Page 34 of A Pawn in the Game
“I’m not…” I sigh. “Losing on purpose.”
“No? Just like you haven’t lost on purpose when you played against my uncle that one time?” His chin lowers, his eyes evaluating me underneath the impossibly long lashes.
“My head’s just not in it.” My voice is quiet as I shrug. I don’t tell him his reaction moved me off my axis. I don’t tell him that the messed up chemical system of my brain has just become even more unbalanced.
He stares for a second, unblinking. “Well, that’s a shame. If Iwanted to hang out with a pushover, I’d have stayed with the lovely ladies upstairs.”
My ears burn at his words, and it pisses me off. Who the hell is he to tell me how I should or shouldn’t act? I might be his captive, but he’s not my fucking owner.
The anger spreads from my stomach through my limbs, settling in my fists. I grip my remaining rook harder than needed, and move it across the board, the moves clear in my head. “Check.”
Even though my focus is on the board, I can see his lips turn up. He won’t be smiling when I kick his ass.
Seven moves later, I do just that. I reel from my victory, raising my gaze, only to see him smirking at me.
“Good game,” he says, putting his hand out for me to shake.
My hand snakes out, and he takes it, covering it with his large, tattooed one. The raised sleeve reveals an interlace pattern, one that wraps around his forearm. My eyes stick to it long enough for him to notice.
“It’s the Croatianpleter.” Theris rolled. “It’s a symbol of our culture dating back to the 9thcentury.”
My fingers itch to trace it, but that would be a silly idea. So I remove my hand from his, balling my fist to keep it from moving. The three-ribbon pattern is beautiful and hearing it dates so far back makes my nerdy heart beat faster.
He clears his throat, luckily breaking the moment. “Thanks for keeping me company. At least you kept me from choking Uncle Toma out.”
“I’ll make sure not to make the same mistake the next time,” I respond, making him laugh again.
His large frame exits the room, leaving me alone. I look around as if checking to see if someone is watching me, but before I can try to escape again, Andre returns with a polite nod of his chin.
They interrupted our chess game earlier, and even though I’mnot really in the mood for another game, I have something else on my mind.
“Do you speak Croatian?” I do my best to bat my eyelashes.
I’m not trying to be flirty, more like innocent looking. And it works because he dips his head in confirmation. I sit down at the table, lifting the king piece.
“What is this piece called?” I ask him, excited to learn something new after being here so long.
CHAPTER 18
Luka
Imake my way upstairs to the bar. Leon doesn’t look up from his glass when I drop into the corner booth next to him. “He went along with your plan,” he says.
“Thank fuck he did.”
“You know, we will have to give him an inch here or there.”
“Why? You’re the one who’s supposed to take over the business. Why do we need to play these stupid political games?” I pour a glass of my own.
“He has some of our people under his thumb. If we were to cut him off, he would likely stage a coup.”
“Fuck them.”
He sighs. “You know it’s not as easy as that. We’re vulnerable right now. We can’t afford to lose any men.”
“If he messes with the plan… I swear to God.” My fists clench in my lap.
“He won’t be there.”
