid mistake.” His words were nervy, shaking.
I carried on glaring at them as they stood there. They looked so pathetic, shadows of real men.
“And you think that's enough do you?” I asked. “You think you can come in here, try to steal over 20 thousand dollars from me, and then just walk away? You think that's fair?”
“Please sir, please Mr Logan, we won't do it again.” He continued pleading. There was little else he could do.
I thought for a moment. My old MO would be to wade in, fists flying, and rough them up. I'd have a few punches myself and then let my security guys finish the job. I wouldn't kill them, that would be excessive, but I'd teach them a lesson, one that would spread from their mouths and teach no one else to fuck with me and my interests.
But my father, he had a different way of doing things. He was a master manipulator, a man who'd extract as much as he could from people. It was how he'd built his empire. Perhaps it was a better way forward.
“I'll give you two choices. One, you can take that 20k along with the consequences. In other words, I'll walk out of here and let these nice men around you teach you some manners. But, you can keep the money.”
Their eyes were pleading 'no' at option one.
“The second option is that you leave the money with me. I'll even let you walk away with the money you walked in here with. But, if I need something from you, you'll do it for me. If I need a little job done, I'll call on you.”
I let the words sink in for a moment. “Those are your two options. Which do you choose?”
They looked at each other again, their eyes in agreement. “Um, we'd like to walk away from here Mr Logan, we'll take the second option.”
I smile spread across my face. “A fine choice gentlemen. Please, what are your names?”
“Brian,” said the man in the red cap.
“Steve,” said the other.
“OK Brian, Steve. I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself in the future. My men will take your details. Don't even think about skipping town.”
“Thank you sir, thank you.”
I turned away and paced back towards the casino. I wouldn't thank me yet, you don't know what I'm going to get you to do.
Truth be told, I didn't know myself yet either.
....
The phone rang again as I sat back at my desk in my office. It never stopped fucking ringing these days.
I saw Jude's name flash up. Great, what now.
“Jude, what's wrong?” I always just assumed something was wrong when Jude called.
“Nothing Crash, night's going well. Discount drinks are actually bringing more people in.”
“OK...so why are you calling?”
“Erm, just to fill you in. Kyle's here with the twins and a couple of others girls. He's got Alice with him.”
Fucking shit. I talked to him about this.
“All right, thanks for letting me know. I'm coming down.”
I stepped from the office and out the front of the casino, straight for my Hummer parked in my private parking spot. I could feel a sense of anger building in me as I drove. He'd disrespect our father like this, the arrogant little shit.
It didn't take me long to get to the club, and I quickly parked on the other side of the road and stormed in past the bouncers. I went straight through and into the back, where they were all sitting around one of the VIP tables.
Kyle's eyes landed on me as soon as I appeared. Yeah, he knew I wasn't happy.
I looked down at Alice. I had nothing against her personally, but she shouldn't be here, and she'd brought that fucking friend of hers as well, Tess. These girls didn't belong.
There was another girl there between them, though. Not another fucking college girl. Alice introduced her as Elle or something.
Not interested.
“Kyle, a word,” I said, glaring at him. He knew why I was there.
I turned and walked out of the club, Kyle behind me.
“I know what you're gonna say Crash,” he said as we walked, “and frankly I don't give a shit what you think, what anyone thinks.”
I didn't reply. I kept walking down the street to the left outside of the club, hearing his footfall still behind me. He grabbed my arm and spun me round.
“Would you fucking stop already,” he said.
I turned on him, my eyes so narrow I could barely see through them. “What are you doing with her. Why aren't you at the club?” I tried to keep my voice calm, but could feel my anger bubbling below the surface. A volcano about to explode.
“I've got Ron running the club tonight. It can't take up every moment of my fucking time.”
“Don't raise your voice to me Kyle.”
“Excuse me? You're not my father, you're only 2 years older than me Crash. Step off mate.”
“And that's why I'm here, brother. Father was explicit in his wishes for us. They didn't include that fucking girl. They didn't include you leaving someone else to run the club for you.”
“I don't give a fuck about what Charles wanted, he's dead now. I can do what I fucking want.”
My anger spilled over as I grabbed at his neck and pushed him against the wall. “You'll do as I command,” I spat.
He laughed in my face. “Fuck you Crash. You've got no power over me.”
