“You looking for trouble?” He rolled up his
sleeves.
I put on my best pitiful face. “Lily’s medical
bills… you haven’t paid. We… we don’t have
any money.”
He laughed. “Medical bills? You were so tough
before. Now you’re begging?”
Brittany saw me, snorted. Two months had
passed, and my threats hadn’t materialized. She
wasn’t scared anymore.
“Look who it is! Lily’s big, bad brother. What’s
wrong? Run out of tough–guy act?”
She wanted to grab my throat, but she was too
short. She glared at me. “Your whole family is
full of it! Lily playing innocent, you playing
<
tough. Well, the charade’s over, isn’t it?”
Speaking of charades, Robert had a talent for
- it. He went to the bedroom, came back with a wad of cash, and threw it on the table.
“See this? I got plenty of money. You ever seen this much, you fruit stand trash?”
I stayed silent.
“I have the money, but I’m not giving it to you.
What are you going to do?”
“I’ll call the police.”
“Go ahead! We’ll go to court. I’ll appeal. I’ll
drag it out forever. I’ll pay my lawyers before I
give you a cent!”
He was right, but he wouldn’t be able to afford
a lawyer much longer.
く
“Your daughter put my sister in the hospital!”
“So?” Brittany said, smirking. “I heard she tried
to kill herself. Too bad she failed.”
I punched her in the face. She screamed.
It felt so good. I’d been wanting to do that for
so long.
Robert hesitated for a second, grabbed a
bottle, and swung. I kicked him in the gut,
sending him sprawling. A month of training with
the giants had paid off.
Father and daughter, one crying, one yelling. I
slapped them both, spat on the floor, and
walked out.
As I went down the stairs, I heard Robert’s
scream echoing behind me. “I’ll kill you all!”
Yeah, right. I was so scared.
<
11:09
40
Robert was on a roll that night. Cleaning out everyone at the table. He’d won over two
hundred grand in two hours. No one wanted to play with him anymore.
Of course, it was all rigged. The dealer was a pro. The other players were actors.
“The stage is set,” Alex whispered, grinning. “This is going to hurt a little.” Then he kicked me in the chest, hard.
“You cheating bastard!”
I gasped for air. He hadn’t held back at all.
“I’m not cheating!” I yelled. “You’re not
honoring your bets!”
The owner rushed over, grabbed my arm, pulled
a playing card from my sleeve.
“Then what’s this? You think you can pull one
11:09
40
over on me? I was gambling before you were
even potty trained!”
He shoved me, I stumbled back, knocking over a table of chips.
“Get him!”
Robert pushed his way through the crowd, his
eyes lighting up when he saw me. “What’s
going on here?”
“Mr. Miller!” The owner took a drag of his
cigarette. “This punk was trying to cheat me!”
“Ha!” Robert was ecstatic. He squatted down,
patted my face. “So, you fell into my hands
after all!”
“You know this guy, Mr. Miller?” the owner
asked. “I gotta give you face. If you know him,
you can take him.”
רח
11:09
Г
“I know him alright!” Robert snarled.
“Even without that hand, I still have twenty
grand left. I want my money,” I said.
“”
“You think you can…‘
the owner raised his foot
to stomp on me.
Robert stopped him. “Let him have his money. It’s just twenty grand.”
The owner lowered his foot. “If Mr. Miller says so. Consider it a gift.”
I got up, went to another table, and placed a bet.
“You still wanna play?!” the owner roared.
“I want my money!” I snarled.
Robert narrowed his eyes. “How about we play
a little game?”
11:10
This wasn’t in the script…
I saw Alex and the other giant stifling their
laughter.
Someone turn off the AC, it was freezing.
Everyone crowded around to watch us play. Robert held a cigarette in one hand, a glass of wine in the other. “What do you want to play? I’m game for anything.”
“Three Card Poker.”
Robert waved his hand dismissively. “Deal the
cards.”
He really was a good actor.
The dealer, with his sleight of hand, made sure
Robert always had a slightly better hand than
- me. I had a pair of fives, he had a pair of sixes.
I had a King high, he had an Ace high. I had
- ))
40
<
Eventually, he didn’t even bother looking at his
cards. He just told me to flip them over.
Soon, my twenty grand was gone.
“Impossible! You’re cheating! There’s no way I
could lose every hand!” I jumped up, pointing at
him.
The owner pushed me down. “You think
everyone cheats like you? Mr. Miller’s a legend
around here!”
Robert feigned modesty. “He’s just a kid. I
won’t hold it against him.”
I slumped to the ground, pretending to be
devastated.
“Need to borrow some money?” Robert asked,
smiling. “I’ll lend you some. Let’s play a few
more hands.”
く
“I wouldn’t take your money!” I turned to the
owner. “Give me some money.”
The owner scoffed. “Why would I give you
money?”
“I’ll give you my kidney.”
The owner’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure?”
“How much?”
“One fifty.”
“That’s it?”
