Page 111 of Gambler's Conceit

“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “The house doesn’t get to win this time. Hit me.”

She deals me another card, and I nearly shout in triumph as I see the six fate has delivered to me.

“Twenty-one!” I say, beaming at her.

She smiles back at me.

It seems genuine, and I’d like to believe it is, but we haven’t spoken about the night I panicked and fled her company. I’m sure Vortex has told her something to placate her, and she’s always friendly enough to where I still choose her tables to play at, but I don’t know.

The thoughts almost dim my mood, but I cling stubbornly to the elation of having won a game that bests me more often than not. I may not have been able to count the cards, but I’d still come out on top.

“Congratulations, Seven,” Madeline says, pushing the chips toward me.

I gather them up. In theory, I know I should quit while I’m ahead, but… The universe has really seemed to be on my side the past few days. Maybe I should push my luck just a little more. I might end up going bust, but I don’t have to bet all I’ve earned.

I can beresponsible.

I’m about to tell her to deal me in again when something starts to nag at me. I can’t place what it is, exactly, but as the seconds tick by, I’m increasingly sure that someone is watching me.

It’s a strange sensation, something that goes beyond the ordinary and into the realm of something honed by instinct alone, but I trust my gut on this. Someone’s paying entirely too much attention to me, and I don’t have a good feeling about it.

I snatch up the chips from the table, shoving them into my pockets so forcefully that several scatter onto the floor.

“Seven?” Madeline asks, but I ignore her as I walk away from the blackjack table. I fumble for the phone in my pocket so I can call Havoc or Vortex, but before I can get it out, somebody grabs my wrist and drags me behind a pillar.

It’s Grant, his face still bruised from the beating Havoc had given him.

“Where do you think you’re going, Seven?” he asks, his voice dripping with fake cheer.

“I’m going…” I fumble for words that might make him leave me alone, but any attempts I make die in my throat as I see who’s standing beside him.

I’d recognize Raymond anywhere.

“Home,” Raymond says, his thin lips twisting into a saccharine smile. “You’re going home. That’s what you were going to say, right, little one?” One of his massive hands comes down on my shoulder and squeezes hard, but I know better than to make a sound or even let the panic show in my expression.

“Yeah,” I answer unsteadily. “Yeah. Home.” Tears well up in my eyes, but crying isn’t allowed either. I’d forgotten, with how much Caleb enjoys my tears and how Vortex and Havoc gently brush them away.

Grant laughs cruelly. “Much better behaved with Raymond here. I knew Caleb wasn’t handling you right.” He motions to one of the employee-only doors. “Here, there’s another exit this way.”

Raymond squeezes my shoulder again and pushes me to follow Grant. We go through the door, down a hallway, and past other closed doors. There are no other employees here. When I look around, I don’t see cameras either.

They won’t know where I went.

When we reach the exit, Raymond stops to pat my pockets. One hand pulls out my phone, while the other cups my cockand squeezes. “Who gave you one of these? You aren’t allowed electronics, little one.”

I fight the urge to whimper, desperation alone keeping my tears from falling even as my voice shakes. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

Raymond smiles at me again, even as his hand squeezes tighter. I bite my lip to avoid crying out, but it’s a near thing.

“That’s not a proper apology, little one,” he admonishes me. “But that’s all right. I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to. After all we’ve done for you, after how worried we’ve all been about you…” He shakes his head and releases my cock, only to wrap his arm around my waist.

It feels wrong.

When Vortex does it, it feels warm and comforting. When Havoc does it, I feel protected and safe. And when Caleb is the one to wrap an arm around me, well…

Does it even matter what I feel? It’s not like it’s ever going to happen again.

I start to shrink inside myself, desperate for a place to hide from my own thoughts as the bleak reality of the situation starts to set in.

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