3. Verona
3
VERONA
T hey were making him nervous. I could see it even if everyone else was only focused on his pretty face. He’d made some ridiculous vow of celibacy, and the hang-arounds couldn’t do anything except claw at him like hyenas on an injured lion.
That shit was fucked-up.
I didn’t like the territorial way Chelsea looked at him when he’d arrived, like she had a right to his body even if he resisted. When the other one upped the ante, a similar look of possession in her stare, I decided I wouldn’t let that happen.
I knew what it was to put your head down and suffer things your body resisted just to get through it. Hollywood loved this family too much to say anything, loved them enough to spend time with those handsy bitches so that Pollux would have an easier road ahead.
“Nine hundred,” Chelsea replied, and I rolled my eyes, knowing I could wipe the floor with these bitches.
It wasn’t like I sat on a small fortune, but I’d done well with my clients that afternoon, and one had tipped me three grand alone. I could take this much further than she could.
“Fifteen hundred,” I said, relishing the way she opened her mouth and twisted her ugly glare in my direction.
“Two grand,” she said, her high-pitched voice turning into a whine.
“Twenty-five hundred.” I crossed my arms and took a deep breath, waiting to see if she’d balk.
Hollywood opened his mouth and widened his eyes at me, somehow still managing to look pretty with a gaping jaw, and Selene laughed from her spot a few seats down.
“Twenty-five hundred, going once ...” Ru glanced over the crowd. When Chelsea crossed her arms and frowned, leaning back in her seat, I relished my victory. She didn’t have the cash to match me, and when I glanced back at Amber, her sullen features confirmed she didn’t, either. With no one else going for that amount of money, the audience sat in stunned silence while Ru brought it to a close. “Going twice ... Sold, to Verona Montgomery for twenty-five hundred dollars. Please see the treasurer to pay your balance.”
Hollywood walked off the stage, adjusting his jacket as he headed toward Coins in the far corner. The MC’s treasurer had volunteered to help with accounting tonight, and when I walked up, he grinned like I was the cat that stole the cream.
“You sure gave those girls a run for their money,” he said.
I whipped out my checkbook to write the information while Hollywood moved around the table to stand beside me. He’d been avoiding me for a while now, and when he’d nearly collided with Chelsea earlier trying to get away from me, I realized we had an issue. He’d looked like he’d seen a ghost and quickly turned away. Now, he stood stiff as a board and more quiet than I’d ever seen him.
“Yeah, well”—I ripped the check free and handed it to Coins—“like KC, I need renovations done and Hollywood’s big and sturdy.” I punched his shoulder like I’d done all my life, but instead of the friendly banter I’d become accustomed to, he only smiled and nodded. That confused me more.
What the hell is his problem?
“Just make sure you watch your back.” Coins nodded to Chelsea and Amber, who stood next to each other with twin looks of disdain. I waved and smiled wider, making a big show of wrapping my arm under Hollywood’s elbow to pull him in tight.
“I’m not worried about them. They’re just jealous.” I blew a fake kiss their way.
Clearly disgusted with me, they both crossed their arms and walked toward the other hang-arounds at the far edge of the platform.
“Besides,” I continued, “Pollux needs the help, so it’ll go to a good cause.” It was the least I could do, and if my brother needed more, I’d gladly give it.
While we waited for Ru to bring everything to an end, I stared up at my “prize.” He swallowed, and I memorized the flat expanse of skin on his neck as it disappeared under his jacket. Hollywood smelled amazing, all man and sandalwood and pine, and he looked even better than usual in his fancy jacket.
“You clean up nice, Hollywood,” I said, “for a street tramp.”
He curled the sides of his mouth into a devilish smile, glancing down to meet my gaze. “Thanks.”
It had been weeks since we’d been this close to each other, longer since we’d made eye contact. Now, as I held that melted mahogany stare, I noticed flecks of gold pooling in his irises, dotting the brilliant earthy landscape with glittering rarity. Like everything else about him, his eyes were mischievously gorgeous.
“You’re welcome.” I fought against the heat snaking up my neck and into my cheeks, telling myself it had nothing to do with that mesmerizing gaze being set on me. No, I’d just dropped a lot of money on a few hours of his time, and I didn’t want people ... namely him ... asking questions about that. How could I tell him I’d seen in Chelsea the same thing I’d once seen in Curtis, that same obsession and toxic desperation?
“Hey, little sis!” Castor called, breaking my trance. He was currently setting up the cards and chips on the table in the side room, away from the crowd. “You still in for Texas Hold’em? Or did you blow your load on the big guy?”
