The Gambler (5 page)

While his little Jenna played with the collar of his sweater he was thinking of the best way to teach the bitch who'd called her that, a lesson.

It broke his heart just a little that someone had said that shit to her, that she thought it was a good thing. But all he could do was try to replace the words in her head without bringing too much attention to what he was doing.

"You know what my little Jenna, I think you're pretty amazing."

"Say it again Angel." She placed her fingers against his lips as he repeated the words slower this time, and though some might say she didn't have any knowledge of what the words meant, the softening of her voice as she repeated them back to him in a near whisper
, coupled with the sheen in her eyes said different.

"Dig a hole in the backyard boys." I’ll just bury the bitch alive.

"Andros." That was Garrett, always the voice of reason.

"Fine, I'll just think of something else; get the car ready Jameson. Garrett where are the packages that that..." Again h
e censored himself for her sake. He couldn't very well call Eileen Minnelli a cunt in front of her now could he?

"Yeah, gather the packages, we'll drop those off first and then we're going shopping. Come little one I have to find you a better shirt
, this one has flour all over it."

She looked down at her shirt where he was pointing and he tapped her nose.

Picking her up he headed up the stairs with her in his arms, which she seemed to like, as she placed her head on his shoulder and clasped her arms around his neck.

In his room he found the smallest button down shirt of his in the closet
, while she sat on the bed singing to herself again. He’d be fucked if he’d let her wear any of the shit that bitch had bought.

"Up." She held up her arms for him to remove the shirt she now wore and he put the other one on, buttoning it up and tying it at the waist. She was a sight.

"Let's go." On his way back he stopped off at the library where the clueless bitch was busy combing the shelves for the book he kept on his night- stand. If Jenna wasn’t there with him, he probably would’ve done a hell of a lot worst than he was about to, but this will have to suffice for now.

"Get out of my house; if I ever see you again I'll shoot you on sight." To say she was surprised would be putting it mildly, but when she saw the young girl held close in his arms, a place she'd been trying for the better part of a year to be, she put two and two together.

How was she to know the girl would repeat what she'd said to her? She didn't think her kind had enough sense for that. She was about to argue, to find a way out of it; convince him that the imbecile had misunderstood her somehow. But the look of fury on his face waylaid her.

She was no fool, she'd heard the stories about this man and what he could do when riled, and she did not believe for a second that she would get off lightly because of her gender. So with one furious glare of her own for the simpleton in his arms she grabbed up her bag and flounced from the room.

"You're pretty amazing my little Jenna, the most amazing girl in the world." He looked into her e
yes as he said it and reveled in the joy he saw there. Good, hopefully that would erase the ugliness of the viper’s words. The thought that that shit had happened in his home did not sit well with him at all, and he found that his shit list had grown by one.

She had to say bye to Willy and Sue before she left the house. He watched the two older people with her, but he should’ve known he had nothing to worry about. Then again he would’ve thought that about the bitch
that’d just left, and look where that had got him. She seemed comfortable enough around them that he didn’t have to worry so he sighed in relief.

“We’re taking the tank.” He called to his shadows as they all headed for the door. The tank was gramps’ idea, shit always made him feel like he was in downtown Baghdad
, but if it made the old man happy he’d oblige. Now with his Jenna here, he was thinking of even more ways to beef the shit up.

The grounds fascinated her
and he promised to show her around once they got back, that was the only way to get her into the truck. He answered all her questions as they headed out the gates, not once losing patience with her seemingly never-ending stream of ‘Angel guess what’. And when she reached for his hand in her excitement he figured there wasn’t anything else he’d rather be doing.

Their first stop was the local Salvation Army
, where one of the guys ran inside to drop off the shopping bags full of overly expensive clothing. Andros didn't even bat a lash at the money he'd just pissed away, as long as none of it touched his little Jenna, he didn't really care one way or the other. Who knows what the fuck that idiot had done to them?

She was staring wide eyed out the car window, which she'd begged him to roll down as they rode through the picturesque landscape of the Hudson Valley. He got so much pleasure from the joy on her face from such a simple thing, and for the first time in a long while he found himself looking forward to the holidays. Something he hadn't done since his sister had left him.

The valley was beautiful that time of year, with the houses and lawns decorated. He was sure his girl would go crazy over that shit and made a point to remember to get some lights and shit for their home too. It would be the first time his place was done up.

Home, that was also a first. He’d never really thought of the place as such before, but in the short time she’d been in his life
, she had him thinking of shit like that. There was a part of him, a small part that wanted to hold back, to keep back some part of himself so that he didn’t get burnt. But he knew that wouldn’t be fair to her; he could never live with himself if he shortchanged her in any way. How could someone so small have so much power over him he wondered, in such a short space of time? She seemed to fit so effortlessly into his life, his plans. Where before yesterday he hadn’t even known she existed.

“Angel look.” She tugged on his arm pulling him out the window with her.

He looked out the window where she pointed, and saw the ducks on the water.

"Stop."

Jameson pulled over to the side and Andros got out and waited for her to join him. With her hand held securely in his, he led her to the water's edge.

He couldn't remember ever having done this; in fact this was the first day he'd not been in a rush to get somewhere. He was always in constant motion because it gave him less time to think, less time to revisit memories better left unstirred. He found it funny that with Jenna
, the memories were sharper than ever before, but somehow they weren't as painful. That place in his heart that he’d kept locked away for so long was opening wider and wider as the hours passed.

They stood there for quite some time before he nudged her hand to leave.

"Angel stay."

He bent down to her level and held both her hands in his.

