Page 79 of Spades

“I’ll have a gin and tonic.” He shifts his gaze to me. “Alissa?”

“A dirty vodka martini, please.”

Four nods and whisks off to the bar. I look around. I see the other female Spades waitress, Nine, but she and Four seem to be the only servers in this section.

My heart jumps. Where is May?

I look around the club. “Do the waitstaff ever switch sections?”

Maddox frowns. “I don’t think so. Why?”

“May isn’t here.”

Maddox raises an eyebrow.

I sigh. “Seven.”

He shrugs. “Tonight might be her night off.”

I gesture around the club. “This place is hopping. Surely they’d want all hands on deck.”

Maddox drums his fingers on the table. “Maybe she’s on a break, Alissa.” He pats my hand. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

My skin prickles, the kind of sensation that makes me want to glance over my shoulder even though I know no one’s there. What if May got in trouble for being with me? I told Rouge that she didn’t speak, but I accidentally said her real name.

I get to my feet. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room.”

Maddox widens his eyes. “Everything okay, Alissa?”

“Yes. Everything’s fine. Just… Nature calls, you know?”

I see Rouge mingling with some guests in the Hearts section, wearing the same bizarre getup she had on this afternoon when she caught me with May in the private area.

I walk up and awkwardly insert myself into the conversation.

Rouge widens her eyes. “Miss Maravilla,” she says. “Welcome back. You’re looking lovely this evening.”

I look down at the turquoise dress I’m wearing. Maddox drove me home to change and run a brush through my hair before we came here tonight—all I had were my scrubs, and the minimal makeup I wore at the hospital today was wiped off during our semi-public lovemaking session.

“Thank you, Rouge. You look exquisite as well.”

She smiles and runs her hands—I’m just noticing how long and red her fingernails are—over her frilled collar. “Thank you.” She turns back to the two men she was talking to. “As I was saying?—”

I raise a finger. “So sorry to interrupt. I was wondering, is”—I instinctively close my lips to start saying May’s name, but catch myself—“Sevenworking tonight? The Seven of Spades?”

Rouge turns to me, her eyes narrowed. “Seven has been placed on a temporary suspension for breaking the rules.”

I drop my jaw. “She didn’t break any rules. I was the one who went into the private area. Who came down here without a member escorting me.”

“I’ve already had a word with Chet about that. He allowed you down because we were outside of operating hours, so it wasn’t quite clear to him what the rules were. But Sevendidbreak the rules. She spoke with you.”

“I told you she didn’t.”

“And it was very valiant of you to protect her,” Rouge says, “but you let slip that you knew her birth name.” She smirks. “And you almost did it again just now. The only way you could know that is if she told you.”

Shit. Rouge did notice.

“I started the conversation,” I say. “She was just being polite, answering me. We exchanged names, that’s all.”

---