CHAPTER VII - The Peddler

Zack Ravers was in the ballroom, his arms around Lisa and Madison’s waists, with Ashley standing next to the latter. The group had separated from Hannah and Peter, figuring it was better if they weren’t seen together for a longer period of time. The young man was starting to get a bit antsy as time went by. The later it got, the sooner the poker game would come, and afterwards, the auction, where everything was set to blow up. He could only hope everything in their plan would go without a hitch.

“Hmm, I know that face,” Ashley pointed out, catching the worried look on her bestie’s features.

“Yeah, you’re getting anxious, I can tell,” Lisa agreed, this time making Madison feel a little left out, even if she was rather enjoying her crush’s arm around her body.

“You’re not wrong, neither of you,” Zack gave them a nervous smile, his arm tightening around his girlfriend, as if trying to draw confidence from her. “It’s just this… sense of impending doom, you know?”

Madison threw him a sympathetic grin, a hand finding the one that was touching her and squeezing it. “It’s normal, Zack, I feel those butterflies in my stomach every time I’m about to get up on stage for a play.”

Zack returned the smile, unconsciously tightening that arm around her firm body as well. “Yeah, but you’re great at acting, Maddie,” he said, making her blush at the compliment. “I think I wish things just happened already.”

“Like ripping a band-aid?” Ashley teased with a grin of her own.

The black-haired boy nodded, the girls managing to make him feel at least a little better. At that moment, he caught sight of an older man wearing a light-grey tux making his way to the stage, where a few musicians had taken position with their instruments. He hadn’t noticed those movements, most certainly due to nervousness, but that meant only one thing, another one of their friends would make use of their cover for the night, and after that it would be time to put his bluffing mask on and play some cards.

“Ladies and gentleman tonight here in the Windgrad Hotel,” the man started, a big happy smile on his face. “Thank you for your patience, we are almost ready for the first ‘Texas Hold’Em Windgrad Grand Prix’ to finally start. But first, the Hotel thought we could mark the occasion with a lovely musical number,” he made a pause to create suspense. “Please, welcome with open arms and a round of applause…, our songstress for the night…, Lady Garnet Beaumont!”

As the other guests clapped, Zack and the girls exchanged knowing glances, the four of them becoming very excited as none other than their friend and classmate, Scarlett Soren, made her way up to the center of stage. Her blonde hair was up in a bun, and the fit, yet curvy body, looked almost unrecognizable out of her usual punk-rock attire. No, tonight she was rocking a shiny crimson dress that left one shoulder bare and the high slits allowed anyone to see her shapely legs. The oceanic-colored eyes quickly passed over her friends, taking a second longer on Zack, before a confident smile broke out on her beautiful features.

“Thank you for having me here, everyone,” she said on the microphone, in a tone that was a mix of pleasant and a bit business-like. “I hope this song can ensnare your senses, make you float, and forget about any unpleasantries that might be in your mind tonight. Just let yourself go and let music carry your spirits before the cards entrap your bodies.”

The group was very excited, having only listened to Scarlett singing rock songs ever since she arrived in Sunset Haven with her family the previous year. It was even a bit jarring seeing her all dolled up like that, but knowing her lovely voice, they had no doubt she could pull it off. As predicted, as soon as the enchanting sound left her lips, the whole audience was entranced, and Zack idly thought it was like a siren song bewitching sailors in the high seas, fitting for someone with a last name like Soren.

“Damn, she’s owning the stage,” he whispered, staring at the sensual way she moved her body in tune with the slow song. Her large-ish tits bulged the front of her dress, and so did the round ass at her back. Something that a lot of people in attendance were certainly taking notice of.

“It’s a completely different style, but…,” Madison trailed.

“But she makes it work?” Ashley offered. “She looks so classy and surreal up there.”

“Yeah…,” Lisa slowly nodded. Even she couldn’t put any fault in the blonde’s performance, but having seen her in her own element, it was hard to believe she wouldn’t pull it off.

As she progressed, Scarlett seemed to find it fun to grin and stare in Zack’s direction, his pants tightening at the provocation. It wasn’t a novelty, every time Paris brought her friend to the Manor, she would try and find new, inventive ways to tease him. Much like Hannah, in that regard. It was pleasantly distracting, she was insanely gorgeous and hot, but Lisa always frowned whenever it happened. Zack guessed the only reason why his girlfriend had never said anything was because she didn’t want to argue with Paris.

Hence why he was shocked when a hand landed on his thigh, dangerously close to the growing bulge on his groin.

“You can look, you know,” Lisa whispered in his ear, surprising him even further with her words and how the tip of her right index finger brushed against his erection. “Just as long as you remember where you’re supposed to use this.”

Shit! He violently coughed, his cock now throbbing at his girlfriend’s sultry tone. He turned to her and tentatively leaned into her ear as well. “Lis… damn… who are you and what have you done with my girl?”

She giggled and then it was her turn to go to his ear, subtly biting his earlobe. “She’s right here, baby, but maybe she’s up to trying different things tonight.” She was nervous like hell, but Hannah’s words from earlier rang in her mind as a constant reminder that she could lose the guy she loved.