"Can we go do something really important first? I promise to bring you back another day soon okay."

She studied him as if gauging his sincerity and he wondered how often she'd been disappointed by someone else's lies. When she finally nodded he kissed her forehead, before turning her back to the car.

Back in the car he had an idea.

"Find me some ducks and geese and those things for the stream on the property."

Garrett turned around in his seat to look at his boss not sure if to laugh or shake his head in wonder.

"What things? You mean swans?"

Jenna lit up at the word and then peppered him with questions.

"Angel, swans?"

"Yes love it’s a big bird like the ducks. Do you know about them?"

She shook her head no and three grown men fell all over themselves trying to explain what they were to her, until Andros got the idea to use the computer on the dash to look one up.

She clapped her hands in glee and leaned farther into him as he ordered James
on to find a video or something with swans for her.

She was mesmerized all the way into the city, which is where he took her shopping on Fifth Avenue. He probably shouldn't, but he pretty much bought her everything she touched or looked at. He didn't miss the smirks his guards passed back and forth between each other, which he put a stop to with a glare.

She was a typical female, dragging him from one store to the next, anything that had color in the window she wanted to see more of. He knew about bags and that shit from his mom, so he asked some of the sales ladies where to get the best and they were only too happy to tell him. Only once did he have to glare an over exuberant sales clerk to shame when she got too close. Bitch acted like his Jenna wasn’t even there.

He did notice that Jenna had a proprietorial streak a mile wide and she seemed to know when the sharks were swarming. He hid his smile each time some female would approach and she’d hold onto his arm that much tighter. Most of them were nice though
, and very helpful. Especially the ones that helped him pick out her bras and stuff, because he knew fuck all about that shit.

By the time they made it back to the car, she was tired and cranky, so he made the guys stop to get her a hot dog from one of those stands, because she’d followed it with her neck craned out the window. He wasn't sure the other drivers appreciated the illegal U turn Jameson made in the middle of the busy street, but he didn't much care either.

When she fell asleep on his shoulder
, her mouth smudged with ketchup, he cleaned her up with the tissue she had scrunched up in her hand. He wondered what was going through her mind, wished she could tell him. Did she have a good day? Was she happy? Did she miss her mom? That last thought gave him pause. How the fuck could he fix that if that were the case? He could always have the woman snatched, but that shit would give gramps a coronary for sure. Maybe he’d call her when they got back to the house.

"Okay boss
, so while you were doing your marathon shopping..." Before Garrett could finish his statement, they were rear-ended. The car lurched forward and to the side sharply, but Jameson's quick thinking brought them back under control again. Jenna woke up in a panic until Andros calmed her down somewhat.

With nothing but his eyes he conveyed to his men what needed to be done. He knew it was no accident and he knew there was no way he was going to retaliate in the middle of the city, not with her in the car. Jameson made it onto the expressway driving under control
, as Garrett kept his eyes pealed on the car behind them. He'd already made note of the plate number, because he knew they were gonna lose the clowns as soon as they got out of the heavy traffic. It was an hour or more of hard driving through winding roads as they entered the valley.

Andros kept his little Jenna preoccupied with talk about her shopping
, so she didn’t notice how fast they were going, or that the men were on high alert. He kept himself on an even keel as he asked her about her new clothes and any and everything to sidetrack her from what was going on around them.

All the while the murderous rage boiled just beneath the surface of the laid back veneer. He wanted to rip their throats out with his bare hands. Had she not been there
, he would’ve taken them on without a second thought. But nothing must happen to her. Not while there was breath in his body.

When they got a good thirty feet ahead and rounded a corner, Andros kissed her hair, opened his door and rolled out, as Jameson slowed down.

"Angel."

She started screaming for him until Garrett distracted her, but she never stopped looking out the window searching for him. Jameson pulled off to the side up ahead and out of the way in waiting. It wasn't long before they heard the rapid recoil of gunfire and the two men grinned, they had no doubts their boss had taken care of business.

Jenna was keening low in her throat when she saw her Angel walking back to the car, and before either of the men could stop her she was out the car and running.

She never stopped calling his name, until she reached him and threw her arms around him.

He didn't know what made him do it. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from the mini firefight, maybe it was the way she felt in his arms, so soft and sweet and...
His. Whatever it was he felt powerless to stop as he lowered his head and kissed her.

Fuck.

Shit he’d kissed her, his head felt light and his heart was racing. His first fear was, had he scared her? But when he picked
up his head, she had the most beautiful smile on her face. Then she petted him to make sure he was okay.

“Angel okay?”

He realized he’d scared her unintentionally, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Yes baby Angel’s okay…” He ran his hand up and down her back to ease her, knowing that they needed to get out of there
, because he’d just offed two motherfuckers and the heat would no doubt be there any moment; somebody must’ve heard the gun fire.

He started walking her back towards the car
, not sure what to do about the change in their relationship. He hadn’t meant to kiss her, not this soon anyway. He knew she would need time to get to know him or at least he thought she would, but the way she’d reacted gave him hope. He would never do anything to hurt her, not in a million years and he was willing to wait as long as it took for her to get there with him, but he couldn’t help but be pleased with the way it had all gone.

His mind was going in too many different directions at once by the time they made it back to the car and the guys drove towards home. She kept a death grip on his hand all the way back and he knew somehow she’d understood the danger.

He didn’t show any of the anger that was steaming beneath the surface, since she seemed to be so in tuned with his moods. But his mind was full of bloodshed. He’d have to take out the kiss and examine it again later. For now his focus was on the men who’d come after him and the others that would no doubt follow.