Page 18 of Dead Man's Hand

Instead, the man drove down the mountain to an older, more decrepit part of Butte. The streets became darker, the commercial buildings got more derelict looking before the banker pulled over, parked and after getting out, walked down the street to where he ducked into an alley.

Buck stopped down the block in front of an old gas station with a condemned sign out front. He checked his gun, put on his side holster and turned off his cell phone before tucking it into his coat pocket and getting out. It had been snowing off and on all day. Falling snow spun around him as he walked toward where he’d seen Grandville disappear. By the time he turned down the alley, huge lacy snowflakes were fluttering down, making it hard to see more than a few yards ahead.

His gut told him he was onto something even as his head said this might be a complete waste of his time. This nighttime adventure might not lead him any closer to DJ Diamond because it might be nothing more than a booty call. Titus might have a woman he was secretly meeting. Not that this appeared to be a residential area.

At the top of the alley, he could see footprints in the snow. The new flakes hadn’t covered them yet. They led to a back entrance of what appeared to be a Chinese food restaurant. The sign was faded. He wondered if the place was even still in business. He moved down the alley through the falling snow, his footfalls cushioned by the new snow.

At the door, Buck grabbed the handle and pulled, half expecting it to be locked. It wasn’t. He stood to the side for a few moments listening before he peered in, then stepped through into the semidarkness, closing the door quietly behind him. He stood stone still for a moment to let his eyes adjust to the lack of light.

There appeared to be a solitary bulb at the far end of the hallway. He headed for it, following the murmur of voices.

SADIEHADBEENwatching DJ closely. He hadn’t cheated. But she could feel the tension in the room spark and sizzle. The pot was huge and DJ had already won a lot of money. Earlier he’d been playing with a stack of hundreds. A few minutes later, the stack had shrunk but not so noticeably that the others had seen him pocket the bills. He didn’t want anyone to see how far ahead he was. He was playing smart, but she feared that wouldn’t matter. Frank’s being armed had her nerves frayed. Maybe he always came to games armed. Or not.

Sadie realized that she was holding her breath and told herself to breathe. She had to be ready if things went south.Whenthings went south, she amended. The thing about carrying a gun was knowing when to pull it. The rule of thumb had always been: never pull a weapon unless you were going to use it—and quickly—before someone took it away and used it on you.

Her purse was hooked on the back of her chair, easily accessible—but not quickly. She had her gaze on DJ, but her true focus was on Frank, whom she was watching closely from the corner of her eye. If he reached down for the gun strapped on his ankle, she was going to have to pull hers. She would have only seconds to act.

For all she knew Frank wasn’t a retired cop, but still an active-duty older cop. Even her godfather would have advised against shooting a cop—especially one with a loaded gun at a poker game. Ex-military or cop or just cop-looking older man with a gun, Frank was the wild card.

It had crossed her mind that Frank’s true purpose here tonight might not be to play poker at all. She’d gotten the impression that DJ had enemies here in Butte. Her godfather had told her that teenage DJ had worked cons for years with his uncle until he went out on his own. She had no idea what kind of trouble DJ’s sister was in, other than financially, or with whom. But if someone wanted to draw DJ out to even an old score, they now had him back in Montana on their home turf.

Sadie knew it was her fear making her think these things. But hadn’t she, from the start, been worried that his concern for Keira had overridden his survival instincts?

She met his gaze across the table in those seconds as the last player threw his money into the pot and called to see DJ’s hand. Her heart ached at the look in his eyes. He had known that this might be all about him. She held his incredibly blue eyes.Tell me what you want me to do. He gave a slight shake of his head. Nothing? He didn’t want her to doanything?But it was what else she saw there that gutted her.I’m sorry.

No, she wanted to scream. DJ had to know her better than that. She wouldn’t let Frank kill him in cold blood—not if she could prevent it. She could have heard a tear drop in the tense silence as DJ started to let his cards fall on the table.

Chapter Nine

Buck reached the end of the hallway and saw a short hallway off to his right. One of the doors was partially open. The smell of cigar smoke wafted out. Quietly, he moved closer until he could look inside.

From what he could see through the haze of smoke, there was a poker game going on. He didn’t see Titus, but he knew he was here somewhere. Even from the doorway, he could feel the tension in the room as thick as the cigar smoke.

There were five men and one woman at the table, another man on a couch in the corner. Past the woman he could see a pile of money in the middle of the table. High-stakes game, it appeared. He could smell the sweat and the booze. His anxiety rose. Where was Titus? Why had he driven down here tonight? The whole scene had Buck on edge. He’d seen gunplay break out over a game with a lot less at stake.

He heard the heavy man with the cigar say, “All right, DJ. Let’s see what you’ve got.” There was an edge to his voice.

Everyone seemed to be waiting on the cowboy who was about Buck’s age. He had dark hair and even from here, Buck could see that he had pale blue eyes. DJ Diamond?

The room fell silent as if everyone in it was holding their breath. DJ shoved back his cowboy hat and grinned as he let the cards drop faceup on the table.

EVENBEFOREDJ’Scards hit the table, the room seemed to explode in a roar of voices and movement. Everyone was moving at once. Sadie had gotten only a glimpse of DJ’s cards. He had a royal flush? No wonder everyone was yelling. She would have sworn that he hadn’t cheated, but then again, DJ was a man of many talents.

She wanted to look at him, to see the truth in his eyes, but her gaze was on Frank. His chair scraped as he threw down his cards, one fluttering to the floor, and shoved back from the table.

Sadie reached into her purse, avoiding looking at DJ. If Frank came up with his gun, she’d be ready. Her hand dived into her purse, closing around the pistol’s grip. She could feel movement all around her as players threw down their cards and rose, but her gaze stayed on Frank as he reached down. She gripped the gun tighter. She was about to bring it up when he straightened, coming up—not with a gun, but with the card he’d dropped.

As he threw the card on the table, his gaze locked with hers. But only for a second. Just long enough to tell her that she’d made a huge mistake. It wasn’t Frank that she and DJ had to worry about.

DJALWAYSEXPECTEDTROUBLE.So he wasn’t surprised when cards went flying, chairs crashed to the floor, drinks spilled as all but a couple of players were on their feet and yelling.

The tension had been rising like the heat around the table. Too much money had changed hands and tempers were flaring. It was the name of these kinds of supposedly friendly card games.

But this one had gone south much quicker than he’d expected. Bob was on his feet and so was Max, the trucker, and Frank, the older man he figured Sadie had tagged as a retired cop. He’d figured both Bob and the trucker for poor sports if they lost too much. But it was the younger man in the fishing shirt who surprised him.

He watched in horror as Lloyd reached over and grabbed Sadie’s wrist. She had her hand in her purse. Now he watched as Lloyd twisted her wrist, making her cry out and the gun drop from her fingers back into the large bag.

As he unarmed her, he rose to step behind her. Before DJ could move, Lloyd locked his arm around her neck, drew a gun and pulled her to her feet. DJ rose slowly, putting his hands into the air as the barrel of the gun was pointed at his chest. All he could think was that Sadie had tried to warn him and he’d ignored her. He thought he knew what he was doing. Arrogant fool.

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