Morrison (Caldwell Brothers #2) (10 page)

When I glance
over at her, I see she is killing it, too. My brothers are playing it safe, but holding their own. My man Wheels is raking it in, looking like he is on top of the world, reminding me of myself when I first came here.

By round ten, I am waiting for my table to be filled with players again.

I glance around and notice there is, at the very least, half a million dollars in chips lying on the tables.

I look at Monte’s pile, and he has about a hundred Gs. However, my hippie-helmet-wearing, platinum-pussy little momma has twice as much.

As both of their tables are cleared, I watch my brothers fold.

They walk by, and Jagger pats my shoulder. “We’ll be right outside, man.”

Monte sees them, and his face hardens. Then I wink at him, and his face turns beet fucking red.

We’re finally down to
the last two tables—and Hailey and Monte are at the same fucking one.

“Kill it, little momma,” I say from across the room, making her laugh.

“Can you tell the douche over there to shut the fuck up?” Monte sneers.

“Not against the rules to speak, is it?” I ask the dealer at my table.

“No, sir.” He tries not to laugh.

“Good.” I look across the room. “Hey, baby.” Hailey looks up and rolls her
eyes, which turns me on. “When it’s just you and dipshit, make sure you put your stacks of chips in like I give it to you, not how he did.”

“You mother—” Monte starts to stand.

“If you leave the table during a hand, you forfeit,” the dealer at their table warns.

“You hear him, Monte? When I take your money, I want to have earned it,” Hailey says.

“Bitch, you’ve never earned shit in your life,”
he snaps at her.

“Baby, you’ve got this. Now rock it,” I say, looking over my shoulder at her and giving her a wink.

She smiles. “I’ll rock it all right.”

“You know you’re getting me hard over here.”

“Oh, my God, would you shut up?” she says, laughing out loud, freely.

“Only if you ask me nicely.”

Her face turns pink as she looks down and shakes her head.

I am the last man standing at my
table again. I have just under two hundred grand, and I can’t wait to take that motherfucker’s money.

I get up and walk to the bar to get a drink, eyeing the four people still left at her table. One is some guy who talks like he’s from Texas, with a ten-gallon hat and cowboy boots that look like they’ve never seen dirt. Then there’s my boy Wheels, plus Monte and Hailey.

Tex pushes all his chips
in the middle, and Hailey’s eyes widen. Then I watch them brighten before she swallows hard and bites the inside of her lip. Her tell.

She knows she’s almost there. In bed, that’s my sign to go harder and as deep as she can take me to push her over the edge before she comes.

She lays her cards facedown, then looks up at me as she pushes all her chips in, and I adjust my semi-chub, clench my
jaw, and mouth, “Hot as fuck.”

Monte folds and sits back.

The hand is played, the cards flipped, and my girl has four fucking aces.

“Damn, darlin’.” Tex’s jaw drops. “You just took all my money.”

She smiles. “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed; it’s a game. You won fair and square.” He stands up and walks to the door as Hailey looks at her chips.

She stands up. “I’d like to cash in.”

“Are you
fucking kidding me? The game isn’t over, Hard Knocks. The bitch who left me would never walk out while there’s still something to be taken.”

“I didn’t take shit from you except for years and years of mental abuse, you piece of shit! What did I ever do to deserve the treatment you gave to me? What did—”

I walk over and take her hand. “Come on. He doesn’t deserve a second of your time, not one
more fucking word from your lips, not anything.”

While she’s hugging me and crying, the owner of the bar brings over her cash. “Three hundred forty thousand dollars for a girl who calls herself ‘Hard Knocks.’ I don’t think that fits you anymore. After our cut, you have three hundred thirty-three thousand two hundred.”

“Give him three hundred thousand.” She points at Monte. “Now, you bastard,
now I have paid you back for the seven years that you think I owe you. Tell me I have your word that you and I are even.”

“You trust his word?” I laugh.

“Yes. In business, his word is good. Monte, look at me and tell me my debt to you is paid in full.”

“It’s all here. We’re square. Have a nice life with this fucking player. He’ll leave you for someone who’s more his type, and you’ll wish you
were still warming my bed. But you never will again, you whore. When he drops you for some bitch that’s not so low-class, you’ll be trying to find the next warm bed—”

“Baby, go outside; my brothers are waiting. I’ll be out as soon as I kick his ass.”

Hesitantly, Hailey leaves as I move to the next round. I am placed at the table to play Monte and Wheels.

“You ever look at her again, and I will
poke your fucking eyes out. If you talk to her like that again, you lose your tongue. She paid you a debt that was complete and utter bullshit. Now you leave her the fuck alone.”

