Page 25

The suspicion that has been brewing and forming in the corner of my mind finally bubbles to the surface. I stare at him, blinking hard, my voice is barely audible. “How much have you lost?”
He hangs his head.
I have never seen my father hang his head, no matter how bad things have gotten for us, and the fact that he’s doing it now breaks my heart. It’s as if everything is crumbling around us, and I can’t catch the falling pieces.
“I’m in debt,” he mumbles, his voice so low I almost can’t hear him. “The market’s been slow and hard, and I’ve had to borrow to keep things going... to keep everyone paid.”
His voice drops further, almost to a whisper, and I lean even closer, placing my hand on his shoulder. He stares at my hand for a long time before he can continue. I turn my back on the bastard behind me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how low my father has fallen. No matter what he will not getwhat he wants from me, even if I have to fight tooth and nail to ensure it.
I go close to his ear and ask, “Was he cheating?”
He whispers back in my ear. “No, to be fair, he wasn’t cheating, he was just completely unpredictable. He folded when I expected aggression, and he bet when I least expected it. He made moves that defied traditional strategy. When I thought he was losing he went all in.” He shakes his head as if in a daze of disbelief. “Was it intuition over mere mathematical calculations or just pure magic? I don’t know. I don’t even know where this guy comes from?”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I ran out of places and people to borrow from. So… this was the route I tried. It was the only way. I won, I lost, I drank, and I came back... after the loss today, I just... we won’t make it until next month, sweetheart,” he sighs, the weight of his words pressing on both of us.
I look into his eyes and nod. “It’s all right, Dad. We’ll figure it out.”
He shakes his head sadly, brokenly. “No, we won’t. Not now. The payments on everything have been late now for months, but it still might have been okay… if I hadn’t run into him… it’s all his now, Lara. All gone. All of it… gone.”
Suddenly, I feel unable to stand the smell coming from my father, the reek of alcohol mixing with his total defeat. I straighten and look down at him. He is broken. Totally. My heart feels heavy with sadness. I know it is partly my fault. I knew there was a problem, but I buried my head in the sand and hoped it would sort itself out. Well, it didn’t.
“The two of you are quite audacious,” the man behind me interjects with breathtaking arrogance.
“What?” I snap, feeling the sadness evaporate and fury take its place.
“You are both acting like I committed a crime when all I did was win at poker. Why exactly am I the villain here?”
“Because you’ve taken everything, you bastard,” my father yells, his voice cracking with emotion. “You’ve taken every single thing I own.”
“No,” he replies coldly. “You’d already lost everything before you sat in front of me. You really thought you could just win a quarter of a million at a gambling table?”
My head is spinning. Jesus! This guy is talking about a quarter of a million dollars! What’s really going on here? Is that what Dad owes him? My first reaction to the enormity of the problem is instinctive and irrational. To flee: run: never come back.
“Dad, we need to leave,” I say urgently.
“Good idea,” the Russian taunts. “Leave and I’ll sell your debt on to the Russian mob. They’re very good at collecting from the unwilling.”
“That is illegal,” I flare back.
“So is not paying your debts.”
“We’ll figure it out somehow. Just leave us be.”
He looks at me curiously. “You have no idea how much trouble your father is in, do you?”
I swallow. “We don’t need your help.”
“All you have to do is say yes, and I will make all of this and even more, go away.”
“You can’t just go around buying people.”
“I can’t?” All traces of amusement disappear from his face.
I clench my hands into fists as I stare at him, my pulse quickening. “No. That’s not how the world works. Nobody gets everything they want.”
“That is exactly how my world operates. I see what I want, and I am willing to pay the price.”
I start to respond but stop myself and try to hold my temper back.