“Would you still keep your comments to yourself?”
“I do try to be careful when it comes to people’s families. Simply because they’re family. And you never know how someone will react when family gets involved.”
With another nod Dempsey seemed to approve of my response, or at least concur with his earlier measure of me. “Just between you and me Marcus,” Dempsey whispered to me, as he leaned in closer. “My niece already seems to be very infatuated with you.”
“What do you mean? She couldn’t possibly be interested in me in that way.” I responded as soon as I registered his comment. “I’m sure I would have noticed that.”
“No you wouldn’t.” Dempsey said with a shake of his head. “Trust me, men never see the signs that women shove into our faces. Which is entirely fair since they can’t seem to understand ours.” Then the man cracked a smile, a very amused smile.
That smile was so eerie that I let my eyes catch his and before I could stop myself I asked, “So what makes you think that she is infatuated with me?”
Resting his elbows on the table, Dempsey leaned forward slightly. “The only reason you don’t think that is because you don’t know her. The biggest challenge most men face with her is keeping her in one spot for any length of time. And remember the only reason my niece isn’t her right now is because I scared her off, not you. Though you’ve come close a couple of times from what I’ve heard.”
Leaning back into his chair he kept his eyes on me but was no longer weighing me. Instead he seemed to relax. But that just made me even more confused. “There is a reason I came over when I did. I still have other people to meet, but I was told that my niece had been sitting with someone for almost two hours and he was about to blow it.”
Stunned by what Dempsey was saying I took a moment to order my thoughts. Which was rather hard since he had scattered most of them out of my reach. “So you came over here to save me from myself?”
“No, I didn’t say that, what I said was I wanted to see the man who was skating on thin ice. Remember I’m not doing you any favors sitting here chatting with you. Now with that being said my niece is very picky with who she is willing to spend her time.” Dempsey turned around to face one of his attendants and once he had the man’s attention he snapped his fingers and pointed to the drink sitting on the table in front of me. The attendant took off to comply with Dempsey’s wordless command. “Despite her not liking what I do for a living, as you said, she’s family and I want what’s best for her, whatever that may be.”
Leveling his grey eyes at me I could see the change from a benevolent uncle to those of the cold blooded murderer I knew him to be from all the stories. “But just be careful not to cross me here or anywhere. If you ever manage to accomplish that, then there is no hole small enough for you to hide in. My wrath will find you no matter how hard you try. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good.” The sheer terror inducing look vanished in an instant, once more leaving me to stare into the face of a kindly uncle. At that moment the attendant returned with Dempsey’s drink, placed it on the table, and quickly backed up, waiting for further instructions. Dempsey plucked it up and tasted the drink. “Ah, Simon is working his magic again I see.”
“I lucked out in finding him.” I said without thought.
But Dempsey was already taking another sip of the martini, and when he finished he nodded his agreement. “You know, so did I.” I couldn’t help but laugh and he quickly joined me.
Somehow I had managed to get him to laugh, which was a good thing, so why did I ever try to threaten that? As I looked down into my drink I felt the question building up. Before I could stop myself I heard the words fly out of my mouth. “If you don’t mind me asking, it’s plain to me that Bella doesn’t care for you all that much, so how did she manage to collect the entrance fee?” When I looked back up I could see those two emotionless eyes were smoldering with something. In an effort to calm him I immediately clarified my question. “Your reputation doesn’t… you’re not exactly known to give breaks even to family.”
Dempsey must have known what I was trying to get at, at least the smoldering in his eyes began to dim ever so slightly. “My little niece has become quite the skilled gambler. And as you said, she is a very smart woman. She takes advantage of all of her resources, and that includes her looks. Now don’t get me wrong she isn’t a vain woman and she isn’t fully aware of the affect she has on others. Even so, she somehow manages to take complete advantage of it.” Lifting his glass off the table Dempsey looked it over before continuing, “She won my tournament last year, which is how she was able to be here today. But as far as how she earned the entrance fee for last year’s tournament…” Shrugging his eyes softened a little more as he took another sip of the martini in his hand. “I don’t know how she managed to earn that fee. Though she did have to learn those card skills somewhere.”
Looking briefly around the room he caught sight of Bella standing at the bar with two glasses and a tapping foot. “Well I’m afraid I need to leave before Bella lumps you in with me and if that happens, she’ll never come back. Best of luck to you Marcus.” Dempsey offered me his hand and I took it and held it as firmly as I could, only to be surprised at how hard the other man’s grip was. When the handshake was finished he silently stood up and retreated back into the crowd.
Chapter 6