I could feel my spare fist clenching by my side. It took everything in me to stop from launching it at his smug face.
He grabbed at my hand and tore it from his neck. His teeth were cle
nching like a dog. Fucking mutt, he needed to learn his place.
He stormed off away from me, back down the street, back into the club. I watched on as Alice chased in after him. That girl, she was fucking everything up.
My eyes spilled over the street, locking on the new girl, Elle. She looked at me, staring, and I stared back, my eyes popping. I intensified my glare, seeing hers drop to the ground. I felt a pang of guilt, the poor girl had walked into a fucking maelstrom.
But she stood firm, her eyes raising back to meet mine. I liked her guts, not many people stared me down.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Another fucking problem no doubt.
I picked it up, still looking at the new girl.
“Mr Logan, we've got an unruly group at the casino.” It was my floor manager again.
“Well fucking deal with it then!” I barked. Why did every little problem have to go through me.
“Throw them the fuck out and rough them up.”
“But sir....”
“I don't give a shit. Take them out back and show them why you DON'T FUCK AROUND IN MY CASINO,” I bellowed down the phone.
I thrust it back into my pocket, Elle still looking on at me. Silly girl, doesn't have a clue who I am.
I turned and stormed back towards my Hummer. More fucking duty calls.
Chapter 4
Elle
I woke suddenly and my eyes stumbled into focus. My head felt like it was being pounded by a gorilla, throbbing inside my skull.
I rolled over and saw that Alice's bed was empty. What the hell was that last night?
My mind was a little hazy but I remembered most of it. We were having a good night until that guy Crash arrived, storming in like he owned the place.
Oh yeah, he did own the place.
Alice had gone home with Kyle. He'd been in a foul mood after Crash drove off and I think she wanted to calm him down. She was still looking out for me, though, making sure Tess got me back to the room safe and sound. Such a sweet girl.
I vaguely remembered having some sort of staring match with Crash in the street. His eyes pierced me like an arrow, they were so intense. The thought of it made me feel a bit silly now, staring down this guy. That wasn't me at all. Well, not the sober me anyway.
I was one of those contradictions, that shy girl who suddenly grows an almighty backbone after a few drinks. I hated waking up the next day sometimes, not quite knowing whether I'd done something stupid. That's why I tended not to drink too often.
My mind swam back to a night when I was just 16. Back then I was properly shy. I mean, now it took me a while to warm to certain people, but back then I literally couldn't even talk to a boy. I went through high school barely speaking a word to any guy, building a friendship group that was exclusively female
That night it was my best friends 16th birthday. Her parents were out of town and gave her an allowance to throw a party. She took it as an opportunity to be a bit reckless, something she wasn't really known for. I think she wanted to win the battle of the sweet 16's that was going around that year.
Frankly, I can't remember if she did.
It was my first experience of alcohol, and was my last for about a year. I got drunk on only a couple of cups of punch, and that's where my memory ended. What I did from there was embarrassingly pieced together from a variety of accounts over the coming days and weeks at school.
I guess stripping off and skinny-dipping in the pool was something that not many of my classmates would forget in a hurry. Not only was it completely out of character, but it was at only 9 in the evening. By that point most people had barely had a chance to get tipsy, and there I was doing the Full Monty in front of my entire year.
After that, interest in me from the guys in my year shot right up.
The worst thing I ever did under the influence of alcohol, however, was sleep with that creep Brad. It was only a week or so into college when we went out together for drinks and I woke up in his bed.
In retrospect, it was the biggest mistake of my entire life.
But that was in the past now, something that would become a footnote in my life. He was long gone and I was well shot of him. I'd made the right decision to move.
It was something I had to remind myself of as I sat up in bed, looking out of the window. It was difficult being somewhere new, somewhere foreign. I had a sudden feeling of isolation, a familiar punch at my gut. It was the same feeling I'd felt when I'd originally moved to college 18 months ago.
I guess having such a stark and stripped down room didn't help. Alice's side was bristling with color, while mine was dull and cold, all except for my bedding.
I climbed out of bed and straight into my clothes. It was Saturday morning and I didn't really have much to do, so set to the task of decorating. I had a few pictures and posters to put up, throws and cushions that I could use to bring my side of the room to life.
