“I’m the most senior you’re going to get.” His voice is steely. “I own this place.” I feel my legs wobble slightly.
“I thought you said… You said you were a pit boss.” My own voice sounds distant, as if I’m watching myself in a dream. Stupid, Lilly. The comment sets off a fresh burst of hilarity among the others in the room.
“Like I said, I wear many hats in my job.”
“Oh.” I can’t get out any other word beyond that sound. Technically, he didn’t lie. But a stinging feeling of deceit still runs through me. Deanna must see the shadow of disappointment that crosses my face because her rage is fueled with a fresh fire.
“So you even had to scam Lilly in the process, huh? Telling lies about your identity?”
“That’s not exactly what happened.” David says. “She’ll tell you so herself.”
“Whatever. I’m going to report you to the gaming commission. This is some shady bullshit and you know it.”
“Deanna, let’s go.”
“No. Not until he gives me a chance to win back my money.”
“Chasing your losses is never an advisable course of action,” David says quietly.
“I’m not chasing losses. I’m getting what I’m due,” Deanna snaps at him. “Double or nothing. Just you and me.”
“You’re going to be into me for $1.3 mil if you lose.”
I feel my heart drop. Deanna doesn’t have that kind of money. I don’t have that kind of money. Nobody we know has that kind of money. A hundred grand would have been amazing to walk away with tonight. It would have been life changing. What the hell is she doing?
“Deanna,” I put a hand on her arm. “We don’t have that.”
“We can use collateral,” she brushes me off briskly. “Right?” She looks to David.
“What do you have to offer?” He sits back down and looks at her expectantly, leaning back casually. The rest of the room is transfixed by this unexpected turn.
“I’ve got some Louis Vuitton purses.”
David snorts. “What are those even worth?” He looks expectantly to Tessa.
“Could be as much as 20k, easy,” she quickly chimes in.
“Fine. What else do you have other than purses?”
“My car. BMW 3 series. It’s only five years old. Not a lot of mileage.” What with Deanna’s DUI, she really doesn’t have use for a car anymore. So I bite my tongue and don’t protest.
“So that’s, what? 40 to 50k depending on the trimmings.” Maurice and Jeremy are nodding in agreement and I even catch one of the security dudes giving an affirmative jerk of the head. Everybody has suddenly become invested in Deanna’s mission.
“Anything else?”
“I have like 5k in savings. Lilly, what do you have?” Deanna whirls on me suddenly.
“Uh…like 20k.” I stammer out the words.
“Shit, really?!” Deanna pauses and looks at me incredulously. “I guess it’s easy to save up when you’re still living at home with Mom and Dad.” I know she doesn’t mean the words as an insult but they hit like a hammer, especially when punctuated with a derisive snort from that Jeremy guy.
“You’re barely hitting 100k worth of assets between you and your sister,” David says. “Nowhere near the $1.3 mil worth of collateral you’d need for a double-or-nothing final round.”
Deanna’s shoulders are already slumped in defeat. The fight is going out of her. And I have nothing else to offer.
“I think it’s time for the two of you to go.” David’s dark eyes settle on me, running over me. “Unless…” He pauses.
Deanna perks up, hearing the hint of hope.
“Unless you want to offer up your sister as collateral,” David goes on.
“What the fuck?” For once, Deanna’s rough choice of words is, in my opinion, perfect. “What, like you want to marry her?”
“I wasn’t thinking of such a long-term commitment.” A smile twitches at the corners of David’s mouth. “How much longer are you supposed to stay in Las Vegas?” He turns towards me, his tone commanding.
I’m too stunned to do anything but answer. “One week. I’m here for six nights total.”
“So, six nights it is.” His jaw is set firmly. “Double or nothing. One game. If you lose, Lilly is mine. For six nights.”
Logically, I know this is pure insanity. But that stormy darkness of David’s eyes has me frozen. I can hear the blood rushing in my ears and feel a shudder from my head to my toes as he rakes his gaze over me again. I notice his hands, large, strong and firm, resting calmly on the table. I remember the feel of my