by Jade Kuzma
He raised an eyebrow at me.
“I’m not much of a gambler but I know how the business works.”
“…Right…”
A smirk came to his face.
“That’s why I hired you,” he said. “You’re smart. Not like all these other women I meet.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I know that I can trust you to do what’s right for business. That’s why I’m paying you.”
“Of course, sir.”
“Good.”
He smacked his lips and put the remains of his sandwich back down.
“Emerson is satisfied with the profits from his casino,” he said. “Before I went into business with him, it was his primary source of income. Now the man has multiple streams, the same as me. But Emerson wants to see continued growth from Eden. There’s more money to made out there.”
“That’s fair.”
“It’s more than fair. What’s a casino if it doesn’t make any money? That’s why I want you to follow this man.”
I blinked my eyes in confusion.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Did you say you want me to—”
“The man from last night. Jacobson. You remember him, don’t you?”
“I remember him but I don’t know how I would get in contact with him—”
“We have security footage. From the looks of him, the man probably has a record. Holt. Ivory. Somewhere in the city. It wouldn’t be hard to identify him. Speak to security and get to him.”
I shook my head, still in disbelief at what Alvarez was suggesting.
“What do you want me to do when I get in contact with him?”
“I want you to convince him to come back to Eden. Convince him to gamble. I want my money back.”
“Excuse me for saying this, sir. But he walked away with four-thousand dollars. And half of that is from the tournament the casino profited from. I don’t think it’s worth—”
“You’re right. But there’s something about that man. It rubbed me the wrong way. His whole casual demeanor. It was disrespectful, don’t you think?”
“I…”
I struggled to find a response.
“…I’m not sure what you mean.”
“No… No, you don’t… I suppose you’re suited to better tasks than trying to read someone. No matter. I want you to find that man and convince him to come back to Eden.”
“And then what?”
“I’m going to get my money back.”
I would’ve thought Alvarez was joking if he wasn’t staring at me the way he was. I sighed a deep breath through my nose and nodded to him.
“Okay, sir. I’ll get right on it.”
“Yes. Do that… In fact, why don’t you take a little bit of time off while you search for him.”
“Sir?”
“You seem a little distracted lately.”
“I… I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Don’t you need me to—”
“I can have someone else watch over your duties temporarily. You’re only my assistant, Faye. Don’t pretend like the trains would stop running without you.”
“No… No, of course not…”
I put my head down and thought about what Alvarez just asked me. I’d already gone through the trouble of pretending I didn’t know who Hunter was. Now Alvarez was telling me to track him down so that he could get his money back from him.
Hunter was my friend. Could I let him walk into the trap Alvarez was setting him up for?
“Faye.”
My boss barked at me with his mouth full and tiny bits of food flew out of his mouth.
“You look like you’ve lost your mind,” he said. “Maybe it’s for the best that you take some time off. I’m not paying you to daydream.”
“I’ll do my best to track that man down and send him back here.”
“If that man is what he looks like, he’ll be eager to double down. Perhaps he might even come to Nirvana…”
I got up from my seat and turned my back to leave Alvarez’s office. As soon as I was out, I sighed a deep breath of relief.
It was still the middle of the day. I’d seen Hunter only just a few hours ago late last night. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t glad I had a reason to see him again. I only wished it were under better circumstances.
As soon as I was clear from the casino, I pulled my phone out and sent a message to Hunter. It only took a few seconds for him to respond.
“Tonight.”
Chapter 7
HUNTER
I swallowed my whiskey down and pushed the glass forward for the bartender to refill. I reached into my jacket and pulled out a pack of smokes. The bartender filled my glass and cleared his throat to get my attention. He pointed to the sign on the wall and I read it.
“No smoking,” I said. “What the fuck kinda bar has no smoking in it?”
“I don’t make the rules,” the bartender said.
“I picked the wrong fuckin’ place…”
I begrudgingly stuffed my cigs away and sipped on my liquor.
I was in some place in Ivory called Hades. I would’ve found another spot but it was the only place in Old Town, which was the closest to the border between Ivory and Holt County.
From the looks of things, ‘Old Town’ was definitely fitting for a place like Hades. The wood paneling on the floor looked old. The same for the shit on the wall. The ceiling looked like it would collapse at any moment and the lighting needed to be replaced. There was a stink in the air even though nobody was smoking.
None of that shit mattered to me though. If I couldn’t smoke, at least I had my liquor. More than that, the place wasn’t too crowded and everybody here seemed to be minding their own fucking business. The conversations were loud but not obnoxious. And the music provided an ambiance to relax to.
I was in the middle of another sip when I felt someone standing right next to me.
“You need some help?” the man said.
I looked him up and down. He was what I expected. Kinda tall. Dark hair. Tattoos. Not that I gave a shit about any of that. The patch on his chest indicated he probably wasn’t lying about being the man I was looking for.
