Page 30 of Master of My Heart

She looked at her plate. He definitely didn’t like her. That much was clear. And he was right about her trying to audition here.

Jayson narrowed his eyes and pressed his mouth down into a frown. “Shut the fuck up, Micah. She spent days on a train and slept in the station before dancing with practically nothing in her stomach, yet she still made callbacks. I’d say that’s some serious talent.”

Micah’s mouth dropped open. Sabrina stared at Jayson as he glowered at Micah. Why was he defending her? She was a stranger to him. Why did he care what others thought of her? Not wanting him to fight with his friends, she tried to think of something to say to calm their anger, but no words sprang to mind.

“You slept in the train station?” Kyle asked, clearly bewildered. “Why?”

“My money got stolen on the train,” she mumbled, looking down at the table.

“Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice sincere. Sabrina glanced up and saw it in his eyes. He turned to Jayson. “That’s why she’s here?”

Jayson nodded and gave Sabrina an encouraging smile. “Martin asked me and Liz to look out for her. To give her a fair chance tomorrow. You should’ve seen her this morning. She looked like hell.” His smile turned boyish. “No offense.”

“I cleaned up as best as I could.”

“I’m sure you did.” His expression softened and she looked away. She felt her cheeks heat and saw Micah watching her, his expression softer, but still guarded. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully for a moment, then he gave her a small smile. Sabrina blinked, surprised, then returned it.

“Do you play poker?” Scott asked, drawing her attention from Micah.

“I’ve played a few times.”

“You any good?” Micah asked.

She shrugged. “I’m good at reading people.” Or I used to be.

He smiled. “Here.” He slid a handful of coins toward her. “I wanna see this.”

“No. I don’t have any money to play.” She pushed it away.

“Consider it a loan that you don’t have to pay back... unless you win.”

Sabrina shook her head, nervous. She used to be able to read people really well, but now that she was fully human, she didn’t know if she could do it. When Micah raised his eyebrows, Sabrina sighed. “Okay.” She didn’t want to offend Jayson’s friends.

Sabrina closed her eyes and concentrated, focusing on each man until, miraculously, she felt them. It was faint, but she could sense them. She opened her eyes and studied their faces as Kyle dealt the cards. She had a decent hand and won by calling Micah’s bluff. The second win was courtesy of good cards. She lost the third hand intentionally because she saw Micah getting upset. She won the next by calling Kyle’s bluff. By the end of the night, she’d won about thirty bucks. They weren’t high rollers, but it was more than she had at the beginning of the night. She gave Micah back the ten bucks he lent her. He didn’t look happy about losing, but he actually smiled at her in a friendly way.

A chill ran through her body as she realized that she was reading them accurately. Did it mean her Immortality was returning? Would Khyan be able to find her?

Scott laughed. “You’re gonna give Chase a run for his money when he gets back.”

The chill grew colder. Chase? How many men named Chase could there be in Boston? Oh God. Please don’t let it be the same man!

“Who’s that?” Sabrina asked casually, glancing at Jayson, who was talking to Micah in the kitchen.

“Jayson’s best bud,” Scott answered, scooping up the coins on the table and dumping them into a leather bag. “They’ve been friends since they were kids.”

It felt as if a cord had wrapped around Sabrina’s throat, choking her. “Oh.”

Scott rolled his eyes “Yeah. You’ll probably fall for him, too. All the women do.”

Sabrina gripped the table and concentrated on breathing. It’s not the same man. It can’t be. Her Chase was as intelligent as he was handsome, and with one look at her, he’d surely see what she had become. She couldn’t bear his disgust.

Chapter Twelve

“You are a bad girl, Sabrina.”

Ramon stands in front of me, but he doesn’t look right. His neck sits at a strange angle on his shoulders, his blank eyes partially hidden behind stringy, wet hair. His normally impeccable suit is torn at the lapel and his tie hangs loose.

“You tried to kill me,” he growls.

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