Trapped by Revenge: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (12 page)

He called, and tried to hold the seven in his mind as the dealer turned the flop, showing a queen, nine, and jack, all high cards. That gave me a pair of jacks which beat his tens, so I bet a hundred. Uncle Joey was down to two hundred by then, but he called anyway.

The turn showed another queen and Uncle Joey was thinking that with a pair of queens, he had a good chance to win this round, so he put in fifty. Every time he glanced at the other ten, he thought of a seven, trying to ignore the fact that with two pair, he had a better chance to win.

Of course I called, and Uncle Joey held his breath, hoping the river would be another ten, or even better, an eight or a king for a flush. Unluckily for him, the card showed a lousy two. Uncle Joey had fifty left and decided to go all in. He didn’t think I’d have the flush either, and hoped he’d pulled one over on me. He wanted to win in the worst way.

Now was my chance to call and win, or fold and let Uncle Joey take the pot to play another round. I’d made up my mind that I was going to beat him, but now I wasn’t sure what to do. I glanced at him, and in that moment, he knew he hadn’t fooled me, and I had the better cards.

Even though he didn’t like it, he was expecting me to beat him, so I figured why not? I still had a surprise up my sleeve and beating him was just too good to pass up, especially since he’d tried to trick me. It also helped that Ramos was thinking,
go for it babe
. That clinched it.

I called, then lifted my gaze to Ramos, who was standing behind Uncle Joey, and laid down my cards for everyone to see. We shared an intimate smile while an unexpected gasp came from the professor. Everyone else around the table pretty much held their breath in anticipation of what Uncle Joey would do. How would he take losing? Of course, I was his niece, so maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. Still, everyone knew Uncle Joey hated grovelers, double-crossers, and cheats. The way I’d beat them all so easily could mean I was a cheater. Would he accuse me of cheating? Would we have a huge fight over it?

Uncle Joey let the silence lengthen, enjoying the anticipation. He even scowled a little to make everyone think he was seriously pissed off. Finally, he glanced at me, and a reluctant smile crossed his lips. “Well done, Shelby,” he said. He opened his mouth to add that I beat him fair and square, but since it wasn’t fair or square, he left that part out.

With that, the room came back to life. The businessman and Jack heartily congratulated me. The professor still thought I had cheated, but since he didn’t know how I did it, he kept his mouth shut. The dealer had never seen anyone play as well as me and enthusiastically shook my hand.

“Thanks everyone,” I said. “This has been fun, but I have to admit that I may have had an unfair advantage which will not allow me to take all the money.”

Shock came from everyone in the room. The professor even muttered, “I knew it!” under his breath.

The businessman and Jack were both thinking I was an idiot to confess I’d been cheating, especially since Uncle Joey had taken it so well. Uncle Joey was aghast that I would reveal my secret, and wondered what the hell I was thinking. Even Ramos was ready to clamp his hand over my mouth to stop me.

“Relax,” I said, mostly for Ramos’ benefit. “All I meant was that since Uncle Joey gave me the one thousand to begin with, I couldn’t possibly take all this money.” I turned to Uncle Joey and said, “Can I keep it all, or do you want your grand back?”

Uncle Joey threw back his head and laughed. He was thinking this was the most fun he’d ever had playing poker. He’d even do it again, except he didn’t think anyone there would ever agree to play with me. “Keep it Shelby, it was worth every penny.”

He was thinking that when this was all over, he’d love to take me to Vegas. What fun it would be to enter me into one of those million dollar jackpot poker tournaments and watch me win. Of course, he would be fine if I split the money with him then. Maybe he’d check it out tomorrow, just to see if it was a possibility.

I shook my head, but didn’t tell him to stop. Right now it was just a harmless dream, and I didn’t want to burst his bubble when he was enjoying himself, especially considering he’d soon find out about Jack and Carlotta.

“I thought for sure you were cheating,” the professor said, surprising me with his candor. “I’ve never seen anyone win like that. It was almost like you knew what the cards were before you played. Simply fascinating. Congratulations, and good luck in Vegas.”

Thanks,” I said. He held out his hand and I promptly shook it, surprised that he was being so gracious. Maybe I’d misjudged him. Then I picked up that he was convinced I’d cheated, but maybe it was because I was clairvoyant, or psychic. That was the only thing that could explain it. That, or maybe I was an alien with mind-reading skills. In the course of his studies, he was more and more convinced that we weren’t alone in the universe. He glanced at me, just to see if I looked a little off. Nope, I seemed normal enough, but still it was uncanny how…

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had losing,” the businessman interrupted, and I gave him a grateful smile. He was thinking it was probably a once in a lifetime event to watch Manetto lose. “Do you think you’ll be back?”

“Oh, no,” I said. “I’m sure that was a one-time deal. But I’m glad you had fun, it makes it lots easier to take your money home with me.” That startled a laugh out of him, and he chuckled all the way out the door, taking the professor out with him.

The judge had been waiting to get me alone, and now that the others were gone and Uncle Joey was busy talking to Ramos, he approached me. “I have a feeling you know my secret,” he began. “Are you going to tell him?”

“Have you ever been able to keep something from him that he wanted to know?” I asked.

He shook his head and sighed with resignation. “I see what you mean. But you have to believe me. I didn’t know they knew each other when I first met her. It seems like some cruel joke that I even have to worry about this.”

