My attention now fully away from the man next to me, I focus back on the game. My hand is a jack and a nine of hearts. One of my favorite hands to play. I raise, hearing laughter to my right.
“Whew, the kitty has claws.” He leans so close I feel his breath on my neck. “Good thing I like to play.”
A chill creeps up my spine, while the lunch I had hours ago struggles to stay down. I let out a noncommittal ‘hmm,’ not glancing away from the table. The flop gives me a flush draw, so I raise again. The creep on my right calls again.
The river is the ace of hearts. A flush for me. I raise, and the creep re-raises. I take a deep breath. Two pairs. That is what I’ve got him on. I add my chips to the growing pot, re-raising again.
He flashes me a yellow smile before calling.
We both show our hands.
Two pairs, just like I expected. My lips turn up, but my smile is short-lived before his face transforms.
“Lucky bitch.” His eye twitches with barely contained rage. My reflexes kick in, and I itch to get out of there. I scramble to place my chips on the tray, lifting from my seat, when he grabs my arm, digging his disgusting fingers into my skin.
“Where do you think you’re going? You think you can take my money and walk away? Sit down and give me a chance to win it back,” he grits out, freezing the blood in my veins.
“I will have to ask you to let the lady go.” I hear the dealer’swords faintly in the background, overpowered by the loud sound of my heartbeat.
He lifts his hands in a surrender motion, and I feel the sting of where he held me. “Just think it would be fair if she’d let me play a few more hands. This is a cowardly move.” His snakelike smile sends chills down my spine.
“I-I…” Is the only thing that leaves my mouth as I make my second attempt at escaping, but the man pulls me by my elbow back into my seat.
Panic rises in my throat.This is nothing.Casinos are crawling with security that can be here in less than a minute, which is why they are my favorite place to be. I also have a gun in my purse that is just within my reach. Realistically, this man can’t do anything to me. But my body doesn’t know that. It’s frozen in place, muscle memory making it hard to move. My lungs can’t get enough air in them, and just when I think I will hyperventilate, a deep voice breaks through the fog in my brain.
“Do we have a problem here?” The voice is familiar, but I’m too distracted to place it.
“Come on, man. We’re playing.” The guy next to me responds, brushing him off.
“I asked, ‘Do we have a problem?’” the man behind me grits out. I’m too frozen to turn around, but I feel the scorching surge of rage emanating from him.
“As a matter of fact, we do.” The jerk doubles down. My skin itches with imminent danger. “This bitch thinks she can cheat me out of my money and walk away.” He gestures to me, turning his head.
His eyes widen to saucers as soon as he turns his head back and before I’m able to do the same, a large hand wraps around his throat, lifting him out of his stool.
Leon’s jaw teeters on the edge of breaking as he stares at the jerk with pure hatred in his eyes. He’s in another one of his suits, though his shirt is messy and unbuttoned at the top. He doesn’t look at me, his attention focused solely on the pathetic man infront of him. The man lifts both of his hands to Leon’s, trying to pry him away, but Leon is half a foot taller and twenty years younger than him. He struggles to catch a breath, and with the lump formed in my throat, I’m not far behind. Finally, Leon loosens his hold. The man coughs, placing both of his hands to his neck protectively, but Leon’s not done. He pulls him by the collar of his shirt.
“Apologize to the lady.” His voice is so low, it sends shivers up my spine.
“I-I didn’t…”
Leon’s hand lets go of his shirt, grabbing him roughly by the jaw. “Apologize to the lady.”
Leon turns the man’s frightened face towards me. His eyes are a mix of hatred and fear, but I guess fear wins when he says, “S-sorry.”
Still, Leon doesn’t let go.
“Sir?” A voice speaks next to him, and it’s only then I notice the three burly security guys surrounding us.Casinos are safe, Alex. You are safe.With a loud sigh, Leon lets go of the man. The security guys grab an arm each, dragging the man toward the exit sign. My mind is faintly aware the danger is leaving, but my chest is still tight, my vision blurry.
I should feel safe, but it’s something I haven’t felt in a long time.
“Alex?” The soft touch to my shoulder makes me wince.
Leon removes his hand as if burned and lowers down to my eye level. “Alex, are you okay?”
Tears prickling in my eyes, I force my face into something resembling a smile and nod. The look in his dark eyes tells me he doesn’t believe me for a second, but he doesn’t press further. Rather, he takes the chip tray in front of me and hands it to the leftover security guy.
“Cash that in for her, would you?” Leon tells him. The man is a giant, standing easily three inches above Leon. With a slight dip of his head, the security guy starts in the direction of thecashier. Leon reaches his hand out toward me, but doesn’t make contact.
