Page 77 of Queen Of WildCards

Iglared at the men in the room who suddenly looked like they were two seconds from bolting to give us privacy.

Thatwas thelastthingIwanted.Iwanted them to watch me debase her, watch me wreck her;Iwanted witnesses to her shame.

Ihated the way she made me feel.Howshe got under my skin like no other could, set me on edge and consumed my spare thoughts like a fucking plague.PerhapsifImarked her for the others to see, the beast inside of me would calm down.

"Noneof you best fucking move an inch,"Igrowled, spreading my legs to forceMissStantonto straddle one of my thighs.Herhands darted out, and slightly faded nail polish caught the light of the overhead bar as she clenched the edge of the table and ceased protesting, her eyes flitting to each of the others, seeking help.

She'dget no help from them, not against me.

"Joker,"Igroused asIgrabbed her around the throat from behind, smiling sadistically when her pulse skittered out of control beneath my hand. "You'rethe whole reasonMissStantonis here, and she's a distraction that's causing you to lose your touch.Kingasked you for information, but so didI, and you've not brought me anything of use yet."Myother hand tugged a knife from my pocket, andIbrought it up toMissStanton'sneck, pointedly pressing the flat of the blade against her creamy white skin, pleased when he reacted likeIhoped—nearly jumping out of his chair.

"I'llget you what you need,Ace, but this isn't how we do things—"

Istood withMissStantonstill attached to my thigh, leaning slightly over the table right back at him, my anger rolling off in waves, her throat still tightly gripped in my hand behind the sharp edge of my blade.

"Youdon't tellmehow to run things.That'smyjob around here.Youare the informant and the thief.Andyou're the sole reason this situation is evenonour doorstep, so solve it, orI'llmake sure her headstone says'IfOnlyJokerHadDoneHisJob'."

Nosooner than the words were out of my mouth,Iregretted every single one.

Thetable went deathly silent as the ramifications of the sentence sunk in.MissStantonwas the first to react, her whole body going slack in my grip, all the fight drained from her.Asmuch asIwanted to be sorry,Icouldn't afford it.She'dbeen slowly undermining me with her seductive body and long lashes, turning the guys into veritable mush.Spadewas injured,Jokerwas lovesick and foolish, andBlackJack—well, something was always off about him, butIwas never sure what was constant and what wasn't, so it was hard to tell.

Andthere was me.She'ddone things to me, too.ThingsIwasn't proud of.

Jokerkicked his chair backward and scowled at me as he stalked around the table, his hand closing around the blade of my knife with deadly intent.Iwaited patiently to see what he'd do and was not disappointed.OrperhapsIwas.

Hesnarled at me, eyes narrowed to near slits as the other hand began to peel my fingers off the blade's handle.Icould feel blood trickling down his hand and over our tangled fingers, but he seemed not to care, more concerned with removing the dagger from her throat.

Perhapshe'd then try to shove it in mine.

Spade'sgood arm tugged a very quietMissStantonfrom my lap onceJoker'dfreed her, and he shuffled her out of the way and into the next room asIhad a standoff with the first man to ever join my little crew.ThemanI'dtrusted through all his ups and downs over the past six or so years.Theman now palming my dagger and staring at me like he wanted to rip my heart out of my chest with his bare hands.

"Ifyou've got something to say, fucker, then say it already,"Ispat out, stepping away from him, careful not to drip any of his blood from my hand onto the tile.Ceramicwas a bitch to clean.

"I'lldo my job,Ace, but you keep your hands off the doc—"

"Idon't make deals,Joker.Youget that information, and maybe we can talk."

Hestormed off with a huff, slinging blood everywhere, uncaring of the messI'dnow have to clean up.Withhis departure, it left only myself andBlackJackin the kitchen, and the silence was pleasant after the little episode.

Theyonly further proved my point—the woman was a liability, and she affected their daily performance whether they cared to admit it or not.

BlackJackhad moved to the fridge, where he stood with his hand in the freezer, slowly packing a baggie with ice.Hedidn't speak, but when he closed the door and approached me whereIstood,Ihad the strangest feeling that hewanted tosay something to me, and that it wasn't pretty.

Butunless he spoke up,I'dnever know what it was.

"Goahead,"Igrumbled. "Getit off your chest."

Hiseyes held mine as he searched for somethingI'dlost a long time ago, it felt like—my humanity.Mycompassion. "Wedon't do things like this,Ace.Getyourself together, orIwill."

Hisback was the last thingIsaw as he dropped the bag of ice in my hand and marched off after the others.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

SPADE

Thefollowing two weeks went by in a blur.Ispent plenty of time on the circuit, making the rounds and checking to ensure my contacts stayed intact whileIwas inactive, for the most part.Jokerfilled his days with information seeking, hopping from one high-roller to the next, seeking side jobs under the guise of money, but exploiting every hired hand position to get closer to the truth.

Acespent the first week shootingMalloryconfusing looks over the morning breakfast table, but she still fed us all daily sinceIwas stocking the fridge.

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