“So...I haven't seen you here before,” he said. “You new in town?”
“Not exactly. I used to live around here.”
“Do you have a name....or shall I just call you pretty poker player.” He smiled again before turning towards a waiter and waving him over. “I'll have a Bud...do you want anything?” He had turned back to me.
I didn't usually drink when I played, but one would be fine. “The same, thanks.”
“A lager drinker. My kind of girl.” He smiled again before slipping the waiter a note.
“So...your name?” he questioned again, arching up his eyebrows as the dealer slid two face down cards towards each of us.
“You can call me...Ace,” I said with a light smile creasing my lips as I checked my cards.
He checked his own before looking up at me. “Ace? OK....nice to meet you Ace, my name's.... Spade.”
We both laughed conservatively across from each other. It was obvious we were both teasing.
“So, Ace, what brings you into town?”
“Family,” I responded.
“Like a birthday or a wedding or something?”
I shook my head. “Nothing as exciting as that, no.”
I think he could tell he wasn't going to get much out of me. Frankly I didn't want anyone knowing my real name. They might just put two and two together.
We talked for a while as we played, and it became clear to me that he was quite experienced at the game, just as I was.
“You've been playing a while, haven't you?” he asked me as I took a few hundred dollars off him.
I nodded. “This isn't my first rodeo, no.”
He smiled. “Well if someone's gonna take my money I'm happy they're as pretty as you are.”
“Really? Guys don't usually like being beaten by a woman.” I retorted quickly.
“That's because they're not real men,” he said, his eyes catching mine with a glint as he turned back down to look at his cards.
“Tell you what,” he continued. “Let's place a wager, how about that?”
I looked at him, my eyebrows dropping into a frown. “Aren't we kinda already doing that?”
“Sort of. But let's up the stakes?”
“I'm listening.”
I was always wary of people doing this. They might lose a few hands and appear weak and then place a greater wager only to show their true colors. I'd been hustled once before and it didn't feel good.
“Let's play for 30 minutes straight, just the two of us, and see who can take the most money off each other....”
“OK...what's the catch?”
He reached for his bottle of beer and took a swig. “If I win, you agree to go on a date with me, right after we're finished.”
“And if I win?” I asked.
“If you win you can take all the money I've got here, whether you've won it off me or not.”
He was smiling confidently at me, leaning back in his chair and casually tilting the beer to his lips. Frankly, it sounded like a win-win to me.
“All right, you've got a deal.”
Chapter 2
Jude
I stood up in the manager's office on the first floor of the casino, looking down through the glass windows onto the main floor. I always loved coming here. It was so vibrant, so energetic. I guess it just fitted my personality.
Crash, my eldest brother, ran this place for years, but now he'd passed that on to Kyle. He was the second eldest, so I guess that was fair. But Kyle knew nothing about gambling and he didn't give a shit about it. I loved this entire world, and begged Crash to let me manage the place instead.
He told me I was too young. I guess he was right. I mean, that was over 6 months ago and I'd only just now turned 21. Still, though, Crash wasn't much older when he started running it, so why couldn't I do it?
From inside the office you could see everything, but no one could see you. The glass was like the glass you get in those detective shows, with one cop interrogating a suspect in one room, and a bunch of other people watching from the other side of the glass. I always found that awesome as a kid, standing at the window knowing no one could see what the fuck I was doing.
I walked out through the main doors and took a look down at the casino floor. It was a Friday night and typically busy, the floor like an beehive, swarming with people. A lot of them had just come from bars and clubs, stumbling in drunk and emptying their pockets onto the roulette and blackjack tables.
I mean, how stupid could you be? If you're going to gamble, at least do it when sober. I'd been gambling long enough to realize that there was a pretty obvious correlation between the amount of money I lost and how drunk I was.
Six large. That was my personal record. Fuck was I nervous telling my dad about that.
I stepped out and down the stairs towards the throng. You could smell the sweat and the alcohol on people. It was like there was this mist hanging over the place, it just had this unique smell.
A barmaid brushed past me as I walked through. I caught a whiff of her perfume, this fruity smell that shot straight up my nose. Damn she was hot.
I turned on the spot and grabbed at her arm.
“Hey baby, you new here?” I asked. I hadn't seen her before, she must be.
She nodded and looked at me like she knew me. “Are you...one of the Logan boys?” she asked.
I nodded and winked at her. “Guilty.”
“Oh wow, tell Cade that Flo says hi can you.”
Typical. Half the fucking girls in this town now had the hots for Cade. He was another one of my brothers, a couple of years older than me, and the Pride of Branton. That's what he was known as, on account of his victories in the boxing ring. The guy will be champ one day, and I'll be there cheering every fucking step. But still, when a hot girl smiles at you because you're a Logan brother, it's pretty fucking annoying when all they want is for you to tell Cade they said 'hi'! He must have screwed her at some point. Lucky fucker.
“Yeah, sure,” I said, already forgetting her name as I walked off.
