by Jade Kuzma
I didn’t have any other choice though. With Hunter involved now, I had to hope that things worked out for everybody.
Chapter 11
HUNTER
Everybody I’d ever played against approached it differently.
Club members were always loud and obnoxious. They blew smoke and belched to try and intimidate you into making the wrong decision.
Triads were a little different. Make no mistake about it, they were always trying to intimidate you. But they weren’t loud. Some of them didn’t even talk. The Chinese guys I played against were always quiet because those fucking stares they gave you were enough to tell you that shit was serious. It didn’t hurt that they were carrying underneath their jackets and one wrong move could result in a bullet in your skull.
Mafioso were friendly. They talked about normal everyday shit like what they had for dinner or what broad they fucked last night. To them, they were having a good time. It was always a laugh when you were playing cards with the mafia. Of course, they wouldn’t be too happy about it either if they found out that you were cheating. ‘Cement shoes’ was just one of the ways they handled someone they didn’t want to deal with.
Then there were your typical gangbangers. I never bothered too much with street gangs because they weren’t interested in playing cards at all. They were just looking for an excuse to rob you. I did it once for the experience but there wasn’t much at stake. I just wanted to see what it was like.
I’d played enough cards to know how they fell. I’d stared across from men who had blood on their hands. Killers and thieves in the worst parts of the big city. It always came down to the cards.
Tonight wasn’t any different. If anything, Alvarez was an easier task than I’d seen before.
The motherfucker looked as sloppy as the last time I saw him. There was some dust on his mustache and around his nose like powdered sugar. His eyes were bloodshot, so you knew he was fucking with his own product. Even though it wasn’t hot, there were beads of sweat around his forehead.
Joining the lovely Alvarez were a couple of men in overpriced suits. Slicked-back hair. Tanned, wrinkly skin. Gold rings on their fingers and necklaces that were even more obnoxious. Yeah, these motherfuckers definitely had some money. Now it was just a matter of taking it from them.
“I’m glad you could join us tonight,” Alvarez said as he shuffled the cards. “It’s not often that a man gives me a chance to win my money back.”
“I’m not gonna lie to you,” I responded. “I can’t turn down an offer to make more money.”
“Spoken like a true businessman. Speaking of which, allow me to introduce a couple of my associates… John Nelson.”
The man to my right wore a black, pinstriped suit. Nelson gave me a half-smirk as he nodded. Money gave the most ridiculous-looking assholes confidence.
“…And this is Mr. Jason Cooper.”
Cooper looked just as silly as his counterpart. Of course, I kept that shit to myself because I wanted his cash.
“Shall we begin?” Alvarez asked.
I looked up at Faye as she stood next to Alvarez. I wasn’t counting on her to give me any tips. Not that I needed any. This was a straight-up card game. I could beat any man in the world. The only difference between one man and the next was the money they had. But that didn’t matter when it came to playing the cards.
The VIP lounge at Eden Casino was crowded with rich pricks who had nothing better to do with their money. I had to thank Faye for getting me a spot with them.
Alvarez dealt the cards and the games began.
I was aggressive right out the gate. Most players liked to stay patient and try to get a read on their opponents. While they were trying to figure things out, I was taking their money.
It’d been a little under an hour and I’d gotten a fair amount of chips on my side of the table. Nelson and Cooper kept tossing money onto the table to get more chips. Alvarez did the same even though he seemed reluctant to keep playing. I couldn’t blame the motherfucker. I’d gotten so much money from all three of them that I was starting to lose track of all of it.
I was in the middle of a hand with all three of them. I looked down at my cards.
King of diamonds.
Five of diamonds.
Six of diamonds.
Seven of diamonds.
And my hole card…
Queen of clubs.
Nothing. I had absolutely nothing. None of them knew that though. I looked around the table.
Nelson had a pair of sevens. It didn’t matter what he was hiding.
The same for Cooper, who was showing an inside straight draw. The chances of him having the card he needed were slim and none.
Then there was Alvarez himself. He was showing four spades. If his fifth card was a spade, he’d for sure have me beat.
“I raise,” Alvarez said. “Let’s make it an even thousand.”
He lazily splashed his chips into the center of the table.
“I call,” Nelson said as he pushed his chips into the center.
“Call,” Cooper added with his own chips.
Everybody turned toward me.
“Well, Mr. Jacobson,” Alvarez said. “It’s on you.”
He sniffed some of the powder on his nose and blinked. The fat bastard was sweating a little more than usual, so I knew he had it.
Nelson has nothing. Cooper has nothing. Alvarez…
He had it. That shit was obvious. He wanted me to call him. That smirk on his lips wasn’t a bluff. Guys like him didn’t know how to bluff.
If I called him now, I would’ve lost. But if I finished my hand, I would’ve had him beat. I had the card I needed. The problem was, it wasn’t on the table at the moment.