It was a swift strike, his attention was now completely on the lovely Latina who was his girlfriend. Coupled with the time they shared earlier, it was impossible not to wonder what the hell she was talking about. Was Lisa saying that she was going to let him look at other girls without raising a fuss or was she implying that they could sha… no, it was too mind-boggling to entertain that thought.

Be that as it may, just as the concept fizzled away in his mind, Scarlett uttered the last note in her song and a big round of applause went up for the blonde, who looked quite pleased with herself. The older man from before took the microphone again and urged the people who would compete in the poker tournament to head for the big card table that was occupying an entire side of the ballroom.

“Looks like it’s showtime, Ice,” Ashley winked at him as the group stood up.

“I’m counting on you all to keep me grounded,” Zack grinned back.

As they made their way to the seat Zack was supposed to take, with three other chairs slightly behind it for the girls, Zachary was mildly surprised to see Mick Fisher sitting on a nearby chair, four players over to the left from his own seat. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Hannah taking a chair near the middle of the table.

“Mick,” he put up a friendly grin. “Why am I not surprised to see you here?”

“Ah, a sharp one, Connor,” the older guy laughed. “I knew I hadn’t fooled you when I said I didn’t play cards.”

Zack nodded. “Let’s just say I was a little bit suspicious.”

“Ms. Gomez, Ms. Adams,” ignoring Zack, Mick Fisher smiled wolfishly as he shifted his gaze to the three girls, making at least Lisa and Madison very uncomfortable. “I see you ditched Ms. Hale, though. Who’s the new one?”

“You know how it is, Mick, we’ve got to keep our options open,” Zack smoothly assumed the persona of his father. “This is the lovely Hailee Austen,” he gestured at Madison while lowering himself down onto his seat. The tall girl was impressed at the way Zack just changed completely around the man.

“Very nice,” the mobster’s son gave a thorough once-over at all three of the girls one more time and then grinned at Zachary. “Well, let’s hope quantity gives you luck tonight, my friend.”

Zack let out a chuckle much like one he saw his father doing whenever he found something particularly amusing. “Oh, Mick, I don’t need luck.”

Nearby, at the lobby, all the people that were still hanging out there parted to form a corridor around the commanding presence of one man who had just stepped into the Windgrad Hotel. Wearing an expensive black tuxedo with a blue bowtie, his electric-blue eyes swept over the place, an easy smile turning more than a few female heads. With his short black hair combed perfectly, he was insultingly handsome.

Yes, even in his early forties, Robert Ravers was in better form than ever.

Still, he had a mission at the hotel that night, one that got even more complicated after a call from an old friend. It was definitely fortunate that Monica and her friends had decided to go out on a girls night, as he didn’t want his wife involved in this and potentially making things insurmountably hard for him to solve.

“Ah, finally, Robert!” Horace Castle exclaimed as he quickly made his way over to his old friend’s son, who was just as much as a friend in his own right.

“I told you I’d come, Horace,” the Ravers man chuckled. “The auction hasn’t started yet, has it?”

“No, they’re doing the poker tournament first,” Horace responded as they made their way to the ballroom. “Which your damn son is playing, by the way.”

Robert closed his eyes to calm himself. “That’s what I was going to ask,” he said. “Did you see my girls?”

“I spotted Taylor not too long ago, but trust me, it’s for the best that you don’t see her,” the older man replied, briefly thinking to himself how sexy his friend’s daughter looked in the black bunny suit. “No sign of Heather yet, but I’d say she’s definitely here. Zachary brought a host of girls with him, there’s no way she’s not here somewhere.”

Robert raised a surprised eyebrow at the last piece of information, but it was quick. “Alright, let’s go in and see what we can do to keep them out of trouble.”

A floor above the ballroom, there was the conference room where the auction was going to be held, and off to the side, an office where Mick Fisher’s father, Cassius, was watching the ballroom and the lobby through the camera feeds he threatened the hotel’s manager into giving him access to. A man in his late forties, he hadn’t gotten to where he was by being a softie, after all.

Suddenly, one of his henchmen entered the room and headed straight to the boss’ desk. Clearing his throat, the man addressed Cassius while sweating a bit on his neck, unsure if the boss would appreciate being interrupted. “I’m sorry, sir, but you wanted us to let you know. The lion has entered the den.”

Cassius grinned viciously, watching Robert Ravers stepping into the hotel through the screen. “Yes, I can see that,” he replied, carelessly twirling a flash drive around his fingers. It would be better if the man hadn’t even showed up, but now that he did, the boss knew that something had to be done to keep Robert from interfering with their plans.

Now, even a mobster like Cassius Fisher knew he couldn’t do anything too direct against Robert Ravers, the attention that would be drawn to himself was too big and he couldn’t afford that. His line of business relied on discretion. That didn’t mean he couldn’t distract the man, though.

After all, Robert Ravers’ reputation for one thing was quite widespread in the region of Autumn Valley, where Sunrise Hills, Sunset Haven, and a few other towns and cities were located. Yes, I know the perfect way to keep him occupied, Cassius thought, his gaze locking on one of the bunnies from the company he had hired as entertainment for the night.

“Wait thirty minutes from now,” he instructed the henchman, a steely tone in his voice. “And then invite Robert Ravers up to Room 108. Just a small courtesy from The Peddler.”