Steele-Faced (Daggers & Steele Book 6) (22 page)

I pressed Steele back into the thick fur of the rug. I had less control over the speed of the process than she gave me credit for, but I’d do my best.

33

“Ladies and gentlemen,” said Patty. “If you could all please take your seats? It’s time to begin.”

Shay fixed my tie, gave me a smile and a wink, and turned toward one of the high stakes room’s corner tables. Her backside wiggled as she walked, sending the pink and black pleats of her skirt swaying and my mind drifting. I’d thought an early morning romp would clear my mind of distractions and prepare me for poker. I was wrong.

The crowd in the gallery clapped as I took my seat next to Wanda, once again dressed in a black turtleneck, slacks, and shades and giving no indication of having undergone anything out of the ordinary last night, whether that be a trek though an engine room or an assault on a police officer. Theo was there, casually attired in a cream-colored dress shirt with the top two buttons undone, as was Ghorza in a voluminous indigo dress that gave her the appearance of a giant blueberry. She’d once more donned her floppy hat and glasses, but to what end, I couldn’t tell. She certainly didn’t appear to be hung over as she’d been on the first morning of play. Vlad helped her into her chair, which gave me pause, but then she yawned and stretched, pulling her arms over her head as she did so. Either she had an inordinate threshold for pain, or she wasn’t the one who I’d blasted in the ribs with a steel bar twelve hours prior.

Johann, his thugs, and Jimmy were all missing, but despite having been eliminated, Orrin
had
arrived. He’d seated himself in one of the far corners like Shay, but unlike her he’d already helped himself to a drink. His jaw was set and his face drawn, even more so than usual. He hadn’t looked inclined to chat, and I hadn’t approached him.

Of course, no one had been particularly chatty this morning. Theo at least had asked after Shay’s and my wellbeing, but no one else had. Given the uproar our deep sea dip had caused, I couldn’t imagine it was due to ignorance.

Patty dealt the cards, and we began play. A hand became a half dozen, and then a score. I found myself playing with confidence, looser than I had before. The numbers from Steck’s system came to me intuitively, and I won several hands on bluffs I never would’ve made the day before. Perhaps the physical and emotional release of my night with Shay had relaxed me, or perhaps the game simply seemed easier now that I’d played it while drugged and on the verge of collapse. Either way, I forced myself to pare my tactics, else someone caught onto my new gumption.

Theo continued his approach, remaining as garrulous as ever, and it worked. He won several hands over Wanda, who despite her usual silent, icy chill had an aura of vulnerability about her. It went beyond her below average play. She seemed to be fraying at the edges. A flick of the fingers here. A twist of the lips there. No motion that she performed regularly enough for me to catch wind of a trend, but there was more action coming from her than before by a wide margin. She even ordered a drink.

I abstained. When lunch approached and a waiter brought appetizers to the table, I only touched those items others tasted first. I ordered a water, and when it came, I drank it slowly, even though I knew Shay had kept her eyes on its preparation and would’ve warned me if anything was amiss.

As we played, I couldn’t help but speculate. Was my attacker, and Shay’s, sitting by my elbows at the table? My own assault I could forgive, but if and when I discovered who’d nearly killed Shay, I might have a hard time keeping my fingers away from the soft flesh of their neck. Fortunately for the other players at the table, I had a hard time convincing myself any of them were responsible. Certainly, I didn’t think any of them had come after
me.
The more I saw of Ghorza, the more certain I became she wasn’t suffering any ill effects from a ferocious rib injury, and both Wanda and Theo were too small and weak to have inflicted any pain on me in the dark of the engine room. Orrin might’ve been able to, but he was too short. Given the trajectory of my swing, I would’ve hit him in the head rather than the ribs, and his face wasn’t bruised in the least. He did seem nervous, though, as I glanced back at him during a pause in the action.

The morning turned into afternoon, and on we played. The crowd ebbed and flowed. My pile of chips stayed roughly even, Wanda’s dipped, and Theo’s and Ghorza’s grew. Theo talked. Wanda didn’t. Ghorza acted aloof. And then I noticed something. Something innocuous. Probably nothing, but then again, maybe not.

On a hand in which Theo, Wanda, and Ghorza all played to the flop, Theo clenched his jaw a little on the raise. It wasn’t much. Maybe I’d imagined it, but the muscular clench went against the gnome’s carefree persona. Certainly I hadn’t noticed it before.

