On the other hand, Kross and Dillon shifted on their feet, as did Kelton. I crossed my arms over my chest, not nearly as antsy as they were. I’d been waiting for this opportunity for months.
“I stayed away from gambling for years. But when I started to sift through your father’s bank accounts, I told myself I would only play one game.” Terrance wiped his forehead.
“How much?” I asked, holding my breath.
“All told, there’s only two hundred thousand left.” Terrance held his condescending tone until the last half of the sentence, when his voice cracked.
I didn’t know whether to be happy there was money left or angry he’d gambled away most of the million dollars.
One of the guards said, “Sir, cops are on their way.”
At the mention of cops, chaos erupted. Poker players grabbed their chips and rushed for the door. The dealer and the guards made their way toward the exit as well. Kelton pushed me in that direction.
“No,” I snapped as I tried to hold my ground. “I’m not done talking to him.”
Kelton wrapped his arms around me from behind and lifted me off the ground. “We have to go.” He merged into the melee of the panic-stricken crowd.
“Hurry!” someone shouted.
“Get out of my way,” another snapped.
Kelton stumbled forward. I went down, twisting my ankle before I was plastered to the floor. I tried to get up, but a stampede barreled over me. A high heel dug into my hand. I screamed.
“Lizzie!” Kelton shouted. “Lizzie!”
Someone tripped over me, landing in the group ahead.
“Kross!” Kelton said from somewhere. “Where is she?”
I tried to scramble upright, but someone else knocked me down. Then a hand gripped my arm, helping me to my feet. People were yelling at one another to move. The person behind me gently used his bulk to push me out the door. Before we reached the stairs, I quickly checked to see who my savior was.
“Keep moving,” Oscar said.
A gravelly voice ahead of me warned, “Cops are in the stairwell.”
I had nowhere to go but up, since the hall was narrow and a quick scan around showed no exit signs.
I couldn’t lose sight of Terrance. But I couldn’t breathe. I could barely walk in my damn heels. Blood pooled on the back of my hand, my body throbbed, my brain was frozen, and I didn’t know where Kelton, Dillon, or Kross were. My only option was to climb the stairs into the hands of the cops who were cuffing people as they reached the landing. Even if I’d wanted to run back down to the poker room, Oscar’s big stature wouldn’t have allowed me to. I could’ve pushed him out of the way, but then he would’ve become a human bowling ball, knocking down those behind him.
I trudged upward into the hands of the police. The night hadn’t gone anywhere near how we’d planned it, and I was to blame.
A beefy cop waited on the landing, handcuffs in hand. Cuss words shouted in my head, lots of them. All I could do at that point was accept my fate. After the cop cuffed me, he escorted me out of the building into the freezing cold night. I laughed, otherwise I’d start crying for fucking up the only plan I’d had to get Terrance’s attention.
“Watch your step,” the beefy cop said. My ass was hanging out of the cocktail dress and my breasts were practically on display.
I climbed into the police van and took a seat on a bench. Fortunately, my long hair had come undone, spilling over my breasts.
Not far behind me was Oscar. He grunted as he tried to get his large body into the van, then he dropped beside me. I leaned my head back against the metal wall. Fuck. Kelton didn’t need to get arrested. Dillon was probably furious with me, and poor Kross. He’d only tagged along to keep Kelton in line when he should’ve tried to keep me on the straight and narrow.
“How come we’re the only two in this van?” At least a handful of others had flown out before us.
“There’s another vehicle in front of this one.” Oscar didn’t sound surprised by any of it.
The van had no windows, so I couldn’t see anything outside except the two cops standing guard at the open back door. Beyond them, the street was empty of traffic. It was midnight or so. “You seem to know the ropes. Are cops always called at games like this?”
“My guess is that someone in that room was an undercover cop trying to infiltrate the Italian mob. Maybe they saw it was about to get out of hand and called in support.”
All because of me.
“Put him in this one,” a male voice ordered.
Terrance came around to the back side, arms cuffed behind him. His mop of curls was wild, reminding me of his son. He got in and sat on the bench opposite Oscar and me.
We stared at each other for the longest time. All I could think about was my dad and what he’d seen in Terrance as a friend, why he’d trusted him.
“What did you mean when you said my father was stupid like that, too?” I’d never known my father to gamble.
“Why do you think your parents always took the boat to the Bahamas? Your father had the bug. He loved the casinos there.”