“Don’t lie to me again. I promise I’ll do a lot more than just hit you.”
I held my face, rubbing the sting away. I didn’t know what to do. There were three men in my apartment and only me to fight them all. It would be a losing battle. I didn’t want to call in reinforcements. Gus would be a goner for sure.
“If I move in with you, Gus will have to stay with me.” I’ll drag out this conversation. There must be a way out. If I keep Dagor talking I might find it. Caleb does it all the time at the poker table. Then again, Caleb is a remarkable bullshitter.
“He’s not staying at my house. He’s as good as dead if you bring him on my property.”
“Where is he now?”
“In a safe place.”
“Are you feeding him?”
“He doesn’t need any food. He could live off his fat for a month.”
My hand clenched into a tight fist. Before I could register what I was doing, my fist had blasted Dagor’s jaw with an upper cut. He staggered back. His two ogres restrained my arms and shoulders.
Dagor rubbed his jaw. “Fucking bitch.”
His hand curled into a fist and hurled towards me. My head snapped back and my eye burst in pain as his fist connected. I lunged at him but was held by the two men. I kicked at Dagor nailing him in the groin. He doubled over in pain. One hand signal from Dagor and the men dragged me out of my apartment. I kicked and screamed. They only tightened their grip. I tried to bite at their hands. One of them hit the back of my neck. I was momentarily dazed as they threw me in the trunk of their car, slamming the trunk closed. I kicked and pushed the trunk to release. Being that it was a tight fit, my range of motion was severely limited.
The car engine roared to life. This wasn’t good. Dagor was already tired of me. I had to escape from the trunk before my coffin became a desert drop off. I pounded, kicked, and screamed at the trunk.
My cell phone rang. I forgot I had my cell phone. I quickly answered.
“Nadia, are you okay? You sound freaked out.”
“Caleb, I’m freaking out because I’m locked in Dagor’s trunk. Hang up so I can call someone to help me.”
“What the hell’s going on?”
The car stopped.
“Shit, the car stopped. Caleb, if I wind up dead it was Dagor.” I quickly turned off my phone shoving it into my pocket.
Meaty hands yanked me out of the trunk. “Get in there.” They shoved me into a small warehouse.
It was dark. From the street light I could tell the warehouse was empty except for a few scattered boxes. One man held me while the other patted me down. He found my phone, dropped it to the floor, and smashed it with his size fourteen shoe. The other man released me with a shove. They slammed the door closed. Taking the light from the street with them, I was left alone in complete darkness.
“Do we need to stay?” One of Dagor’s oafs asked from beyond my prison door.
“She can’t escape. Let’s collect the trash bags for her. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Should we kill her first?”
“No. We’ll wait until she’s in the bag. Less mess.”
I heard the car doors slam and the sound of tires crunching against gravel as they drove away.
I reached out to search for the door with trembling hands. I couldn’t see in front of my face let alone a few feet. It took ten shuffling steps before I made it to the wall and found the door. I shook the door handle. It was undoubtedly locked. I had hoped one of the brain-cell-challenged oafs would have forgotten.
I wasn’t going to stay here and let them kill me. I stepped a few paces back and vaulted myself at the door. The metal door didn’t budge though my arm vibrated from impact. I held my arm, tearing from the pain. I had to escape.
A low growl came from behind me. I froze as I listened to the sound. The growl drew near. I backed into the wall. There was nowhere for me to go. I kicked my foot to deter the animal from coming closer. My foot connected with a chubby fur ball.
“Gus? Oh, God. Gus, are you okay?”
He grunted.
I knelt with stretched arms to find him. He plopped down into my reach.
“Gus, I’m so sorry. If we get out, I’ll give you hotdogs for a week.”
He groaned when I said hotdogs. He bit into my sweatpants and chewed as if they tasted just as yummy as his beloved hotdogs. As I pried my pants out of his mouth, he snapped at my hand. A noise outside the warehouse jarred my attention giving Gus the perfect opportunity to seize my pants again.