He won the hand after raising and forcing Wanda and Ghorza out, but later he did it again, and when pressed into a showdown with Ghorza, he lost the hand, and not with a particularly good set of cards.

Could it be…
a tell?

Theo was smart. He knew as well as I did Wanda wouldn’t last long, and then it would be a three way game between him, me, and Ghorza. Could he be introducing a fake, intentional tell to throw the rest of us off? I couldn’t put the ruse past him, but then again, the more logical explanation—that the pressure of the game was finally breaking through his persona—made more sense. And poker, largely, was a game of percentages.

Either way, I’d only have one chance to use the knowledge to my advantage, and I needed to make sure I didn’t waste my shot.

We played a few more hands. Wanda won a much needed pot, though it didn’t do much to change her overall fortunes. I had the waiter refill my glass, but I didn’t drink. Patty collected the cards, shuffled them, and dealt everyone a pair.

Theo was up first. “Oh, come on, man. Patty, you’re killing me. When am I going to get something good?” He tossed forth his small blind.

Wanda said nothing as she tossed forth her big blind.

I glanced at my cards. Pocket kings, same as I’d had when I ousted Shay and Orrin. One of the best possible starting hands.

I matched Wanda’s bet, not wanting to scare anyone off, and Ghorza did the same.

Theo snorted. “You all are so rude. Here I am with a bad hand, and you’re forcing me to raise.” He pushed forth enough chips to match the bet.

“I thought your hand was terrible,” I said with a smile.

Theo smiled back. “It is, but I don’t want to hurt Patty’s feelings. Any more than I already have, that is.”

Patty flopped three cards over on the table. The king of clubs, jack of clubs, and ten of diamonds.

Theo blinked and rubbed his eyes. “Whoa. Well. That makes things interesting, doesn’t it?”

It did. The king gave me a high three of a kind right off the bat, but the jack and ten also set up the possibility of someone beating me with a straight, or with a flush should the cards fall right. Either way, it was a hand begging to be played.

Theo glanced at Wanda’s chip pile. “Patty, how much does this creature of the night have?”

“Ten thousand, three hundred crowns worth left, Mr. Hornshoe,” said Patty.

“Perfect. That’s how much I’m putting in, then.” Theo sectioned off the appropriate number of chips. As he pushed them across the table, his jaw clenched.

Gotcha, Theo.

Wanda sighed. Her head dipped, and though I couldn’t see through her shades, I could tell she was eyeing her chips. She spoke—finally!—in a thin, reedy voice. “Very well. I’m all in, I suppose.”

Given Theo’s chip pile of about fifty thousand crowns, he might bluff, but Wanda didn’t have that luxury. She must have something. Did she already have the straight?

My pocket kings were too good. I had to play. “Fine. I match.”

Ghorza blew air through her lips. She ran her tongue over a tusk, collected herself, and spoke, something she hadn’t done much of today. “Well, this pot is getting rich rather fast. Let’s make it even more interesting.”

Ghorza pushed forth ten thousand, three hundred crowns worth of her own chips.

Patty flipped another card.

Bam.
The king of spades. I wanted to jump up and dance, pumping my fist through the air, but through some superhuman force of effort I kept calm.

“Well,” said Theo. “This continues to get more…
interesting.”
He stared at the cards, tapping his fingers on the table. He stared some more and kept right on tapping.

“You do realize the game goes on, even though Wanda reached her max bid, right?” I said.

Theo glared at me. “Don’t get smart with me, Thomas. That’s my role at this table. I know how to play the game, I’m just figuring how best to milk you on this hand.”

He pushed forth fifteen thousand crowns worth of chips, again clenching his jaw as he did so.

The tell didn’t matter anymore. He wouldn’t beat my hand. The only question was whether I should check and try to squeeze more out of him on the river or impose my will now.

Subtlety had never been my strong suit. I grinned. “I’m all in.”

An electricity had already been building in the crowd, but several gasps followed my play. I heard Orrin whistle, and Shay inhaled sharply.

The big orc woman sighed again. Sweat beaded on her brow. “Oh, my. Vlad? Fan me, please.”