“Nope, I’m still in.” I ignored my brother’s innuendo and nodded, glancing back up at Hollywood. “You up for trying to help me make my money back?”
He barked out a chuckle and led the way.
After the auction ended, they put on music and cleared the floor for dancing, but I was more concerned with whipping a bunch of grown men into submission via poker.
“Oh shit, I didn’t think you were serious about inviting her,” Lore said, scratching at his eye patch. “I might as well bail out now.”
“One of these days, I’m going to beat you,” Wheels said with a wink.
“Oh, yeah?” I sat down at the far corner and put a cigarette between my lips, taking a moment to light it before blowing the smoke away from them. “You think today will be that day?”
“She’s good,” Castor said. “But she’s not as good as me.”
“That’s right, I’m better,” I teased. I’d been playing with Castor and Hollywood since we were kids, so I knew their tells, but Lore and Wheels would take some work to figure out.
Castor explained the buy-ins and blinds, and after the first round, I had a better idea for the two newer brothers. Lore only had one working eye, but he blinked when he didn’t have anything good. Wheels shifted in his seat when he got a pair of queens on the river, giving him a three of a kind. That told me what I needed to know about how to read him. Castor’s tell had been the same since we were little. As soon as he saw his cards, he rubbed his nose if he had a good hand. If he didn’t, he licked his lips. Hollywood, on the other hand, had trained his physical body well enough not to give anything away, but he turned into a chatty Cathy if he was trying to distract his opponent. When he got to talking, I paid attention to his bluffs.
This went on for a few hours while we laughed and joked with each other, but eventually, I started to clean up. The more I drank, the better I got at outsmarting the others ... or perhaps the more they drank, the worse they got at hiding their hands.
“Jesus, V,” Castor said when I’d won the last several rounds. “Can you knock it off?”
“Who taught her how to play like that?” Lore said.
“I did,” both Castor and Hollywood said at the same time, making me burst into laughter.
“You’re both idiots,” I said. “It was Bear, of course.”
“Ahh.” Wheels smiled, lighting up his entire face. “I should have known. That motherfucker can read anyone.”
He could. We’d both learned from our dad. When a man had his money on the line, an itch was never just an itch, and a shift of the hips could mean the difference between winning the pile and going home empty-handed. After I won another two rounds, Castor and Wheels had lost their money and gotten too drunk to keep going, so they went back into the main room to party. In this hand, I had the bigger pot, but Lore was ready to call it quits.
“I’m all in,” he said, spilling his few chips into the center.
“Fold,” Hollywood said.
“I’ll call. Show your cards, buddy.” I flipped mine over to reveal two pair.
He had nothing. He was bluffing.
“Jesus, Lore.” I laughed as I cleaned up his chips and piled them neatly in front of me. For a hundred-dollar buy-in, I was up nearly two hundred bucks. “You’re terrible at this game.”
“Nah.” He waved me away, slurring a bit as he stood. “I’ve got, uh ... some business ...” He cleared his throat and waved at the hang-around that had spent a hundred dollars to win him earlier. She stood by the door with a playful look, beckoning him to the back rooms. When he reached her, he wrapped his arm over her shoulder and let her lead him out of my sight.
Now, only Hollywood and I sat at the table while he lazily shuffled the cards and stared at me. I let him have his fill, relishing the way his eyes trailed down my neck, over my shoulders and chest, and back up again. His gaze brushed against my skin like a caress, like I’d suddenly been stripped naked in front of him.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I said, hoping to break the tension.
“Have I?” He raised his eyebrows, seeming surprised while he looked down at the cards. “I don’t think that’s true.” He pursed his lips and dealt the hand before placing the deck down in the middle of the table, discarding the first card before flipping the next three over. Based on that, I had three queens but hoped for the fourth in the next two turns.
“Any time I look in your direction, you shift away,” I continued. “If I try to talk, you flee like a bat out of hell.” I took in his stiff muscles and the way his feet were perched by the sides of his chair, like he might get up and run any second. “Did I do something to piss you off?”
He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat before grabbing two chips and tossing them in. I called his bet and he flipped the next card over, revealing a king of spades.
“You didn’t do anything,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve just got some personal shit going on.”
“Is it your mom?” She’d been locked up most of his life, but I knew they were close.
“No, she’s fine,” he said. “It’s nothing you need to be worried about.”
“Hmm.” I didn’t like that answer, but I let him have his privacy. If he wanted me to know or if there was anything I could do to help, he’d tell me. “Why did Wheels take over as my bodyguard? Was it the big thing you had to do for the club?”
