Chapter 47
DOMINIC
The low hum of conversation, punctuated by the clinking of crystal glasses and the soft shuffle of cards, filled the air as I stepped into the backroom of the poker den.
The room was thick with shadows, lit only by the golden flicker of sconces mounted high on the velvet-covered walls.
Smoke curled lazily toward the ceiling, blending with the scent of aged whiskey, rich tobacco, and expensive cologne.
This was where the city’s elite gathered to lose fortunes, egos, and sometimes dignity.
I wasn’t here to drink or play. I was here for one reason, and that reason is Mason Rivera.
I’d tracked Ace King and his little group of friends long enough to know where they spent their Friday nights, and now that I was back—standing, breathing, and very much not dead, nothing was going to stop me from collecting what was owed. Alec walked a step behind me, his grin wide.
Athena stayed home with her parents tonight. She said she trusted me, but she wouldn’t if she knew what I had planned. She would have begged me to stay with her.
Velvet curtains parted as we entered the inner sanctum, and the room stilled.
Ten players sat around a long mahogany table, their faces dimly lit by a suspended chandelier dripping with antique gold.
Cigar smoke hung in the air like a warning.
Conversations died mid-sentence, and the unmistakable sound of shuffling cards halted.
Ace King sat at the head of the table. His tailored suit clung to him like a second skin, and his trademark smirk was already plastered across his arrogant face, until his eyes met mine.
To his right sat two blonde girls. One with long, honey waves and wide eyes that went slack the second she saw me. The other had a sharper look, chin high, a jaw that clenched. Mason Rivera’s sisters. I’d seen their faces enough in headlines to know who they were.
I locked eyes with Mason Rivera. He sat to Ace’s left, his sharp jaw tightened the second he looked up. The flicker of recognition was fast, but the panic came slower, dragging behind his eyes like a bad memory he hadn’t expected to see again.
I smiled. Alec pulled out a chair beside me, matching my smirk with his own devilish version. I sat without invitation. The other players—high-powered lawyers, washed-up politicians, and generational heirs glanced over, uninterested in drama.
“This is going to be fun,” Alec murmured.
“This is going to be fun,” Alec murmured.
I didn’t reply. My focus was entirely on Rivera.
I’d learned more about Mason than I ever wanted, not by choice.
The media was obsessed with him. His face was in every magazine, on every screen, next to Ace King’s, like they were some twisted version of royalty.
The dealer, an older man with silver hair and dead eyes, broke the silence.
“The game’s starting. Place your bets.”
This wasn’t just any poker table. It was the table. Exclusive. Ten seats, five-figure buy-ins, and no mercy. I didn’t hesitate as I pushed $20,000 into the pot. The sound of chips hitting felt echoed like a pistol shot in the quiet room. Alec tossed in his $10,000 with a casual flick of the wrist.
Ace leaned back, voice cold. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, Stone. Walking into my game uninvited?” He tossed his bet forward. “You looking for more trouble?”
I tilted my head, that smile still dancing on my lips. “Something like that.”
They had no idea what kind of storm was coming. But by the end of tonight, they’d wish they hadn’t underestimated the ghost that came back from the dead. And Mason Rivera? He’d remember this night for the rest of his fucking life.
The dealer, a stoic figure standing in the corner like he’d seen it all and stopped caring, began shuffling the deck again. But I wasn’t watching the cards. I was watching him.
His eyes refused to meet mine, but I could feel the heat of my gaze burning into him, dragging him closer to the edge with every silent second that passed.
“You ready to lose, Stone?” Ace King asked, his voice dripping with that familiar brand of condescension that made my knuckles itch. I didn’t even glance at the hand I’d been dealt. I picked up one card, flicked it onto the table face-up like it was nothing more than trash.
“With or without the money, I’m walking out of here a winner.”
He leaned forward, elbows on the table, his mask cracked.
“Enlighten me, Stone. Why’s that?”
I leaned back, leather creaking. “I’m not here for your game, King. I don’t give a shit about poker.” I tilted my chin toward Mason. “I’m here for him.”
The table fell silent. The kind of silence that holds breath, that screams louder than any voice.
Even the dealer paused mid-shuffle, his hands frozen over the deck.
Mason stiffened like I’d yanked a leash around his throat.
His eyes darted, desperate for a distraction, for some kind of lifeline, but no one at this table was going to throw him one. Not tonight.
“Do you know why I’m here, Rivera?” I asked, “Or did you really think you could bury that shit forever?”
He didn’t speak. His eyes flicked to Ace like a coward searching for cover. Like Ace could save him now. And of course, the King of Nothing had to open his mouth.
“Just because my father spared your pathetic life doesn’t mean you get to walk into my game and talk to my friend like this.”
I almost laughed. Almost.
“I don’t know what the fuck my sister sees in you,” Ace added, venom in every syllable, “but it’s the only reason you’re still breathing.”
I turned to him, smiled without warmth. “Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”
The dealer dealt the flop. Three cards landed face-up. No one looked, because this game was over before it even began. I let the moment settle, then spoke.
“Let’s make things interesting.”
And just like that, I reached beneath my jacket, pulled out my gun, and placed it on the table. The click of metal against wood was like thunder in that room.
Half the table scattered, chairs screeched, and cards flew. Money was abandoned like it meant nothing, and to them, in this moment, it did. Fear has a way of stripping men down to their truths. Within seconds, it was only us and them.
