Page 42 of Queen Of WildCards

"So," she started, moving to her knees like she was preparing to do yoga or something, "IguessIshould thank you for getting me out of that."

Forher benefit,Igrunted in the affirmative, nodding my head once.

Shewasn't impressed with my lack of words. "Youdon't talk much, do you?"

My, my, aren't you such an observant one?"No."

Shecocked her head and inched closer to the bed, but her advance stopped when she watched my body physically recoil in on itself.Wewere closer now, only a few feet apart, butIrelaxed a little.Shewas perceptive,Dr.Stanton, and the people-reading skills that came with her territory served her well.

"Youalso don't like touching people."Sheraised her hand, turning it this way and that in front of her eyes as she studied it. "Butyou picked me up, not once, but twice now.Andyou've helpedSpadewith his wounds twice.Soyou make exceptions for certain situations,I'mguessing."

"Notusually,"Imuttered beforeIcould stop myself, hating that she'd somehow managed to break down another one of my walls without even trying.

Shecocked her head and studied me for a long moment, her lips pursed, a finger trailing over the bottom one like she was committing it to memory. "Youdon't like surprises, either."

"That'sAce'sschtick."

Sheshrugged, letting my denial roll off her shoulders. "Seemslike it might be yours, too."

Ididn't say another word;Ijust stretched out and got comfortable as the faint complaints of exclusion echoed beneath the door separating us from the world.Istifled a small grin when she leaned back and stretched out along the floor, getting as comfortable as possible.

Forsomeone who didn't like surprises as she claimed me to be,Iwas starting to enjoythis one.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

JOKER

Theinterior of this stuffy-ass car would be the death of me someday, especially ifIhad to spend another minute inside it withAce.AfterI'dsent offBlackJackto harassSpade, he picked me up to berate me about our unsuccessful attempts to garner some respect around here.Itseemed whetherIwas with or withoutBlackJack, these ruffians down here answered to one master and one alone—Spade.

Andthat crazy bastard was out of commission, at least for now.

Hopefully,BlackJackcould get some helpful information from him to help us break the ice down here.

"So, the two of you couldn't get a single rat to squeal down here?"Acedrawled tiredly, his fingers still prodding at the more sensitive spots of his face. "Shame.I'dexpected ex-street rats to do better among their own kind."

Thatinsult stung, and it was so out of character forAcethat it had me reeling in shock. "Excuseme?"

Heturned to look out the window, his voice thoughtful, posture giving nothing away. "Haveyou found out where the threat we received after your little stunt came from?"

Thoughtsraced in my head, darkening my expression asIremembered the first thingSpadesaid to me when he called to inform meIwas about to be a free man.

"Youfucked with the wrong people, bud, and now they're asking us to pay — with interest."

"Nosolid leads, butIhave a few general tips to pan out, see if anything comes from the linesI'vecast."Ibristled under the assumption thatIwas incapable of fixing my own problems. "Iexpect some to be more fruitful than others."

Acesnorted. "You'dbetter hope something pans out; otherwise, we'll be left with our pants around our ankles because you had to prove something."

"Don'tyou thinkIget it?Ifucked up."Myshoulders already bowed under the weight of my mistakes, but none more so than the mistakes that cost my family, my crew. "I'llfix this,"Istressed, the landscape of the city rushing by as our car wove in and out of rush hour traffic. "Youhear back fromBlackJackyet?"

"Nophone.Ibroke mine the night you fucked up with the therapist."

Iquirked my brows at his loss of control but said nothing.Iassumed that was why he hadn't messaged me before he showed up to get me.

Itossed him my cell as we swerved around another grandma driver. "Usemine.Findout what's going on."

Acegrumbled aboutgiving ordersbut flipped the damn thing over and sought outBlackJack'scontact info.Helet it ring for a while, on speaker, until it went to voicemail. "Nothing.That'sodd for him."

Notreally, when you thought about it.Healways preferred texting since he wasn't much for words. "Texthim; bet he answers then."

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