“I have receipts for everything I paid for, so there is no bullshit involved. She never worked a day in her life and had the world by the balls—”

“Then you fucked around on her and lost the only fucking thing that matters—family.
Someday, your little check-and-balance sheets will be all paid up, and no one will ever have to deal with your sorry ass again. Then what will you be left with?”

“Why, Marisa of course,” he says in a malicious tone.

“Bullshit. Hailey just ensured—”

“If she wants to walk with my kid, she needs to pay the kid’s tab, too. If not, I’ll see them in court.”

“You sick son of a bitch.”

“The kid’s
tab isn’t as much. Two hundred seventy-five thousand is all.”

“Then I’ll buy that one right here, right now.”

“You don’t have the chips, Aces.”

“I’ll go get the rest,” I hiss, and start to stand.

“No, sit your ass down and earn it. This will be the last game you ever play.”

“It’s not about playing the game anymore. It’s about winning it all.”

The stakes have never been higher. Hailey bought
her way out, but the little one is still on the table. Her daughter is the prize, and Hailey didn’t even know it. If I have my way, she’ll never have to know just how low her ex really went.

In the first hand, the motherfucker calls my bluff, and I lose it all. How? I played a game. I
wasn’t
the game; Marisa
was
.

As I stand to leave, Wheels stops me.

“Man, I know you got two Gs in your pocket,
so play it.”

“It’s not how I play the game.”

“The game is different now, right?” He is pleading with me. “Man, don’t lose hope.

I put my chips on the table and lose, but so does Monte. Wheels is rolling in it, and in a situation that wasn’t involving a kid’s future, I would have done cartwheels for him. But I was fucked.

The dealer looks at me. “You in or out?”

“Fucker’s out of money.” Monte
laughs.

“I have a house.”

“You’re pussy-whipped,” Monte taunts. “I don’t want your house. I want your money and your game.”

I ignore him.

“How much for the house?” Wheels asks, looking at his stack of chips.

“Two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars,” I answer without hesitation.

“How much is it worth?”

“Three hundred fifty,” I tell him.

He looks down. Monte looks pissed.

“Furnished,
it’s worth three hundred seventy-five, minimum. It’s in a gated community, and I owe nothing on it. Neither will you, Wheels—”

“I’ll take it in trade.” Monte laughs.

“Fuck you,” I hiss. “You don’t deserve it.”

“And he does? He doesn’t deserve a house that can profit him a hundred grand. You’re no player,” Monte spits out.

“The game’s changed.” I keep my eyes on Wheels.

“Deal,” he says.

“Deal?” I raise my eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, man, deal. Wait, throw in the car.”

“Wheels man, I swear you’re killing me here. Best fuck pad ever, but the car, she’s mine.”

“Fine.” He laughs. “Damn. Damn. Damn! When can I move in?”

“We can go get the legal shit done tomorrow.” I grab my phone out of my pocket and hand it to him. “Send yourself a text so we have each other’s contact information.”

“You gonna hand him that kind of cash on his word?” Monte sneers.

“Yeah, I am.”

Once Wheels cashes in and gives me the cash, I turn and hand it to Monte. “You come near her or the kid again, and I’ll kill you. It’s cheaper to hire a hit than be manipulated by you again.”

The dealer asks, “Who’s in?” I turn to leave. It doesn’t matter anymore. Game is over—and I won it all.

I walk outside,
Wheels following, and see Hailey pacing. I shake the kid’s hand, give him the address, and tell him to swing by tomorrow so we can head to the lawyer’s.

“Did you win?” Jagger asks me.

“Biggest win of my life. Let’s go grab some food. Then you three get some sleep before you head home to that girl.”

“You’re coming with, right?” Hailey asks.

“I’ll be a day behind you. I’m gonna drive home.”

“Why?”

“ ’Cause I don’t plan on coming back here anytime soon.”

“You sure?” Hendrix asks.

“Like I said, I hit the jackpot today. I have what I need from Vegas. Now all I want is to go back to Rock City with my family.” A calm washes over me. “But first, what the fuck were you two thinking bringing her here?”

It has all been a whirlwind. After I finished up at work, Olivia could tell I couldn’t handle the thought of Morrison being at the tournament without me. Without allowing myself to overthink everything, I mustered enough courage to leave my baby girl with Livi to board a red-eye to Vegas with Hendrix and Jagger. Family at my back as I faced my past—that’s what Livi said as we
left.

I didn’t know how to take it all in. I just knew that, at the end of the day, I had to pay my debt myself. I couldn’t let Morrison do it.

