Page 144 of Gambler's Fallacy

“Everything is going to be okay, right?” I swallow hard. “I didn’t ruin things, right?”

“You didn’t,” Caleb says calmly. “You aren’t betting against the house anymore, Seven. Youarethe house.”

I blink, not understanding what he means. “What?”

Caleb grips my hand and squeezes. “We’re in this together. You’re not a Lockwood, Seven. You’re a Spade.”

I squeeze his hand back. “Promise?” I ask.

“I promise,” he says so firmly that I can’tnotbelieve him.

I nod, relaxing my grasp on his hand. “Thank you,” I tell him quietly. “And thank you for not calling me… You know. I don’t want to be him. Not anymore. Not ever again.”

“Seven Spade has a nice ring to it,” Caleb says.

Behind me, Havoc grumbles. “I like Seven Martinez more.”

I smile, feeling that same sense of warmth within me. “We’ll see,” I say.

It’s too soon for forever.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t dream.

EPILOGUE

CALEB

It’s beena while since the entire family has gathered like this. Alice, Trent, me, and my parents.

Earl and Grandfather are missing, of course. It’s Grandfather’s house, but it feels even emptier than usual without him taking his place in the large armchair.

My father paces the room while the rest of us sit quietly on the sofa. Vortex is waiting outside of the private living room, on the other side of the locked door.

My father’s face is twisted in fury. “We can’t let this stand,” he hisses. “This insult?—”

My mother’s lips thin in disapproval. “You aren’t even sure of what happened. All we have isonebody.”

Alice lets out a long huff. “I bet Earl did it, honestly. He was getting on my case about letting him have one of my apartment complexes. His finances have beenreallybad. I bet he got into a fight with Grandfather, realized his mistake, and took off.”

Trent looks from Alice over to me. “I don’t know. Earl did make some money recently. Maybe not enough to cover all of his debts, but why would he kill Leon?”

“The inheritance, of course,” Alice counters. She scoots away from Trent and glares at him. “What’s your theory?”

Trent’s eyes flicker to me once more before he says, “The Clubs? Earl was doing business with them at one point. Maybe they took Earl and offed Leon in the process.”

It’s my turn to scoff. “They wouldn’t risk the truce like that—at least, Virgil Club wouldn’t. The murder of Leon Spade would cause too much upheaval in Calamity. No, it must have been an outsider,” I say.

My father clenches his fists. “Which brings us back to the Lockwoods. My contacts at Calamity PD say Earl’s last call was to a New Bristol number. And we all know they’ve been sniffing around our business.”

Now they all turn to look at me. I keep my breathing steady.

“This is my fault now?” I ask calmly. “I didn’t force the Lockwoods to do anything.”

“If you weren’t keeping that… that…” My mother trails off. “But it doesn’t matter. None of this excuses what the Lockwoods have done. If we return the boy to them now, it’s akin to saying we’re afraid of them.”

“I’m not bowing to them,” my father snaps. “If they want war with us, we’ll give them war.”

“Ifthey did it,” Alice interjects. “We still have no proof. Until we find Earl, we can’t be sure.”

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