“New Devils,” I said as I read the patch. “President. Mr. Venom. That’s a cool nickname.”
I chuckled to myself as I took another sip. The bastard didn’t seem to take offense to it, smiling and chuckling the same as me. He leaned up against the bar with his back to it and crossed his arms.
“Venom’s just a name to make a point,” he said. “Sebastian Cain.”
“Sebastian…”
“You got a name, friend?”
“I don’t know if you wanna call me that just yet.”
“I gotta call you something.”
“Hunter.”
“Mr. Hunter. Cool nickname—”
“It’s not a nickname.”
“Well, Hunter. Did you wanna see me to bullshit about nicknames or is there something else you wanted to waste my time with?”
“I got something for you. Just looking if you were interested in a friendly game of poker.”
“Poker?”
Cain gave me a confused look.
“Yeah, poker,” I said. “It’s a card game.”
“You didn’t come out here to play poker with me.”
“But I did. You see, you’ll get a lot more business if you invite people to play with you. Think about it. Guys see a game and they wanna come and join in. They spend more on drinks. Some guys even win and make some money.”
“And some guys lose after they’ve been drinking and they start shit.”
“What’s wrong? Can’t handle a few drunk assholes?”
“This isn’t Eden. I’m not looking to turn Hades into a casino.”
“Fair enough. I’m still up for a game though. I’m from out of town and it’d be fun to pass the time.”
I looked around the bar.
“You can bring the rest of your club,” I said.
>
“He’s not here. He’s busy.”
“…He’s not here? The rest of your club is one other guy? What kinda MC has two members?”
I laughed to myself and polished off the rest of my liquor. While I waited for the bartender to give me a refill, Cain just kept eyeballing me. He wasn’t pissed but he wasn’t happy either.
“All right,” I said with a shrug. “I guess the Devils have two members.”
“I’ll tell you what,” he said as he patted me on the back. “Hades is a place for everybody. Even out-of-towners. I’ve got a little cash to throw away. There’s a table out back. I’ll play a few hands with you.”
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
“You play cards with that guy, you might as well burn your money.”
A voice grumbled and interrupted my conversation with Cain. I turned my head and saw an old man slowly moving toward us.
From far away, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the bastard was old with how gaudy his suit was. But when he got closer, I saw all of the wrinkles on his face and his thinning hair. He looked so out of place that I thought he was lost.
“What’s up, Murph?” Cain said.
The old man kept eyeballing me.
“You really don’t think you’ll get away with it, do you?” he said to me.
“What are you talking about—”
“I can see that holdout from a mile away. That thing is poking out of your sleeve like a second elbow.”
I looked down at my leather jacket and could faintly make out what he was talking about. I couldn’t help but smile at the old man.
“Look at me,” he said. “I’ve done it all. I’ve hustled people from here to the big city and all the way back. That shit won’t fly here.”
The old man shuffled away and disappeared as quickly as he’d left.
“Who the fuck was that?” I said.
“Don’t mind Murph,” Cain said. “I like to think of him as the club’s guardian angel.”
“No smoking. No poker. How does a guy have any fun in a place like this?”
“Try The Grindhouse. I hear they’ve got a game going on.”
“Already did. They were onto me.”
“You don’t sound like a very good hustler.”
“No, I know what I’m doing.”
I gave Cain a sideways glance then shifted my eyes back to my drink.
“I should probably just stop playing with MCs,” I sighed.
“Then go to Eden,” Cain said. “I hear they’ve got plenty of high-rollers you can hustle.”
He patted me on the back.
“Enjoy your stay at Hades, Hunter.”
He walked away before I could respond but I said it to myself anyway.
“I’ve already been to Eden…”
I swirled my glass around in my drink. I was about to distract myself with another gulp when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw the message from Faye telling me she was here. The thought of trying to hustle the Devils in their clubhouse immediately left my mind.
Faye walked in a few seconds later.
She looked different than when I last saw her. No long sleeved top. No modest skirt. Just a pair of tight jeans that hugged her figure perfectly and a t-shirt that did a shit job of hiding her tits. She always had a nice rack but I never mentioned it.
She searched the bar for a second before spotting me. She walked up to me and I got a better look at her. Her hair was still up in a bun and those green eyes of hers gave me a softened stare. But that shit wasn’t enough to distract how unblemished her skin was or how white her teeth were when she smiled.
“Hey,” she said.
“What’s up? You wanted to see me?”
“Um… Yeah…”
I could see how anxious she was. No doubt she was thinking about last night. I was thinking about it, too, but I would never let that shit get to me. I enjoyed it. There wasn’t much else to consider.
“How are you?” she asked.
“I made four grand last night,” I said. “Not bad for a single night’s work. Lemme buy you a drink.”