Before my nerves could get the best of me, I was at the tables. I was in the tournament.

I tried to keep my expression locked into the look of an easygoing person. I tried to maintain my composure, even knowing everything was literally on the line in
this moment.

Sitting down, I ran my fingers over the felt where the table meets the wood trim. The contrast was strange when you felt the soft green liner and then moved to the gloss trim.

Rough and smooth. Soft and slick.

Much like the table, I needed to remain soft and slick through it all. Tonight, it truly was winner takes all. Tonight, I took back my freedom. Tonight, I commanded my choices.

It was easy to get sucked in. There was a moment when I wanted to stay and continue to play. I wanted to up the ante and see if I could make a profit.

There was too much at risk, though.

I got in on a ticket from Marshall. Then Jamie called a guy who knew a guy who knew another guy, and we scored the golden cards for Hendrix and Jagger. Marshall didn’t look at all pleased when I arrived with
guests.

Too bad, so sad, big guy.

I know somewhere inside him, there is a heart. He just owes too much to Monte to get out. I don’t know what will happen if Monte finds out that Marshall was my way in. I couldn’t think on it. I had to remain focused, cash in, and pay off my husband.

I had just enough saved for my buy-in. I will have to work to repay my ticket out here, but I’m free.

What an
amazing feeling!

Outside, I paced back and forth, desperately hoping Morrison was okay. My gut twisted. My intuition screamed that there was more going on than I knew. The way Morrison was taunting Monte through me, playing him.

But why? This is my battle to fight.

I won what I needed—debt paid in full. So why, I wondered, is Morrison still in there? We’re even. Why not cash in and come out?

Watching him when he finally does walk out, I know something is off. He doesn’t rush over to me. There is no fairy-tale sweep-me-off-my feet kind of embrace.

No, I get told we are going to eat, I’m going home, and he will be a day behind.

Before I can ponder his brush-off, Marshall exits, with Monte right behind him. Then Marshall pins my stare in a way that lets me know I need to choose my
words carefully.

Choose.

I can’t stop the smile that builds as Monte approaches. I get a choice. Finally!

I feel the Caldwell brothers tense behind me as they all fall in at my shoulders. Jagger moves to step up to Marshall, but I reach out and gently grasp his forearm.

It warms my heart to know he would go toe to toe for me, but this is a world he doesn’t live in. There is a code, and he
can’t cross that line, or I’ll be in debt again before any of us can blink.

“The papers will be delivered midweek,” Monte says while studying me.

No tells. Give him no tells,
I remind myself.

“Monte, you should know our marriage wasn’t legal. We never had witnesses sign, nor did the officiant.” Before I left, Livi had done some research, and she found no record at the courthouse that I was
ever legally married to Sean “Monte” Timmons, because the marriage certificate was never completed. In addition, my social security card still reads “Hailey Sue Poe,” as does my new Michigan driver’s license.

“Hard Knocks, you should know I would’ve never legally tied you to my assets. I’m talking about the paperwork for Marisa. My rights are relinquished.”

My heartbeat thunders loudly in my
ears, my face giving it all away as I struggle to maintain my composure.

Monte smirks at me in a way that can only be described as pure menace. “I’m a lot of things, Hailey, most of them not good, but I am a man of my word in business. Checks and balances, Hard Knocks. You caught a break. Balance is paid in full”—he moves his gaze from me to Morrison—“for you and Marisa. You’re free.”

Monte
turns and walks off as Morrison’s arm comes around my shoulders. When he is a few feet away, he looks over his shoulder at me, then says to Morrison, “I had her first; I’ll have her last. And when she comes crawling back, I’ll make her pay the price for me not being the only one to have had her pussy.”

Morrison steps out to advance on Monte as Marshall shakes his head at me.

“Morrison, stop!
He’s not worth it,” I say.

He stops and looks at me.

“Be the good,” I whisper. “Don’t be him.”

“Aces, you got what you came here for tonight. Hope it was worth your game, because you won’t play here again. This is my city.” Monte stares back at me. “Hailey, when the hard knocks hit you once again, I’ll be waiting, and you won’t have it as good this time around.”

After a moment, he turns away
and makes his exit, as chills run down my spine and my mind races.

I get a shoulder squeeze from Jagger and another from Hendrix, while Morrison only stares at me.

“What does he mean you can’t play here again? What happened in there, Morrison?”

“Nothing for you to worry about.” He looks to his brothers. “Let’s eat, then get you guys on a plane and back to Ris Priss.”

