Page 3 of Reluctant Surrender

“Your bet.” The guy in the pit-stained t-shirt next to me at the poker table nudged me with his elbow.

I looked up from my cards and sighed. “Might as well just go all in,” I said, pushing the small pile of chips I had left into the pot.

“What was that, seventy-five? I’m in.” The guy to my left tossed in his chips. That left Mr. Pit-stains who folded. He was down to his last fifty dollars.

“Your cards.” The dealer pointed at me. I flipped over my hand, a pair of tens. Pit-stains groaned, probably pissed he didn’t stick around for the chips.

“Three fives.” The guy to my left tossed his cards down face up and reached for the pot.

“Well, that’s it for me.” I pushed back from the table and brushed my palms against each other. “Good luck.” I flashed a quick smile, careful not to aim my attention at anyone in particular and walked away from the table.

Once I reached the bar at the far end of the gaming room, I signaled for the bartender. My nerves rattled. I hadn’t expected the night to go so smoothly. Even though I knew I had the skill and the game plan was solid, things could have still gone sideways.

“Put that on the house tab,” a deep voice vibrated from beside me.

I glanced up, recognizing the voice, to find the dark stare of Lukas Kaczmarek settled on me.

“Lukas.” I threw on a soft smile.

“Maggie.” My name came out short and hard.

“It’s been a while.” I took my drink from the bartender and brought it up to my lips. I’d gone with a white wine, thought something stronger was definitely in order if Lukas was going to keep glaring at me. I hadn’t seen him since stepping off his plane at O’Hare and climbing into an Uber before he could talk me into letting him drive me home.

“A few months.” He nodded, lowering his gaze to the glass of wine in my hand. “Your poker skills seemed to have faded a bit since our game.” He cupped my elbow and led me away from the crowd pushing in toward the bar and to a quiet corner of the room. A loud cheer went up from the middle of the room at the craps table. Someone must have won big.

“Did you want to try your luck again?” I asked, taking a long drink of my wine. Flirting wasn’t really my strength, but he kept looking at me like he was irritated, and I needed a bit of courage.

“I watched the game, Maggie.” He folded his arms over his massive chest. He wore a dark gray t-shirt beneath a leather jacket and a pair of body-hugging jeans.

I took another sip. I’d need another drink soon.

“Good thing we were playing for money and not clothes then,” I joked. He didn’t look amused. “What are you doing here anyway?” I asked, gesturing toward the gaming floor. “Your family doesn’t deal with underground gambling.”

His eyes narrowed further. “What do you know about my family’s dealings?” Enough to not answer that question.

“Did you want to play a few hands?” I changed the subject while eyeing the blackjack table.

“Maggie, do you know who runs this place?” He moved closer to me. The spicy scent of his aftershave swirled between us.

“I assume one of your associates by the look on your face.” The TommyGun was a small club on the north side of the city. A great place to spend the night dancing downstairs or chancing your luck at the tables upstairs. I doubted any legitimate licenses were held for the gaming room, but I wasn’t going to question it.

“People who won’t take kindly to you using their poker tables for your hustles.” He lowered his face closer to me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Deny deny deny and if that didn’t work, running was the next option.

“I watched you, Maggie. I watched the whole damn game and I saw what you did.” He ran the back of his knuckles across my jawline. “If it weren’t so damn dangerous, I might have been impressed.”

“Not all women live for your approval, Lukas.” I took a step back from him, needing space in order to clear my mind.

“You’re playing with fire, Maggie.” He pointed a long finger at me. “You could get hurt.”

“I can get hurt walking down a flight of stairs.” I thrust my chin upward.

His jaw tightened. “There are other ways you can hurt too, Maggie, if you keep tempting me with your attitude.”

My throat clenched. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but I promise, no one was in any danger.” Aside from me and the guy I was helping to hustle the pot for himself.

“Hmm. You and I both know that’s a lie, Maggie.”

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