High Stakes (The Kingdom Book 2)

by Groom, Nikki

  “Lottie!”

  “What? We both know that black number wasn’t a patch on this baby. And Rocara too. Lucky bitch.”

  “Babe,” Spike says softly from behind her. “You could’a had any dress you wanted, all you had to do was choose one.”

  “I know,” she says, looping her hand around his waist and snuggling under his arm. “I chose this one.”

  “So stubborn,” Spike mumbles, and I shake my head at her. She really is the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. I admire her independence, but even I can see that she’s missing out by being so tough.

  “The limo is waiting,” Denham says. He takes my hand and we walk out of the foyer, being followed by everyone’s eyes. A lot of the people there are visitors and have no idea about the Grand Summertime Ball, so we look overdressed compared to most.

  “I thought you said the next time we were in a limo, we would be alone?” I whisper to Denham as we set off to the venue.

  He snaps his head toward me with a comical look on his face. “Don’t even think about it, Stunner. It was bad enough last time, but now … ah damn. Shoulda left them to get their own ride,” he mumbles, trailing off as he turns his focus out of the window. He squeezes my hand, which is joined with his, and resting in my lap.

  “How long will it take to get there?” I ask.

  “Long enough for you to drink this and possibly one more,” Lottie replies, handing me a glass of champagne. “I want to propose a toast,” she announces, passing a glass to Denham too. “To the first summertime ball with my best friend. May we get drunk and dance on the tables.”

  We all clink glasses, and Denham and Spike look at each other, rolling their eyes and shaking their heads. There is no way that Lottie will get me dancing on any tables, no matter how drunk I get. And besides, I won’t be getting too drunk, because I’m looking forward to what’s to come when we get home as much as I am the rest of the evening.

  The limo travels just out of town, and after one and a half glasses of champagne, we reach a gated drive. I’m amazed at Lottie’s ability to measure distance in glasses of champagne, and she’s right, by the time we pull up, we will have managed two of them.

  I gasp as the limo sweeps around the corner, and the venue for the evening comes into view.

  It’s a castle. A beautiful castle, decorated with fairy lights and it feels magical. It doesn’t seem like we are in Las Vegas any longer and I never even knew this place existed.

  “You like it?” Denham whispers into my ear.

  “Oh my god, Denham, it’s gorgeous.”

  “Wait until you see inside.” He smiles at me, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

  We pull up to the front entrance and a butler automatically steps forward to open the door. We let Lottie and Spike exit first. How she manages to be so graceful getting out of a limo is beyond me. Denham then steps out and holds out his hand for me to take. I step out in wonder. The lights are off white with a hint of pink making the place feel enchanted, and I follow the others through the huge imposing wooden doors and into the grand hall. The ceiling is high. You would expect everything to echo, but it doesn’t. The air is filled with an excited energy coming from the people who have arrived already.

  “Let’s get a drink,” Denham suggests.

  He weaves us through the crowds, nodding his hellos and stopping occasionally to shake hands. A butler comes past with a tray of full champagne flutes and Denham whisks two off and hands me one.

  “Well hello there, handsome.” A female voice comes from behind Denham and my insides tense when I see perfectly manicured, red polished fingers slip around his waist.

  Denham rolls his eyes but smirks before turning, kissing her on the cheek and pulling her in for a tight hug.

  See, this is what I was worried about. I don’t know any of these people, except from Lottie and Spike and they abandoned me the minute we walked through the door.

  “Ari,” Denham says, looking between me and the six foot beautiful woman that looks like an Amazonian goddess dressed in a Grecian white gown that makes her Latino skin seem even darker. “I want you to meet Corey, she’s with—”

  “Evening, King.” A familiar voice comes into our circle and then Beth appears. Only, I have to take a couple of glances at her. There is no hard business persona this evening. Her fiery hair isn’t scraped into a neat pony with not one hair out of place. It’s loose, hanging below her shoulders with soft waves that make her look just breathtaking. She has a stunning sharp black gown, which looks exquisite against her pale skin.

