Page 17 of Gamble with Me
Iparked the car at the back entrance of the building. I exited the car, adjusted my black dress, and took my purse. For the last time, I checked my appearance in the reflection on the car window and walked to the heavy metal door. I pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to open it, but nothing happened. Nervously, I looked around, noticing the camera in the corner pointed right at me.
I glanced directly into the red light, acting all cool and collected, when, in reality, my heart was almost bursting through my ribcage from the adrenaline rush. The loud click of the door made me flinch, and with a dry mouth and trembling legs, I walked into the empty hall. I blinked, my vision needing a few seconds to get used to the gloominess, but before it could happen, a bright light cut through my skull, blinding me.
"Sorry about that," a cheerful, feminine voice came to me from the right side, her heels clicking on the concrete floor. "Electricians should have repaired the lights a few days ago, but they messed it up more. Assholes. I'm Tasha."
"It's okay," I mumbled, trying to see who stood before me. "I'm Valeria."
"Come with me, Valeria. It'll be better inside." She took my elbow and led me through the door. "I've never seen you here before. Are you a colleague of Alice's?"
"Yes." I nodded, trying to stay by her side. She moved quickly and gracefully. Her shoulder-length raven-black hair framed her oval face with a wide nose, downturnedbrown eyes, and thin purple lips that curled into a smile when she noticed my fight to keep up.
"We need to hurry because players are already here," she explained, giving me a quick once-over so I repaired the favor.
She was similar height as me, but her heels were even higher. Considering her pregnant state, I admired her for being so swift. When I was with child, I couldn't tie my shoelaces. The emerald-green dress hugged every inch of her, and her ivory skin literally glowed. She was beautiful.
The ding of an elevator announced that we had reached our destination, and it was the first time I realized we were underground. I hadn't paid attention before, so I was stunned to discover that the old building was only a charade and this spectacular, luxurious place was perfectly hidden from the outside world.
Walking inside the casino, I expected slot machines to be everywhere. Instead, four roulette and three blackjack tables were opposite me, and before them were small coffee tables with chairs serving customers who wanted to take a break from games. Champagne and a buffet were in the corner. Two gorgeous servers in the tiniest uniforms I’d ever seen offered drinks and food to guests.
I hurried behind Tasha through the moving glass door and was again blinded—this time by an enormous amount of slot machines. But what surprised me the most was that the place was packed to the rim. People played different games, and every ten seconds, a loud ringing was heard announcing someone had won something big.
It was just a psychological trick for other customers to think it was possible to win when the truth was the only winning side was the house. There was no way to beat the casino, and the sad part was that even when players knew it, they always tried to tilt the scales on their side. Yet, it never worked.
"Where is the famous Balloon room?" I asked, peeking behind the curtain while I waited for Tasha to tap a code on the keypad. I’d heard about it many times, but some people claimed it was only a myth. Alice always smiled when hearing that, saying she’d been there, and it was magnificent.
"It's upstairs," Tasha replied with a weird sadness settling on her face. "It's under reconstruction after the last accident. I'm sure you heard about it."
She cast me a glance, and I frowned, shaking my head.
"I didn't," I said, placing my purse on the wooden bench and taking the key from my locker from her.
"There was a huge invitation-only charity event, and Mr. Zee should've given a speech, but his security caught a breach, so they didn't allow him to go there. The bomb went off exactly when he should've been on stage. It was a planned assassination."
Chills ran down my spine, and my eyes widened in shock. I’d read about a few people who tried to murder Zhumagulovs, but this was massive.
"Did anyone die?" I whispered, my heartbeat increasing. I knew that the casino environment was dangerous, and I witnessed things others only saw in movies, but this was a whole new level. Zyon was a known mob boss, and even when the police couldn't or didn't want to put him in jail, some men had the means to send him to hell. The scary part was that he was also powerful, and in this case, revenge was inevitable. The wordwarblinked in my mind like a neon sign announcing the collision between different worlds, and it didn't have a winner.
"Thankfully, no." Tasha tried to sound happy, but her expression was painful. "But my husband and three others from Zyon’s security ended up in the hospital in critical condition." She gently patted her swollen belly. The tears welled in her eyes. "They are better now, but you know," she gulped, her voice strained with emotions, "such a trauma leaves consequences."
"I'm so sorry," I stated, not able to imagine being in her position, pregnant with a spouse in the ICU, fighting for their life.
"Thank you," she muttered, wiping a lone tear that escaped her eye. "We must go. They're waiting for us."
She rushed me through the door into another hall, but I ignored my surroundings because my head spun from the information I had learned. Zyon could've died. If the assassination were successful, we never would've met. I was stunned by the force of my own feelings when the realization hit me. Somehow, I couldn't imagine not meeting him. I only talked to him once, but he made such a huge impression that my mind had difficulty focusing on my husband in the same way it focused on him. It was ridiculous.
"We’re here," Tasha announced, stretching her arm and showing me the oval room, where a black-green poker table, eight leather chairs, and a chair for the dealer were in the center. The cream-colored walls and crystal chandelier were in stark contrast with the black carpet.
"Inside this counter," Tasha pointed to the square wooden chest of drawers, "are brand new packs of cards, all-in buttons, and the usual stuff you might need." She handed me a red cover card and keys from the float with chips. "We use shuffle master, so you only take out cards, cut it in the middle, and then deal. It's much easier and quicker."
"Okay." I nodded, sitting on the chair and preparing the regular buy-ins for eight players. The cash game was by invitation only, and all places were booked.
"If anything happens, Zyon will be at the table, so just tell him. He sits at your right side," Tasha continued, giving me instructions, not noticing I momentarily froze. I masked the twitch on my face with a fake smile, but my heart almost collapsed. The plan I created demanded Zyon close to me, but this was much closer than I expected.
"The second dealer called in sick, so you'll be dealing alone, but of course, you'll get double money." Tasha winked at me, plopping in the leather chair next to me with a heavy sigh. "If bodyguards show up and tell you to do something, follow their orders. They only interrupt the game if something serious takes place. And always, and I really mean always, do what Mr. Zee says. If he tells you to get out, get out. If he tells you to dance, dance. Understood?"
"But—" I frowned, ready to object because Alice didn't say anything about acting like a trained monkey in a circus.
"No buts, Valeria. Sitting here means you agree," Tasha stated, her look hardening.
