Page 52 of Blindside Sinner

Or I could owe it to someone almost as bad.

Let’s hope Lady Luck is on my side tonight.

It all happens so fast. I blink and suddenly, the pile of chips in front of me has doubled. I’ve taken Beck’s money three hands in a row, and I’m pretty sure the circuits in his brain are starting to melt. He shoves back from the poker table with a grunt at the next break in play and storms over to the bar for a refill.

Dixon leans over and smiles at me. “He’s under the bus, Sloan.”

If that means I’m kicking his ass, then yes, that’s true.

If it means that Beck’s lost a lot of money tonight, that is also true.

I feel his eyes burning a hole in the side of my head from across the room. I don’t return his stare. “I just like when all the cards are the same color,” I tease with a fake-bimbo giggle.

Dix chuckles and leans back in his seat. “Don’t play me for a mark, Sloan,” he says, waggling a warning finger in my face. “I know a shark when I see one. Speaking of which, my charity is hosting a Hold ‘Em tournament at the Four Seasons soon. You wouldn’t by any chance be interested in helping out, would you?”

“What kind of help?” I’m intrigued, but cautious.

“Organizing, maybe running the game?”

My red flags start flapping in the wind. “You mean like do all the planning and all the set-up, the cleanup, that sort of thing?”

He shakes his head. “No, no, of course not. Your talents would be wasted on maid duty. Mostly, I mean walking around, making sure the big spenders spend bigger. That kind of thing.”

“Oh.” I grin. That’s much more flattering than it would be if Beck was the one making the offer. “Yeah, sounds fun! I would love to help.”

Dix smiles proudly. “Great. I’ll email you all the details.”

“Before the two of you run off and elope, can we get back to the game?” Beck grunts as he stalks back over, rips his chair out, and drops down hard. He nods at Brent who deals out another hand.

Jack of clubs and a two of hearts. My cards are shit and they have been all night, but when Beck bets big, I can’t help myself.

My little manchild ward can’t read a bluff to save his life. So when Monroe, Cassie, Dix, Adrian, and Colin all fold, I bet big.

It’s just me and Beck.

But then I catch a gleam in his eye that I’m not so sure I like.

He sets his cards facedown and crosses his arms over his chest. “It’s the last hand of the night. What do you say we make this one a little more interesting?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Nothing sexual,” he deadpans. “You’re not my type.”

“Thank God.” I wipe my brow melodramatically.

Then his grin twists viciously. “One hand. Winner takes all.”

I gulp as I look down at the towers of chips in front of me. No way. I won this money. Ineedthis money. It’s a buffer, a cushion in case something happens to this job and I have to make an extra interest payment or two to The Bloodhound.

“Relax, angel,” he scolds. “I know you’re a cheap-wad. We can leave the money where it is. I don’t want your cash anyway. I was thinking something else.”

This time, when I sayThank Godin my head, I really mean it. Out loud, I say,“What kind of something else?”

“A favor. Something of the other’s choice. Blank check.”

I already do all of his scheduling, all of his driving, and I’m his human fucking alarm clock, so if there’s nothing sexual on thetable, I can’t imagine what he might want that I’d be able to offer. But I’m sure, after losing to me all night so far, that he must have good cards if he’s willing to bet something that could see him scrubbing my toilets.

The bigger problem is that it’s too late to back down now. His teammates and my friends are all watching with bated breath to see what will happen next.

---