The elven manservant walked over and did as he was asked. Ghorza took several deep breaths, eying the cards, her chips, and me in series. She had the most chips of any of us, but only by five or six thousand crowns.

“So,” I said after a pause. “What’ll it be?”

Ghorza removed her hat and glasses, setting them to the side. She picked up her drink, a mint, lime, and rum cocktail, and took a long draught. She nodded. “Very well. I match.”

It took all I had not to grin maniacally.

“Oh, come on, man…” Theo frowned and shook his head. “I hate you all. Yes. I’m in, too.” He flipped his cards, revealing a pair of jacks, giving him a full house.

Wanda swore and turned over her own cards. A pair of tens, also giving her a full house, but a lesser one to Theo’s. I thought I heard Orrin groan.

I dallied. “Ghorza?”

The orc woman flipped her cards. An ace and a queen, giving her a lowly straight.

I tossed my pair of kings into the middle of the table. Theo cursed and slammed a fist on the table. The crowd twittered. Ghorza held her breath.

Patty flipped the last card onto the table. The ten of clubs. Theo’s eyes widened. Wanda gasped, but the fourth ten wouldn’t help her beat my four kings. I started to reach for the enormous pile of chips.

“Royal straight over four of a kind and two full houses,” said Patty, her voice as calm as a still pool. “Game and match to Miss Skeez.”

Wait…
royal flush?
I glanced at Ghorza’s cards. The ace and queen—
of clubs.
The king and jack in the flop had also been clubs. The first ten hadn’t. But the second?

I slumped in my chair, and my jaw hit my chest. I stared at the table, my arms hanging limply at my sides.

Ghorza wiped her face with a kerchief, took another long drink of her mojito, and waved at Vlad to fan her harder. She looked more relieved than joyous.

Wanda left her chair and stormed out. Orrin followed her. Theo popped out from his chair, came over to me, and slapped me on the shoulder. “Poker’s a bitch, isn’t she? Want to grab a drink?”

I shook my head. “Uh…no. Thanks.”

“Suit yourself.”

He headed to the bar. I just sat there, feeling numb and wondering what had happened.

34

I sat at one of the high stakes room’s corner tables with Shay, nursing a whiskey sour. Everyone, including the crowd in the gallery, had cleared out—except for the bartender, who sensed his professional skills might be needed given the way I’d flamed out on the last hand.

I shook my head. “I was so close, Shay. Over a hundred and fifty thousand crowns, after accounting for what was removed following Verona’s death. All lost on the flip of a card.”

“It wouldn’t have been our money to keep,” said Shay. “You know that, right?”

“Logically? Yes. But it’s still brutal on a psychological level. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if I
had
been playing with my own money.”

Shay took a sip of her wine. “And if the winnings had been yours to keep? What would you do with it?”

“I’d blow it all on dope and hookers, same as anyone else.”

“Seriously, Daggers.”

I scratched my head. “I’m not sure.”

“Would you quit your job?”

I shook my head. “Nah. Then I wouldn’t get to see you anymore. Or Quinto and Rodgers, for that matter. Heck, even Cairny’s fun in her own quirky way. Besides, I like what I do, even if I don’t like it every moment of every day. I’d be bored to tears stuck at home with nothing to do.”

“So, then?” said Shay. “There has to be something.”

I gave it some thought. “I might move into a nicer apartment. One that’s never served as a de facto cat halfway house. But I wouldn’t splurge on fancy food or clothes. Neither’s my style, as you already know. And I wouldn’t travel much, either. It would keep me away from work for too long. I don’t know. I might invest some of it. Put it aside for Tommy in case he decides to go to a fancy college like you did.”

“Investments? College funds?
Way to live life on the edge.”

“It’s what you get for shacking up with a man of my maturity level.”

Shay snickered. “Apparently that level is higher than I initially suspected. Basically, you’re telling me you wouldn’t change much of anything. So what are you upset about?”

“I already told you, it’s not logical.”

I heard the swish of fabric and turned to find Steck entering through the drapes that covered the front door. He motioned for the bartender to leave before crossing over to join us.

I tipped my glass to him. “Give my apologies to the department. Although I’d appreciate if we keep my loss on the down low. I’d rather not feel my fellow detective’s wrath when we get our bonuses at the end of the year.”

Shay lifted an eyebrow. “We get bonuses?”

“It’s a joke.”