Page 6 of The Don's Prisoner

Felix dealt, and I looked at my cards. I had two kings and two fives in my hand, which meant that I was one card away from having a full house. At worst, I had two pairs which wasn’t bad considering that the kings would beat any pair the others had. Shit, there was really a good chance I was going to win. I traded in the card that didn’t belong, and when I flipped over the new one, it happened to be another five. Well, look at that, full house.

I didn’t let the excitement show on my face, but when it came time to place bets, I let the others place theirs and then pushed all of my chips into the center.

“I’m all in,” I said with confidence. Immediately Felix and Seth folded, giving up. Vito, on the other hand, gave me a wide grin.

“Me too,” he said and pushed his chips forward, excitement radiating through him. I shook my head.

“You have about ten grand less than what I’m putting in, ragazzo,” I said. Calling him a boy was only a slight insult. Especially since he was younger than me by at least five years.

He looked puzzled and a little scared.

“Well, I… umm... I’m good for it. I can get you the money if you win,” he said but I shook my head.

“No, you have to put it in the pot now, or it doesn’t count,” Felix said so that I didn’t have to.

“But I can get you the money!” he insisted. “ My sister, Vicky, she owns her own company! I can borrow the money from her if I need to. Trust me, I’m good for it.”

“That’s what they all say," Robby grumbled. “Fuck, V, you’re better off just betting your sister than betting her money. At least we could go get her and make her pay. We have no guarantee she would give any money to you.”

The guys laughed, but I didn’t. Something about the idea of winning a woman… well that just spoke to the dark corner of my soul that I had never looked at too closely. The place where I somehow justified taking the lives of others for the betterment of my family. The place where all the kinks that make the women I date run away telling me how depraved I am come from.

Winning a woman and having her be mine? Well, that might just solve all my problems.

And it didn’t matter how she felt. I had ways of convincing her to go along with it, one way or the other. It didn’t even matter what she looked like as long as she went along with it. I could have my fun with Seth’s girls or anyone else I wanted and still have her at home. All I had to do was knock her up once, and then there would be an heir. Then I could divorce her and she would take care of the kid, and life could go right back to the way it was now, exactly the way I wanted it to be. I might have to sacrifice a year or so with her, but that was nothing in larger the scheme of things.

It might actually work.

“Go ahead,” I said, and everyone turned to look at me.

“What?” Logan asked and I shrugged.

“Bet the sister. If he wins, he at least took the risk, and if I win, I will get my money and then some,” I explained, taking the last swig of my drink.

“Can he do that?” Felix asked, turning to Seth who was watching me. He knew me better than anyone and could tell that I actually meant it.

“He’s the son of the boss, he can do anything he likes,” Seth shrugged. “Show ‘em then. Gio’s 20k versus Vito’s 10k plus his sister.”

“Read ‘em and weep!” Vito exclaimed, laying out his cards. He had a flush, which was a pretty good hand, but not as good as mine.

I spread out my cards without saying anything, and Vito’s eyes went wide.

Chapter three

Victoria

“WHAT DID YOU DO, VITO?” I demanded, looking at the large guys dressed in black who were now coming towards my office. Vito just stood there looking exactly like his six-year-old self after breaking my favorite jewelry box. “What do you mean ‘I have to go with you?’ V, where are we going? What did you do?”

He shuffled his feet a little.

“Well… you see, I was playing cards and I had a really good hand. So I made a bet, but I was short on money.”

“Okay, so now you owe them or something?” I demanded. “How much? Fuck, V, at this rate you’ll make me go bankrupt.”

I folded my arms over my chest as I could feel my temperature rising. My silk blouse clung to my damp skin, and I was very glad that my long blonde hair was pulled up into a fancy chignon. The few strands that I let hang down to create bangs on either side threatened to stick to my face with the coat of sweat that suddenly covered my body.

“They... aren’t here for your money… Victoria.” He winced and looked away from me as the big bulky men in black came through my office door. Everyone on the floor was staring in my direction, everyone including Guy who looked like he was going to have kittens.

“Victoria Aldi?” one of the men asked, and I just stared at him. He waited patiently, but when I didn’t say anything in return, he looked at my brother. “This her?”

---