I glanced at Faye. She seemed a little more nervous than usual. I could tell how tense she was even from across the table.
What’s wrong?
I considered what she was thinking for a moment before forgetting about it.
“Jacobson—”
“Hold on, hold on,” I said with a laugh. “You’ve all got me in a tough spot.”
With all of the bets from all of the previous rounds, there was more than 10 grand in chips sitting there. All I had to do was win this hand and I could walk away.
I needed a distraction.
“Alvarez,” I said. “You’re a good player.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Jacobson. The chips are already in the center of the table.”
“I know. It’s just…”
Alvarez was staring right at me. I deftly took my hole card and switched it with the ace I needed.
“…I was thinking maybe you should test your skills in a tournament.”
“A tournament?” he said. “Why would I waste my time doing that? There’s not much money to be made.”
“That’s true. But it’s not always about making money. Sometimes it’s just about seeing how good you are.”
“Interesting. I never thought about it that way. But then again, if I can beat a player like you, what chance does anybody else have?”
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“Quit stalling,” Nelson muttered. “Are you in or are you out?”
The impatient motherfucker glared at me. I laughed and shook my head at him, already knowing what was coming.
“All right,” I said with a nod. “I can’t rush into these decisions—”
“You’re wasting everybody’s time.”
“Okay, okay, okay.”
I grabbed my chips and pushed all of them into the center of the table.
“I raise,” I said. “All in.”
Alvarez kept his eyes locked on me. Even though he knew I had him, he was still smiling.
“I call,” he said.
Nelson and Cooper gave up, tossing their cards into the center of the table. Now it was just down to two.
“Flush,” I said. “Ace high.”
I flipped the ace I’d pocketed earlier to the disappointment
of Nelson and Cooper. Alvarez’s smile grew even wider.
“Well done,” he said.
He flipped his hole card to reveal that he had nothing at all. I didn’t even need to cheat.
“Well,” I said. “It looks like I’ve won the biggest pot of the night.”
Nelson and Cooper kept eyeballing me. I gave them a smug smile to try and make them relax. But who the fuck was I kidding? Taking down assholes like these guys was so satisfying that I could’ve grinned all the way to the fucking bank if I wanted to.
“You’re good players,” I said. “It’s tough to get a read on you.”
I reached out to grab the chips and started shoveling them to my side of the table.
“I think it’s time for me to leave—”
Alvarez suddenly reached forward and snatched my arm.
Shit.
His eyes narrowed, he slowly got up from his seat with my arm still in his grip. The fat motherfucker was a lot stronger than he looked.
“You’re a good player,” he said. “A little too good.”
“Thanks,” I said as I pulled my arm away.
“You know…”
He tugged on his collar.
“…It’s a little warm in this room. I find it strange that you managed to wear that leather jacket of yours this entire time. Leather can be very sweltering.”
“It’s not that hot to me,” I said. “I guess I’m just used to it—”
“Take off your jacket, Jacobson.”
“I’d rather not—”
“Take off your jacket or I’ll take it off for you.”
Goddammit.
I looked around and saw a swarm of security guards suddenly standing around me. Faye stayed silent as she stood there. Not that she could do anything about this.
“All right, all right,” I said as I put my hands up.
Everybody was watching me as I took my jacket off. There was no point in trying to hide it now.
They kept their eyes locked on me. As my sleeves came off, the holdout I’d been carrying was slowly revealed.
“What a shame,” Alvarez said. “You would’ve beat me without it.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Funny how shit works out. But I did beat you—”
One security guard snatched my holdout and ripped it off my arm. Another guard grabbed me and held me in place. I didn’t bother trying to resist. Not in the middle of a VIP lounge where everybody was against me.
“Hey, careful with that thing. It’s very…”
The guard snapped it in two like a child’s toy.
“…delicate.”
I sighed in resignation.
Nelson was pissed and fuming in his seat. Cooper was doing the same. But Alvarez… The bastard just kept smiling at me.
“What a shame,” Alvarez said. “To think that you tried to cheat me. It must be so disappointing for you… Faye.”
He turned toward her.
What?
I looked at her but she remained silent. She couldn’t look me in the eye.
“I know it was a difficult choice for you to make,” he said. “But I can trust you that exposing the truth about him was the right thing to do. You’ll be rewarded quite handsomely. I wish I could say the same for you, Mr. Jacobson.”
I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t want to believe what he was suggesting. But she didn’t say anything. She couldn’t even fucking look me in the eye.
“Escort Mr. Jacobson off the premises,” Alvarez said.
The security guards tugged on my arms but I struggled back and stood in my place. Alvarez walked around the table and leaned in close to me. I clenched my jaw as I stared back at him.
“Consider this a warning,” he said. “Don’t ever try to pull that shit on me again.”
