Page 78 of Capuleto

"I will," I responded tersely.

"And I," my wife volunteered, agreeing to participate.

"Fine, the initial bet is twenty thousand euros each. Any problems?"

"None," Nikita assured.

"Then, please join me at the table. What can I get you?"

I wasn't going to drink anything they gave me; I didn't trust it.

"A bourbon," I demanded.

"I'd prefer a glass of chilled Moët."

Mei nodded and headed to the bar.

I pulled out my wife's chair and whispered in her ear.

"Don't you dare drink anything."

I eyed the other players. The first, a middle-aged man, introduced himself as Julio Sanchís, a businessman involved in the golf industry. The other was a foreigner, a soccer star on vacation in Marbella.

As soon as our drinks were served, the door opened and Huang emerged from his hideout.

31

Royal flush

Mr. Huang was dressed in a very ostentatious manner.

Wearing a very striking Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo suit. The blazer, in a shiny burgundy tone, had the collar and cuffs covered in golden rhinestones.

Underneath, he wore a matching vest with black trousers that featured velvet flowers of the same color. And, of course, a pristine white shirt with a dark bow tie. Clearly, Cheng's right-hand man did not subscribe to his boss's discretion.

The thick gold rings on his left hand, along with the ostentatious Rolex Daytona, were intended to display a status not to be underestimated.

His eyes, presumably dark, were hidden behind sunglasses. It was no surprise that in poker games they were used to conceal unwanted expressions.

He wasn’t very tall, probably less than five feet nine inches, but he exuded danger, especially to someone like me, who was accustomed to sensing it from afar.

Once again, I was at a crossroads. If my brother was responsible for blowing up the motorcycles, as everything indicated, he had once again left me out of the loop. Luckily, there were no explosives on mine or my men’s bikes.

If I confronted Yuri about it, he would bring up the issue of my expressiveness, I was sure of it. I was liking the direction things were taking less and less, and I still had that damn feeling that something didn't add up. That’s why I wanted to accompany R.

I could have stayed outside, vanished like that damn redhead who seemed to be blessed by some freaking angel determined to mess up my life, and nothing would have happened.

My husband wouldn't have suspected that I didn’t want to enter with him, but I needed to be there and understand so that the pieces of the mental puzzle would fully fit together.

"It's an honor that you've come to my humble abode tonight," said the Asian man.

That place was anything but humble. He shook hands with my husband and then took mine to kiss the back of it. He also greeted our tablemates, who were unaware of who we were and our intent.

The waitress approached with the drinks and chips for playing.

"Mr. Huang, we have come to have a conversation," my husband stated, tense.

"I've heard something of the sort, yes. But we will discuss it after the game, as after all, those who come down here are expected to follow the rules of the game."

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