  “Ari, darling. You look just … that dress! I knew it would look amazing,” Beth comments, then steps forward to kiss me on the cheek. She clasps my shoulder reassuringly when she sees that I’m a little overwhelmed by this whole thing so far.

  “You knew? Of course you knew,” I mumble, how else could Denham get in touch with the designers at such short notice?

  “Yes, darling. Of course I knew! And it’s even more beautiful on your model frame. Monday morning, we need to talk.”

  “No shop talk tonight, babe,” Corey interjects, now slipping her free hand around Beth’s waist and pulling her tight.

  “Have you been introduced, Arianna?” Beth asks.

  “Uh, yes, kinda …”

  “This is Corey, she’s my other half,” Beth announces proudly. “Corey, babe. This is Denham’s girl, Arianna.”

  “Arianna! Oh my god, girl. Beth has talked about you nonstop. I was beginning to wonder if I had something to be worried about. Look at you all beautiful,” she gushes, dropping her arms from Beth and Denham either side of her, to embrace me in a hug.

  “Corey, babe. Shall we leave these guys to it?”

  “Sure thing,” Corey replies. “I expect to see you dancing later, Arianna.” She winks and they walk off hand in hand.

  “Well, I wasn’t expecting that!” I exclaim, shocked and a little blindsided.

  “They’ve been together for nine years. One of Las Vegas’s strongest, long standing couples.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah. Corey is an absolute kook, but she’s great.”

  “Guess I have a lot to find out, huh?”

  “All good things, Stunner. All good things.”

  “If you would all like to make you way through to the ballroom, dinner will be served.” A host announces in a booming voice. The sea of people starts to move, and we are swept along with it. As we move through the archway and into the ballroom, people start to filter off to each side and we are presented with the full view of the room from the top of a wide staircase.

  It is an immense room. White billowy drapes hang from the ceiling in between ornate crystal chandeliers. Tables decorated with huge crisp white floral designs, and the sound of at least three hundred people talking below us rises to meet me in an excited hum.

  Denham steps down the first step, holding my hand and leading the way, until we reach our table where Lottie and Spike are already seated. Each table seats eight. We are lucky enough to be seated with Spike and Lottie, and an older couple who introduce themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Steinham, they are also hotel owners along the strip. The other two seats are still empty when we start to eat and it’s not until halfway through the dinner that Tara comes running in, dragging a rather harassed looking date with her.

  “Oh my god,” she puffs. “I’m so sorry. I had a wardrobe emergency, then the cab broke down. What’d I miss?”

  “Well, you missed half of the evening so far,” Lottie says sharply and Tara shoots her a look.

  “Didn’t miss the dancing though, did I?”

  “No.” Lottie smiles and winks out of the corner of her eye, showing that she’s only joking around.

  “Did I miss dessert?” Tara says nonchalantly, scooping up a glass and helping herself to the table wine.

  The table silences. Denham leans into Mrs. Steinham next to him and says, “I’m sorry. Please excuse my sister. She clearly has no manners and shouldn’t really be allowe
d out without supervision.”

  Mrs. Steinham laughs, and Mr. Steinham picks up the wine bottle and tops up Tara’s glass to the brim. “You drink all you like dear, I’ve got three drinks on you so you’re playing catch-up.” He winks, clinks glasses with her and the table settles back into comfortable conversation. Tara says some things that make me gasp and hold my breath, but she seems to charm everyone around her and no one takes offense at anything she comes out with. Her date, Chad, is very quiet. I have no idea how well she knows him or anything else about him. Denham doesn’t help the poor lad feel at home by throwing him cold warning glares, and I elbow him a few times to let him know that he needs to chill out about it. Spike laughs and jokes with everyone else, but food is the main thing that’s on his mind.

  The room comes to a hush as a speaker taps the microphone and starts to talk.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I do hope you’re enjoying the Summertime Ball so far. Those of you that return to the ball year after year will already know this, but for those who don’t, please let me explain. The Summertime Ball started eight years ago when a group of people culminated together to find a way of raising money for a local charity. That charity was The Las Vegas Children’s Leukemia Trust. For each subsequent year, there has been a different local charity to support. To tell us more about this year’s charity, which is a fairly new one but no less important, could you please welcome the founder of this special charity, James Ellis.”

