Becoming the cartel leader’s trophy

"Come on... come on... come on..." Carla muttered under her breath, leaning forward in her seat as her eyes stayed glued to the slot machine screen.

The bright lights from the machine flashed across her sunglasses as the reels spun rapidly, symbols blurring together in a dizzying mix of colors.

She had just bet ten thousand.

Ten thousand.

I had begged her not to do it the second I saw the number appear on the screen, my hand even grabbing her wrist for a moment in disbelief—but she had only smirked and brushed my concern aside like it was nothing.

Now the machine hummed loudly as it kept spinning.

"Come on... fuck..." Carla hissed under her breath, her fingers tightening slightly around the edge of the machine.

The casino around us was loud—bells ringing from other machines, people cheering somewhere behind us, chips clacking at nearby tables—but in that moment it all faded into the background.

All I could focus on was the screen.

And the number she'd just risked.

I felt my heart thumping harder with every passing second the reels continued to spin.

Ten thousand dollars riding on a few stupid digital symbols.

My leg bounced nervously under the chair as I leaned a little closer, watching the reels slow down one by one.

"Carla..." I murmured quietly, half anxious, half disbelieving.

But she didn't even look at me.

Her eyes stayed locked on the machine.

"Come on..." she whispered again, almost like she was trying to will the machine into giving her what she wanted.

Then the first reel finally stopped.

The symbol locked into place with a loud mechanical clack.

An x5 flashed brightly across the screen.

I blinked at it, leaning a little closer to the machine.

I had absolutely no idea what that meant.

I glanced at Carla for a split second, trying to read her reaction, but her eyes were still locked on the spinning reels, her body completely tense.

The second reel slowed... then dropped.

Another x5.

My eyebrows lifted slightly.

"Uh..." I murmured under my breath, still unsure if that was good or bad.

Before I could even ask, the final reel slowed down, the symbols blurring as they crawled toward a stop.

Then it landed.

Another x5.

For half a second there was silence.

Then the machine exploded with lights.

A loud victory jingle blasted from the speakers as the screen flashed bright gold numbers.

Carla absolutely lost it.

"FIFTY THOUSAND, MIGUEL!" she screamed, jumping up from the chair like someone had just handed her the lottery.

People at nearby machines turned their heads instantly as she threw her arms up in the air, laughing loudly like she'd just won her first paycheck.

I stared at the screen with my eyes wide open.

The number $50,000 blinked across the display.

"Holy shit," I muttered in disbelief.

I had never seen anyone win that much money before.

Hell, I'd barely seen people win a few hundred.

And here she was screaming in the middle of the casino like she wasn't already a billionaire who probably made that much money in a few minutes of breathing.

Carla turned to me with the biggest grin on her face, grabbing my shoulders excitedly.

"See?!" she said, shaking me slightly. "I told you I'd win it back!"

The machine behind her kept flashing lights while the win sound looped over and over.

I just shook my head slowly, still staring at the number on the screen.

"You're insane," I said, half laughing, half stunned.

Casino staff appeared almost immediately after the machine finished flashing.

A woman in a casino uniform hurried over, her shoes clicking against the polished floor as she approached us. She looked a little surprised—probably from the loud celebration—and a bit annoyed as well, her eyes flicking between the still-blinking machine and Carla standing beside it.

"Oh wow—" the woman began, her tone sounding like she was about to launch into some rehearsed explanation.

Carla turned toward her before she could even finish the sentence.

The excitement from a moment ago vanished instantly.

Her posture straightened, her expression flattening into something cold and commanding.

"Don't even say that the machine broke," Carla said sternly. "Give me my money."

The shift in her demeanor was immediate and intimidating. The playful woman who had just been cheering like she was broke was gone, replaced by someone who carried herself with quiet authority.

The staff member visibly stiffened.

For a moment she just stared at Carla, clearly caught off guard by the force behind her words. Carla didn't raise her voice, but the weight behind it made it clear she wasn't someone who liked to be argued with.

The woman nodded quickly.

"O-of course, ma'am," she said, straightening herself. "Follow me."

Carla grabbed my hand casually, like nothing unusual had just happened, and we followed the employee across the casino floor.

We passed rows of slot machines, tables filled with people playing blackjack and poker, and clusters of tourists who barely noticed us as they were too busy with their own games.

After a short walk, the staff member led us to a small cashier area set slightly off from the main floor.

A booth sat behind thick glass with metal bars running across the window. Inside, another woman sat on a stool counting chips and typing something into a computer.

The employee tapped lightly on the glass.

The woman inside looked up, then slid the small window open.

Carla stepped forward.

"Fifty thousand..." Carla muttered calmly as she slid the printed ticket through the small opening in the glass.

The paper disappeared into the booth, and the woman behind the bars picked it up between her fingers. For a moment she simply stared at it, scanning the numbers and the validation code printed along the bottom.