“Nadia, are you in there?”
“Greyson?”
“Stand back. Remy’s going to open the door.”
I scooted back, but I wasn’t certain where I was to begin with. I heard a loud thunk. Then another one. The third thunk flung the door open. A flashlight blinded me. I squinted as two shadows closed in. Greyson held my hand and led me outside.
“Don’t forget Gus.”
“Remy has him.”
“We need to buy him something to eat. Dagor was starving him.”
“We’ll pick something up on the way.”
I peered at the Cadillac. “Whose car is this?”
“Remy’s. He had to pick me up from the casino. He’ll drop us off at my house.”
“What about Gus?”
“He can stay with us.”
Greyson hopped in the front seat with Remy. Remy deposited Gus in the backseat with me. Gus zipped over and squeezed in tightly under my arm. A heart string tugged for him. He chewed on my pants the entire ride to Greyson’s. I didn’t have the heart to stop him.
Greyson carried Gus into the house and deposited him on the sofa with a package of convenience store hotdogs.
“I didn’t notice your eye in the dark. What happened?”
I reached up, wincing as I touched my black eye. “Dagor punched me after I kicked him in the nuts. How did you find me?”
“We were following you the whole time. We made sure Dagor left before we freed you. I’ll get some ice for your eye.”
I sank in next to Gus, petting him as he inhaled his food. He snorted with hotdog happiness.
Greyson dropped in next to me with a small baggie of ice. I relaxed into the cushions as he gently pressed the ice to my eye.
“What happened to you?” David asked from the doorway.
“Dagor hit her.”
“What did I miss?”
Greyson relayed the story to David while he continued to pamper my eye with ice.
“Where were you?” He asked David.
“When Dagor showed, I escaped out of Nadia’s apartment and raced over to Dagor’s house. I thought I might be able to find Gus. I found a bunch of nasty evidence against him. He had extortion rings set up and kept handy mementos of his deceased victims. I bagged it and placed a call to the police. I don’t think you’ll have to worry about Dagor for a while.”
I nestled into Greyson as David and he continued to talk. Not worrying about Dagor lifted a weight off my shoulders. The deep rhythmic voice coming through Greyson’s chest lulled me into a dreamy stupor. My eyes strained to remain open. They fluttered shut. Greyson moved his arm allowing me to cuddle even more. I strained to stay awake even though my eyes were heavy with sleep. They surrendered and closed.
“You need to let her go before you hurt her.”
“Since when did you become an expert? You hurt your wife when you left.”
“I had no choice. You do.”
“The choice belongs to her.”
“You could stop now before it gets too far.”
“I would never intentionally hurt her.”
“You’d never intentionally hurt anyone, but you do.”
“Why do you care so much about what happens between us?”
“Because I like Nadia.”
Greyson shifted. “What are you saying?”
“Nothing that you’re thinking.”
“I think we’re done.”
Greyson gathered me into his ar
ms. The weight of my arms and legs hung heavy as he carried me to the bedroom. I should have walked the distance to the bedroom but exhaustion took over . . . and it was nice not to have to walk.
He slipped me under the covers and then cuddled in around me. I instantly fell into a deep sleep.
I awoke happy. My skin didn’t hurt, Gus was alive, we found the stolen money, and Dagor would be behind bars soon. My eye hurt but it wouldn’t stop me.
I scooted out of bed realizing I was alone. I poked my way through the house and found Gus on the couch where we left him. He was curled next to his hotdog wrapper and was chewing on a paper scrap.
“I think you might need breakfast.”
I petted him and he grunted his morning hello. I threw the scrap of paper in the garbage and continued my journey through the house and then into the kitchen. The house was deserted.
Greyson must have gone to work. I was a little disappointed that he couldn’t wait for me, but he had been spending a lot of time out of the office. I’m sure he was swamped with work. A nagging question pressed upon me. Was this the end before it began?
