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“Eighteen.” Dealer says. “Do you wish to stand?”
“No, hit me,” she says. He flips a card, and it’s a two. She has twenty. My nerves are finished.
“That the best you got?” I hear her say. I look at the dealer's cards. He has ten. If he gets an ace, he wins. “Stand.”
“How much did you bet anyway? Where did you get the money?” I ask.
“They extended a line of credit…”
“Piper, no. How much did they extend?” I ask. “Get out now.”
The dealer flips the whole card, and it’s an Ace. “Twenty-one. Thank you for playing.” There’s an instant quiet that surrounds the table before people move away as they no longer have something exciting to watch, murmuring to each other.
Piper looks at me like a lost puppy dog. “How much did you just lose?” I ask.
“I can sort this out, don’t worry,” Piper says.
“That would be half a million dollars,” says a man as he steps next to the dealer. “We’ll need you to pay before we allow you to leave.”
I look at Piper. “You gambled with half a million dollars?”
She squeezes my hand and turns to the man. “Turns out I wasn’t playing with real money. I was just playing for fun. I’m sorry, I don’t have that kind of money. I’m actually a minor.”
I groan and look around. There are three suited guards standing nearby, eying us out. The man leers at me. “There are other ways you can pay.”
I hold a hand up. “Woah there, buddy. Before you prostitute us out, give me a chance to come up with the money.”
“How are you going to come up with money like that?” Piper asks.
“Just trust me.” I take out my phone and I dial Penny’s number. I know she’ll call off these assholes. The Milovs own most of the casinos, and this is probably one of them. Even if it’s not, if she sends someone down here, I’m sure they can straighten it out for us. I’ll just owe her my life.
It rings out, and I call again. Shit, it must be on silent because she’s asleep. I pull up Kervyn’s number—a number I have never dared to dial.
I push ‘dial’ and listen to it ring until it goes to voicemail. I dial it again.
“Tick-tock,” the man says, tapping his watch. “I don’t have all night.”
I frantically dial Luka. His phone rings and rings, and I realize he probably can’t hear it if he’s out clubbing. I can’t remember where he said he’d be tonight.
It’s hopeless. We’re going to be taken by these men and have no say in it. I glance around, looking for an out, when someone familiar enters the high-stakes section.
Danil Milov.
“Danil!” I call. “Danil, can you come here quickly?”
He looks up, surprised to see me there. “Asher?”
“Yes, can I have a word with you for one second in private?” I look at the guy and know he won’t deny that from a Milov. Sometimes, having friends in the mafia is particularly helpful.
I take him aside. “Danil, listen, I’m really sorry to do this to you, but I need your help. We’ve gotten ourselves into a pickle.” I look at him seriously. “And if you don’t help us, it’s going to get worse.”
“Tell me what happened,” he says.”
Chapter 5 - Danil
Of all the turns my day had taken, this is the most unexpected. I had spent the better part of my day at the new casino getting the contractors on board to do what needed to be done so that we can reopen and start using it as a front for laundering money.
After that, I’d had to make my rounds on several businesses to check they were running well and that no one was doing anything they shouldn’t.