I unpacked all of my clothes and stored them in the closet. A quick glance over them made it clear that I'd probably need to go shopping for a bit of extra winter-wear. It was coming into spring, but I got the feeling that round here even summer would be cooler than the winters I was used to down in California.
It was about midday when I heard the door click and open. I turned to see Alice traipsing in. She looked worn and weary, as if she hadn't gotten much sleep, and not in a good way.
“Hey Elle, room's looking good,” she said, collapsing into her bed.
A smile appeared on my face. Not for the compliment, just for the fact that I was seeing a friendly face. Hell was I glad my room-mate was nice.
“Thanks, guess it's one plus side of having a room-mate in - makes the whole space look a bit nicer.”
She laughed lightly, too tired for much more. Her face still carried a look of concern on it, a lingering remnant of the same look she harbored the previous night when Crash came bounding in.
“You OK Alice,” I asked, “you look pretty tired.”
“Yeah, just a late night, that's all. Kyle and Crash don't get along well, as you may have noticed.”
“Yeah, that one was hard to miss,” I said casually. “Crash seemed - I don't know - intense.”
“That's what he's like. To be fair to him, he does have a lot on his plate. I don't know him very well, I've only been seeing Kyle a few months, but they've been at loggerheads ever since...” She trailed off.
“Since what?” I couldn't help but ask. I wasn't usually this inquisitive or probing.
“Since their dad died. It's been a burden on all of them.” She sounded grave. It seemed like there was more behind it than merely grief and bereavement.
I didn't say anything more. It really wasn't my place to probe on such a sensitive issue.
“Hey, I'm going to go shopping if you wanna come along? Didn't know it would be so cold here!”
“Maybe in a bit. I need to chill for a little while, can't face that right now.”
“Fair enough. Do you know where's best for clothes?”
“Main Street, you'll find the best stuff along there.” She answered quickly, her eyes now closing as she settled into a more comfortable fetal position.
“OK, um, here's my number.” I wrote it out on a piece of paper and placed it down on her bedside table. “Let me know if you're interested later.”
She nodded, her eyes closed, and grunted some sound of acknowledgement that she'd heard me.
I guess it will just be me then.
....
About an hour later I was cruising along in my little Mazda, looking for somewhere to park. My stupid damn GPS had decided to pack up for some unknown reason, leaving me reading signs and using the force to try to locate Main Street.
Eventually I'd found it, although not without several detours. Now, however, I needed to park, and that was proving more tr
oublesome that I'd have hoped.
I cruised up and the down the streets nearby, my eyes darting around for somewhere, anywhere, to park. Eventually I came upon a lot, a smattering of cars inside, a couple of streets away. It looked to be connected to a casino, a big flashy sign outside with the name - Logans.
I drove in and found a spot at the back, paying for a ticket at the machine and turning towards Main Street.
A few minutes later I was walking down the main shopping street in town. It was filled with chain and boutique clothing outlets, interspersed with small cafe's and the odd bar.
The place was truly bustling, no surprise for a Saturday, and I had to literally fight my way up the street to find the sort of shops I was looking for.
Shopping was, oddly, never a huge passion of mine. I liked wearing nice clothes and looking pretty, but I'd rather do so without having to worry about buying the clothes in the first place. If possible, it would be nice and convenient if the sort of clothes I liked could just be delivered straight to my front door.
I know, I know, what about online shopping, right? Well screw that, if i'm gonna buy something, I want to know it's going to fit properly first!
It took me a surprisingly long time to find the sort of thing I was looking for - woolly sweaters, scarves, hats, a thick coat for those truly cold nights. Most shops I went into seemed to be rolling out their summer wear, with shorts, T-shirts, skirts, and the like gracing the front of their stores.
In fact, come to think of it, most people were cruising round with little more than a layer or two on. It really must be me, coming from warmer climes. Everyone else seemed to be hardy against the cold. Maybe it wasn't even cold to them.
Eventually I'd managed to fill a few bags with appropriate cold weather gear.
“Going to Alaska?” said a guy as he walked past me down the street, peering into my bag.
None of your damn business. Creep.
I walked on, my battle with the crowd now even more difficult than before owing to the bags I was carrying. They served to literally double the width of my body, forcing me to carry them out in front of me as I ploughed on through the masses.
The Logan Brothers - Books 1-4: (EXPOSURE, CRASH, TWIN PASSIONS, and ADDICTED TO YOU) Page 21