Page 29 of Queen Of WildCards

Joker—Cass—whatever his name was, he seemed like the most stable of them.Hewas also the only oneIhadn't injured yet, so he was really my best option.

Butthat crazy one with the knife fetish—the oneIstabbed—he promised to take care of my cats, and he said he didn't hurt innocents or women.Ifit into both of those categories, so maybehewas the better target.

Builda rapport.Makethem aware of your humanity.

Jokerput that blade to my spine and dragged it down to my ass with a purpose.Andby all rights and intentions, that should scare me—his willingness to flirt with danger like that was hands down frightening.Theywere all dangerous men, andIneeded to remember that.

Themanic man beside me, who'd gone radio silent, flopped down on the couch in the commons, an old, peeling leather thing that had definitely seen better days.Hegestured with a wave of his hand for me to join him, andItook shelter in the corner furthest away from me, curling in on myself to make sure there would be no wayI'daccidentally touch him.

Iwasn't sure what would set him off and what wouldn't, and untilIgot a solid read on these men, it'd be in my best interests to play it safe.

Heshot me a glance and reached over to the short stand where the remote to the tv sat, old and battered but still working.Mindlessly, he flipped it on and started to scroll through streaming services, his brows furrowed as he searched for something.

Ihad to bite back a snort of laughter when he settled overVampireDiariesand smirked, hitting the play button.

"VampireDiaries, really?Areyou sure you're some badass criminal?"

Hiseyes narrowed as he turned to me, andIgulped down the fear, cursing my inability to shut my fucking mouth.

"Isuppose you think men can't enjoy a good tv show, huh?"Hehanded me the remote and leered at me, letting his eyes trail down my chest to the black lacy braIwore under the sheer top. "Whatwould you rather watch?"

Suddenly,IwishedI'dtaken his offer to change out of this outfit, but it was too late for regrets.I'ddug my hole, might as well jump in.

"Thisis fine, butTrueBloodis better."

Hegrinned from ear to ear, leaning back against the couch, his arms spread side to side in an impressive display of his wingspan.Ifhe stretched an inch further, he could wrap his hand around the back of my neck and choke me if he so chose.

Okay,Mallory, disturbing and twisted.Dialit down.

No, if he were going to do anything, it wouldn't be that;Iwas sure of it.

Ihanded the remote back hesitantly, not wanting to spook him beforeIknew where the line in the sand was.Ifigured now was as good a time as any to try and get some answers out of him, like what their plans for me were or what to expect.

Ittook me two episodes of the damnable vampire show to work up the courage to ask him a thing, and whenIdid, it was to ask him for a drink.

Heshot me a sideways glance but got up off the couch and disappeared without even a warning to stay put.Mymind whirled a million miles an hour whenIrealized if ever there was a time to escape, now would be it, butIwouldn't get far.Ihad no idea how to get out of here, and the chancesIcould get to someone, a populated place, or a payphone—if those even still existed—were slim to none.ForallIknew, we could be in the middle of nowhere or on the edge of the city.Ihadn't heard the railway once, andIdidn't feel the familiar thrum of the subway beneath our feet, so it was a sheer coin toss as to our location.

Iseriously doubted they were still in the neighborhood they picked me up in.Tooaffluent, too showy for a criminal gang to hole up conspicuously.

Right?

BeforeIcould overthink our location or an escape much longer, he returned with two bottles of water, one of which he handed to me.Imade it a point to meticulously check the whole bottle for a needle hole, twisting it this way and that while squeezing pointedly, looking for any sign of a leak.

IfIwas going to get roofied,I'dlike to know about it in advance.Ordrugged in general.

Jokerquirked a brow at me quizzically, tipping his head sideways like a confused puppy. "Problem?"

Ifrowned and turned the bottle upright again, cracking the lid. "Nope."

Hewatched me lift it to my lips, asIguzzled a quarter of the bottle, even followed the movement of my hand asItwisted the lid back on.Then, without warning, his lips parted, and he leaned over, brushing a thumb over the last drop or two of water clinging to my bottom lip.

Mythroat went drier than theSahara, and my lashes fluttered, matching the fluttering in my stomach at his brazen move.

Hebrought the errant thumb to his own lips, andIwatched, transfixed, as his tongue darted out to lick the slight moisture clinging to his digit.

Fuck, okay, that was hotter than it had a right to be.

"Youknow,Ithink those therapy sites need to change their motto, doc."Hishand moved to shove a chunk of hair behind my ear, andIswallowed the lump forming in my throat at his flirtatious actions. "Theytold me those sessions were anonymous, and here you are, making house calls."

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