Page 66 of Texas Hold Em'
Abel shook the bottle around by the neck, and amber liquid sloshed around. “I propose a shot. You know, in case it’s your last.”
My stomach heaved.
Tex, however, laughed. He pushed up from the couch and met Abel in the kitchen. All around me, the other men left their positions and went into the kitchen. As he passed me, Brody offered his hand.
“On your feet, Ranger,” he said. “You and I have the worst jobs tonight out of the rest of these assholes. If anyone deserves a shot, it’s us.”
“Worse than Tex?”
“Tex,” he said with a smirk, “will get a nasty but fleeting shock, and then none of what happens will matter much to him because, well, he’ll be dead. But us? We have to keep our game faces on. A bit of tequila might help.”
I stared at his outstretched hand a moment before accepting it. Brody pulled me to my feet and clasped my shoulder in a friendly way, using it to guide me out ahead of him into the kitchen, where Abel was loading up shot glasses with tequila.
“That big one is for Carrie,” Brody said, laying claim to the one Abel had just filled to the brim.
Abel slid it across the counter to me while Jackson silently brooded on the other side of the kitchen. Samantha leaned in toward him and whispered something in his ear. Perhaps she was telling him to fix his resting bitch face. Perhaps she was merely reassuring him that things would be okay. Either way, he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close while the remaining shots were distributed around the room, and he didn’t say anything when she declined hers, saying something about having to drive them home soon.
Very few people knew why Sam wasn’t drinking.
Abel lifted his shot glass. “To Tex, our recklessly brave, and one might say shamelessly stupid, brother.”
“Fools come in all shapes and sizes,” Gabriel added.
“Don’t feel bad, Tex,” Knox teased. “Every group has a dimwit.”
Tex laughed in earnest, and I wondered how he could be so calm and collected as we closed in on the final hours. “Thank you for reminding me why I’m risking my life for you bastards.”
The room echoed with deep laughter. Brody nudged me in the ribs with his elbow before everyone tossed their shots back. Only delayedby a second, I followed suit, and I relished the way the tequila burned my throat and belly. I hadn’t eaten a full meal in the last forty-eight hours, so my head already started to feel a little fuzzy as Abel screwed the cap back on the tequila and placed it back in the fridge. Wordlessly, the group all knew tonight wasn’t a night for indulgence. We needed our wits about us. One shot was about as good as it was going to get.
If we all survived Friday, I was sure there would be a rip-roaring party to celebrate their immortality.
Everyone placed their shot glasses in the sink. I hovered in the corner of the kitchen while Tex went out to the pit and lit a cigarette. The men made passes to visit him and to say a few words in private. I wondered if they were saying goodbye.
Brody stayed close to me—not like a helicopter parent, but rather a concerned friend or brother. He watched every move I made, and every time I flipped open the Nokia to see if there was a new message, he’d stiffen.
“Anything?” he asked the eighth time I checked the phone.
I shook my head. “No. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bates was making me wait on purpose. Drawing it out.”
“He’s a sick fuck.”
“You can say that again,” I mumbled.
“Hey.”
I looked up at Brody. I hadn’t noticed before, but he had kind eyes. They were the eyes of a doctor—someone who was probably used to giving good news, bad news, and all kinds of news in between. He was a man who rode like hell at night and ran with criminals, but during the day, he saved people’s lives. I felt somewhat guilty for not bothering to try to get to know him better.
“Yes?” I said.
“I trust you, you know.”
I blinked.
He folded his arms across his chest and smiled down at me. “I think you needed to hear that. Out of all of us, Jackson is the hardest to win over. Always has been, always will be. But me? You’ve had mybuy-in for a while already. If Mason trusts you, so do I. Plain and simple.”
Oh no.My bottom lip began to tremble.Keep it together.
Brody knuckled me fondly in the chin. “You’re alright, Hart. And hey, I get it, okay? I’ve felt like shit for two days too. The thought of what we’re going to do tonight…” Brody gazed off in Tex’s direction. His brow furrowed and his jaw flexed. “It’s kept me up at night.”
