Page 33 of Cowboy

Dimitri stared at the casino worker, and he gave a slight shrug. Red heard the laughter in his ear and knew that, somehow, the boys back home were helping him out. Spinning the wheel again, the dealer waited, then was forced to call out the winning number.

“Red nine.”

“How about that?” said Red. “I won again. Pretty cool. Right. Dimitri.”

“You have me at a loss,” said the man stiffly. “I don’t know who you are.” He started to stand, but Red gripped his forearm. Before his bodyguards could move, Ethan and Mo had them on their knees.

“Oh, I think you do know who I am. I’m the man that killed your pathetic lackey on that ridge. And you’re the man that killed the old woman.” Everyone around the table stilled, staring at the men. “That’s right, folks. The rich and famous Dimitri Stepanapolos killed an old woman by shoving her off a cliff. Very brave of him, considering she was elderly and couldn’t fight back. That’s the kind of man you want to do business with.

“Now, my friend over there is seriously pissed off at you because you shot his girl’s plane out of the sky. Then, you were fool enough to think you could touch her. Here’s a little hint. You can’t. You won’t ever touch her because we’re going to make sure you don’t breathe ever again.”

“Wanna bet?” grinned Dimitri.

“Oh, hell, yea,” said Red. “All or nothing. One number. One time.”

Dimitri smugly pushed the stack of chips to his number, then watched as Red did the same. He gave a cocky nod to the dealer and waited for his win.

“R-red. Twenty-nine,” stammered the dealer. Dimitri slammed a fist on the table.

“No! That’s not possible!” he yelled.

“Oh, man! We got ourselves a sore loser,” laughed Red. “What’s the matter, Dimitri? Did your man not push the little button below the table? You need to get used to that shit because you’re going to be losing a lot more than a little cash.” The other gamblers all started murmuring, whispering about the dealer cheating.

Dimitri stood, waiting for his bodyguards to do something, but when they didn’t move toward him, he realized that he was truly in a bad situation. Cowboy walked up to him, looking down at his dark, smug face. He saw the Vegas PD walking toward him and knew they wouldn’t be able to take the man from the casino. Not this time.

“Here’s the deal, D. You fucking dared to harm my girl and her grandmother. Pathetic, cowardly shit, killing an old woman. Now, I’ve got your weapons, I took your girls, and I’m giving you one warning. Whatever you think Autumn has, she doesn’t. There was nothing in that plane. Nothing. If you so much as breathe her way, I’ll cut off your dick and feed it to you. Clear?”

Dimitri stared at the man, then looked around the table. It was true, his girls were all gone, and the men were standing there, stiff as boards, not making any moves.

“I asked you a question,” said Cowboy. “Are we clear?”

“Clear,” said Dimitri through clenched teeth. He buttoned his suit coat and turned to leave, shoving his bodyguards out of the way. They watched him leave and nodded at one another.

“Gentlemen, is there a problem?” asked the officer.

“No, sir. No problem at this time,” smiled Cowboy.

“Trackers are working,” said Pigsty in their ears. Each of the men now had a tiny tracking device on their person.

“The girls are with security,” said Ethan. “I’m going to make sure they get to where they want to go. You need to go back upstairs and have a conversation with Sephones. Why the fuck was Dimitri enjoying himself in Constantine’s casino?”

“That’s what I’m going to find out,” said Cowboy.

“Gentlemen, I didn’t know you were still here,” said Christopher, opening the door just a crack.

“No, I bet you didn’t. Did you know that Dimitri was downstairs?” His face paled, and he tried to shut the door, only to have Moose shove his foot through, stopping its closure.

“My friend asked you a question,” said Moose.

“Listen, he does what he wants. I can’t help it. I don’t work for Constantine any longer, and I don’t control the casino. Dimitri can come and go as he likes.”

“Yea, he can come and go and display his new playthings for all the big spenders to see,” said Mo. The man took another step back, shaking his head. “Don’t worry. We got the girls to safety. This time.”

“You’ve got five minutes to tell me everything you know, then I start cutting off body parts,” said Cowboy.

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” he said, shaking his head.

“Listen to me, you pathetic piece of shit. You portrayed yourself as the savior for women and children when, in reality, you’re helping that prick sell flesh.” Mo moved closer, his knife now at his throat. “Speak. Or I will remove your tongue.”

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