I’m silent as I weigh my options.
"Decide, Asher. Your time is ticking."
"OK,” I reluctantly agree. I know he’s setting me up, but I’m too worked up over Grace to see how. I just need to get the f**k out of this room and go find her. The thought of walking away and never seeing her again… well, shit. I can’t let that happen. But I can’t let Li take her away either. That last offer was pretty sweet. “Deal."
"Place your bets," the dealer calls. "Hand number seven, Mr. Asher. Lucky number seven."
I put one hundred grand on the bank.
Li matches me like he promised.
The dealer deals the cards.
"Win to the bank!" the dealer calls. "Congratulations, winners! Place your bets. Hand number eight, players. Hand number eight, what will it be?"
Li moves his three hundred grand to bet the player, and I do the same.
The player gets dealt a three, the bank gets dealt a seven, the player gets dealt a five, and the bank is dealt a ten. "Player has eight, bank has seven, player wins! Congratulations, winners!"
"It seems," Li says as the dealer doubles our chips, "we might make a lucky team." He winks and I scowl.
"My turn to bet," I say.
"Hand number nine, Mr. Asher. Only two more left, make it count!"
I put all my chips, all six hundred thousand dollars, back on the bank. Li copies me with a satisfied smile.
"You really don’t like to take risks, do you, Asher? You’d make a horrible businessman."
"Don’t kid yourself, Li. This whole night has been a risk for me and I run more businesses than you’ll ever know."
"No more bets!" our animated dealer calls out. Like there’s anyone else here making bets. She deals the player and the bank their two cards and adds up the scores. "Three for player. Eight for bank. Bank wins! Congratulations, winners!"
“Holy f**k. We just made one point two million dollars."
Li grins up at me. "We could win a lot more, Asher." He pushes his chips to the top of the table and then stands back a little, like he’s proud of himself and needs to take it all in for a moment.
"You have got to be f**king with me." There are only three ways to bet in punto banco, the version of baccarat that we’re playing here. You can bet the player wins and double your money. You can bet the bank wins and almost double your money. Or you can bet that there will be a tie and make eight times your money.
You are more liable to win betting on the bank than the player. Only a fool bets on the tie because the odds are heavily against you. And only a fool with nothing to lose bets one point two million on the tie.I am not a man with nothing to lose, I realize. I am a man with everything to lose.
Li is silent, watching me.
I look at the dealer and she shrugs. "You guys are lucky."
"We are lucky," Li says. "Together at least. Bet with me, Asher. Let’s pool our luck. You have to anyway, it was part of the wager."
"How about I just give you the money, Li? If we win the tie, the payout is eight hundred percent. I will give you all that—almost ten million dollars. I will pay you ten million dollars to let me get the f**k out of this room and go find Grace Kinsella."
"Put your chips in the tie bet, Asher," he says without emotion. "Have a little faith."
"Faith in what? Stupidity? That your purpose here is to f**k up my life?"
"You said she was yours when you arrived at the craps table. Well, prove it. If she’s yours, certainly the universe knows of your claim."
"Your hour is up, Mr. Asher," the nosy dealer says. "But you agreed to play ten hands so as soon as you finish, you can leave."
"I can leave, but if I lose this hand I have to walk away."
"I thought you liked games, Vaughn?" His use of my first name, like we’re friends, sets me back. "You’re so used to getting what you want. So used to paying people off with money. You walked right into this. Come on, put your chips on the tie and let’s play this out like men."
I have no choice. None at all. I push all one point two million dollars’ worth of chips into the tie bet and hold my breath.
"No more bets," the dealer calls. "Last hand, all bets on tie." She waves her arm across the table and then slides the first card out of the shoe and places it face up on the player’s side. Ace.
She repeats this for the bank. Ten. Which is a zero in punto banco.
The player’s second card is an eight. "Fuck," I say loudly. That gives the player a score of nine, the highest score possible and an almost automatic win.
The bank’s next card is a five.
"Bank score of five requires a third card." The dealer swipes out another card from the shoe and flips it over.
My whole worlds stops. I am still holding my breath, unable to exhale the stale oxygen coursing through my veins. Why the f**k did I let myself get into this situation?
How could I bet a woman in a card game?
I swear to God, I’ll never do it again. I’ll never be this ass**le again. Just let me win my—
"Four! Bank has nine, player has nine." The dealer looks up at me. "It’s a tie! You win! Congratulations, winners!"
I look over at Li and he’s smiling. "I told you, Asher. We’re lucky together. Let’s do business. I’ll call you next week. Your Grace is down in the private villa bar with her friend. I’ll have Carl take you to her."