Call My Bluff

by Elizabeth Knox

  His tone suggested they were no longer talking about the glass wall supporting them. Her silence made him grind into her hard, slapping her hips into the glass over and over bringing her higher. She dug her fingers into his tangled strands and pulled. Hard.

  He arched his neck into her grip and released a howling growl. A cross between a trapped animal and an erotic deliverance.

  “Answer me,” he panted out.

  “Can’t form words.”

  He drove deeper, angling his hips, tightening his grip with both hands cupping her thighs as her ass slapped against the glass.

  “C’mon baby.”

  “Yes, yes. I trust you.”

  But was it enough to sustain them? Would it get them through the first scam either one of them ever pulled that was personal and had a direct effect on their life. She’d said the words he wanted but they both knew it wasn’t enough.

  He groaned into her neck. Almost a painful sound. The desperation radiated off his body. His driving force relentlessly pushed her to the next level where logic and reasoning didn’t exist. She dug her nails into his shoulders leaving her mark, wanting him to feel her passion.

  He drove into her one last time and her body broke apart releasing her from within, and making her hope whatever came next they would meet it together.

  He panted against her neck and it warmed her skin, and when he pulled away a chill surrounded her. He released her thighs and her feet found the floor. She leaned against the glass for support marveling at the structure withstanding Joker’s punishment.

  He stared at her and she waited, but he stayed silent, examining her with his dark soulful eyes.

  Her phone buzzed on the coffee table and she reluctantly stepped away from him, reaching for it. She hated the electronic device for pulling her away. When she saw the caller ID her inner calm imploded. She answered, responded in one-word answers, then hung up.

  Joker righted his jeans but left them undone. Another shade of sexy with them hanging on his hips, abs exposed and that trail of hair accentuating his sexy as hell V. Clothed, half-dressed, naked, it didn’t matter, this man lit her up in a way she’d never experienced.

  His full lips were in a definite pout. “Who was that?”

  “Vinnie. He wants me in the penthouse by ten tonight so we can go over everything before the game starts at eleven.”

  “And do these guys know what Vinnie does for a living?”

  “Not exactly. They think he’s a sort of promoter, an organizer.”

  “Why are all these high-rollers and whales willing to take that chance when they can play at any table downstairs?”

  “No limits at the table, no worrying about the IRS if you win big. Plus, it’s a private, exclusive, invitation only no limit game, with the chance of hitting it big and outsmarting Vinnie Black. When you have that kind of money it doesn’t matter. Bragging rights are more important than winning.”

  “Hmmm. And you’re the lady who makes all this magic happen.” His voice laced sarcasm and sadness together.

  She bent to retrieve her clothes. “You ever think about what we’ll do after this.”

  “After what?”

  “After we’ve done this scam with Digger.”

  Long pause. Just a few heartbeats, but long enough to show he was as baffled and confused as her. “We can do whatever we want.”

  “Right, but what will that be?” She held her clothes in front of her as a barrier against his indecision.

  He opened his mouth, then mashed his lips together. “You better get ready.”

  Wow, it was worse than she imagined. He couldn’t even express himself.

  “That’s the best you can do?” A shiver snaked up her spine. A weaker person would’ve crumbled right there on the plush ecru carpeting. She did admire him for not spewing bullshit at her or telling her what she wanted to hear. Pretty lies were a cushion for the inevitable fall, but it hurt just the same.

  “I don’t know what you want me to say.” Joker fumbled with the zipper and button of his jeans.

  Daisy squared her shoulders. “I told you my story when we were in Miami, but there was one little part I left out. At fifteen, I left that crappy trailer in West Virginia. I stole, got caught, got better and didn’t get caught anymore. Pickpocketing led to scams, which led to elaborate cons, but all the while I had a plan. At first, to eat regular, then to get money. I foolishly thought money was the answer, but we both know how that worked out. And then I met you, and I thought this is where I belong, this is where I should be, until now.

