Christina sat on the couch in front of the TV, and from the coffee table, picked up a beer. She removed the cap, and let the bitter cold liquid run down her throat. A list of flights to Las Vegas was open on her laptop.
Two days had passed since she went to the strip club. Morris gave her the money the same night, and now she wanted to fly out to the desert and try her luck.
If she won; well sweet. And if she didn't, there wasn't much point in returning, was there? Diners and bars were everywhere, and she could find another job. But here if she didn't pay up her debt, she'd lose a knee cap or two, maybe her life.
Christina couldn't believe Morris just handed over fifty grand after a short conversation. Did he know where she lived?
Nah, how could he?
On her way back from the club, she took a long detour across the city and made sure nobody followed her. Did she look so helpless that they didn't think she might run?
A smirk landed on her face and she gulped down another mouthful of beer. Only Toby, her brother who lived with her, concerned her. If she vanished, they might go after him. But if things went south, she could always call and warn him to leave.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she took it out. Jack had sent her a message: "We need to meet."
What the hell does he want?
"Why?" She typed and pressed send.
"Just come and bring the money with you."
Next came an address.
Why does he want the money?
She tapped the edge of the phone on her chin, wondering if she should go or not.
***
Jack stopped the car outside a three-story house with a red tile roof and an oak wood door.
"What are we doing here?" She watched the building.
"There is a weekly game in this house, which is not exactly in the books. It's by invitation only. I want you to play in it."
"I'm not gonna play here." She turned toward him.
"Why not?"
"Two weeks from now in the casino Lucky, I wanna play in a match that…"
"You go to the game that I tell you to."
"When did I become your slave?" She snapped," I play where I want to. My money, my decision. Thanks for the chat." She opened the door to get out but he grabbed her arm and jerked her back in.
"What kind of chump do you think I am? To give you fifty grand and let you disappear in the thin air?"
She pulled her arm free and rubbed where his fingers had squeezed the flesh.
"What are you gonna do? Beat me? Shoot me? Morris wouldn't be very happy if he knew you meddled with his business."
He pointed at the house. " You think Morris doesn't know about this game? And this is my business too. I vouched for you. You think he would give you fifty grand if I hadn't introduced you? My neck is on the line here. You play where I can collect."
"I'm not gonna bolt. You got nothing to worry about."
"Do you even have the money on you?"
"No and I'm not gonna go get it. I play the game that I choose. And that's final." She said and glared at him.
Jack threw her a long thoughtful look, and gradually a large smile covered his face. He then took his phone out of his pocket, swept the screen a couple of times, and held it up. As she watched the video, her eyes widened, and her hand rose to her mouth.
In the short clip, she shot Tom and then Jenny. The footage ended with a clear shot of the back of her Chevrolet and its plate number.
"You were there." She murmured.
"You bet I was."
"You were in that black SUV… this car…" Realizing she was sitting in it, she covered her face in her hands. "Oh god! Oh god!"
"Now you're getting the picture. I agree that cops wouldn't put any effort into finding out who killed those two scumbags. But if somebody sent them this video with your name and address. Then the job is already done for those donut eaters. This is pretty damning evidence. They will arrest you and try you for first-degree murder."
He must have followed my car. Of course, he has. He knows my address. He knows everything.
"I was… defending myself." She brought down her hands.
"Really? You shot a woman begging for her life and then ran over her corpse in self-defense?"
She couldn't breathe. The air in the car had no oxygen and she cracked a window.
"And you thought you could screw me over and disappear." With the back of his hand, he smacked her forehead a couple of times.
" I wanted you to come here early and get familiar with the place and relax before the game. That's not happening anymore. But we still have enough time to go back and get the money. No need to give me directions! I know where is your home." He winked at her.
***
Two hours later, they were back in front of the house with the red tile roof.
"Don't make me play tonight. I can't." She said, her voice trembling.
He ignored her plea and took a yellowish paper bag out of the glove box." I can't trust you with this money anymore. It stays with me."
"You can't blackmail me with that video and expect me to play right away. I can't concentrate like this. I'll lose. I need a few days to adjust to my new situation."
"No, you won't lose. Enough with the excuses. And I take all of your winnings by the way because you tried to screw me over. Let's go make me rich."
They got out of the car, and he pressed the doorbell. On the wall, a security camera whizzed, turned, and the glass eye zoomed on them. They both looked into the lens. And after a few seconds, someone buzzed the door open. They went inside and, in the foyer, saw a man in a grey suit.
"Do you have any guns on you?" He asked them.
Jack handed over his piece.
"I'm not armed." Christina shook her head.
He tapped down Jack and then turned toward her. She didn't see any way out and raised her arms, letting him do his job. His fingers lingered a little bit longer around her breasts and bottom. And she felt a squeeze but pretended that didn't notice anything. She didn't want to get into a fight with him and wreck her nerves even more before the game.
"This way." The man pointed at the stairs.
They ascended to the third floor and entered a large room. Dark blue curtains covered the windows, and two men and a woman sat around an oval table in the middle of the room. One of the men wore thick glasses that made his eyes look bigger. He glanced at Christina and wiped his nose.
The woman was busy checking her make-up in a small mirror and ignored her. The last player had a cigar between his fingers and a glass of whiskey in front of him. His luminous eyes were locked at Christina, and he flashed a smile at her.
A cliché of a gambler!
She sat at the table.
Frowning, the dealer shot her an angry glance. The clock on the wall showed midnight and the game was supposed to start half an hour ago. She was the reason it didn't. The dealer nodded at a heavyset man, who had a holstered revolver on his belt and he closed the door. Jack put the stacks of money in front of her and sat on a chair in a corner. He was the only spectator.
The image of him holding up the phone flashed in front of Christina's eyes. Her face was all over that video, and any jury would convict her in five minutes. But now was not the time to obsess with that; she had to win tonight and deal with him later.
She took regular deep breaths and focused on the game. Despite what she expected, it didn't take long. Two of the players were amateurs; rich people who overestimated their abilities and had enough money not to care about their losses.
At half-past one, the man with glasses said; "Fold."
The woman had already quit half an hour earlier. That left her and the man who smoked expensive cigars and nursed his whiskey.
"My name is Murphy." He said.
"Margot." She gave him the first name that popped in her head.
He put his cards on the table. "Nice to meet you, Margot. Royal flush!"
She had seen royal flush; now, and then, but rarely. And one of them had to be tonight. She glanced at Jack. He was watching Murphy count his win, which included the fifty grand she just lost.
She slumped back in the chair and let the air out of her lungs.
***
Jack parked the car in front of her house.
"You shouldn't have made me play after you showed me that video." She clenched her fists and her voice trembled.
He opened the passenger door. "Get the hell out of my car. And don't think about running away. Because on top of sending the police that video, your brother gets it too." He made a finger gun. "Pow! Oh yeah, I know about your brother. I've been to the neighborhood a couple of times, you know."
"I can fix this. Don't go after him. He didn't borrow money from you."
"Yes, you'll fix it. And I'll hurt your brother; I hurt him very badly if you even think about disappearing."
"But he didn't borrow the money."
"It doesn't matter. Get out." He shoved her out of the vehicle and slammed the door. The car roared down the street.
She trudged inside the house, went into the kitchen, and poured herself a glass of water. Gulped down some of it, then screamed and smashed it on the sink. "How did I end up in this mess?!"
The glass shards flew everywhere.