Chapter 47
OCTOBER 16 – THURSDAY 9:23 PM
L iam
Christov walking in, and the fear that I could feel coming off Ren—even though she was sitting on the couch—had thrown me off my game the first few hands. I lost, but it was probably for the best. It set everyone up to think that I couldn’t handle playing with them. Meanwhile, I learned their tells and the fake ones they tried to present.
Nicolo was amusing. He rubbed his thumb with his index finger when he had a great hand and couldn’t keep the scowl from his eyes when he didn’t. His bluff was a double tap on the table with the middle finger of his left hand before he placed his bet.
Romeo loved his lighter. He might think that the opening and closing of the lid was random, but he had a specific sequence depending on the cards he held. It was so distinct that it mimicked Morse code for every card.
Dimitri played with his watch when he had a great hand and rubbed at his temple when he was bluffing.
No one realized they did these things, but I devoured each and every one until I could tell you exactly what everyone was holding.
Nicolo currently had a full house but was trying to play it down. Unfortunately, for him, I also counted cards. With this many players, I knew exactly what was coming on the river. After the dealer dealt the final card, Nicolo added another hundred thousand to the pot.
Christov, Dimitri, and Romeo folded, and everyone looked at me.
“I not only call but raise you,” I said, pushing three hundred thousand into the center.
Eyebrows went up at the amount. Nicolo tapped his finger on the table, and I could tell he wouldn’t be able to pass this up. He thought he had it.
He checked his cards once more. “Call,” he said, matching my raise.
“Alright, gentlemen, show your cards,” the dealer said.
Nicolo smiled as he flipped over his hand and showed off the full house. He reached for the pot.
“Do not touch the pot until all players have shown their cards,” the banker scolded Nicolo.
“Yeah, hold up there, Nicolo,” I said, giving him a cocky grin and loved that the comment would stomp all over his ego. I flipped my cards over to show the royal flush.
“Fuck,” he growled and glared at me as I pulled the pot over.
“Better luck next hand,” I said, wanting to rile him up even more. His tells were stronger when he got angry. He wore every emotion on his sleeve like an open book.
“You’re a fucking cheat,” Nicolo said, bursting from his seat and pointing at me.
“That is quite the accusation,” Harrison said from his perch at the far end of the table. He’d kept a very watchful eye over both games, and I appreciated it. “Do you think that we would allow Mr. Hicks to cheat?”
“No one is that fucking lucky,” he growled.
If he’d been allowed to keep his gun, it would be out and pointed at me by now. He was an arrogant dick who really didn’t like losing.
“Are you feeling a little butt sore and don’t want to lose again,” I asked, toying with one of my stacks.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” he snarled and rolled up his sleeves.
Another subtle threat that didn’t bother me in the least. Sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead and ran down his face.
“Are you going to sit down and play, or forfeit your buy-in and leave? Any money you have won will be distributed evenly between the remaining players,” Harrison said.
“Yeah, Nicolo, what are you going to do,” I asked, and smiled at him.
“Son of a bitch,” he said, but his voice was a little wheezy and cracked.
He pulled off his suit jacket and tossed it on a spare chair. Nicolo’s face was turning an alarming shade of red. He shook his head, and I looked around the room, wondering if someone was pumping in a poisonous gas, but no one else seemed affected.
“Mr. Amato is everything alright,” Harrison asked.
Nicolo’s eyes darted around the table, but he didn’t say anything. He stumbled back and tripped, landing hard on the ground. We all stood and stared at him, not sure what the hell was happening.
Ren jumped up and ran over. Nicolo’s lips were swelling as he pointed at his throat and tried to dig around in his pocket.
“He’s having a reaction. Do you have any epinephrine?”
He nodded, panicked as he wheezed in another breath. Nicolo grabbed at his throat as he made little gasping noises.
“Move your hand,” she ordered.
Under any other circumstance, I would’ve lost my shit as she slid her hand into Nicolo’s pocket.
Ren pulled out the medication he was after, and I jumped up. Kneeling beside her, I ripped a large hole in Nicolo’s pants, exposing his thigh. She popped the lid and pulled out the pen like she’d done this a dozen times today.
Nicolo tried to grab it, but Ren slapped his hand away before jabbing him in the leg with the bright orange needle. It only took seconds but seemed longer as Ren held the epi-pen. Nicolo coughed and then sucked in a deep breath.
“You made me look like an idiot,” he said as she pulled out the needle.
Ren glared at Nicolo as he struggled to sit up.
