The last game by Fernando Trujillo Read Free Book Online

pushed the rest into the center of the table.
Alvaro gulped. And if he was wrong about his opponent´s cards?
Dante´s hands were like two rocks when he made that bet. Whoever
lost this hand would have their backs to the wall. They´d
effectively lose all chance of winning tonight. But on the other
hand this opportunity couldn´t be passed up. If Alvaro didn´t
follow his instinct what was the point of playing poker? He´d been
building his judgment up ever since he first started playing.
    He looked out of the corner of his eye at the
little girl in a desperate attempt to catch any detail that could
help him decide. She didn´t look back at him. She was still playing
with her blocks.
    Alvaro reprimanded himself for his
weakness. He was losing his edge. Why had he looked at the girl,
the bet should already be on the table! He only had to go through
with this and he would all but wipe one of the players off the
table. Nevertheless, he held back, afraid that Dante had more than
the two aces that he had in his hand. He´d repeated the message
over and over to himself before he´d left home: treat this game like any
other. But that was
easier said than done. He wasn´t going to throw the hand in. He
opted for a compromise.
    “I´ll see you.” He finally said.
    The decision was made. He wasn´t going to
raise and he wasn´t dropping out. He separated his chips and added
more to the pot. He was about to find out if his judgment had been
right.
    “ What fun!” The girl applauded while she
patted Zeta. The dog smiled and gave her a lick that nearly knocked
her off the chair.
    Alvaro didn’t back down on this occasion. The
decisive moment had arrived and he only wanted to see the outcome
of this hand. He pulled his two aces to one side.
    “Well, let´s see what you´ve got there.”
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Alvaro held his breath without being aware of
it. Judith gave him a vague, inscrutable look. He thought he could
see a flash of approval in those fragile eyes, something that could
tell him she was on his side, and wanted him to win and Dante to go
under.
    “Lucky bastard!” Dante said, tossing his
cards in.
    Alvaro relaxed straight away, taking a deep
breath and reaching out to collect the winnings, ignoring Dante´s
insults. He´d just reaffirmed his judgment, and wasn´t going to go
through another crisis of self doubt again tonight. And that had a
lot more value to him than the pile of chips he´d just won. He felt
good, better than he´d felt in a long while. He´d always been a
good gambler, and a good judge of character. Nobody could trick
him.
    “Luck is always welcome.” Alvaro said. “And
this time I´ve won without you even showing me your cards. You´re a
bad loser.”
    “What more do you want?” Dante grumbled. “If
I didn´t show you my cards it´s because they weren´t good enough.
I´m not going to let you make fun of me.”
    Alvaro would have loved to do that. The
millionaire who´d threatened a pregnant woman only a few minutes
before, was all but finished in this game now. His arrogance didn´t
count for much here anymore even with all his money.
    An idea occurred to Alvaro as he got a new
slant on the thread of his thoughts. It was worth the effort to
give it a try.
    “You´ve barely got any chips left, big boy.”
Alvaro said. “I wouldn´t want to be in your place.”
    “I´m still not finished.” Dante said. “And
don´t be so smug or we´ll find out if the girl´s mutt can stop me
before I get to you.”
    “There´s no need to be so aggressive.” Alvaro
went on. “I´m going to offer you a deal to get some of your stake
back. I hear you´re a big businessman. Do you want to hear my
proposal?”
    “What´s this, a joke?”
    “Not at all.”
    “I´ll listen then, although I can´t see what
you want from me. Everybody here knows that the only important
thing is the chips. Maybe we can leave the fleabag over there out
of that. But the rest of us know that. So tell