Chapter Seventy-Nine
Nathan
I knew I was dreaming but I didn’t shake it off. I hope somewhere in my shifting subconscious was a memory that would help Bree and I. She still shivered against me even as she slept. I tightened my arms around her and dove deeper into the dream.
A poker table appeared. The flashing lights of Las Vegas were far below us, and from the penthouse suite I watched the fountain at the Bellagio dance. It was high stakes and I felt good.
Across the table from me was a familiar man. He rubbed a hand across his thinning hair and gave a cackling laugh. The laugh echoed in my head. Where had I heard it recently?
The dream threatened to shift, to drift down to the pulsing dance club, the open bar tab, and the dizzying parade of women I had flirted with fresh on leave. I channeled all my strength and all my focus into looking at the man again.
I recognized his thinning hair and the nervous smile that seemed to jump around his face. He wore an expensive suit with total disregard to the top-grade fabric. The jacket was crumpled over the back of his chair and his shirt sleeves were rolled up.
Javier.
“Javier’s not much for appearances,” a smooth voice echoed in my mind. It was Adrian Juarez.
I had met the Javier before. We’d played poker high in the Paris casino. There was a rushing sound in my ears as rivulets of my memory returned: I had won an outrageous sum at the Golden Nugget days before and slowly worked my way up to higher and higher stakes. It wasn’t until I sat down at the Paris penthouse game that I met Javier.
He sat across from me laughing and sweating, the collar of his tailored dress shirt growing damper with each hand.
“See, the best thing about me,” Javier had joked, “is that I have so many nervous habits you can’t tell which one’s a tell.”
His cackling laugh echoed in my head again.
I remember him rubbing his thinning hair and laughing off every big loss. When his supply of poker chips was gone, he simply snapped his fingers. A private waiter appeared, saw the empty table in front of Javier and rushed off without a word.
“Time to call it a night?” I had asked Javier.
He laughed again. The waiter reappeared and placed a tray full of poker chips next to him. “A few more hands before we really get this party started,” Javier had said.
The rest of my memories swirled together, flushing down the bright, neon chaos of Las Vegas. There had been too many drinks, too many women, and the loud music had pounded through my entire body. I remember thinking it was too much and then the world went dark.
I woke up with a start and had to harness in my panic. The room was dim and the bare bulb above had started to buzz. Soon it would go out and leave Bree and I in total darkness.
I had to get us out of there.
Bree was still curled in my lap, her head nestled onto my shoulder. I listened to her light breathing and checked her pulse. It was still running too fast and had a feathery feel to it. Bree was on the edge of shock and I needed to keep her warm and calm. I stroked her hair and cursed my dream for not being more helpful.
There was the muffled sound of chairs being rearranged outside in the hallway. I strained to hear the guards through the door. Four of them chatted about nothing in particular as they set up a poker game. I wondered if that was the reason my subconscious had returned to Las Vegas.
Then I heard a cackling laugh.
My blood turned to ice and then blazed hot with recognition. It was Javier. He was outside our door conning the guards into a poker game.
I listened and couldn’t help but smile as I heard Javier’s familiar platitudes. He liked to distract his opponents with off-hand jokes and compliments, all followed up with his cackling laugh. The guards must have been new to the cartel because they laughed right along with him and I heard them ante up.
They played for a little over an hour before the guards realized they were getting scammed. Javier didn’t cheat but he used his disheveled appearance and nervous habits to lull people into believing he was scatterbrained. I heard he pulled a few hundred off of each guard.
“The boss told you to stop fleecing the new guys,” another voice said.
“Just a little fun,” Javier said.
The other guards grumbled as they paid up and ended their shift. I held my breath, hoping it was Javier that was on our door for the next few hours.
I heard him try to ply his new companion into a game of Blackjack but the other guard had been fooled by Javier before.
“I’m not playing any cards or laying any bets with you,” the man said.
“I’ll play,” I called through the door.
Bree startled in my arms and I shifted her onto the ragged blanket before standing up. I knocked on the door and repeated my offer.
“No, thanks, Nathan. I’ve been down that road before,” Javier called. “The boss said no more gambling.”
“Speaking of that,” the other guard said. “How about you hand over some of those earnings. Split them with me and the boss won’t hear about your little game.”
“Tell you what,” Javier said, always ready to strike a deal. “I’ll split my winnings with you if you go and get us a couple of beers. I know there are cold cans in the office ‘fridge.”
The other guard grumbled but finally agreed. I heard him stride off down the hallway and knew I didn’t have much time. I had to remember more about Javier, enough for him to tell me something, anything useful.
“So, I got you in trouble, huh?” I asked through the door.
Javier’s cackling laugh came through loud and clear. “It’d be nice to blame you but there was a little more to it than our Vegas bender.”
“Must have been something big. You’ve been banned from gambling,” I said. “That sounds like a fate worse than death for men like us.”
“Men like us,” Javier snorted. “You don’t seem to be listening. What makes you think I am?”
I laughed. “From what I heard you might have had an ace up your sleeve. Still cheating?”
“When I can. I figure if they aren’t paying attention then it’s my job to teach what can happen,” Javier said.
“So you’re rich now?” I asked.
Javier snorted again. “Nah, man. I’m worse off than ever. You, of all people, know how that goes.”
“That little game was to help you scrape together some money to pay off a debt?” I asked. “Wait, if you’re so desperate why did you agree to split the winnings with the other guard?”
“That guy? What an ass. He never gambles, never even places a sporting bet. What a dull life. I had to steal his wallet a few days ago just to shake him up a bit.”
I laughed again and Javier seemed to realize he’d said too much. His answers to my friendly inquiries grew shorter and shorter.
“Hey, don’t worry about me,” I said. “I’ll keep your secrets.”
“What’s the price of that?” Javier asked.
“Just tell me what time it is. Feels like we’ve been in this room for years,” I said.
Javier cackled. “You think I get the easy shifts? This is graveyard, man. Closing in on 4am.”
“So they’re going to transfer us first thing in the morning?” I asked.
There was a long pause. Down the hallway I could hear the muffled footsteps of the other guard returning.
Javier moved closer to the door to not be overheard. “You know I can’t tell you that. You’re a dead man, Nathan. Because of that, I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What?” I asked, hoping for anything useful.
“I’ve still got that ace up my sleeve,” Javier said.
His cackled echoed off the hallway walls and I heard the other guard’s sharp remonstration. After that it was silence outside.
I scooped Bree back into my arms and waited for dawn.