  The room erupts in claps and cheers, and the spotlight moves to the side of the stage where James Ellis enters.

  It takes approximately three seconds for my blood to run from cold to iced.

  James Ellis.

  AKA Jonny Ellison, steps onto the stage.

  “GOOD EVENING, LADIES AND gentlemen. I won’t take up too much of your precious eating and drinking time, and I know the band is due on stage any minute so I’ll make this quick. Eighteen months ago I recognized a severe problem here in Las Vegas. Away from the bright lights and big city, there are hundreds of women, men, and children that suffer domestic violence at the hands of someone close to them. Domestic violence takes multiple forms, including physical, sexual, emotional and verbal abuse, social isolation and economic dependency. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence regardless of age, gender, race, social status or sexual orientation. It’s a wider problem than you’d think, and more often than not, is well hidden and undetected, sometimes for years. A woman is beaten every fifteen seconds in an act of domestic violence. So by the time I have finished this little speech, twenty women will have been beaten somewhere in the US. Maybe someone you’re sitting close to in this room are victims, or even abusers. Not a fact, just a thought. So, after witnessing a particularly vicious attack and realizing there was this immense problem, I started a charity to provide an escape for these victims. It’s called ‘Safe as Houses’. ”

  I feel my breathing become fast and shallow. I’m hot. I’m cold. I can’t process what’s going on here.

  He started a domestic violence charity?

  He’s talking about women being beaten and trying to help them?

  “Ari …” Lottie nudges my arm. “That looks like … Is that … Shit. Shit.”

  I can’t answer her. I can’t take my eyes from the stage. His voice. Those words. She knows from my reaction to him that it’s Jonny.

  “My contacts and connections made it possible for me to source everyone I needed to in order to do something about this growing problem. There are currently four safe houses in the Las Vegas city area, all belonging to the Safe as Houses Charity, and there are plans to broaden the reach and make a difference to victims all across America. But this is only possible with the help from you. I ask you to be generous, and dig deep for a worthy cause that really does make a difference. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for any donations you see fit to give us this evening. I will be here all evening if you’d like to find out more. Thank you for your time. Oh, and please enjoy the rest of your evening.”

  He takes a bow, and beams that fake smile of his all around the ballroom. He receives a rapturous applause, all except from the few people at our table who know who he is.

  Lottie has left her seat and is whispering in Denham’s ear. His face drops. So does my stomach. I should have known it wouldn’t be simple. He was always going to catch up with me. Always tainting the air that I breathe with his evil.

  “Arianna? Is Lottie right? James Ellis …Is that him? Is that Jonny?” Denham asks me softly.

  I nod because my body won’t let me do anything else right now.

  “Shit. James fucking Ellis. Okay, we are leaving. I need to make a few calls.”

  “NO,” I shout, drawing too much attention from Mr. and Mrs. Steinham. “No, I’m not leaving,” I hiss through my teeth.

  “But Ari, that’s …”

  “I know. I know who he is,” I say sounding far calmer than I’m feeling, but I’m starting to get it under control. “I am not leaving.” The more I breathe, the stronger my voice becomes and the more my confidence grows. I turn in my chair and face Denham, who’s still seated, and Lottie, who’s standing at his side. “I told you, I’m not running. Las Vegas is a small place and it was bound to happen sooner or later. We will not leave. We are going to stay here, and we are going to have a great night. We are going to get smashed, and dance on the table. And we are going to show that man that he isn’t going to win. He wants to empower victims of abuse? Well, let’s show him how it’s done.” I solidify my resolve by picking up my half full wine glass, and swallow its contents in one gulp. Then I bang the glass on the table and stand to catch the last of the applause, clapping and cheering loudly. Denham and Lottie look between each other as if I’m crazy. Maybe I am. In fact, I know I am. My whole life has been crazy since the moment I met Jonny. He saturated everything with his crazy. But in Denham’s words, ‘it is what it is’. My life is going to be what I make it, and I am not running.

