Page 101 of Tainted Love

“Why would we do that, Marty?” Zappia growls. “If we did, then we’d all just be a bunch of thugs.” He pauses to further emphasize the word. “Am I right?”

Marty frowns and sinks back into his chair.

“That’s what I thought…” Zappia shakes his head at him. “You want to kill me? You want to run this business and lead this family? You gotta earn it. You don’t earn your place by sitting at the casino counting cards — you carve it from fucking stone. You claim it with your bare fucking hands.”

Marty wipes his chin to curb his boiling rage.

“Now, we’re gonna play a hand,” Zappia continues, his eyes flicking between the two of us. “Winner take all. Loser gets buried out back. Deal?”

Dante presses into me. His calloused skin is hot, his temperature spiking high, but his touch remains firm and confident on the back of my neck.

He knows I can win.

I know what he’s capable of if I don’t.

I glance up, taking note of Elijah’s lingering presence on the catwalk with Enzo. Lilah’s still nowhere to be seen.

“Deal,” I say.

Zappia shifts his attention to Marty and he waits for his answer while shuffling the deck again.

Marty’s good eye twitches in its socket. He’s a nervous wreck inside and everyone can see it. A caged animal that’s been poked one too many times with a stick.

“Deal,” he finally says, spitting the word out like battery acid.

Zappia throws on a smile, but he’s far from amused. He deals the cards, tossing them hard against the felt table into two stacks of five.

I pick up my cards as Marty does, studying his eyes as his gaze falls on them. There’s a slight twitch in his brow but it’s not enough to tell me anything.

I turn my hand over, praying that luck falls in my favor. There’s only one shot at this. Nothing matters unless the cards are on my side.

Two kings and an ace. A four and a seven.

I keep my face relaxed, refusing to show him anything that might tip my hand. It’s not the best draw, but it’s manageable.

I lay the four and seven face down and Zappia deals two new cards at me. I wait for Marty’s play before touching them. He does the same and throws down two of his cards for trade.

We turn them up together and I breathe a silent sigh at the double A’s staring up at me.

Full house. Aces over kings.

Marty’s brow twitches again. Either he has a good hand or he’s lost complete control of that jacked-up face of his.

“Let’s see ‘em,” Zappia says.

Dante gives my neck another comforting squeeze, reminding me to breathe.

I lay my hand down and Zappia’s lips curl. We look at Marty as he flings his own cards onto the table and fires a knowing, sinister smile in my direction.

Four twos. Four of a kind.

My heart stops.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Vaughn,” Zappia says, “but my house always wins.”

Dante raises his gun and points it across the table at Marty, drawing laughter from the back of Zappia’s throat.

“You’re in over your head, Hart.” He chuckles.

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