Free Vegas Knights by Matt Forbeck Page A

with a pearl grip. Misha's gun was a cannon of a revolver. I hefted one in each hand.
      "So," I said. "What do you want to talk about?"
      Gaviota flashed what I'm sure his mother had told him was a winning smile. "You two got a lot of raw talent, but you got no damn sense at all. I don't know who's been teaching you about magic, but if you don't wise up fast you're going to both wind up dead."
      "Don't threaten us," Bill said.
      "It's not a threat. It's a fact. You are lambs, and you've wandered into a very dark forest. Without a shepherd, the wolves here are going to eat you alive."
      I hefted Gaviota's gun in my hand and tapped it against the wall. It made no sound at all. "You strike me as more of a wolf," I said.
      He broke into a wide grin. "Look, kid. I'm sorry about that bullet. You'd be surprised how many cranks we get in here trying to do exactly what you managed to pull off. They get on my nerves."
      "We just want to walk out of here," said Bill. "We'll never bother you again."
      Gaviota frowned and shook his head. "That's not good enough, I'm afraid. While I might go for that, the boss has other ideas. He thinks you two have a lot of potential, and that means you gotta work with us. You'll be my apprentices."
      "Or else what?" I asked.
      "There's no 'or' here. We can't have you wander off and get wise under someone else. The boss feels it would be bad for business, and I happen to agree with him. This is the deal. Take it."
      "Let's go," I said to Bill.
      Misha cracked his knuckles. Gaviota sighed. "You seem like smart kids who just did a dumb thing," he said. "Don't compound that."
      I pointed the silenced gun at Gaviota, and I flicked off the safety. "You shot me," I said. "I'm having a hard time getting past that."
      He ignored the gun and stared straight into my eyes. "Come on, kid. I'm rooting for you here. For once in your life, play it smart."
      My father had often said that to me too. He'd used the phrase after my mother's funeral, when he'd told me he had to leave. I begged to go with him, wherever he was going, but he insisted on leaving me with my grandma, who was still mourning the loss of both her husband and daughter to Hurricane Katrina.
      "For once in your life, Jackson, play it smart," he'd said. That was the last time I'd seen him, five years ago.
      I'd taken that from him then, but I was just a kid. I was a man now – off to college, living on my own – and I wasn't going to take that from anyone ever again.
      Gaviota started toward me. I pointed his gun at his legs and fired.
      Even though it didn't make a sound, the pistol kicked so hard in my hand that I almost dropped it. Gaviota stepped backward in mid-stride and planted his feet. I stared at him, waiting for a dark spot of crimson to appear somewhere on his pants and then bloom.
      Instead, Gaviota laughed.
      "Oh, my god," Bill said. "He disappeared the bullet."
      "No way," I said, my voice a bare whisper.
      Gaviota nodded. "This is what I'm talking about, boys. You have the power, but you have no idea how to use it." He made a gun from his finger and shot it at me. "I never should have been able to even crease your clothes with that slug, but there you stand bleeding."
      I pointed the gun at Misha instead. "Are you good enough to protect him too?"
      The big man slid behind Gaviota, crouching down behind him like a child hiding behind his mother's skirts. Gaviota turned to yell at him for being a coward. That's when I grabbed Bill by the arm and ran.
     
 

CHAPTER NINE
 
    I pushed open the door, pulled Bill through it, and slammed it behind us. Since it opened outward, I spun around and threw my weight against it. Then I stood up and jammed the side of my shoe under the bottom of the door, wedging it in good.
      The men on the other side of the door threw their weight against it. Misha had plenty of that to go around all by himself, and I knew that even with my