Page 80 of Nikolai (Kansas City Reapers)

Deacon took his seat once more, pulling the cards from their sheath and shuffling them expertly as Jax rejoined us at the table. “The game’s called Go Fish.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Maddy chuckled, and then her face went serious. “Wait, are you for real serious right now?”

“Dead serious. Go Fish is serious business in this house,” I whispered as I leaned in close to her.

“It’s some cutthroat shit, Maddy-girl. Think you can handle it?” Sully teased, leaning over the table on his elbows.

“Sully, I think the better question is, are you prepared to admit defeat? Because you’re going down, man. All the way down.” Sully guffawed, sitting back in his chair with a clap of his hands.

“I like this girl, Niko. Don’t fuck it up.” The words surprised me. Things between Maddy and me were casual, just a means to pass the time. Weren’t they?

As I looked beside me at Maddy picking up the cards Deacon dealt out, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

But with that, the game was on, providing a blessed distraction from that confusing line of thinking.

“Sully, do you have any threes?” I asked, staring him down. Sully was the easiest of the five of us to read, Maddy not included. She was brand new to us all, none of us knew her tells. Yet.

“Go Fish, motherfucker!” Sully guffawed. I rolled my eyes, but drew my card, smiling triumphantly as I showed everyone the three that I drew on my first shot.

“Looks like I made a catch, so I get to go again! Deacon, do you have any threes?” He shook his head, so I drew another card, this time an eight. I nodded to Sully, indicating I was done. Not a bad start!

“Jax, do you have any Queens?” Sully asked, fiddling with his cards. Jax pulled one card from his hand, sliding it across the table face up without showing a single sign of emotion. Honestly, he was likely the best card player among us. He had a knack for staying completely stoic, not revealing anything.

Taking his catch, Sully asked Maddy for Queens next and drew a card when she told him to go fish.

“Deacon, do you have any aces?” Jax asked, his eyes never leaving the cards.

“Nope. Head on down to the lake and get to fishin’, buddy.” Maddy had a good laugh at that. “Maddy, you got any fours?”

“Looks like you need to head on down to the lake yourself,” she shot back with a smirk. She settled back in her chair, her eyes focused on her cards as I tried to read her, picking out any tell she may let slip.

“Sir…” she began, drawing low whistles and chuckles from the table. “Do you have any… threes?”

I was gobsmacked. Did she just—?

“Whoa ho ho… Maddy, I like your style,” Deacon chuckled loudly. He wasn’t one for much expression, especially around strangers. And to him, Maddy was definitely still a stranger. But he laughed as loud as anyone else, slowly clapping his hands as I growled.

“You’ll pay for this, princess,” I muttered, shootingher a bit of side-eye as I pulled the two cards from my hand and handed them to her.

“Why, thank you so much, Sir. How very generous of you.” The little minx had the audacity to batt her fucking lashes at me as she set down her set of four threes.

“And Maddy pulls into an early lead!” Sully exclaimed, smiling widely. “Be careful, little lady, you’re painting a target on your back.”

“Oooh, I’m so scared,” Maddy replied, pretending to shake in her boots. Everyone at the table laughed.

The game continued, growing increasingly cutthroat as the evening went on. Cards changed hands, books were laid down, and we all cursed and cheered in turn as the tides of luck shifted around the table in turns.

Through it all, my eyes kept sliding back to Maddy’s face over and over. Watching her, seeing her genuine laughter and free-spirited glee as she joked around with my brothers, made me happy. There was a tiny kernel of something else deep in my gut, something I could not define and did not want to examine too closely.

Once all the cards were drawn and all the books laid down, Deacon ended up having the most books in front of him. He laughed heartily, flipping us all the bird with both hands.

“Take that, motherfuckers! That’s how it’s done.” He said with playful mocking.

“Whatever, dude. I’ll get you next time!” Maddy replied, throwing him a middle finger right back, a huge smile on her face. She had amassed the second-highest number of books, and the competition between the two of them had gotten fierce beforethe end.

We gathered the cards back up and passed them to Deacon, continuing to joke around. All except for Jax, who sat there somewhat dejectedly.

“Well, folks, that was one hell of a game, but I’d better call it a night,” Deacon said as he put the cards back into their sheath.

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