  When the applause dies down, Jonny walks off the stage and directly to a table at the front of the room. I watch him, with equal amounts of fascination as astonishment. You couldn’t make this stuff up.

  “Come with me,” Denham says once I’m seated again and pouring another glass of wine.

  “It’s not up for discussion,” I reply without even glancing at him and I take a gulp of my freshly filled glass.

  “Ari,” he warns, then sighs.

  It’s then that I realize I’m being selfish. But, I have to be selfish, don’t I?

  So I turn to him and he leans into me across the chair, “Please?” he asks, worry marring his handsome features. “I just need to speak with you without the whole table hearing.”

  I relent. He takes my hand and leads me out of the ballroom. I probably look nervously back to the ballroom at least five times before we turn down a quiet hallway.

  “Ari …”

  “I know.”

  “I just think … I know you don’t want to leave …”

  “Denham. I want to leave more than anything in the world. It’s taking every scrap of strength to stop my legs from carrying me as far away from here, as far away from Jonny, as I can be. But, do you know what? If I go, I go for good. I may as well run from the whole world, for the rest of my life.”

  “Ari …”

  “Please. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? Is he going to beat me in front of a room full of people?”

  “Ari,” He scolds, clearly disturbed by the thought. “I don’t … I just don’t want you to have to endure that man any longer than you already have. It’s my instinct to keep you safe and—”

  “Then do just that. Be my strength. Be by my side, and let’s show him that he’s messed with the wrong Army. Yes?”

  Denham looks at me for long minutes, searching my eyes for any chance that I might change my mind. “You’re crazy,” he mutters.

  “I know.”

  “And strong.”

  I s
hrug.

  “And amazing.”

  This makes me look to my feet, which shuffle on the ground beneath me, and Denham places the length of his forefinger under my chin and tilts it gently up until I’m looking directly at him.

  “You want to dance?” he asks, smiling but with a hint of sadness.

  “Are you askin’?” I look up at him through my lashes with a silent plea to make the best of the situation we have.

  He chuckles, a deep throaty laugh and the look in his eyes softens, “I’m askin’.”

  “Then I’m dancin’,” I whisper, and kiss his smiling lips.

  “Guys.” Lottie’s voice comes from the end of the hall. “Are we leaving or what?”

  She’s standing there with her hands on her hips, her face tight and scary, and looks ready for a fight. Spike has his hand at the middle of her back, wearing a serious expression.

  I slide my hands down from Denham’s chest, and cross the distance between me and her. Placing my hands on her shoulders I say, “Lottie, babe. I love you. We are not going anywhere, okay?”

  “But—”

  “No.” I shake my head. “If I were to leave now, I’d never come back. I don’t care if he’s in there. We are getting trashed. We are going to dance. And we are going to have a damn good night. Got it?”

  She takes a deep breath and wraps both arms around my waist. “I love you, Ari.”

  “I know,” I say, kissing the top of her head. Even with heels on, she only just reaches my chin.

  “We’re ready to go back in, then?” she asks.

  “Yup,” I reply, taking a deep breath and linking my arm in hers.

  “Thank fuck for that. They’re just about to serve dessert, and I woulda been pissed if I had to miss it.” If you didn’t know Lottie, you would miss the little smirk that creases the corners of her eyes. God, I love this girl.

  For the next hour, the ballroom is a sea of people mingling. Once the tables and chairs are cleared back to make way for the dance floor, and everyone is standing it’s pretty much impossible to see over the hundreds of heads. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t edgy. I am. It’s the strangest feeling knowing that someone you’ve been running from for so long is in the same room as you. Possibly only two or three people away. But he can’t do a damned thing to me here, and with that thought, each minute that goes past gets easier. Denham doesn’t leave my side, and Lottie and Spike don’t go far either, so I feel safely cocooned in between three of my favorite people in the world.