Not that I cared— not at all— but it had been nice to have someone I knew as well as Hollywood by my side for those few months. I liked Wheels, but it was hard for me to trust people in general, and Hollywood was my brother’s best friend. Even if I couldn’t fully open myself up to him, I trusted my brother enough to trust Hollywood.
“So nosy tonight.” Hollywood grinned, dropping a few more chips into the pile. I called his bet before he flipped the next card over, showing the last queen. Holy shit, I had the hand of a century, but I didn’t let that show. I tried to keep my features as calm as I could.
“We have a lot to catch up on,” I said.
At that, he pushed his entire pile into the center, clearly pulling the same move that Lore had just done. “I’m all in.”
I stared at him, waiting to see if he’d start talking. When he just sat there, blinking at me with a calm, stony face, I made my decision.
“Me, too.” I toppled my chips over, making a big pile, and he tucked his bottom lip between his teeth as he revealed his hand. He had a royal flush.
Holy shit, he had the hand of a century, and he’d beaten me. He’d ... actually beaten me with a one-in-a-million deal.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
“I guess you don’t have anything better than that, huh?” He smiled, and I’d never wanted to wipe that grin off his face more. I seethed while he collected his chips and put them in a nice pile in front of him, reveling in his victory.
“Fuck off,” I said with a small laugh, rolling my eyes as I threw my cards at him. “I hate you.”
“Yeah, I know.” He flashed me a Hollywood grin and winked. “It turns me on.”
“Does it?” I ignored the rush of hot lust between my legs. This was one of our games, the schtick between us where I insulted him and he love-bombed me and on the world spun. At this point in the night, I’d had a lot to drink and I didn’t pick up on the nuance in the way his eyes raked over my body. I just barreled onward with the joke. “I could hate you so much more than I do.”
He snapped his gaze to mine, raised an eyebrow, and smirked. “Really? How much more?”
“Ohhh, that’ll cost you, Hudson.”
His eyes lit up at my use of his real last name, the one I’d used since high school. “What’s your price?”
The game had escalated quicker than I’d planned and after several tequila shots, I couldn’t think clearly. My attention caught on the cards. “How about another hand? If I win, you give me the pot. If you win, I’ll hate you any way you want.”
He stayed quiet as he clicked two chips together between his fingers and considered my proposal. “What are the limits?”
Wait ... is he taking this seriously? Am I?
I clung to my inhibitions by a thread, and if I’d been sober, I might have laughed in his face, stood, and walked away. But fuck it, right? Why not have a little fun? I put my elbows on the table and leaned in.
“We’re both wasted; we’re beyond consent. So you’re not allowed to touch me. I know about your celibacy thing, so I won’t touch you. Just about anything else is on the table.”
“Deal,” he said, barely letting me finish my sentence before speaking and grabbing the cards to shuffle through them again. My chest tightened, anticipation clenching in my gut. The boundary between us had only broken one time in twenty years, and he didn’t know that was me. He’d thought it was the side chick he’d been screwing that night, and I’d never had the ovaries to tell him differently.
Hollywood stared at me while he dealt the hand, and I started to feel hopeful when I received a king of hearts and a queen of spades. That optimism diminished, however, when he flipped over the next three cards.
I had nothing. Absolutely nothing.
“Uh-oh,” he said, “that doesn’t look like a happy face.” Hollywood stuck out his lower lip, pretending to pout.
I sneered and gestured at him to keep going.
When he flipped over the rest of the cards, I took a deep breath and sat back in my seat, relegating myself to the fact I’d agreed to do whatever he wanted based on the luck of the draw, and today was not my lucky day.
“Well?” He grinned, raising his eyebrows. “Moment of truth.”
Swallowing against a dry throat, I flipped my cards over to reveal my big fat nothing.
“Oh no, little Montgomery.” His voice had dropped an octave, turning into a sultry purr that had me struggling not to tremble, and he flipped his hand over to reveal his hand: a full house. He’d beaten me by a landslide.
“Wow,” I said, almost refusing to believe it. “Did you cheat, Hudson?”
“How dare you accuse me of fraud.” Pretending to be offended, he grabbed his smokes and leaned back in his seat to light one, staring at me with a different glimmer in his dark gaze. Now, he looked like a fan meeting his idol for the first time, stars in his eyes and a big greedy grin on his lips. “Now, I think you said something about hating me any way I wanted.”
I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat, refusing to break eye contact. If I looked away first, he’d seize on that weakness and strike. I knew how these alpha assholes wanted it, and I’d agreed so long as he didn’t touch me. Now, I prepared myself for whatever would come out of that deliciously wicked mouth next.