I ran upstairs to take a quick shower. I found some of Greyson’s clothes to change into. I would head home to change into my clothes and then hit the tables. I’d stay away from Greyson’s casino. It would give us both some space . . . and I needed real money not counterfeit.
I found Gus in the same spot on the couch. I tried to pick him up but his butt drooped back to the couch.
I ran to the kitchen and snagged the backup hotdog supply. Gus perked when I waved one in front of his nose. He batted my hand to release the hotdog. When I yanked it away from him, he rolled over and stood with a stretch.
“Come on, Gus. Come and get the yummy hotdog.” I led him through the house and out the door with the wagging of a hotdog. I pressed the garage door button to open it and tossed the hotdog on the passenger side of Caleb’s Porsche. After Gus lumbered in, I shut the door and slid into the driver’s side.
“We’re going home.”
Chapter 20
I wagged the hotdog in front of Gus’s nose to lead him up two flights of stairs. He took a hotdog break in the middle. I wondered if hot dogs would ever lose their appeal for him. I had a suspicion hotdogs were a lifetime passion. We finally made it upstairs and into my apartment. He sniffed the air as he climbed the kitty stairs to the couch and plopped down with a contented sigh.
I changed into a pair of shorts and a stretchy t-shirt. I grabbed my hoodie for the cool casino.
I should call Caleb and tell him to pick up his car.
Since my phone was broken I ran down to Frankie’s apartment.
Frankie opened the door wearing normal clothes. I had to blink to register him barefoot in jeans and a t-shirt. His dark hair was still wet from the shower.
“Just the person I wanted to see,” he said, yanking me into his apartment.
“What’s going on, Frankie?”
“I’m making you a website. It was slow going at first, but I’ve finally cracked the HTML jargon. You would think you need a PhD to figure this stuff out. They’ve got it all backasswards. But they can’t shut me out altogether. Want to see what I’ve created?”
“Uh, sure, but can I borrow your phone? Mine is broken.”
“Yes, but after I show you the website. Sit down in front of the screen and prepare to be amazed.”
I sat while he clicked on a link with the mouse. It took him to a site that had an ace of hearts playing card in the middle of the screen.
“Go ahead and click on the card,” he instructed.
I maneuvered the mouse and clicked on the card. The card disappeared and a picture of me appeared. It was from the first show with Lupier when I had the accident with fire.
“Frankie!” I screeched. “What the hell is that?”
I pointed to a picture of my butt on the screen. It was as round and as large as the moon itself. It alternated between me standing and then bending over with my butt in the air . . . and my cheeks hanging out—big, white, and exposed. Standing, mooning, standing, mooning, standing, mooning. I gasped in horror.
“Is this live? Did you upload it?” I panicked.
“This is fantastic publicity. I’ve already linked it with the performance on YouTube. We’re getting hundreds of hits. Just wait until I link it up with the scorpion video. We’ll get thousands of hits.”
“You uploaded the video to YouTube?”
“Hell yeah! This is good stuff. I just need another video of you and we can get hits by the millions. What do you think of a performance with lions?”
“Take down the site now!”
“No way. You’re heading into the spotlight. I can’t stall the progress.”
“Damn it, Frankie! I’m a poker player. I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I want to sit at a poker table and glare at people. How can I do that when they’re laughing at me?”
He pointed to the screen. “This is good stuff. This is what pays the bills.”
“How does mooning the world pay my bills?”
“I already have appearance requests.”
“Really?” I asked in shock.
“I received hundreds so far. But I have to weed through them. Some of them are dirty, dirty men who like what they see.”
I groaned.
“It’s not all bad. I’m going on a date with one of them tomorrow.”
“You’re going on a date with a pervert?”
He nodded. “I can’t wait. His dirty suggestion has me all in a fluster.”
