Chapter 22

The number of bodyguards in the Las Vegas area was at a record high. People who had worked with Natalie, Nicole, Rock, and Colt had flown in from all around the country to attend the wedding. Nowhere was this more obvious than in the exercise room of the hotel in which the wedding guests were staying. The exercise room had attracted a large number of women who were watching the men work out. As one young lady said, "Why pay for tickets to see nearly naked women performing on a stage when there's a whole room full of hunky men here for the picking?"

A small group of very large men is not all that unusual in Las Vegas, but when a hundred or more gather it is noticed. When it reaches several hundred, people really notice. It was also quite easy to observe that they weren't your typical bodybuilder types. The men moved with too much alertness of their surroundings. Often they greeted each other with terrifying displays of aggression until they broke out in laughter. Bodybuilders looked big, but these men looked intimidating.

The most dangerous looking men weren't the big ones whose presence was usually sufficient to prevent trouble. The smaller men tended to be the specialists and they were usually brought in long after trouble had developed. Their demeanor was much more threatening since their jobs involved a lot more danger than guarding some celebrity.

Not all of the bodyguards were men, just the majority of them. With so much testosterone gathered in one place, single women were frequently propositioned. For the most part, the attention was flattering. The women who weren't flattered were quickly ignored as the men turned their attention to those who would be flattered.

Lucy was seated at the blackjack table staring at her cards. She had fourteen in her hand and the dealer had a ten showing. She scratched the table and watched as the dealer set down a jack. Shaking her head, she watched as the dealer collected her five dollar bet. Replacing her bet for the next hand, she said, "This is not good at all."

At the table with Lucy were three men who were attending the wedding. They didn't know Lucy, but were definitely interested in getting to know her. In an attempt to impress her with their machismo, one of the men said, "Without Ling here, who would you say is the most dangerous person in town?"

"I don't know. I guess that would be Dexter," one of the other men answered. Dexter was a specialist who helped retrieve abductees.

"It could be Big Mike," the third man said gesturing to the first man who had spoken.

Watching the dealer clear the table after turning over the bottom card and revealing a King, Lucy said, "Nope. You're both wrong."

The first man asked, "Oh, are you in the business?"

"Nope, I'm one of the protected rather than a protector," Lucy answered.

That little piece of information surprised the men and they all turned to look at her. It seemed obvious to them that she was impressed with the services of her bodyguard. The first one to speak said, "So I take it your bodyguard is the most dangerous one here?"

"Nope," Lucy answered smiling as the dealer laid an ace in front of her.

"Then who is the most dangerous man here?"

"My husband," Lucy answered frowning when the dealer laid a second ace on her hand. She put out a second chip to split the cards.

Amused, one of the men asked, "Who is your husband?"

From behind them, Claire answered, "He's William Redman Carter."

The men all jumped and turned to look at Claire. Everyone at the table knew who she was and reacted to her sudden appearance. Of course, it was hard to tell if they were more surprised by her presence or the fact that they had been trying to pickup the wife of Ling's son. As one, the three men said, "Hello Claire."

"Hello, Chuck," Claire answered. She looked at the other two men and said, "Hello, Big Mike. Hi Joe."

Lucy groaned when the dealer laid a three and a four on her split aces. It looked like she was going to lose another hand. She turned to Claire and said, "I'm having rotten luck."

Looking over at the hands in front of Lucy, Claire said, "It looks like it."

"I'm glad to see that you could make it," Lucy said.

"Well, Ling was pretty upset that she couldn't attend, but she insisted that I come anyway," Claire said with a shrug of her shoulders. Ling had beaten the stuffing out of a punching bag back at the house when she discovered that William had asked that she not attend the wedding.

"I'm sorry about that, but William is still pretty angry at her," Lucy said.

"It is for the best," Claire said.

"So how is little Michael doing?" Lucy asked.

"He takes after his father," Claire answered. Laughing she added, "He can't get enough of my breasts."

Lucy laughed as the three bodyguards blushed. She said, "That's just because he's male."

"Yeah," Claire said smiling. She looked over at the three men and asked, "So what do you think of Rock and Colt getting married to Nicole and Natalie?"

"It's different, but they've been a team for so long that it makes sense," Chuck answered.

Nodding his head in agreement, Joe added, "It would be bad to break up a team like that."

