Page 80 of Capuleto

Players tend to try to make others nervous. What the businessman didn't know was that in poker, I had nerves of steel.

We reached the last hand with three players: R, Sanchís, and me. Huang had folded and was watching us placidly.

The businessman was sweating. Nonchalance was incompatible with the stains on his armpits.

"What's it going to be, Mr. Sanchís? Are you playing or jumping ship?"

"One of you two is bluffing," he accused. "Maybe even both of you."

"Maybe the liar is you," suggested my husband, making me smile.

"Either fold or show your cards," I prodded. "Don't prolong your agony."

"Straight flush," he revealed. Those weren't bad cards. My husband showed his and Sanchís confidently knocked over the chips. "I knew it! It was a damn bluff! Now, show yours, Mrs. Koroleva, I'm eager to celebrate the victory. Here, this chip is a gift for you," he said, tossing a plastic chip that I caught mid-air.

I flipped mine without taking my eyes off his face.

Huang clapped his hands on the table followed by a booming laugh. Sanchís turned pale.

"It’s impossible! She cheated! It can’t be!"

A beautiful royal flush unfolded before their eyes, filling the mat with red hearts.

"If you can't handle losing, you shouldn't play, nor make false accusations—it says a lot about you."

He looked at me with fury.

"It's impossible, that was just a stroke of luck. Let's bet again, I want to win my money back."

"I'm sorry, it will have to be at another table and with other players. I made a deal with Mr. Huang."

The man lunged for the chips with bulging eyes.

"You can't take my money! I demand a rematch!" I looked at him with disdain; I dislike sore losers.

"I've already told you no, I'm sorry." I stood up, ignoring him, the owner of the place already knew who had won the round and that mountain was of plastic. I recognized in him a deranged gambler. "I'll give you a piece of advice: in life, you either win or learn. You never lose. Today you underestimated your opponent and bet more than you should have. Keep that lesson."

"No way! I can't go back home with just that!"

"That's not my problem."

My husband pulled back the chair for me to leave comfortably when the click of a gun's safety made me turn my head. Sanchís was raising a small Beretta that caught us by surprise.

Andrey rushed him with the speed and efficiency that characterized him. In two moves, he had disarmed him and dislocated several bones in his hand.

The businessman's screams caught the attention of the other players.

With a nod, Huang asked his men to take him away and told the others to continue their games.

"My apologies, Mrs. Koroleva, some people don't understand where the line is."

"I'm glad to hear you do and that you're a man of your word."

The smile pushed his thin lips, and he asked us to follow him.

Once inside the office, R didn't want to beat around the bush.

"Why were our bikes blown up?" With the sunglasses, I couldn't see the expression that was roaming Huang's eyes.

---