The two blonde sisters looked like they’d just stepped off a runway and into a nightmare. One clutched Ace’s arm like it could anchor her to safety. Her nails dug into his wrist, but he didn’t flinch. I leaned back in my chair, tapping a slow rhythm against the barrel of the gun..
“You did something stupid,” I said quietly. I grabbed the deck from the center of the table and threw it across the money pile. The cards scattered like sharp whispers in the silence. “Remember?”
Mason swallowed hard. He knew. Oh, he fucking knew.
“I was going to let it slide, I really was. But then you had to go and cross the fucking line.”
The long-haired blonde glanced nervously at Mason.
“What’s he talking about?” she asked.
“Why don’t you tell them, Rivera?” I said, the edge in my voice razor-sharp. “Or should I?”
He didn’t speak. Coward. I stood slowly, every pair of eyes following me like prey tracking the predator with my gun in hand.
“Do you or do you not have an inappropriate video of Athena King on your phone?”
The gasp that followed was immediate. The sisters’ hands flew to their mouths. The blood drained from their perfect faces like a tide pulling away from shore. Ace stiffened. His eyes snapped to Mason.
“What the fuck, man?”
“It’s not what it looks like—” Mason started, his voice cracking, and I laughed.
“Please. Humor me.”
“You’re talking like other people didn’t see what I saw,” Mason snapped into the silence. His voice was thin, almost shaky. “You don’t want us to go there, Stone.”
“Oh,” I murmured, stepping closer, “but I do.”
Every step I took was a warning. No one moved or breathed. Ace King watched with narrowed eyes, unreadable but not unaffected.
“You think I’m ashamed Athena chose me?” I hissed. “Think again, boy.”
Gasps rippled from across the table, but I didn’t look away from him.
“What she didn’t consent to,” I hissed, my voice dropping a level, “was being filmed by a little snake who thought keeping receipts meant power.”
His mouth twitched.
“I have one rule in my club,” I continued, inching forward until I stood just before him. “No cameras. No recordings, and you broke it. You filmed her.”
My voice cut through the heavy air like steel through silk.
“You think you can put your hands on what’s mine?” I whispered, fire crawling through every word. Mason tilted his head up to meet my gaze, trying to recover some edge, but it was gone. I’d taken it.
“She’s not yours,” he spat. “She’ll come to her senses soon enough. What kind of girl like her stays with a monster like you? Be realistic, Stone.”
I smiled, but there was nothing human in it.
It was the grin of a man who had nothing left to lose and everything to protect.
The cold steel of my gun pressed against the back of his skull before he even registered the movement.
Mason froze, Ace jolted from his seat, but before he could make a move, Alec stepped forward with a lazy grin and pointed his weapon square at Ace’s chest.
“Sit down, boy,” Alec said smoothly to Ace, never wavering. “This ain’t your fight.”
“Believe it or not, I’m not your enemy, Ace,” I said. “I’m not here to stand against you.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Yet here you are—with a gun to my friend’s head.”
“You should ask him how disrespectful he’s been toward your sister,” I hissed, replacing calm with ice. “And believe it or not, I care about her more than anything else.”
Ace didn’t move. Alec still had his gun trained on him, but Ace’s stare was on me. I shifted my attention back to Mason, who was breathing fast, eyes wild. I leaned in slowly, letting the cool barrel rest against the back of his skull.
‘‘ Here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll delete that video. You’ll stay the fuck away from her. You won’t even think about her. Understand? You’ll move on from your miserable, pathetic life and forget she ever existed.”
“And what if I don’t?” His voice cracked
Effortlessly, I flipped my gun in my hand. Metal clicked. Air stilled, and the room gasped.
“Want me to show you what happens if you don’t?”
Silence. The fucker barely blinked. What surprised me, though, was that Ace was able to knock the gun out of my hand, even though Alec had his weapon pointed at him. He didn’t seem threatened in any way, but he didn’t attempt to save his friend.
“On second thought…” I murmured, a smirk curving my lips. “Fuck it, whatever.”
I pulled the trigger. The girls screamed, and Ace’s fist clenched the table. Mason shrieked, the sound high and helpless. But mine? I laughed. Cold and thrilling.
“Relax, pretty boy. Wasn’t loaded.” I laughed.
“You’re crazy. Get away from my brother!” The girl with short hair screamed again.
“Back up, blondie,” Alec warned with a grin. “Be a real shame if your pretty face got hurt. Mine is loaded.”
“Psycho,” Mason spat, voice cracking.
“That’s what they say.” I grabbed his hair, slammed his face into the mahogany. Blood sprayed across cards and cash. The echo was sickening, but beautiful.
Ace shoved me back hard, and I let him. Then I raised empty hands in surrender. Mason was crying like a bitch, but Ace’s gaze stayed on me. I raised a hand, pointing at Mason and his bleeding, ugly face.
“That’s what happens when you lay a finger on what’s mine.”
Mason’s sisters shrieked. I slid my jacket back on, settled smoothly into my control. His hatred was vivid—thick and desperate. Divine.
“The only reason you’re still breathing is Athena, but if you dare do anything stupid again, next time, I won’t be so nice. I’ll slit your throat and sit your head on a stick for your family to see.”
Ace watched me with something, but it wasn’t fear. Interest.
“It was a pleasure, Ace. Keep the change.”
I glanced at the table, twenty thousand dollars abandoned among blood. I patted Alec on the shoulder. He winked at the sisters, and they cursed us both as we left the room.
The door closed behind me, and for the first time in a long time, I felt peace.
Losing twenty thousand dollars had never felt so fucking good.