  He nabbed his T-shirt off the floor, shoved his arms in the sleeves, and flung it over his head.

  “I’m not doin’ this.” He stormed past her heading for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Out. I can’t breathe.”

  No bullshit, his lungs constricted with the pressure of a Harley doin’ a wheelie over his chest.

  He couldn’t think of their future until this job was done, but that wasn’t all of it. He hated Daisy dealing again. Hated her putting on her designer clothes and playing the role, falling back into the con. Sure, she was doing it for him, but was the price too high. They’d come out here for one reason, but now it was all tangled up and complicated.

  He didn’t want her selling herself out for him. It left him terrified that something was bound to go wrong.

  He dug his phone out of his pocket and texted Cobra.

  Joker: Where you at?

  Joker boarded the elevator. The people getting on and off on the different floors seemed overly happy or overly depressed. He guessed the casinos brought on a lot of mood swings. The doors whooshed open and Joker exited just as his phone binged.

  Cobra: Still at the Gold Mine.

  Joker: On my way.

  He’d hang with Cobra, do a few shots and beers and try to get his head straight. Like forgetting what Daisy was doing for the next few hours.

  Daisy stared at the door after Joker slammed his way out of it. She’d merely asked about their future. A future he’d said he wanted with her, and now he acted all shady and evasive.

  After he stormed out, she’d called Sheena and told her and Seth to be on the lookout for him. She didn’t like the thought of him wandering around the Vegas streets angry.

  “Hey, wait up.”

  Joker turned and Seth and Sheena were closing in fast.

  “Where’re you going?” Sheena asked.

  “Out,” he barked out the one word hoping to make a point.

  “Great, we’ll join you.” Seth clapped him on the shoulder as they fell into step with him, flanking him on each side.

  “Daisy text you?” Joker asked.

  “No,” Sheena said much too quickly.

  “Tell you to keep an eye on me?”

  “Again, no.” She dazzled him with a smile that probably sold a million cons.

  Four blocks later, after a brief stop to admire the Dancing Waters in front of the Bellagio, they stepped inside the Gold Mine. The crowd doubled since earlier, music louder, lights lower, people rowdier. A typical biker bar on a Friday night, and Joker felt at home.

  He found Cobra at the same table. They approached and Cobra kicked a chair out for Joker while eyeing Seth and Sheena.

  “They’re cool,” Joker said.

  Seth pulled over chairs for him and Sheena and they all sat.

  Cobra waved the waitress over and they placed their orders.

  “What brings you back here?” Cobra’s gaze intent on Joker.

  “Just looking to chill.”

  Seth and Sheena exchanged looks, then said, “We’re gonna go check out the slots.”

  “Your New York club is falling apart, and you’re two thousand miles from home.”

  He remembered Cobra as a no-nonsense type of guy and appreciated his directness, but even Joker didn’t know what he wanted.

  “Gotta lot of shit goin’ on for sure,” Joker admitted.

  “Funny thing. My VP just had his
fifth kid, and his old lady isn’t up with him going out late, staying out late or not coming home at all. And since the mother of his kids is hot as fuck even after pushing out five babies, my money’s on him cutting us loose. Thing is, I need a full time VP.”

  Joker weighed his words but didn’t chomp on the bait.

  “Back in New York I had a custom bike shop. Did rebuilds, repairs, any kinda shit to make the bike hum. Always wanted to expand, but Digger wanted to keep it for washing money. Wouldn’t let me promote it.”

  Cobra lit up a smoke and offered one to Joker, but he waved it away. “That’s what made Digger stupid. He wanted to be gangster all the time. The Serpents have plenty of legit businesses.” Cobra motioned around the bar. “We got another one of these down in Henderson, and a strip club up in North Las Vegas. Of course, our main moneymaker is our private games funded by our agriculture business.”

  Joker smiled at Cobra’s choice of words. His crew had trailers all over the desert cultivating weed of all varieties. And even though it was legal in Nevada, growing it without government input meant you could sell as much as you wanted when you wanted, where you wanted, and not be taxed.

