Desire. Cindy Jacks

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СКАЧАТЬ he’d never been fond of the things, Bacchus had to accept the gift. He bit off the end, leaned over, and lit it from Santos’s offered Zippo.

      The last two stragglers cleared the room. Santos’s hired muscle assisted the very drunk men.

      Bacchus took a couple drags from the cigar then abandoned it in an ashtray.

      Santos let the smoke roll around his mouth before blowing it out in a large gray cloud. His gaze roamed over Bacchus’s face, and his lips drew together.

      “That was pretty slick, taking out the competition the way you did. What was in that flask? It wasn’t any ordinary liquor.” Santos tapped the ash from his cigar.

      “Would you like some? It’s ouzo, plain and simple.”

      Santos broke his chips into smaller stacks, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t you prefer to beat me the old-fashioned way?”

      Bacchus cracked a smile. “Why whatever do you mean, Sr. Santos?”

      “I don’t mind that you fleeced my guests. They were stupid for underestimating you and your bottle of luck there.” He chuckled, but it sounded more like a grunt. “Maybe you should walk away while you’re ahead.”

      Bacchus picked up his cigar and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger as he studied the floor. He set his jaw.

      Santos’s soul radiated iciness, and his gaze unrelenting frosty blankness.

      It would be a pleasure to teach this arrogant human a lesson, to strip him of what was never rightfully his. “Don’t you find this whole betting money thing a little dull?”

      Santos shrugged. “I don’t know. Taking a quarter of a million from you doesn’t seem so dull to me.”

      “True. You’d be a richer man for having done so. And I the same if I best you. But we are already rich men, so what really have we gained, or lost for that matter?”

      Santos took the cigar from his mouth, and his gaze flicked over Bacchus’s chips. “What did you have in mind, Mr. Sabazios?”

      Bacchus scratched his chin. “Are you a real estate man? I have a villa in Greece I’d be willing to pit against…say, your club in Miami. And all the employees in it. If I win this hand.”

      “Those are some very high stakes. How do I know you’ll keep up your side of the bargain?”

      Bacchus extracted the deed to his villa.

      The old man licked his lips then raked his teeth across them. “You want la morena, don’t you?”

      Bacchus dipped his head to the side.

      “I can sell her to you for a price.”

      This disgusting man wasn’t going to get off that easily. Santos needed to feel the loss. “Are you afraid you can’t beat me in one more hand of cards?”

      “Baiting me won’t work, either, Mr. Sabazios. But I’ll play your little game and take your villa too, since that’s clearly what you want.”

      “Clearly.”

      “Then let’s do this.” Santos tamped out his cigar and nodded to the dealer.

      The dealer pulled a fresh deck and shuffled. “Head’s up rules in effect.”

      “Head’s up?” Damn this complicated game.

      “Sr. Santos is responsible for the small blind. You, Mr. Sabazios, place the big blind,” the dealer said.

      “No need, Ricardo.” Santos pushed his chips into one large pile. “No betting this game. A winner and a loser as determined by the cards.”

      Ricardo nodded and dealt their hole cards.

      Bacchus had a six of spades and a two of diamonds. Crap, just as he’d expected. It’d taken him the whole evening, but he’d figured out Santos’s card marking method. A subtle pattern of dots blended into the ornate design on the backs, barely noticeable unless you were looking for it.

      Skipping the pre-flop betting, Ricardo laid the flop, three community cards, face up. Ten of clubs, a queen of spades, and an eight of hearts. He dealt the river, the last two community cards, a six of clubs and a queen of diamonds.

      Santos checked his hole cards, but kept his face neutral. “I’m an honorable man, Mr. Sabazios. I’ll give you a chance to fold, one more chance to walk away. Keep your winnings, keep your villa, and walk away.”

      Bacchus held two pair. An unremarkable two pair. Still, he might’ve taken a chance, if he didn’t know Santos held the queen of hearts. Three of a kind. Perhaps the dealer had stacked the deck to put him in just such a situation. A believable loss, but Bacchus wouldn’t lose.

      He put his hand in his pocket and dipped his fingers into the transformation dust Pan had procured for him. Pretending to check his cards, he rubbed the dust onto them and concentrated. He downed his last sip of wine. “I’ll stay in.”

      “If you insist.” Santos scooped up his cards and flipped them over.

      Bacchus flipped his cards, revealing a jack of spades and a nine of hearts. A straight.

      Santos’s eyes grew wide, his mouth agape.

      Bacchus knocked on the felt tabletop. “Looks like I’ll be keeping my winnings. And my villa.”

      Santos slammed his fists against the table. “Not possible.”

      “What’s not possible? That I beat you?”

      Again, he slammed his fists against the table. “Not possible.”

      One of his goons rushed into the room, the soulless one. “Que paso?”

      “He cheated.” Santos spat as he blustered. “This maricon cheated.”

      The soulless man cocked a gun and shoved it against Bacchus’s temple. “Get up.”

      “Now, wait. Wait a second. We can be reasonable about this. You say I cheated, I say I didn’t. And in the end, if you kill me, what have you gained?”

      Santos gritted his teeth. “I’ll feel a hell of a lot better. No one comes onto my boat and cheats.”

      “I didn’t cheat any more than you did.” Bacchus held the gangster’s stare.

      “You thought you could come here and take what is mine? I’m not the kind of man you want to fuck with.” Santos growled, still frothing at the mouth.

      “I’m sure. Nor am I. But what if I go ahead and pay you for the property? That way, we don’t have to argue about who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s a simple business transaction.”

      “How about I kill you and take all your money.”

      Bacchus laughed. “All my money? You mean this paltry quarter of a million? Oh, it’s nowhere near all my money. I’m not СКАЧАТЬ