There is a distance between
us that I don’t understand. I am free. Tonight, I won. I earned my way out. This should be a happy time, but I feel like it’s clouded by something. I just don’t know what.

Jagger and Hendrix seem to read something in Morrison that I am missing; as a result, dinner is quick and quiet. I am not used to being free. Now I am. I am free, and I need to quit questioning everything and just be in the
moment, at least for now.

We go back to Morrison’s place until our flight in the morning. As the guys hang out together, I go to Morrison’s room and read to Marisa, using video chat from Livi’s cellphone to mine. Seeing her face smile on the small screen, I feel the first wave of calm I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

She is my reason for being. She is everything.

I finish up my call, then
make my way to the living room, where I can hear voices in the kitchen.

“Fuck it! Leave it all. I don’t need the clothes. I got nothing personal here. Home is Detroit; this was a crash pad. Let the kid have it all,” I hear Morrison say to his brothers.

What is going on?

“You really gave it to the kid?” Jagger comes back.

“Nope, I
sold
it to the kid. I was off my game. She does that to me.
Why the fuck did you bring her here? If she hadn’t won, if I hadn’t sold out, do you realize how badly this could have gone down?”

“But it didn’t.” This comes from Hendrix, the calm one in everything.

My phone rings, alerting the guys to my location. Looking down at the screen, I see it’s Jamie and try to act like I haven’t heard anything as I answer.

“You won!” she shrieks.

“I won enough
to get out from under his control,” I say proudly.

“You comin’ back?”

“Oh, honey, I wish. I don’t think this is the place for me and Marisa, though. I don’t want to look over my shoulder. I don’t want to remember anything from here except walking away with my baby girl and our friendship. This isn’t the place for me.”

“I’m gonna miss you.” The sadness in her voice is evident. It hurts, but
this isn’t the place for me or my daughter—or for Jamie.

“Detroit has all the flash for ya, babe. You could have a fresh start with us,” I say, silently begging her to agree.

“Who knows? Maybe when my shit is sorted. You know I can’t leave until I have my own marker repaid.”

“I’m learning.” I sigh. “From all of this, I’ve learned love isn’t about owing or owning. Love, life, and relationships
aren’t checks and balances. I don’t know what they are exactly, but they’re not being someone’s possession. Hold on to that, Jamie, and hold on to the beautiful woman you are inside.”

“Love you, Hailey.”

“Love you too, babe. I’ll phone when I land tomorrow.”

Ending the call, I feel sad for my friend, but apart from that, I feel excitement. My future is in front of me, and for the first time
ever, it’s looking bright.

Lying down, I wait for Morrison to come to bed. He doesn’t.

When morning comes, I make my way to the kitchen to find him standing with his brothers around the island.

“Good morning,” I say to the room, barely above a whisper.

“Morning, Hailey,” both Hendrix and Jagger greet. Morrison merely studies me, saying nothing.

“Gonna get our shit ready,” Jagger states as
he grabs a cup of coffee and exits. Hendrix nods and does the same.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask nonchalantly.

“No.”

“You could’ve come to bed.”

“Hailey, I’m not gonna use you like that. You’re free, and you’re gonna get used to feeling that before I climb back in bed with you. It’s gonna take every bit of self-control I don’t have to stay away, but I’m going to give you this space.”

I don’t
know what to say to him, so I ask the question that has been in the forefront of my mind since last night. “Why aren’t you coming home with us?”

“Giving you space, little momma. Get home to your girl. I’ll be there tomorrow. I have some shit to sort here, anyway.”

Cautiously, I make my way over to him, and when I am right in front of him, I look into his blue eyes, which seem to be covering
up a slew of emotions.

“Is it safe for you to stay behind?”

“You worried?”

I bite my bottom lip. “Yes,” I whisper.

He looks over my head to the wall behind me as he contemplates my answer. “You don’t owe me, Hailey. Do you understand that? There is no obligation.”

“I know that, Morrison.” I blink back tears as all kinds of emotions fill me. “I don’t…I don’t…what…how…? I don’t want anything
to happen to you.” I sigh, unable to get the words out right.

He simply looks at me, trying to read me.

“Morrison, I don’t know if I could’ve done any of this without you.”

He wraps his arms around me and holds me close to him, not saying a word as we just live in this embrace.

“I’m gonna give you space, little momma, but I’m never far away.” He leans back to reach up and tip my chin to him,
then brushes his lips against mine. “I’ve always got your back. You need a little room, but I’m still here. I just gotta give you time for you to make some choices for yourself.”

He’s always got my back.

Choices. I have choices, and he’s letting me make them. This all feels good…
too
good.