“Cancel the date! You can’t trust men on the internet, especially if he’s revealed himself as a dirty pervert.”
“He’s going to have to be one hell of a dirty pervert to make me run for the hills.”
I rolled my eyes. “Where did you get the scorpion video?”
“I’ve got connections.”
I raised my eyebrow.
“I do.”
“Yeah, alright. But Frankie, you have to take down the picture of me mooning the camera. It’s in bad taste.”
He bristled. “I don’t have bad taste. I have the taste of money. This website will have us floating in it by the end of the year.”
I cried on the inside. “If I hear one slam at the table because of this, I’ll force you to take it down. Now let me borrow your phone, please.”
Frankie reached into his jeans and slipped out his cell phone.
“You don’t happen to have Caleb’s phone number, do you?”
“He’s in the contacts.”
“Should I ask why you have his number?”
“For future PR. And if he ever needs a date, I’m there for him.”
I scrolled through Frankie’s contacts. I raised my eyebrow. “Frankie, I’m learning a little too much about you right now. What’s this place?”
Frankie leaned over my shoulder. “Oh, that’s nothing you’d want to know about.”
I decided I genuinely didn’t want to know and dialed Caleb. He didn’t answer. I left him a message to meet me at the casino if he wanted his car.
“Thanks for letting me use your phone,” I said, handing it to Frankie. “I have to hit the tables.”
“Don’t forget you have to work at the chapel tonight.”
“I wouldn’t dream of forgetting. Working for you is the only entertainment I can afford.”
“That’s because I’m so good at what I do, and you’re not good at the tables. But don’t worry because your new career is safe in my hands.”
I stretched in my seat. I’d been sitting at this damn table for over an hour and I was five dollars ahead. I threw a few chips into the pot.
“Well, well, look who’s here.”
I flicked my eyes over to see Venom Vincent. I’ve played at tables with him before. He was one of the regulars playing on the same poker circuit. His nickname was self appointed but fitting. He was a scrawny man who wore too much jewelry and way too much cologne.
“What’s going on Vinn
y?”
“I should be asking you the same question,” he said. He settled into a seat a few spots away from me.
“Nothing’s going on here. I’ve been playing for an hour.”
“That’s not what I meant. I’ve been hearing some things.” His lips twitched into a smile below his pencil-thin mustache.
“What kind of things?” I peeked at my cards. Junk hand again.
“You seem to be the talk of the tables.”
My eyes narrowed. He piqued the interest of the rest of the table. Their eyes rested on him as well.
“Go on. Tell me some of the talk.”
“Seems you’ve turned into a social butterfly. Not only did you have a fling with Caleb, but I’ve heard rumors of you bedding Greyson Miller and Dagor Moliente.”
Crap, crap, crap!
“Seems some one has a very wild imagination and a loose tongue,” I said. “Who started these rumors?”
“Are you sure they’re rumors?”
“Yes, I’m very sure.”
“What about your website? Do you normally like to reveal your ass-ets to the world?” His lips curled as he shuffled his chips.
The players at the table yanked out their phones and began searching for the website. I heard a few snickers.
I’m going to kill Frankie!
“That website has nothing to do with me.”
“How does it have nothing to do with you? You’re the only one waving your butt to the world on it?”
“Never mind. It’s nothing I uploaded on the web. And there isn’t any thing true about the rumors either.”
“Hmmm, then how come you’re turning red?”
“I’m not turning red. I’m freaking burnt.”
“It’s a shame your reputation is flushed down the toilet like yesterday’s lunch. I was thinking you could be my next chick, but I don’t date trashy women. The Vinster needs to keep his reputation on the level.”
As I was looking for my escape, I spotted Caleb entering the casino. “So, Vinster, do you think Caleb would tarnish his reputation by dating a trashy woman?”
“He’s juggling enough girls. Since he’s already had his taste of you, he’ll probably move up the food chain.”
The Big Blind (Nadia Wolf) Page 20