“No, I’m pretty sure you did that all on your own.” She tossed the pen between his legs as we stood. “A simple thank you would suffice,” Ren said, but he just sneered at her.
“Not a chance. I didn’t need help.”
The other men in the room laughed.
“Next time, let him die,” Romeo said.
Harrison signaled a guard who ran past the tables to help Nicolo stand.
“Fuck all of you. And you…you owe me a new suit,” Nicolo snarled at Ren.
She picked up a chip from my pile and flicked it at him. I laughed as it hit him in the cheek.
“There, go buy one, you ungrateful jerk,” Ren said.
Nicolo lurched forward, but his bodyguard held him back.
I moved in front of Ren and she grabbed my arm, stopping me.
“You’re really not going to say thank you,” Alessio asked, standing.
He was deeply tanned with a weathered look that screamed he’d been at one too many poker tables in his lifetime.
“Learn some manners, boy. She saved your life, and we all know what that means.”
Nicolo’s eyes flared with rage, but he didn’t reply as he took in the serious faces. He was out of line, outnumbered, and he knew it.
“Boss….” Apparently, that one word from his guard held more power than anything anyone else had said.
Nicolo sighed and looked at Ren.
“Thanks. Now get me out of here.”
We watched him leave before Harrison addressed the crowd.
“I think this would be a good time to call a break before the next hand. It goes without saying that you cannot touch the tables while play is paused.”
Guiding Ren over to a far corner, I held her shaking hands.
“Are you good?”
“Yeah, just the adrenaline. Can you believe the nerve of that guy? He wouldn’t even have gotten it out of his pocket in time if it wasn’t for me.”
I kissed her forehead and ran my hands down her arms, feeling her relax under my touch.
“What are we going to do about our other problem,” Ren asked.
I didn’t have to look to know that Christov was staring in our direction. If he thought for even a second that I would leave her alone, he was mistaken. I planned on following her right into the women’s bathroom if needed.
“We stick to the plan. Win the pot, and play this out to see what he’s after,” I said.
“I’m pretty sure I know what he’s after.” Ren crossed her arms as she glanced in his direction. “My head on a platter.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Don’t we? This is way too much of a coincidence, Liam. Someone killed my mum, has been following me, and shot up my home…it has to be him. He’s after me for what my mother did. Why else pretend to be dead?”
“I don’t know, but why kill his innocent daughter?”
Our conversation was cut off as Romeo stepped up to us.
“Romeo Mancini, nice to put a face to the name,” I said, nodding and his lip curled up.
“Oh, I’m pretty certain you already knew who I was. Just as I know, you’re Emmett Hicks’s son.”
“Guilty. I didn’t know you knew my father.”
“I know of him, but I didn’t know he raised a shark,” Romeo said, smirking before turning his attention to Ren.
Ren pointed at him. “Wait…Mancini?” He nodded. “I hear you have unusual dinners at your house.”
He laughed and then smiled.
“You must have been talking to Ronan. The meal he is referencing was certainly one of our more eventful dinner parties, that’s for sure. I wanted to come over and assure you that, no matter what Nicolo says, he owes you a blood debt.”
I liked that he didn’t automatically try to hit on Ren.
“What’s that,” she asked.
“You saved his life. He owes you a favor. Anything you want or need at any time. He can’t refuse it. Even something extreme, like you need a particular person to go missing. Refusal would lead to shunning by all the other families. I know his older brother. If he shamed his family like that, he would kill him. Everyone in this room would vouch for what you did. He’s just an ignorant bastard and a sore loser.”
“Thank you,” Ren said.
Romeo started to turn away, then paused. “Do you two go to Wayward?”
“Yes.”
“This is a long shot, but do you happen to know someone by the name of Myles?”
Ren and I looked at one another. “Why,” I finally asked.
If this had anything to do with Owen, then Nash and Lawerence were going to lose their minds.
Romeo rubbed at his chin. “My future sister-in-law goes there, and she seems to have a fangirl-level-obsession over someone named Myles. I’m just looking out for her.”
Ren laughed. “Is her name Alex?”
Romeo narrowed his eyes. “Yes…please don’t tell me someone gave her a lighter or that she’s already burned something down?”
Ren’s brows drew together in confusion as she shook her head.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that, but you don’t have to worry about Myles.”
“How do you know?”
She smiled. “Trust me, he is not a threat. I have firsthand knowledge of the situation.”
“On second thought, maybe I don’t want to know,” Romeo said, and Ren laughed.
“The break is over. Please take your seats,” Harrison announced.
