Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I haven’t played a game in the Diamonds section since that night when I picked up Wade Gimble’s guests at the craps table. I didn’t win big at craps, but I did take home two beautiful women and fuck them both at the same time, so I ended up pulling through pretty well.
Of course, I hit the true jackpot when Alissa walked into my shop a few weeks later.
So I guess I’m returning to Diamonds.
I escort Alissa to the golden lights of the Diamonds section. One Blackjack table is open—manned by the same gentlemen. Shellby.
I extend a hand to Shellby as I sit down. “Nice to see you again.”
He bows his head. “You too, Mr. Hathaway.” He switches his focus to Alissa. “And I haven’t had the pleasure, Miss…”
She smiles at him. “Maravilla. Alissa Maravilla. I’m Mr. Hathaway’s guest for the evening.”
“And a lovely one at that.” Shellby turns back to me. “Will you and your lady friend be playing a game with us tonight?”
“Yes.” I hold a chair for Alissa and then take one for myself.
“I’m going to need a quick rundown of the rules,” Alissa says.
I lean in, lowering my voice. “It’s easy. Just aim to get as close to twenty-one as possible without going over. Face cards are worth ten, aces can be one or eleven. We play against Shellby here. You’ll get the hang of it.”
Shellby places a neat stack of chips in front of both of us.
I nod to him. “Let’s start small.”
Shellby deals the cards, his hands quick and deliberate.
“You’ve got a nine and a five.” I point to each of Alissa’s cards. “That’s fourteen. You should probably hit.”
She nods. “Hit me, Shellby!”
Shellby deals her another card—a six.
“Nice,” I say. “That’s twenty. You should stand.”
She follows my instruction, lightly tapping her fingers on the table to signal her choice.
I switch to my cards. I have a queen and a three. I tap as well, and Shellby slides me a seven.
“Twenty as well,” Shellby says. “Good play.” He flips his own cards—a ten and a six. He hits once, drawing a five. “Twenty-one. House wins.”
Alissa groans.
I chuckle. “That’s how it goes sometimes. Let’s go again, Shellby.”
This time Alissa draws an ace and an eight.
I lean in. “That’s either nine or nineteen. Play it smart.”
She waves her hand to stay.
I got two tens, an easy twenty, so I stay as well.
The dealer flips his hand—twelve. He hits and draws a ten, busting out at twenty-two.
A slow smile spreads across Alissa’s face as Shellby pushes chips toward her. “I won?”
“You won,” I confirm. “Feels good, right?”
She nods, excitement sparking in her eyes. “Let’s keep going.”
We continue playing. Alissa wins quite a few more times, but she’s a little shaky. She eventually spurns my help, wanting to play the odds on her own.
Fine by me. I can focus on my own game. I’m pretty good at Blackjack, but tonight I’m on a roll. Hand after hand, I play with precision. The chips stack higher and higher in front of me. The murmurs in the room shift as curious onlookers gather.
Alissa leans into my ear. “Do you think we should stop? We’re getting a lot of attention.”
I shake my head. “Never leave a table when you’re hot.”
The crowd ripples, and the spectators part slightly. A figure wearing a violent shade of red enters my peripheral vision.
I know from the skip in my heartbeat that it’s Rouge Montrose.
I turn toward her. Rouge is draped in a crimson velvet gown with a structured bodice, embroidered with gold filigree in the shape of playing card suits—spades, clubs, diamonds, but most prominently, hearts.
She moves with an effortless grace, her sharp eyes locking onto me with an assessing gaze.
“Well, well,” Rouge drawls, a knowing smirk curving her lips. “Ladies and gentlemen, it would seem like the winds of change are blowing through Aces Underground this evening.” She grabs the deck of cards off our table and holds it up to the crowd. “The deck is always shifting, the game forever changing, but power… Power must be claimed.” Rouge shuffles the deck and then seemingly at random takes a card out.
The crowd gasps.
Rouge flicks it forward with effortless grace, and the card lands in my waiting hand. “It is with my unquestioning authority that I declare Maddox Hathaway to be Aces Underground’s new King of Diamonds.”
I look down at my hand. Indeed, the card in my hand matches the title Rouge just gave me. I look up, my eyes wide, as a murmur ripples through the room.
Rouge’s sharp gaze drifts to Alissa. “And every king needs a queen.”
With a wicked smile, she lifts another card from the deck—sure enough, it’s the Queen of Diamonds.
Alissa looks up at me, her mouth agape.
What does this mean?
“Mr. Hathaway, you’ll have to work your way up through the deck before you can land yourself a Queen.”