Claire said, "Smart answer."

"Momma didn't raise a cabbage," Chuck answered.

Lucy laughed and said, "I'm going to have to remember that one."

Joe looked at Lucy and said, "So you're William's wife."

"Yes, I am," Lucy answered groaning as the dealer took her money. She shoved another bet out and said, "I want a winner this hand."

The dealer smiled and spent a minute cleaning up her money tray. William came up behind Lucy and said, "Master Fong has agreed to spar with me. Do you want to go with me to watch?"

Turning to look at William, Lucy said, "No. I think I'll stay here and lose some more money if that is all right with you."

William smiled and said, "Keep your losses to under your allowance."

"I'll try," Lucy replied. Her debit card still had a balance of over twelve million dollars. She'd make more in interest that day than she could lose at the five dollar table even if she spent the entire day there. She smiled at him and said, "Have fun beating up Master Fong."

"I will," he said with a smile. After a few more minutes of small talk, he left for the Dojo of Master Fong.

The bodyguards at the blackjack table looked at each other for a second. Chuck said, "There's no way I'm missing that."

The bodyguards left the table. One of them called out to a friend who was seated at another table, "William Redman Carter is going to spar with Master Fong at his dojo."

From around the casino, several dozen people all got up from their tables. Many of them left their bets. Noticing the mass exodus toward the doors, the blackjack dealer asked, "What's going on?"

Claire settled into one of the recently vacated chairs and answered, "William is going to spar with Master Fong. It should be a pretty good show."

Lucy looked down at her cards and sighed. She shook her head and said, "Another fourteen."

Claire laughed and said, "You have to hit a fourteen."

"I know the odds and they ain't good," Lucy said provoking a laugh from Claire. She indicated a hit and groaned when the dealer gave her another face card.

Claire asked, "So how are things at home?"

"They are okay. William's still a little upset about Betsy and Ling," Lucy answered replacing her bet.

"You should see Betsy and Ling," Claire said.

"We heard Betsy at the hospital. She was still crying," Lucy said.

Nodding, Claire said, "You know what? I think William did exactly the right thing. Even I could see that Ling has been a little overboard lately. She wasn't helping Betsy with her take no prisoners attitude."

"Yes, I know."

"William was the only one who could put a stop to it," Claire said.

"Believe me when I say that he did not enjoy it," Lucy said. She watched the dealer give her a pair of tens. She smiled and said, "At last, I have a good hand."

Claire looked down at her hand and saw that she had nineteen. Smiling, she waved off another card. Lucy did the same. The dealer turned over her hole card and showed that she had a sixteen. She dealt herself a five.

Lucy stared at the hand and said, "This is not good."

"What are you doing at the five dollar table? Why aren't you over at the hundred dollar table?" Claire asked.

"I'm only playing against the interest that I'll earn today from my allowance money," Lucy answered. She shoved another five dollar bet out and said, "I've got about another three hundred hands to lose before I have to quit."

Claire laughed and pushed a green chip out. She said, "I'm going to have to lose at a little fast rate than that. Michael will be getting hungry soon."

"Are you breastfeeding?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, it is a Carter tradition," Claire answered. She wasn't going to mention that it wasn't limited to infants.

The dealer dealt Claire a twelve and Lucy a twenty one. Lucy said, "Finally, I won a hand."

"Lucky you," Claire said groaning as she went bust.

Lucy left the money on the table for the next hand. She asked, "What's it like being a mother?"

"Wonderful," Claire answered.

The women played blackjack for an hour talking about motherhood and other matters of general interest to them both. Lucy broke even while Claire lost five hundred dollars. They each gave the dealer a hundred dollar tip when they left the table.

As was common with group marriages, rather than getting a marriage license the foursome filled out all of the papers necessary to cover each other financially. None of the states recognized group marriages, but they did allow for legal partnerships. The stack of papers included wills that covered inheriting assets, papers of incorporation for dealing with the taxation issues, living wills, and powers of attorney that gave them the ability to make decisions for each other. It was a sizable stack of paperwork that they had to sign.

The papers covered the legal aspects of getting married, but the spiritual aspect was a much more personal matter that was performed very publicly. The hall William had rented was filled to capacity. The guest list was a who's who of the protection industry. To say that the brides were a little overwhelmed by it all would be an understatement.