“After what you did to me, I can handle anything.” A weak smile formed on her lips.
“I hope you’re right.” I let my hand fall to the bed.
Cole may be the only thing that keeps me from falling headfirst into something she isn’t ready for—something impossible. Sharing her will sever the emotional rope that’s trying to tie us both in a knot.
Chapter Ten
Cole
Earlier that day
“Fuck, it’s been a long time since I woke up with a hangover.” I sighed as I stared at the cards on the table. “You boys might be taking advantage of me today.”
“Is that your latest trick?” The man in front of me with slicked back blond hair and a Southern twang in his voice chuckled. “You think we’re going to believe you’re too hungover to play cards?”
“I wish.” I sighed and lit up a cigarette. “Okay, I call.”
I lied to Ryker when I told him that I wasn’t leaving to play poker. He would have tried to stop me if he knew where I was headed. I just didn’t have a choice. I needed to quickly double the money in my pocket so I could afford to get by and pay some of my debt. The best place to do that was at the weekly game hosted by the Vegas Scourge MC. It was a rough crowd, and sometimes it broke out into a fistfight if the wrong guy lost too much money, but I had to risk it.
I didn’t need to clean them out, I just needed to score a few pots and call it a day. I hoped that wouldn’t create too much havoc. I had lost enough money at their table in over the years that they owed me a few good hands. My plan was to play it smart, gamble on hands that were relatively safe, and lose a little once I had more money than I needed on my side of the table. If I left after a few disastrous losses, they wouldn’t care that I was leaving with more money than I walked in with.
“Interesting.” Grit, the leader of the Vegas Scourge MC folded his hand and tossed his cards. “I guess you’re having a lucky day, Cole. I fold.”
“It always turns around eventually.” I reached out and gathered the money in front of me. “That’s why you let me keep coming back.”
“We let you keep coming back because we’re waiting on you to put on a jacket.” Grit smiled and nodded. “One day you’ll take us up on that offer.”
“I’m just a gambler.” I shook my head back and forth. “I respect you and your club, but that life isn’t for me.”
“You sure about that?” Grit
tilted his head as the cards were dealt again. “I hear you’re in over your head with Johnny Ciampa’s crew.”
“Word gets around, huh?” I lifted my cards and stared at what was surely going to be a losing hand unless the flop was in my favor. “I got it under control.”
“Maybe, but if we’re hearing about it, you might want to watch your back.” The blond man with the slicked back hair raised an eyebrow. “I hear Johnny won’t be running that operation much longer with Carlos in prison. The new boss might not be so understanding.”
“Oh?” I folded my hand and leaned back, taking a drag off my cigarette. “Why is that?”
“There’s a new guy in Vegas—a guy named Thaddeus.” Grit turned his attention towards the other man and called his bet. “He’s been picking up some of the slack since Carlos got locked up, and he’s not someone you want to fuck with.”
Thaddeus—fuck.
I knew that name and he definitely wasn’t someone I wanted to fuck with, much less owe money to. He didn’t do much business in Las Vegas while Carlos was in control of Sin City’s criminal underground, but with Carlos gone, there was a power vacuum. It had been a year since Carlos was arrested and things had been a bit chaotic as others scrambled to take over the things he used to control with an iron fist. Ryker and I had put our criminal past behind us long before that, so none of it really affected us. It seemed that I wasn’t going to be totally immune. One thing was clear—I had to pay Johnny Ciampa everything I owed him before he answered to Thaddeus. It would only be a matter of time. Johnny didn’t have much of a crew, and they paid Carlos for protection so they could run their small time loan shark business. If they didn’t have that shield, they wouldn’t be in business very long unless they were Thaddeus’ puppets.
“I’m all in.” Grit leaned back and smiled. “Better have a winning hand this time, Cole.”
And I don’t—fuck.
“Shit.” I nodded and took a drag off my cigarette. “Fine, I fold.”
“Luck ain’t on your side.” Grit chuckled as he scooped up my money.
“Not today it seems.” I shrugged and tossed my next ante into the middle of the table. “Maybe I’ll get lucky on the next hand.”
Grit was playing as smart as I was and my plan was draining money faster than I wanted. I drew a couple of good hands and managed to recover some of it, and then I got a good run going for a few hands after that. Just when it looked like things were turning around, the cards fucked me a few times, and I was down again. I spent several hours going back and forth until I got to where I needed to be with a little extra money I could lose and walk away. There was a part of me that wanted to push my luck, but I wasn’t at the right table for that. Grit and the other members of the Vegas Scourge MC were still smiling, even if I was taking their money, so that was a good sign. I bet big on a losing hand, folded a few times, and finally declined the next round when the dealer started to toss the cards.
“Okay, that’s it for me. I might be able to pay my rent if I leave now.” I looked around the table to judge their reaction.