We walked arm-in-arm back to the table. When I sat down, I tugged on Ren’s hand. She sat on my lap, and I kissed her while we waited for the other players to be seated. I could feel the stares and broke off before Harrison asked us to stop.
Ren stood and walked over to the couch, and sat down, smiling. Meanwhile, I paid very close attention to Christov’s reaction. He was certainly pissed, but was it a fatherly concern or something more disturbing? By the look on his face, I guessed option two. That didn’t mean he wasn’t her father, just that he was a disgusting piece of garbage.
The rounds went by quickly, and I purposely folded or lost the odd hand before reeling in twice as much.
After another hour, Alessio and I sat down for a final deal.
We’d already pushed all but a million each in for this moment. My heart was beating hard even though I was ninety-nine percent sure that I held the winning hand.
The flop showed three, nine, ten, and a queen on the turn. The dealer flipped a jack on the river.
“Possible straight. Please place your final bets,” the dealer said.
Excitement flowed through my body, but I managed to keep my face neutral and my eyes on my opponent.
“All in.” Alessio pushed the rest of his chips to the center of the table.
“Call,” I said, matching him.
The dealer turned to Alessio, who smirked as he revealed an eight and a king. It was a hand that would win most of the time, but not tonight.
“Straight, king high,” the dealer said before turning to me.
Smiling, I flipped over my king and Alessio’s smile faded some. The room held its breath as I slowly turned over my second card.
“Fuck,” Alessio swore.
“Straight, ace high. Congratulations, you win,” the dealer said.
Ren squealed and ran at me. I stood up and caught her just as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. The thrill of the win and having her here with me was addictive.
“My lucky rabbit,” I said against her lips.
“I did nothing. That was so impressive,” she said and showed me her hand. “I have no nails left.”
“Congratulations, son. Remind me never to play against you again,” Alessio said, extending his hand.
With a firm grip, I knew that all these men would remember my name. I’d just become a much bigger fish.
A single pair of hands began clapping, and we all turned to see Christov standing off to the side.
“Bravo. Well done. But why don’t we make the night more interesting?”
“No, I think I’m good,” I said.
“Come now, you don’t even know what I was going to say,” Christov countered.
“I already know that whatever you offer, I’m not interested. But let’s hear it.”
Ren stiffened beside me as Christov stepped closer, his eyes vicious like a raptor as he stared at her.
“Thirty million, and all you have to do is put her in the pot, no money,” Christov said and nodded at Ren.
“Not a chance. There is no amount of money you could offer to get me to accept that deal.”
“What do you say, Lilya? Do you want to get to know your father?”
His voice ended with a growl that had Ren pressing closer to my side.
“No,” she said, still holding her ground.
“I could have you plucked from that fancy school of yours. There is still time for me to take you back to Russia, where you belong.”
It was a fucking good thing I didn’t have my gun.
“Enough!” Dimitri yelled as he stepped out of the washroom. “I warned you.”
Christov turned on Dimitri.
“This is still about poker. I offered to play for her. If it wasn’t for you, I would have gotten to know my daughter in the first place.”
Dimitri marched forward until the two of them were nose to nose.
“Maybe if you hadn’t put your wife in the hospital so many times, she wouldn’t have asked for help to escape your reach.”
“It wasn’t your place to interfere,” Christov snarled.
“Yulianna was my family. I would do it a million times over to keep her away from you. And I’ll make sure you never get your hands on Ren, either. Guards!” Men poured into the room. “Make sure that Mr. Ivankov leaves the country and spread the word. From this day forward, he is a kill-on-sight target.”
“You piece of shit. I’ll fucking kill you for what you did,” Christov yelled as the guards grabbed him. Then he turned to Ren. “You’re mine, and I will take you home where you belong. Whether you want to go or not.”
Pulling Ren behind me, I lunged at Christov, and my fist connected with his jaw, rocking his head to the side. He was lucky that I didn’t get a good angle, or he would’ve lost teeth. I grabbed the front of his suit and glared into his eyes.
“Over my dead body. If you come near her ever again, you’ll wish you never met me.”
“Get this asshole out of here,” Dimitri ordered. We could hear Christov swearing as they dragged him into the elevator.
Ren stared at the door before her sad eyes found mine. She didn’t have to say it. I knew she was thinking about her mother and how close she’d come to being raised by that man.
Walking over, I pulled Ren into a hug.
“I’ll never let him near you. None of us will,” I whispered in her ear. “I promise you. He’s a dead man if he tries.”