Page 44 of Queen Of WildCards

BlackJackdidn't let people touch him.Ever.Andhere he was, allowing this waif of a woman to use him as a shield, her hands all over him.Hemight not be complaining, butIcould see the strain in his eyes.

"Giveher to me,BlackJack;I'llkeep the crazy bastard at bay."

BlackJackturned his back toSpadeand grabbed the doc, then shoved her toward me with a little nod.Igathered from the way he looked at her that she'd managed to get under his skin, too, though how she was turning these men into melting little chocolates in less than a day was beyond me.

EspeciallyBlackJack.

AcegrippedSpade'sbicep as he tried to fling himself out the door in my direction, stopping him in his tracks once more with a warning growl. "You'renot going anywhere.Yourpeople won't talk to these fuckers, so you're going to have to put on a brave face and pretend not to be injured for a day or two, so you can flush some of them out.Starton it tonight."Heglowered overSpadeatBlackJack, who hadn't moved since he released the doc into my care. "Andyou—we need to talk."

Hemarched off without a word in my direction, andItook that to meanIwas dismissed.BlackJackmarched on afterAce, andSpadegrumbled all the way to his room across the hall aboutmistreatment, whichIwasn't really sure he understood the definition of.

Iled the doc down the hall to my room and pointed her in the direction of my bed with a grin. "Makeyourself comfortable whileIgo hunting for something to drink."Imade it to the door before common decency made me turn around. "Youwant anything?Food, drink, alcohol?"

Therewas a solid minute of contemplation in her eyes as she stared at me, her lips parting just a fraction as she mulled her options over. "I, uh, yeah,Icould eat something."

"Allergies?"Sheshook her head no, andIshot her a wink and a smile. "I'llbe right back.Don'tworry aboutSpade—he won't bother you in here."

Imarched to the kitchen and stumbled in onAceandBlackJack'sconversation, which they seemed not to careIwas a witness to now.So, being there was little entertainment here,Idecided to spectate.

"—don't care if she's our prisoner, you can't just hole up with her—"

"Spadewas molesting her.WhatwasIsupposed to do, break his other arm?"

BlackJack'sface was covered in a murderous cloudI'dnot seen grace his expression in a long time.Usually, he wore it when his emotions were close to the surface, and he felt like hurting something—or someone.

Iwas privy to a bit of his past the others didn't know about—his own father had sold him to the streets after years of torment.Whenhis mother died, the old man had turned to beating the fuck out of him when he held custody—which wasn't often—andBlackJack'sscars were a testament to that fact.

Somescars, though, went deeper than the skin, and those were the ones he'd been left with that hadn't ever healed.Hisaversion to touch and reclusive tendencies crippled him socially and mentally, turning him into a shell of a man, a mere shadow of the person he could have been.ButBlackJackdid know one thing very well—the way it felt to be violated.Tobe touched against your will.

Itwas the only thing that could have spurred him to such close contact with the doc.

Acedidn't seem to see the urgency in such an admission. "Spadewouldn't hurt her; the fool's half-mad for her already—"

"Andhe's so mad about her that he ignored her when she recoiled away from him and tried to coerce her into physical contact.Evenif we are kidnappers,Ace, we're not fucking rapists."

Ourfearless leader managed to school his features a bit as he cleared his throat. "Youhave a point.I'lldeal withSpade."Heturned to me with a frown, those dark eyes piercing straight through me. "Andwhat the fuck are you doing?"

Ipointed to the cabinet beside me and waggled my brows. "Waitingfor you two lovers to finish soIcan grab some snacks."

BlackJacksnorted and beat feet out of the kitchen, the solid sound of his door slamming a heavy echo down the hall asIpushed a bag of popcorn into the microwave.Acemuttered something about needing some air and made for his office, which negated his whole comment on the air thing, but whatever.

Theding alerted me to the sustenance, andIadded a pinch of salt to the bag before grabbing a bottle of tequilaSpadehad hidden under the kitchen sink, a bottle of water, and some grapes hanging out in the back of the fridge.Satisfiedwith my haul,Ireturned to my room to find the doc missing, of course, soIdropped my hoard on the bed and marched off in search of her.

Thankfully,Ididn't have to go far.

Ifound her atSpade'sdoor, her hand lifted just a fraction away from knocking.Shecaught sight of me out of the corner of her eyes and paled, her whole body sagging in relief.

"Mybags are in his room.I, uh, can you?"

"Goback to my room.I'llget them."

Whenshe disappeared,Ipicked the lock and slipped inside his dark bedroom, sussed out the two bags that clearly didn't belong to a man likeSpade, and snuck right back out.

Oncea thief, always a thief.

Nothingmore than a street rat.

CHAPTERTWENTY

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