  “Look, I gotta tell you, don’t much care how it gets done, ‘cause Digger is a liability we can’t afford,” Cobra said.

  The future stood still until all this played out. Probably why Daisy’s questions unraveled Joker in the hotel.

  “But you don’t understand why I’m not doin’ it,” Joker said.

  “I get it. Never been into relationship shit, but if you got yourself a good woman . . .” Cobra dragged deep then smiled around the smoke. “Looking forward to putting Digger in the ground.”

  Joker scrubbed his hand over his face. “Much easier when I felt the same way.” He locked eyes with Cobra. “Not easy to let go of the biker ways when you’ve been living them since birth.”

  Cobra barked out a laugh. “Didn’t grow up in a club, didn’t dream about getting patched, never even rode a bike until I was in my twenties.”

  Joker cocked his head.

  “I won’t bore you with the bullshit of my life, but let’s just say living in a shit-box of a trailer in the middle of the desert made anything look good.”

  “Fuck, a trailer in this heat?”

  “Like getting cooked in an oven at 400 degrees.” Cobra ashed his cigarette. “Left one day and never looked back. The club became my life, and I’m down with whatever makes it work, so you don’t have to sell me anything to get this done.”

  “I guess I sound like a pussy.” Joker huffed out a breath not knowing what he wanted or how he wanted it.

  “Nah, you sound like a guy who’s trying to do the right thing.” Cobra shrugged. “Not always the safest bet, but don’t let it get twisted. You change your mind I’ll step aside.”

  Joker fantasized how sweet it would be to take Digger out.

  Cobra nudged him, then pointed his cigarette at Sheena standing by the bar. “She taken?”

  “I don’t know.” Joker nodded at Seth sitting at a nearby slot machine. “Can’t figure those two out.”

  Chapter Seven

  Daisy hated to admit it, but she was excited. Of all the cons and scams she’d pulled over the years, she loved working as a card mechanic. It took brains, concentration and skill. She’d trained with one of the best right here in Vegas years ago. A retired magician who showed her all the ins and outs of dealing from the middle of the deck, the bottom of the deck and everywhere in between.

  But it was much more than working the cards, it was a show, a performance. Her mind did the work, while her perfectly manicured fingers stole the show. No flashy, bright colors, just a nude shade on her squared off nails.

  Daisy’s reflection shone against the glass windows overlooking the multi-colored carnival of lights lining the Strip. She wished Joker had returned before she left, but Sheena and Seth would lookout for him.

  She inserted the key card for the penthouse floor, then rode the elevator until the doors whooshed open into the foyer of the huge space. She examined her surroundings, something she did before a job. The situation of other rooms, and doors. The deep murmuring of male voices in the main salon.

  She smoothed down her lavender, sleeveless sheath. The rayon material hugged her curves but not too snug giving her a classic 50’s look made popular by Audrey Hepburn. She squared her shoulders and prepared herself for the night’s entertainment.

  Her phone buzzing in her purse broke the mood. Once she was in the other room, all cell phones were collected. A precaution against alleged cheating. Big joke on them, with the many ways she could manipulate the cards.

  She swiped her phone and a message from Sheena popped up.

  Sheena: Good luck tonight. Seth and I are on the way back.

  Daisy: What about Joker?

  “Ah Daisy, there you are.” Vinnie closed the space between them glancing at his Rolex. “Always so punctual.” He placed his hand at the small of her back and led her into the main living area. Then plucked away her phone. “You know the rules.” And placed it in a basket with all the others.

  Her gaze followed the phone longing to send one more text as the obvious questions boomeranged around her brain. Where was Joker? Why wasn’t he with Seth and Sheena? What was he doing?

  Seven pairs of male eyes turned to greet her, as Choi wrestled his large body out of the chair and approached her. “It’s very good to see you again.” He held her at arm’s length. “I’ve missed you.”