I carried on through the masses, just working out what I was interested in tonight. Blackjack maybe? I was getting pretty good at it. I didn't go near the slots, that was way too small for me. I could have a go at some roulette....$500 on red or black was always a good way to start the night.
My mind was still wandering as I walked through, my eyes caught by one of the high stakes tables in the corner. I could see a disgruntled guy standing up and ambling off, cursing as he went. That was nothing out of the ordinary, but the person who remained at the table was.
This hot chick just sat there alone, watching the guy as he walked off. I could see him arch his neck round and mumble something over his shoulder at her but she didn't react. The sight of it made me spontaneously laugh out loud. This middle aged guy getting driven off the table by some feisty little chick.
Right, that's just what I'm looking for. This girl looks like fun.
I started walking towards the table as she began stacking up her chips. I could see that there was no one left besides her at the table, which was unusual for a Friday night, even at one of the larger stakes tables.
I watched as her eyes lifted to mine as I came forward. She started staring straight at me, which made her look even more cute. I couldn't see her whole body from behind the table but she looked to have a good pair of tits on her. Her hair was kinda dark red, her eyes blue. Or maybe they were brown. I couldn't really tell from this far away.
I saw a couple of guys I knew as I walked forward and gestured to them with my eyes. When I turned back this girl still had her gaze fixed on me. I smiled at her as I came forward and slid straight into a seat.
I teased her for a little while and she bit back. Fuck she was a bit feisty, I wasn't wrong about that. And unlike that dumbass waitress she didn't ask me if I was Cade Logan's brother! No, it didn't seem as though she had any idea who I was.
She told me her name was Ace when I asked her. She was funny, too, th
en. I liked the name, it suited her. She was pretty good, but I knew I was too. So I told her I was called Spade.
“Maybe together we'd be the Ace of Spades.” I thought about delivering that cheesy line but bit my tongue. Something told me this girl was a bit more highbrow than that.
We played for a bit and she took a few hundred away from me. I didn't care, the money was nothing. I had sat down with $5,000, and would happily lose the lot if it meant playing some more with her.
I could feel a playfulness between us, so asked her to raise the stakes. I wanted to take her on a date right now, see what sort of girl she really was, and was happy to sacrifice my money to do it. I said we should play for 30 minutes and see who came out on top in that time. If it was me, I'd take her out right now. If it was her, she could take my whole $5,000, whether she'd won it or not.
I smiled as she agreed. This was gonna be fun.
“Game face, Ace!” I joked as she squinted intensely at her cards. She had this total concentration about her that I was trying to break.
She broke down slightly, the corner of her mouth curving in a smile, as she threw $500 in chips into the middle of the table. I had nothing, no hand at all, so let it go. I could sense she had something good and was just trying to draw me in. Not this time baby.
Time was ticking by fast now as she began to build a lead. We were 10 minutes into our little bet and she'd already taken a few hundred dollars off me. The look on her face just made me laugh. I couldn't tell whether she just really wanted that $5,000 or was repelled by the thought of going on a date! Whatever the case, she was really fighting hard.
“So do you like Chinese?” I asked her as the dealer slid another couple of cards over to each of us. I looked down at mine.
TWO ACES! The best hand!
She glanced up at me. “Yeah....why?”
She knew why.
“Because I know this great place just down the road, it stays open real late. Perfect place to start our date.”
“Start our date?”
“Yeah, a date constitutes at least 3 hours. That's the rule. Dinner is phase one.”
I raised the pot to $200 with my aces.
“Phase one! You make it sound like a military operation!”
“Yeah, well, my dad was a General in the army,” I lied.
“Really, is that you talking or Spade?!”
Ha, she's seen straight through me!
“Re-raise,” she said, turning back to the poker hand. She pushed $400 dollars worth of chips into the middle.
I couldn't help but smile. The clock was about to tick past 28 minutes and this would probably be our last hand. And right in front of me I've got the best possible starting hand you can have in Texas Hold'em.
“OK Ace, it's come down to this has it,” I said to her, smirking. “Last hand, winner takes all!”
I pushed all of my chips into the middle of the table. For her to call, she'd have to go all in as well.
She smiled, thinking she'd got me.
“All right. I'm all in.”
She pushed all her chips into the middle to meet mine and quickly turns over her cards.
Two kings.
I've got her completely dominated.
I smile as I turn my own cards over and see her expression suddenly contort in horror.
As the dealer was preparing to put down the first card, however, I held up my hand to stop him, staring into the mystery girls eyes as I did.
“I'll give you a third option,” I said.
Her eyes pricked up in hope. Clearly she didn't want to lose nearly $5,000. Not many people could afford to do that on a whim.
“How about we forget all of this. You can take your money back, and I'll take mine.”
She eyed me suspiciously. “And....”
“That's it. Oh, well, you still have to go on that date with me, of course.”
I smiled at her again, and saw her eyes begin to soften immediately. It was almost instantaneous. Gone was the serious poker player and I was just looking at a pretty girl, being asked on a date.
Her smile grew quickly at the thought of getting her money back. She knew, just like I did, that my aces verses her kings was heavily weighted in my favor.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You'd probably get all of my money and that date you know.”