“I don’t think I should…”
“Why not? You gotta go back to work after this or something?”
“No, it’s just…”
I stared at her and she started to blush with embarrassment. It didn’t surprise me that Faye wasn’t much for drinking, considering how disciplined she always was. She was the type of girl who’d rather stay home and read a book than party. She was like that ever since I’d known her.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll have what you’re having.”
She laughed with a shrug. Seeing her smile was enough to make me do the same.
Faye took a seat at the bar next to me then looked around.
“Why’d you pick a place like this?” she said. “It seems kinda…”
“They’ve got liquor and everybody minds their own fucking business. What more does a bar need?”
“I guess you’ve got a point.”
She picked her glass up. Just before she sipped from it, she stopped when I raised mine up. I touched it to hers for a toast.
“To Eden,” I said.
“To Eden,” she said with another shrug.
She took a sip and immediately started to grimace. She smacked her lips and tongue like she was trying to get the taste out of her mouth.
“When’s the last time you drank?” I asked.
“It’s… It’s been awhile.”
“That means it’s been too fucking long.”
“It’s all right. My boss gave me a few days off, so I could get really hammered if I wanted to. Is that something you plan on doing, Hunter?”
She arched an eyebrow at me.
Faye wasn’t the kind of girl to play those kinda games with me. I’d met enough women to have seen it before. But for Faye to do it… That shit was enough to make me let my guard down.
“Why? Do you wanna get hammered tonight?”
She hid her smile by biting her lip. It wasn’t enough to stop her cheeks from blushing. I could see how red she was even with the shitty lighting of the bar.
“Listen, Hunter… About last night—”
“You don’t regret what happened, do you?”
“No!” she answered quickly. “No, I don’t. It’s just—”
“Faye, sometimes these things just happen. I’m a man. You’re a woman. It just happens.”
I gulped the rest of my whiskey down. I wasn’t thinking about it too much but the look in Faye’s eyes told me she was.
“I haven’t seen you in six years,” she said. “The first night you’re back, we did… it… for the first time. That’s something, Hunter.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. But I don’t think it’s anything more.”
“Oh…”
Faye shifted her eyes away from me. Her demeanor had changed so quickly that I knew something was wrong.
Shit…
Even though I wanted to deny it, Faye was something. Maybe not the woman I was gonna spend the rest of my life with. Maybe not even the woman I was gonna sleep with tonight. But she was someone important to me.
“Faye—”
“No, you’re right,” she said. “It’s just chance that we ran into each other at Eden. I know you didn’t come to Ivory to look for me. You probably have something to take care of. Business, I’m guessing.”
She smiled softly at me.
“I still remember what it was like when you left,” she continued. “It’s all right. Whatever it is you’re doing in Ivory, it doesn’t mean we can’t talk. Maybe you and I can catch up. You don’t have to tell me what you’re up to but maybe you can at least tell me how you’ve been.”
Faye might’ve seemed timid but she was a lot stronger than she looked. Just because she didn’t like to party didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of standing up for herself.
There was more to us than what happened last night. She was here aga
in with me. The least I owed her was some conversation.
“All right,” I said with a nod. “We can catch up. I’ll tell you what’s up with me and you tell me what’s up with you.”
“Great—”
“On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
She raised an eyebrow at me. There was a bit of concern on her face which made me laugh.
“Finish your whiskey.”
Faye turned toward the liquor that she’d barely touched. She hesitated for a moment before picking it up and gulping it down. She grimaced with one eye closed and stuck her tongue out before finally smiling at me.
She leaned forward on the bar toward me. That green-eyed stare of hers was enough to make me forget we were surrounded by so many other people.
She whispered softly, her eyes unblinking.
“Now… Tell me, Hunter. What have you been up to these past six years?”
Chapter 8
FAYE
“How does it work exactly?”
“There’s a small hook… You can see it right there…”
“Yeah…”
“It comes out if I turn my arm a certain way. That’s just how the mechanism works. When I see a card I need, I hold it, usually an ace. I can hold more than one card if I have to. Then when I’ve got the right hand, I switch the cards I need. Make a big bet and there you have it. Winning hand.”
“That’s… impressive.”
Hunter smiled at me then held his hands out. He was always the kind of guy who was proud of himself, even when it came to something like cheating at card games.
“There’s just one problem,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“It’s obvious. I mean, I can see the card disappearing in your hand and up your sleeve.”
“That’s because you’re looking at my hand.”
“Why would I not be looking at your hand?”
“There are other reasons to look at your opponent’s face. Trying to get a read on them. Maybe you’re having a friendly conversation with them. Maybe they can’t help themselves and they think you’re good-looking.”
Hunter had these gray eyes that always stood out. I spent so much time around Alvarez that I almost forgot what it was like to see someone who was attractive. Hunter was more than that though. He was a friend and I saw so much more in his eyes.
