Page 5 of Gamble with Me
"I have no idea," I replied truthfully, watching Malin as he walked through the saloon's entrance and scanned the crowd. There were thirteen of us inside, all seated on the couch or the chairs. No one dared look him directly in the eyes, and when he slowly walked between us, we pierced the golden carpet with our gazes, all trying to act invisible.
"Are they all here?" A hostile voice made me cringe for the second time tonight, and I turned my head to the right to see the man responsible for this chaos.
"The last one," Dorian rumbled, throwing Travis inside the lounge. My boss's jacket was rumpled, his hair was messy, and his lower lip was busted. A blue bruise formed on his left cheek, and I covered my mouth to suppress any unnecessary voices. The situation was clearly worse than I thought.
"Great. Now, we're all here," the scariest of the brothers clapped his hands in front of his face, his lips curling into a diabolical grin, "my name is Zyon Zhumagulov, and I am the new owner of this place."
Gasps were heard everywhere. I was surprised, too, by this sudden change. We had a regular monthly meeting with the owner two days ago, and he didn't say a word about selling the business.
"Now that you know who's in charge, we can move to the next level," Zyon continued, folding his hands behind his back and pacing around the lounge, between the tables and chairs.
We were all staring at him in shock mixed with fear. The atmosphere was tense. A few girls sobbed silently while others just nervously wriggled or played with their uniforms or bracelets.
"We need to know where your former employer, Adam Rivers, disappeared to," Dorian announced, interrupting his brother, whose presence was like an elephant in the storage room. He was crushing us with his dominance, forcing us to our knees. It was overwhelming to just look at him and not bow our heads.
"We don't know where he is," Travis cried, hiding his face behind his trembling palms.
"No?" Zyon lifted an eyebrow at him; his gaze was sharp like a poisoned arrow straight into the soul. "In this room is his niece, mistress, and two men who played poker with him last night," he recited, tilting his head like a dog who heard something interesting. "Are you trying to fool me?"
Chills ran up my spine. I was at the edge of my seat because I couldn't imagine what he would possibly do if he found out someone was lying to him.
"N-n-no, sir," Travis stammered. His wretched face broke my heart. He didn't deserve this; none of us did.
"Then, I expect answers." Zyon shrugged, his falsely sweet voice ringing in my ears. "And then we can all go home without harming your health or mental state." He looked around, relishing in the raw fear hanging in the air along with his words. "Or we could do it the other, more entertaining way," he suggested, grinning when Malin brought a revolver, a baseball bat, and iron pliers and placed them at the roulette table for everyone to see.
Malin's eyes glowed with eagerness for some action, and for the first time, I saw something that could be interpreted as a smile on his lips. Zyon winked at him with a maniacal expression that made my stomach twist with dread. Yet, I couldn't look away from him. I was hypnotized by those dark eyes expressing excitement at the horrors ahead of us.
"Who is ready to play a game?"
-3-
Valeria
Dorian sent us one by one to meet Zyon and Malin in Mr. Rivers' old office. Natalia spent ten minutes inside and walked out weeping like a child, trembling. It didn't look like they touched her, but the talk with them was surely traumatizing.
I stood up from my place and came to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dorian lifting an eyebrow at me, but he didn't stop me. I crouched in front of her, gently taking her hands into mine.
"It's going to be over soon," I whispered, trying to sound reassuring. However, my voice trembled. It was almost my turn to enter the office and speak with the lunatics.
"Valeria."
I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath. Malin's voice was ringing in my ears like some sinister bell announcing my last day on earth.
Slowly, I rose to my feet, squeezing Natalia´s hand for the last time before I turned to him. He was standing on the threshold with a baseball bat, looking expectantly at me.
His brown eyes had that insane glint, which I had seen for a split second before, but now, it was permanently settled there. The crazy vibes emitting from every cell of his body were eating away my courage to stand up to him. And I wasn't alone. Everyone in the lounge was petrified.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Zhumagulov?" I asked politely, mentally celebrating that my voice didn't tremble. The question was useless. I knew what he wanted from me, but I felt the need to show him I would not crumble like my colleagues. I would not beg him to leave me alone or let Dorian drag me inside against my will as he did with Linda. I planned to go there, tell him and his brother I didn't know anything, and I would leave without being harmed. They had no reason to hurt me.
"Join us for a little chat, please," he replied sweetly and stepped to the side so I could walk in.
With one last glance at Alice, who was staring at me with wide eyes, I entered the space, inhaling the familiar scent of vanilla. Mr. Rivers' wife often brought him candles, which he always lit because he smelled mold everywhere.
Normally, I would not consider this office small, but the place felt cramped with two massive men inside. Their arrogance and hostility sucked the air out of the room, and I almost asked them to open the window so I could take oxygen into my lungs.
"Mrs. Valeria Kellerman," Zyon spoke in a low, chilling voice, eyeing me up and down.
He was standing behind the desk. With his long fingers, he took the file from the pile in front of him and opened it. My eyes widened when I saw my husband and daughter's photo.