I laughed. “I don't care about the money. I'd much rather just have the date.”
I didn't care what the dealer must have been thinking as we smiled at each other from across the table, two kids with sparks flying. The glare was probably blinding him.
I stood up and walked around the table towards her, taking her hand and kissing it.
“So, Chinese?”
Chapter 3
Amy
I couldn't believe this guy.
I mean, he was about to win nearly $5,000 and he just turns it down. Who the hell does that?!
He walked around the table and reached for my hand, lightly brushing his lips over the top of it. Maybe he was just a real gentlemen? I didn't meet too many of those at the poker table. No, it was all about money usually.
He walked back around to his side of the table and started packing up his chips. I did the same.
“Let's cash out,” he said, leading me through the casino and over to the cashier's desk. We both placed our chips down and were each given a thick pile of notes. I'd walked in with $2,000 and was walking out with over $4,500. Not bad for a few hours work.
He curled his money back up into a tight bundle and slipped it into his upper jacket pocket. The jacket was grey, with a white shirt beneath it and black pants wrapping around his well built thighs. He looked in great shape, with a slim waist tucked in under a simple black leather belt, and broad, wide shoulders filling out his jacket. The ensemble looked like it cost a lot of money.
He walked forward through the crowd, reaching back and taking my hand in his. He smiled as he did, this disarming glint sparkling in his eye. His touch was gentle, yet firm, his fingers starting on my palm and then slipping down and hooking against my own curled up digits.
The crowd was heavy, but soon thinned as we neared the doorway. As we walked out into the night I slipped my hand from his and dug into my purse for my cell. I checked the time – Jesus Christ it was 1 AM already!
“So you want to start a date now?” I asked. “At 1 AM?”
He turned to me and smiled. “Sure, no time like the present. For all I know you'll run away and I'll never see you again after tonight.” He leaned in closer towards me. “I've gotta take my chance while it's here!”
For any other girl this might already seem like a late night, but not me. My work often took me into the small hours of the morning, so this was nothing. Not that he knew that, of course.
“OK....so what exactly do you want to do?” I asked. I checked the time again. “You've got 3 hours, remember....time's ticking.”
“Well, we said we'd start with some food, so let's go.”
He reached back and grabbed my hand again, leading me straight off down the street. I don't know why but I felt no impulse to pull back or retract my hand. I didn't know this guy from Adam but, for some reason, I didn't care. He felt safe to me.
“OK Spade....so what the hell is open NOW! It's so late!”
He didn't look back but kept on marching down the street. “No, it's all right. I know a place, it's just round the corner.”
I skipped forward in a bid to catch him up. “Hey, would you slow down a bit.”
He laughed. “You said it yourself, we've only got 3 hours, and I want to make the most of every minute!”
We turned a corner at the end of the block.
“You see, there it is.”
About 50 feet ahead was a flashing sign for Chan's. A vague memory of the place crept into my mind as we approached. I think I'd been there before.
We walked straight in through the entrance and into a dim and intimate setting. The walls were blood-red, with various different mur
als painted onto them of old Chinese imagery and calligraphy. Long lights hung down from the ceiling, black shades around them dimming their glare. There were only about a dozen tables, with red tops, black legs, and matching chairs.
I looked around to see only one other couple sitting talking quietly in a corner. The rest of the place was empty, which didn't surprise me, given the time.
A young Chinese waitress came walking quickly over to us and bowed lightly.
“Table for two?” she asked briskly. She was dressed in a flowery red kimono, her jet black hair tied back neatly.
“Please,” said Spade, “over there in the corner.”
The waitress nodded and led us over into the corner. Spade pulled out my chair for me and I sat down with a “thank you.”
“So, am I going to get your real name now that we're away from the poker table?” he asked, sitting down opposite me.
I smiled at him and lightly shook my head. “Why bother?”
He arched his eyebrows up. “Why bother? Well, what if this goes well...I'd like to know who you really are.”
“Then maybe I'll tell you,” I said. “But it has to go well first. If it doesn't go well, I'd rather you didn't know who I really was.”
He reached forward and poured us both a glass of water. “OK, that's fair.”
The waitress came back out and took our order. I was never great at ordering Chinese food, so let my mystery man do it for me.
We spoke as we ate, but it was hard to do it without giving anything away. I could tell he was making stuff up, and having a lot of fun with it. I started doing the same.
“So you dad's a general? I asked him. “Where has he served?”
“Iraq, Afghanistan, everywhere and anywhere the US Army wants him really!” he said it with a knowing smirk on his face. “And you...what about your dad?”
“He's a pearl diver in the Caribbean,” I said, keeping my face straight.
“Really?”
“Oh yeah, there's a lot of money to be made diving for pearls you know. And the lifestyle out there...beautiful.”
“So is that where you live now?” he asked.
“Sometimes, yeah, I like to move around a lot.” That bit was true.
The Logan Brothers - Books 1-4: (EXPOSURE, CRASH, TWIN PASSIONS, and ADDICTED TO YOU) Page 54