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They suspected, because they ran the business in a way that reduced the chance of them ever losing. But they had no idea how I kept winning. Probably thought I was counting cards. “Prove it.”
He smirked. “Prove you didn’t cheat.” Like it was a gotcha or something.
I raised an eyebrow. “You never studied philosophy, did you? Not Sartre, not anyone.”
“Excuse me?”
Standing up, I turned the chair around and sat down, sliding my ass forward into a slouch, and crossed my arms. “What did you study?”
“Business. What’s your point?” His tone hid an edge this time. I’d hit a nerve. Mr. Peter was self-conscious about his lack of success.
I scoffed, twisting the proverbial blade a bit. “Business? That’s a trade, not an education. If you’d learned anything, you’d know you can’t prove a negative.”
“We know you cheated because you couldn’t have won as often as you did without cheating.”
“Why not?”
“It’s statistically impossible.”
“No, it’s not.”
He faltered. It was only half a second, but that and his heartbeat were enough for me to know he wasn’t sure. “I assure you that it is.” But he was just parroting what his employer told him.
I sighed. “Oh look, another dude who can’t think for himself. Can we just get to the fisticuffs, please? I’m bored now.”
He cocked his head. “Youwantme to beat you up?” This guy really wasn’t very smart.
I flashed him a smile and held my hands out, palms up. “I want you to try.”
“Mr.—”
I interrupted him, shouting, “It’s just Maverick! For fuck’s sake, are you really that fucking slow?”
He was, and I wanted him to know it, because he was security, so experienced in combat and my best chance for low-risk fun right now. Unfortunately, he seemed to be the kind of security that had a handle on his emotions. Those fuckers were like little brown butterflies. What the fuck was the point?
He held his hand up and counted on his fingers. “Maverick, one, we know who you are. And two, I do not have a death wish.”
“Very proud of you for counting to two, young man. Anyway, I promise not to kill you. Just a little sparring, come on.”
His mouth flattened. I was finally getting to him. “No. Return us our money, and I’ll release you before the bounty hunter arrives.”
Now my face fell flat for real. “Uh, the what now?”
Mother fucker.
He gave nothing away; his face remained completely inscrutable. “The seraphim hunter is on the way. This is your notice. Give us your stolen winnings, and you can get a head start out of here.”
I stood up. He let his hands down. “I see what’s going on here. You drew the short straw, didn’t you? You don’t know what you’re fucking with. None of you do.”
He glanced at the mirror.
I followed his gaze, my pulse deepening, skin heating up. “Yeah, they better all get in here because you’ll be on the fl–” I leaped at him, and the door swung open.
Then I was on the floor, limbs thrown in odd directions, buried in the middle of a heap of men. Like stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night, I roared—at myself as much as all these assholes—and stood up with a force that sent men across the room. A few of them hit the wall and came down at sickening angles.
One guy took a step toward me, but I was done with them now. I had to find my brothers and get out of town before the hunters arrived. I backhanded him on my way past; his head twisted, and he smacked to the floor. When I glanced back, he wasn’t moving. Blood pooled around his head. Not what I was going for. “Well fuck a goddess,” I muttered, but I didn’t stick around any longer.
I phased to the front door to find Lux and Stone, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. “Where the fuck are you guys?”
