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“You think we have time for fucking games?” My voice, deep and masculine, echoed through the room. They all stopped and looked at me. The two men on either side of Edgar gawked at me, a shade of pink darkening their fair skin. My comment only got a grunt from the tanned man studying his cards.
Edgar shifted in his seat. “In a hurry, Malone?” he asked, giving me a hard stare over the top of his cards. “You know damn well we don’t move until he calls.”
I nodded slowly. They were all just fucking pawns.
“Fine.”
Donte stayed by the door, watching quietly. I grabbed an empty chair, its legs scraping against the floor. I adjusted the jacket I wore and sat down gingerly. Webster wasn’t the smallest guy, that was for sure.
The man reshuffled and dealt the cards. I leaned back, blowing out a breath as I glanced at the hand I had been dealt—two kings, an ace, a three, and a five. My memory was shit when it came to this game. I’d only played a few times, and even then, it was out of boredom more than anything. It was something Alistair made Tobias and me do when we were waiting for Kaden.
It seemed I was always waiting for Kaden.
“You suck at this.” Alistair laughed, taking my cards back from me while we sat at the table in Novas.
“I’m sorry. It is not my strong suit. It makes no sense to me.”
Tobias grumbled under his breath, earning himself a glance from Alistair. I shook my head as Alistair grabbed the cards and shifted closer to show me.
“Look at this.” Alistair flipped the cards over, placing them in front of me. “Which one do you think is the strongest?”
I rolled my eyes and pointed. “Obviously, the king and queen.”
Tobias made a strangled noise that sounded like a laugh as Alistair rubbed his chin. “In chess, yes, but in this game, no. The ace is the deciding card on who wins the main battle, so to say.”
“The ace?”
“It is the one that looks completely unassuming next to these pricks.” He pointed to the king and queen. “But when you have it in your hand, you could rule the world. Well, I guess the table, so to speak.”
“Can we play now?” Tobias snapped, holding his cards under his chin.
Alistair grabbed the cards and shuffled them as he looked at me. “There are a shit ton of other rules and tricks, but let’s just get the basics down so Tobias doesn’t cry all night.”
He shuffled once more and handed out cards. “Just remember, Dianna. The ace is what matters, and if you can put an ace with a king?” He whistled under his breath. “Unstoppable.”
“If he makes us wait any longer, I’m going to be pissed,” another man grumbled, pulling me from my thoughts.
“You’re already pissed.”
“Everything is being watched. We’re lucky we can move as much as we can.”
A few grumbled their agreement, cursing about the curfew.
“I’ve sat and supplied these damn materials for weeks now, and he still hasn’t paid yet,” Edgar snapped. Each man threw a card down. Weeks? My brows furrowed as I tried to sort through what Malone knew, but I’d eaten too much. All the memories were either blurry or weren’t there at all, but it still didn’t make sense. Kaden always paid. Usually, he paid in blood if you messed up, but he didn’t lie about business. That, amongst other reasons, was why he had such a heavy following. Kaden supplied them with whatever they needed, and they followed like whipped dogs.
I inhaled deeply, and that’s when I smelled it. The scent emanating from the man on the other side of the table was brief but unmistakable. I glanced at him. He was maybe just out of his twenties, but the fucking overpriced leather and thick gold chain around his neck with the crisscrossed godsdamn symbol screamed Santiago and his fucking coven. My jaw clenched. That’s the boss they were speaking of, not Kaden.
I tossed out a card, losing on purpose. I needed more information.
“So, we’re waiting on Santiago? Typical.” I didn’t hide my snark. I didn’t care to.
Edgar snorted, and someone else laughed. “Yeah, well, he has the ship we need, and I am not having my men or anyone else carry that much fucking iron.”
Iron. Perfect.
“Malone. Did you bring the transcripts with you? You seem a little empty-handed.” Edgar pointed his cigar at me. Every movement of that damn cigar sent the beast inside me whipping and lashing against my skin, begging to get out. I wanted to rip it out of his hand and shove it in his eye.
“I’m not bringing anything in here right now. Don’t trust you all.” I shrugged and folded my cards once more.
