Abe glanced at Ashton, then sniggered.
“What were you planning to do, Holden? Why did you bring her in?” Abe asked menacingly.
Holden, however, turned to Ashton. “Mr. Fuller, it’s getting late. Mrs. Fuller looks a little tired. Perhaps you should be heading home to rest,” he suggested matter-of-factly.
“Holden Taylor, what exactly do you take me for?” Abe roared. With one swift motion, he furiously swept the cards off the table.
Holden, however, remained looking steadily in Ashton’s direction. “You’ll have to meet Dad tomorrow. You should get some rest tonight,” the man urged, a note of warning in his voice.
Indignant at having been ignored multiple times, Abe flew into a rage. He suddenly drew out a pistol and pointed it straight at Holden. “Taylor, let me ask you again, what do you take me for?” Abe bellowed.
The solid presence of the pistol immediately draped a dense cloak of tension over the room. Ashton silently shielded me with his body as he watched the situation unfold.
Holden, however, seemed accustomed to Abe’s behavior. He glared defiantly at Abe, then said coolly, “Mr. Abe, if you fire that pistol, I’m afraid neither of us will be walking out of Gold Star Casino tonight.”
Abe’s face had turned purple. He had evidently dedicated his full strength towards restraining his anger.
After what seemed like an eternity, Abe slowly lowered the pistol. He looked at Ashton and suddenly laughed harshly. “Mr. Fuller, perhaps some other day then. Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for us to meet again. Off with you!”
Nonetheless, Ashton’s gaze never wavered. He remained expressionless even as he nodded politely. “I’ll be happy to meet for drinks. As for other activities, I still abide by the same principle that I won’t do anything to hurt anyone else.”
With that declaration, Ashton grabbed my hand and practically hauled me out of the private room. I was utterly bewildered by the entire event and had so many questions to ask. My curiosity died on my lips, however, as I saw the urgency with which Ashton dragged me through the corridors of the casino.
The first floor was bustling with its usual activity. Ashton weaved through the raucous crowd with me in tow until we finally arrived at the exit. Zachary’s appointed personnel were already waiting for us there. With that, we hurriedly linked up with them and got into the car.
Ashton had just started the car when a crowd of people swarmed out, forming a barricade on the road before us.
They weren’t there for us. A few burly men had thrown a man out of the casino and were now determinedly laying their fists and kicks into him.
Their chosen target was screaming for mercy, but his cries fell on deaf ears. Only when they’d observed that the man was half dead did his assailants consider their mission complete. They headed back inside, none the worse for the wear.
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