Then her eyes slowly lifted from the ticket to Carla.

For a split second, the expression on her face looked almost like she had just seen a ghost.

Her eyes widened noticeably, the kind of reaction someone has when recognition suddenly hits them. She tried to hide it quickly, but it was obvious she had recognized something—whether it was Carla herself or just the size of the payout.

"Give me one moment," she said, clearing her throat slightly. "I'll bring your money out in a bag."

Her voice had become noticeably more careful.

Carla didn't react much. She simply gave a small nod, her posture relaxed as if this sort of thing happened every other day.

The woman slid the ticket away and stood up from her stool, disappearing through a door behind the booth.

For a few moments, the space went quiet.

I leaned slightly against the counter, glancing around at the casino floor behind us. The sounds of slot machines chiming, cards shuffling, and distant cheers blended together into a constant low roar.

Carla stood beside me, completely unfazed.

"You act like this is life changing," I murmured quietly, glancing over at her.

She smirked faintly, folding her arms.

"In my defense," she replied casually, "this is still a large amount of money."

A minute later the door behind the booth opened again.

The cashier returned carrying a black bag in one hand. It looked heavy the way it pulled slightly at her arm as she walked back to the window.

She sat down again and pushed the bag through the opening in the counter toward Carla.

"Fifty thousand dollars," she said, her tone careful but polite.

Carla grabbed the bag without hesitation, lifting it slightly in her hand to feel the weight before glancing over at me with a satisfied little smile.

Just as we were turning to walk away from the cashier booth, a loud voice cut through the noise of the casino floor.

At first I ignored it.

Drunk people yelling in Vegas wasn't exactly rare, and the last thing I wanted right now was attention. I kept my head forward and continued walking beside Carla, hoping whoever it was would lose interest.

But of course, life isn't that simple.

"Hey hey... you sexy guy!" a slurred voice shouted from somewhere behind us. "Come give me some dick for one hundred, I'll even be gentle for a few extra!"

I felt my entire body tense.

Internally I cringed, heat rushing to my face as embarrassment crawled up my neck. I instinctively moved closer to Carla, almost hiding beside her as the woman's voice echoed across the nearby machines.

I still refused to look back.

But Carla did.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her head slowly turn toward the source of the voice, her expression instantly hardening. The relaxed mood from a moment ago disappeared, replaced by that same cold focus I had seen earlier.

Then I noticed her hand move.

Slowly, deliberately, her fingers began drifting toward her pocket.

My stomach dropped immediately when I realized what she was about to do.

"Carla—don't," I said quickly, grabbing onto her muscular arm before she could reach it. My grip tightened as I tried to pull her attention back to me.

"Let's just go," I continued quietly but urgently. "We don't need any extra attention."

I gave her arm a small tug, trying to guide her away from the situation before it escalated into something that would turn every head in the casino.

The last thing we needed right now... was a scene.

"Nobody disrespects my future husband..." Carla said under her breath, her voice low but sharp enough that it made my chest tighten.

The way she said it wasn't loud, but the weight behind those words carried enough danger that I knew she meant every single one.

I tugged on her arm again, a little more insistently this time, trying to pull her attention away from the woman behind us before things escalated into something much worse.

"Listen... you can just..." I hesitated for a second, choosing my words carefully as my eyes flicked briefly toward the crowd around us. "...make her disappear some other time... just not here."

My grip stayed firm around her arm.

"Not here," I repeated quietly.

Carla looked down at me, her sunglasses hiding her eyes, but I could still feel the intensity behind them. For a moment she didn't say anything, her jaw tightening slightly as she thought it over.

The drunk woman in the distance was still laughing loudly, completely unaware of how close she had just come to a very bad night.

Carla glanced back in her direction one more time.

Then she exhaled slowly.

"Fine..." she said at last.

The word came out reluctant, but she turned away from the scene, abandoning whatever thought had crossed her mind seconds earlier. Her arm slipped around my shoulder as if nothing had happened.

Together we continued walking through the busy casino floor, weaving through crowds of tourists and gamblers until the flashing lights and ringing machines slowly faded behind us.

A few minutes later we stepped outside, the warm Vegas night air immediately replacing the heavy smell of cigarettes and alcohol from inside.

The strip was still alive with movement—cars rolling by, people laughing, neon lights painting the streets in every color imaginable.

Carla kept the bag of money casually in one hand as we headed down the sidewalk.

Before long we reached the car and climbed in, leaving the noise and chaos of the strip behind us.

The drive back felt quieter.

Streetlights passed over the windshield one after another as the city slowly gave way to darker, quieter roads leading away from the crowds.

Eventually the massive mansion came back into view, its lights glowing softly against the desert night.

The gates opened as we approached.

And just like that, we were back home.

——

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