Kelton stalked over. The dealer snapped his fingers to a hulk of a man standing at the door who I hadn’t noticed before. He left the room, probably to get reinforcements.
When Terrance laid eyes on Kelton, his chair flew back as he vaulted out of it like a jack-in-the-box. His gaze searched the entire room.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Malden,” Kelton said nicely. “Your son isn’t here. But I’m sure he would want you to know you’re going to be a grandfather.”
“Pardon?” Terrance placed a hand on the back of his chair.
“That’s right,” Kelton continued. “In fact, I think you’ll like getting to know the baby’s other grandfather, Jeremy Pitt.”
Dead, scary silence filled every nook and cranny in the place.
I stomped around the table to stand next to Kelton. Kross hung back close to the door. Dillon joined me.
“You mean the Jeremy Pitt?” Something far worse than fear washed over Terrance as sweat beaded on his upper lip.
Everyone seemed to be paralyzed, even the dealers. Dillon had mentioned the night before that it wouldn’t be good for Kelton to involve Jeremy since he was the Russian mob and we were in Italian territory. But the mere mention of Jeremy’s name held more weight than if he had been there. Reality bloomed. I was in a world I wanted no part of—a world that reeked of thugs, guns, danger, and all kinds of bad shit.
Terrance glowered at me. “So is this your way of getting to me? Threatening me by flouncing the name of Jeremy Pitt?”
“Is it working?” I couldn’t help but ask.
He scrubbed a hand over his mouth.
Milt broke out of his trance and said, “Either sit or all of you will be escorted out.” He eyed the door.
“Me?” Terrance sneered at the dealer. “These kids don’t belong here.”
“We need to go,” Kelton whispered in my ear. “That dude at the door went to get men and guns.”
I should have been fazed, but I’d come there to find out why Terrance stole from my dad. More importantly, to get him to cooperate in handing over any documents he had on the accounting of my estate. I silently swore at the last thought. The man was a gambler and a thief. He wouldn’t be filling out tax returns or following the law. I should’ve thought about that before I borrowed thousands of dollars from a loan shark and put the guys into a dangerous situation.
A wave of cigar smoke filtered up my nose. I coughed.
“Come on.” Kelton cupped my elbow.
I wasn’t leaving yet. Dillon placed a hand on my back.
“Sir,” I said to Milt. “May I have a few words with Mr. Malden? Then we can resume the game.” My tone was firm but polite.
“You have two minutes before the security team storms in,” he said.
“Then hold them off,” Kelton barked. “Or take one of those scheduled breaks.”
The short dealer at the other table spoke up. “We’ll take a five-minute break.” He started in the direction of the bar with his phone to his ear.
With the exception of two players at the other table who went to the bar, no one moved.
“Are you about to read me my rights?” Terrance asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone and sweat sliding down the sides of his face.
“Why did you steal from a man who adored you?” Each word burned as though I’d downed a nasty glass of moonshine. But once the question was out there, a warm feeling danced down my chest. Hours upon hours of worry, frustration, anger, rage, and anxiety lifted off me.
“He’s addicted.” Oscar’s gritty voice cut through the tension. “Like the rest of us with this habit.”
Not all of us had a gambling problem, although I could see how one could become addicted to the high of betting, playing, and bluffing. Regardless, I wanted to hear Terrance own up to what he’d done. His confession wouldn’t change the past, but it would help me sleep better.
“You need help,” I said, jutting out my chin, my hands fisted at my sides.
Terrance let out a roar of laughter. “You think you can save me?”
“I’m not here to save you,” I said. “I want to know how much of my money you threw away. And why.”
Kelton’s hand touched my lower back before pressing into my spine. He tapped his fingers as though he was trying to send me a signal in Morse code. Dillon left to stand near Kross.
Terrance darted his gaze to Milt then back. “Fine. If it gets us back in the game.” He ran fat fingers through his hair. “A man like me should never have been given access to large amounts of money.”
The door flew open. Four men in black stormed in, pointing guns in every direction. Milt held up his right hand at the men.
So much for no trouble.
“Hurry the fuck up,” Kelton said. “Tell her now.”
Dillon and Kross held fast as they both gave us a nod. No doubt telling us to hurry up.
“I tried at first to do the right thing.” The guns didn’t seem to faze Terrance.