Security pulled me away before I could respond. There was no point in trying to make a scene. Every asshole in the building was eyeballing me as they brought me out. They tossed my jacket on the ground in front of me along with my broken holdout device.
“Thanks, asshole,” I shouted at them.
I’d never been so distracted.
Faye…
I went over it in my head but it didn’t make any sense. She would never pull some shit like that on me. Not after all these years.
“Now what the fuck am I gonna do?”
I muttered to myself and walked back to my ride. As soon as I got on, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It was a text from Faye.
“We need to talk.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed to myself. “No shit.”
Chapter 12
FAYE
Six years earlier…
It was a busy time in my life. Schoolwork usually made up the bulk of things I had to do. Then there were the extracurriculars like student council. On top of that, I had to deal with applications to all of the universities I wanted to attend. I thought that being a senior in high school meant that I would have a little more freedom. If anything, I was just bogged down with all of the responsibilities that came from impending adulthood.
Somehow, I managed to squeeze in a bit of my social life. My boyfriend was understanding since he was going through a lot of the same things I was. Outside of him, the only other man in my life was Hunter. He’d been a friend for a long time now.
Hunter wasn’t as serious about going to school after we graduated. Despite all my pestering, none of it seemed to have an effect on him. That was just who he was.
It was late in the night when I received a text message from him telling me that he was leaving. I thought I’d misread it but when I asked him to explain, he never gave me a response.
Something was wrong.
It was raining hard that night. I drove through the empty streets and got to Hunter’s house as soon as I could. Just when I arrived, I found him on his bike pulling out of his driveway.
I pulled up to the curb and ran out to him as fast as I could.
“Hunter!” I shouted.
He stopped just in time and stared at me. I already knew something was wrong. The look in his eyes only confirmed it. His face and hair wet from the rain, Hunter looked more miserable than I’d ever seen him.
“Hunter, what’s wrong? You didn’t respond.”
He looked away from me and sighed.
“I’m leaving,” he said.
“What do you mean you’re leaving? What does that mean?”
“It means exactly what I said. I’m leaving.”
“Leaving… You can’t leave now. We’re about to graduate at the end of the semester—”
“You’re about to graduate at the end of the semester. School… School ain’t for me.”
Hunter had stopped coming to class a couple of weeks ago. I figured he’d just lost interest for a little bit and he would come back. I kept waiting for him to tell me it was all a joke.
The joke never came though.
“Don’t do this, Hunter. Your parents—”
“My foster parents don’t give a shit about me,” he scoffed. “They never did.”
“You can’t just leave!”
“Yes, I can. I’m 18 now. I’m my own man. The only one who’s responsible for me is me.”
“You’re serious… You’re really leaving…”
I was desperate. Grasping for hope but it kept slipping out of my hands.
“W-where are you going to go?” I asked. “You can’t make it on your own.”
“I’m heading to the city. I can make ends meet there. I’ll find something.”
“That’s crazy—”
“Faye… I can take care of myself. I can do this.”
Hunter seemed adamant. He didn’t move from off of his bike. The rain fell on his leather jacket and dripped down the rest of him.
I stared at him, pleading with myself to find another way to convince him he was making a mistake.
He never liked his foster parents. He never liked school. He never had dreams about going to a university like me.
“What about m
e?” I said.
His face was tense as he stared at me. It felt like I could still get through to him. I had a chance.
I took a step toward him.
“What about me?” I repeated. “I’m your friend. Are you just going to leave me, Hunter?”
He looked away from me and shook his head.
“Faye, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. You’re smart. You put up with all of my dumb jokes. Everybody wants to be your friend. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”
“Then why are you leaving me?”
“I’m holding you back. You shouldn’t be friends with someone like me.”
“Hunter—”
“Don’t try to convince me otherwise. I’m just a fuck-up, okay? Being around me, all I’ll do is bring you down. You’re destined for something amazing. If you’re gonna be the person you were meant to be, you’re not gonna do it with someone like me around.”
I closed my eyes. All of my emotions were swirling around in my stomach to the point that I thought I would lose everything right then and there. I swallowed to keep it all down, wishing that I wasn’t hearing everything he was saying.
“How long have we been friends, Hunter?”
I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me. His eyes were red. Even through the rain, I could still see all of the emotion on his face.
“I remember when I first met you,” he said. “Do you know what I thought? I thought you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in my life.”
I blinked my eyes in confusion. My heart skipped a beat for a second.
“I talked to you and wanted to get to know you better. I found out that you were more amazing than I could’ve ever imagined. You’re fucking incredible. I…”
He hesitated for a second. I frowned, already knowing what he was going to say.
“…I love you, Faye.”
My mouth hung half-open as I struggled to find the words.
“I’ve always loved you.”
He shook his head and looked away, his demeanor more emotional than I’d ever seen it.
“Hunter—”
“It would never work. Bradley is the right kind of man for you.”