  “The pleasure is mine.” Daisy smiled demurely knowing what Choi expected.

  “Beautiful as always.” The extravagant Asian billionaire considered himself a ladies’ man.

  “Shall we start, gentlemen?” Vinnie asked from behind her.

  Daisy claimed the only chair left and began. As she shuffled the cards, she gave each man a few seconds of eye contact. She did this to make sure by the second or third game they’d concentrate on her face, not her hands.

  After the first round, her fingers flew over the cards, and every gesture, every word fell into place. The room filled with the light chatter that went with losing or winning thousands of dollars a hand. These weren’t men you recognized in a restaurant, and you’d never find their picture on TMZ. They were the ones quietly collecting their millions while retaining the pleasure of anonymity.

  Time stood still or sped ahead, but she didn’t know because the zone of her performance enveloped her in a tight cocoon.

  Sheena and Seth wanted to check out some other casinos on the Strip, but Joker stayed at the Gold Mine with Cobra. He felt at home in the biker bar and even managed to remember some good times from his biker days before his father fell deep into dope, and before Digger took over as president and turned everything to shit.

  “Give some thought to what I said before?” Cobra asked.

  Joker didn’t have to think about going back into the club life with all the secrets and violence. Funny thing, biker life was set up to set a man free, and yet most times there were more damn rules and backstabbing from people you were supposed to trust.

  “That life is over for me,” Joker said.

  He’d swore off the biker life in New York for the sake of his son, and he sure wasn’t about to get ass deep in it again.

  “That’s why you’ve been here twice today.”

  “The life gets in your blood.” Joker stared at his now warm beer. “But it don’t mean I want the blood back in my life.”

  “I think it’s more about losing control.” Cobra pinned him with his icy blue eyes knowing he’d hit a nerve. “You’re used to being the boss and now you’re not.”

  Joker grabbed for the bottle, not wanting the warm beer, but aching to distract himself from the reality of Cobra’s words.

  Cobra let the unanswered statement hang between them for a few seconds.

  “One way to fix it.”

  Joker gripped the bottle tighter but didn’t bring it to his lips. Cobra sucked in a long breath, his expr
ession steady like a man who’d just spit out a sage truth.

  Joker pulled out a wad of money and extracted a twenty.

  Cobra waved away his money. “The beer’s on me. Go take care of your business.”

  Joker sucked in the dry night air, a drastic change from the overly chilled air of the Gold Mine. One thing about Vegas they didn’t skimp on the AC.

  His heavy boots ate up the pavement, as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, scanned his contacts and hit Seth’s number.

  “What’s up,” Seth said.

  “Get me into that poker game Daisy’s dealing.” Telling worked better than asking.

  “Why?” Seth’s voice wary.

  “Just do it,” Joker barked. Aggression another valuable tool.

  “It’s a closed game, invite only, plus the access is a private elevator.”

  “Right, easy for guys like you and Tobias with all those important contacts in Sin City.”

  Seth’s frustrated breath hissed through the phone.

  “Unless you guys were just fronting and bullshitting me this afternoon?”

  Silence, more deep breathing and then. “I’ll get a hold of Tobias and see what—”

  “I just left the Gold Mine. I’ll be by the elevator banks of the Capri in twenty minutes.”

  “Twenty minutes? Fuck, I gotta—”

  “You got a lot to get together in twenty minutes, so I suggest you get off the phone and stop screwin’ around.”

  Joker disconnected the call and smiled. Cobra was right, it felt damn, fuckin’ good to be in control.

  Daisy forgot how much she missed this, how hard it would be to give it all up. The thrill, the rush and all the nuances in between made her a cut above the rest, a pro.

  Vinnie appeared at the side of the table after the last hand and suggested a break in the action. A customary move to let everyone refresh and reset themselves. A gourmet buffet occupied the dining area along with a full bar, but very few of these men indulged. Alcohol and decision making were rarely compatible.