Page 23 of Carter's Battle

Before he got too close, Carter stepped in between them. Peter came to an abrupt halt and looked confused. “Who are you?”

“I’m with Mia,” Carter said. “Is there something you need?”

Mia’s heart filled with gratitude for Carter’s presence. She let out a pent-up breath. No matter what, he would help her. He would make sure no one hurt her.

“We’ve set up a separate table for Mia.” Peter pointed to the table the men had just set up in the corner. A male dealer stood behind it.

“Sugar, you’re too good to sit at this table,” Mitzy stated. “So am I, but I don’t care anymore. You do.” She winked.

Mia placed a hand on Mitzy’s arm. “Thank you,” she said. “You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

Mitzy shrugged. “You look stressed. I have a feeling you’ve got a lot riding on all this. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Mia said as she gave the other woman’s arm a squeeze.

She collected her chips, tossed one to Patty as a tip, and then rose from her chair.

Carter escorted her, with a hand tucked against the small of her back, across the room to her new table. She sat down and he moved to stand against the wall. After giving her an encouraging smile, his eyes went back to scanning the room. Stress melted away from Mia’s body, like a wave rolling out at low tide. Even though she was still in a bind, her chances had increased for her to get out of this whole mess in one piece.

Peter hovered at her elbow. “Mitzy seems to think you’re good enough to deserve this table. I trust Mitzy, so we’ll give this a try. But if you don’t do well, or you try to screw me in any way,I’ll shut you down.” He gave her a ‘we’re watching you’ kind of look.

Carter suddenly appeared next to Peter. “Please step back,” he said, his voice cold and menacing. Peter stared at him for a long moment as his own security started to move in, but Peter waved them off.

“Is there anything I can get you Mia?” he asked.

“A Pepsi would be good.”

Peter nodded but his gaze hadn’t moved from Carter. “Don’t push your luck,” was all he said.

Carter’s stare bored into Peter’s back as the man walked away and signaled to one of his wait staff.

“You okay?” Carter asked.

Mia nodded. Her mouth had gone dry as soon as Peter had threatened her. She just needed to play the damn cards and get the hell out of here.

The dealer, Joe, smiled at her. “Are you ready?” He tapped the tabletop.

Mia nodded and he started dealing. It was going to be a long night if she couldn’t get into the zone. She glanced at her chips and calculated that she was up about five thousand. At a minimum, she needed to triple that if she was going to get the money in time.But hey, no pressure.She surreptitiously wiped her hands on her dress and then checked her cards.Here we go.

Carter leanedagainst the wall and watched the crowd. There were a few wealthy people present, but mostly the tables were occupied by average people, getting dressed up for the opportunity to give their money away, as he saw it. The wealthy were allowed to pick any table and play and if they showedany talent whatsoever, they were taken to a high roller table. Honestly, Carter was surprised Peter didn’t just sit them down at the high-roller table to begin with, but he supposed if they really sucked others would get angry.

Peter was an enigma. He was dressed in an expensive suit, but if Carter had to guess, he would say Peter came up hard. The man exhibited street smarts and above-average survival instincts. In any fight, he’d be the one to watch.

The rest of the security staff were a mix of general thugs and gym rats. No one really stood out as a threat. However, Carter didn’t need to see the bulges in their waistbands to know they were all carrying. Still, when push came to shove, there were too many of them for Carter to take them all on and win. In a fair fight, he’d hold his own, But with this crowd, the odds were stacked against him. He might have to call in his buddies if this looked like it might turn ugly.

The dealer pushed a pile of chips in Mia’s direction, but she didn’t even acknowledge it. It appeared that she’d blocked everything out and settled into a zone to play once she was moved to her own table. Carter knew it was going to be a long night, but he was up for it.

At least doing something, even if it was mostly standing around and assessing the crowd, took his mind off Castle.

A sudden shout brought all activity in the room to a crashing halt. Mia immediately whipped her head in the direction of the noise. Carter quickly identified the source of the racket as the drunk who’d sat next to Mitzi at the other table. He moved to Mia’s side and put a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly. “They’re just throwing out a drunk guy.” Her shoulder relaxed under his touch,

The dealer asked if she wanted another card and Mia nodded. Carter returned to his post, but he could see the shouthad wrecked her concentration. She made small bets for the next few hands but didn’t manage to win again.

“Mia,” he said as he approached her, “why don’t we take a quick break? Go outside for some fresh air?”

She met his gaze, and the glazed look in her eyes told him he’d made the right decision.

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