24/7. You know why?”
She shakes her head in wonderment.
“Because he didn’t play by the rules. Because he cheated and killed. Jack wasn’t the only person in Vegas who had beef with Walter. A lot of people would have been happy to see him six feet under.”
“You don’t have that kind of security.”
“Because I do play by the rules. I know you think I’m extreme, the way I run my business. But that’s fair play in Vegas. People in this town know that I play fair. The only people who don’t like it are shady assholes like Tony and Bobby. But the big fish, the ones who matter, they know that I conduct myself, and my business, on the up and up. I’ve got more friends than enemies in this town, Lilly.”
She nods, but a thin line of worry is etched between her eyes.
“So,” I go on, “That was the other big thing Jack did, other than front me the money. He pulled strings, paid people off, did all the dirty work needed to ensure that Walter’s most trusted men would be prepared to turn against him. I’m still not sure how he managed it but Jack could be very persuasive.” I smile, fondly, thinking of the man who gave me my start in this business. My start in a brand new life.
“So what happened on the day of the card game?” Lilly is gripping my hand anxiously, digging her fingers into me.
“Well, I won of course,” I shoot her a grin and give her a wink.
“And then?”
“Then it went down exactly as Jack and I expected. I was hauled out of the room—you have an idea of what that looks like after the other night—and Walter and his henchmen drove me out to the desert. When Walter gave the order to off me, though, I wasn’t the one his guys killed.”
“They shot him instead,” Lilly murmurs, awed.
“Yep. Jack had arranged it all.”
“You could have been killed, though.” Lilly blinks back tears. “What if one of those men had just been pretending to turn on Walter?”
“I had to put my trust in Jack. It was a leap of faith, I’ll admit. I thought I could trust him. As I got to know him better, I learned that he was one of the most trustworthy souls in this world. May he rest in peace.”
Lilly nods. “And then you got the casino?”
“Jack arranged for me to take over the management of Casino MegaMax, on the condition that I work with him. We rebranded it as the Fortuna. So I ran Fortuna and Jack ran Destino. We worked side-by-side like that for years. Until he died. Then he left me Destino as well.”
There’s nothing more to say. I clench my teeth firmly and square my shoulders, looking directly at Lilly. What will she think of my checkered past? Will she judge me for my sins, or even my father’s? The way the Fortuna came into my hands isn’t exactly above board. But I wanted to tell her the truth.
She’s looking down at her lap, playing with the white tie of her bathrobe, drawing it delicately between her fingers. With her face turned away from me, I can’t tell what she’s thinking. Then she raises her eyes. There is a thin sheen of moisture over them, as if she’s holding back tears. She bites her lip and then the corners of her mouth turn up into a sad smile.
My breath catches in my throat as I wonder what she’s going to say next, how she’s going to react to this gruesome tale. She turns away from me again and then pushes her chair back from the table, standing up. Without a word, she walks over to me and leans down over me from behind, putting her arms around my shoulders as she nuzzles her face into my neck.
“Thank you for telling me that,” she whispers, her voice cracking slightly. And in that moment, I feel a closeness to Lilly that exceeds what I’ve felt with any woman, maybe even any person, ever.
“You’re the first person I’ve told the full story to.”
“Thank you for trusting me with it.” As she speaks those words, I realize with surprise that Lilly, in the brief time I’ve known her, has indeed become a person I trust. One of the very few people in this world whom I feel I can rely on.
Chapter Nineteen
Lilly
When David told me about his dad, so many pieces of the puzzle surrounding his personality and