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He’s chipper when he answers. “Dude, finally. So, where do I need to meet you to pick up my money?”
I stay silent for a moment, not sure how to articulate what happened. “JJ.”
It’s all I can say, and he immediately knows the outcome. “No.”
“I’m so sorry,” I tell him. “I’ll pay back my half.”
I can tell he’s on the move, and his voice gets softer but more direct. “That’s not good enough.”
“What do you mean? That wasn’t the deal,” I say, panicking as I get on the elevator. “The seventy-five I won yesterday, it’s yours. I just need to get it.”
“See, that’s where we have an issue. The money wasn’t mine.”
I make it to my room and shut the door, locking it behind me. “What the fuck?”
“I need to replace it as soon as possible before someone notices it’s gone.”
I think back to how Victoria called him her idiot brother, and God was she right. He really is a fucking idiot.
“You’re telling me you took a large sum of money from someone and hoped they didn’t notice? This was a big fucking mistake.”
“Yeah, it was,” he tells me sternly. “I thought you were better than that. People have been killed for less.”
I hold back the urge to laugh, but nothing about this is funny. “You steal from the mob or something?” I half-joke, but the line stays silent.
“Actually, my dad is the boss,” he admits, and I feel like I’m being smothered. What the actual hell? “And we’re in big fuckin’ trouble, and when I say we, I mean you. I have my half of the money to give back, but you’re on the line for one-fifty, Liam. Minus what you won yesterday, that’s still seventy-five thousand you’ll need to get me as soon as possible. My father doesn’t mess around when it comes to people who owe him money.”
I feel as if I can’t fucking breathe, and I’m livid that I got myself into this stupid mess and trusted him. How the hell can he be a part of the mob, and I had no idea? Thinking back now, it kinda makes sense given the way he was able to get into elite tourneys and had that much cash on hand. I was fuckin’ stupid for not seeing it sooner.
“Why would you gamble that kind of money?” Jesus fuck. This is insane. “I thought it was yours, but either way, I don’t have that kind of cash.”
“You have to play and win more games, that’s the bottom line. You’ve got until the end of the week,” he warns.
“I can’t get it that fast,” I shout, overly frustrated at the turn of events.
“Well, you better find it. My dad will be back in Vegas soon, and it’ll be unfortunate if I have to give him your name.” He ends the call, and I’m left speechless. This motherfucker just blindsided me and then threatened my life on top of it.
What was supposed to be a fun vacation has officially become my worst nightmare.
For the rest of the week, I play small blind games and break even, not winning a single penny. I meet up with JJ and give him the seventy-five thousand and promise to pay back the other half as quickly as I can. But I know it’ll be slow going since I don’t have anywhere near that amount saved up. It’s different playing poker for pleasure versus for necessity. Before I leave town, I meet up with JJ one last time, and he’s still more than pissed off with me, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Winning was never a guarantee, and I’m so angry, I want to kick his twerpy ass for not telling me the whole truth beforehand.
“You have until the end of next week. I’ll be in contact then,” he threatens before I get into my Uber. The anxiety of all this weighs heavily on me as I walk through the airport. If I could take this all back and not get involved with him, I would, but it’s too late for that now.
It’s been two weeks since I made this biggest fucking mistake of my life. JJ has sent dozens of harassing texts, and I keep begging for more time. I’ve been working my ass off, picking up as many bounty jobs as I can, but it’s gonna take a while to come up with the full amount.
Against my better judgment, I return to Vegas and meet up with him. While he verbally threatens me, the little punk doesn’t dare touch me because he knows I’ll lay him down flat. I’m twice his size, and while he’s as dumb as fuck, he knows better. I join as many games as possible and win a measly ten thousand dollars. Before I fly out, I try to give JJ the money to him, knowing I still own sixty-five, but he doesn’t take it.
