Page 26 of Wild Card (Advantage Play 1)

Schooling my features, I lean forward in casual interest. “Really? That sounds interesting. Where will it be held?”

“Here at Sin. I heard the owner is going to participate, too, which is crazy. I didn’t even know that was legal.”

When you’re a mob boss, you’d be surprised what you can get away with.

“Yeah, that’s crazy,” I agree with a smile. “Do you know when it is?”

Jack remains silent, his brows pinching together in concentration. “I can’t remember, but they have a billboard over there announcing it. Come on.”

With an excitement I didn’t expect, a friendly Jack grabs my hand from the bartop and pulls me with him, leaving my drink forgotten. After we round the corner, weave through copious amounts of slot machines, and take another left near a bunch of shops, I’m greeted with a big ass sign revealing exactly what I’ve been searching for.

October 15th.

“Do you see how much money the buy-in is?” Jack says, breaking the silence. “Fifty thousand dollars. Can you even imagine having that much cash lying around?”

“Yeah,” I hedge. “Crazy. Hey, I gotta go. It was good seeing you, though, and thanks for keeping an eye out for me. We’ll talk soon.” Spinning around, I make my escape while the numbers on Kingston’s business card gleam in my memory.

Seems I have a call to make.

Chapter Fifteen

Ace

Fun Fact: Pay phones are almost non-existent nowadays. However, Dottie is a gem and hasn’t renovated her diner in almost forty years, which means I’m still in luck.

Rushing into my home away from home, I slide my hand into my pocket in search of change before putting the quarters into the phone and dialing Kingston’s number.

“Ace! I’m over here!” Gigi calls, waving her hands up in the air.

I lift my forefinger to motion for her to give me a second.

With pinched brows, a confused Gigi slides back into her seat, waiting for me to finish whatever I’m up to. I’m sure she’ll interrogate me in a minute, but I’ll deal with that later.

The ringing stops echoing through the earpiece, and I wait to see if he’s answered. “Yeah?” a voice barks on the other end.

“Um, hey.” The diner is practically empty at this time of night, but it doesn’t stop me from looking over my shoulder while remembering my rules. I can’t believe I’m actually calling him.

There’s a soft rustling on the other end of the line before Kingston murmurs, “Ace?”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“You okay?” His tone is softer now––or maybe I’m imagining things––but the sound of his voice doesn’t stop my heart from racing.

“Yeah,” I whisper before twisting my finger around the phone’s cord and scanning the empty diner for the thousandth time. “I just wanted to tell you—”

“Shh,” he interrupts. “I’ll meet you tonight.”

Meet? Again?

There’s a heady pause as an angel and a demon on my shoulders give their arguments for whether or not this is a good idea. Maybe some distance would be a good thing. When I’m around Kingston, he tugs the control from my grasp whether I want him to or not.

Blowing out a slow breath, I mutter, “I don’t think that’s––”

“It wasn’t a question, Ace.”

“Hmph.” I look around before tugging on the cord and gritting my teeth. “Fine. Where do you want to meet?”

“At your place. You can leave the bat under your bed though, Babe Ruth.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and it brings a grudging one to my own.

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