“Have you met Miguel?”

“Sure, he’s a great kid… I… oh hell, don’t tell me he’s… he’s Joe’s?”

I nodded, and a string of profanity came from Jack’s mind. “Calm down,” I said. “Now you know something he doesn’t want out there, and you have a little leverage with that. I think Uncle Joey will be fine since you’re a good friend and all. In fact, use that to your advantage and soon he’ll be thanking you for keeping tabs on Carlotta.”

Jack nodded, thinking that could work for Joe, but how would Carlotta feel knowing he was telling Joe what was going on with her. But then who said she ever needed to know he was the source? Joe probably already had someone keeping tabs on her, and it wasn’t like she ever did anything bad. It could still work.

“What are you two talking about?” Uncle Joey asked, coming beside us.

Jack glanced at me, then made his decision. “There’s something I need to tell you. Can I buy you a drink?” Jack maneuvered Uncle Joey toward the bar. “I met this beautiful woman and we just hit it off. Since Sarah died I never thought I’d find anyone else and…”

“Babe,” Ramos said. His velvet voice sent all my concentration on what Jack was saying to Uncle Joey right out the window. “Nice playing.”

“Thanks,” I responded. “I have to admit it was a blast. Uncle Joey took it pretty well too.”

He chuckled. “Well, you certainly gave him a run for his money. I enjoyed it immensely. You even took me by surprise at the end there with your confession.”

“Yeah, I noticed. I’m glad you kept your hands to yourself.” Oops that sounded wrong. “I mean that you didn’t try to put your hand over my mouth like you were thinking.”

“Uh-huh.” He exhaled slowly, shoving his hands in his pockets, and thinking that I had it right the first time. “So, what’s up with them?” He motioned his chin toward Uncle Joey and Jack. “Is he involved?”

“Not in Killpack’s murder,” I replied, relieved to focus on something besides Ramos’ hands. “You’ll never believe it, but Jack is with Carlotta.” Wow, did I just let the cat out of the bag? Of course, telling Ramos was like telling Uncle Joey, and now that he knew, I’d probably saved Uncle Joey from having to talk about it.

“Oh,” he said. “So he’s telling him right now?”

“You already knew?” I gasped.

Ramos flushed guiltily, and shrugged. “Yeah. I didn’t think it mattered that much.” Mostly, he didn’t want to be the one who told Uncle Joey. He glanced at me, realizing I’d heard that.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I get it. I didn’t want to tell him either, so at least Jack’s doing us both a favor. That’s a plus, right?”

Ramos chuckled, and I laughed too. “Yes it is,” he agreed. “Before I forget, here’s your earnings for the evening.” He picked up the wad of green bills from the table. “A cool five grand.” He flipped through the cash with his thumb before holding it out for me to take.

I hesitated. Somehow, it just didn’t feel right taking all that money. It almost felt like highway robbery, with me as the cold-hearted bandit, who had deviously swindled them out of their hard earned cash. Worse, it probably made me a bad person, mostly since I’d enjoyed taking it from them lots more than I should have.

“Having second thoughts?” Ramos asked.

“Well, I did cheat, just like everyone was thinking.”

That startled a laugh out of him. “Is that right? They all thought you were a cheater? I’ll bet the professor was the worst. He’s some kind of a math wiz, and he usually wins more than he loses.”

“No wonder he was so upset,” I said. “Now it makes sense. He was trying to figure me out and swore to watch me like a hawk. He was even thinking I might be psychic or something, which is pretty close to the truth. I would have worried more, except then he thought I was probably an alien with superpowers.” At that I burst out laughing. “That sounds even funnier out loud!”

Ramos chuckled. “True,” he agreed. “So what do you want to do with this?” He held up the cash. “I know… since we probably can’t fit it all into that tiny, little purse of yours, I’ll just keep it.” He shoved it into the inside pocket of his jacket.

“No way!” I grabbed for the money and soon my hand was caught in his pocket and I was standing real close to him. I jerked at the money, but it was stuffed in there so tight that I couldn’t pull it out. Placing my other hand on his chest I pulled harder, but it still wouldn’t budge.

Ramos chuckled and the vibration from his chest into my hand sent a shock through me. What was I doing standing so close to him? I even had my hand on his chest! I jumped back, leaving the money in his pocket, and narrowed my eyes.

“Babe,” Ramos drawled. “If you wanted it that badly, all you had to do was ask.”

“Ugh!” I pursed my lips and clenched my jaw, then took a deep breath and let it out before I strangled him. “Okay, give it back.”

“What’s going on?” Uncle Joey asked.

Feeling like I’d been caught with my hand in the cookie jar, I whipped around to find him standing behind me with Jack nowhere in sight. He was thinking Ramos and I were acting like a couple of teenagers, and he wasn’t real happy with Jack and Carlotta either.

“Nothing,” I said, sure that my face was flushed with guilt.

Uncle Joey pursed his lips. “Good. Then let’s go.”

The drive to my house began in heavy silence. Ramos still had my money in his pocket, and Uncle Joey was still upset about Jack and Carlotta. After a few minutes I couldn’t take it anymore. I’d enjoyed the evening, and I hated it to end like this.

“At least Jack told you the truth,” I began, “and you didn’t have to hear it from one of us.”

Ramos cursed in his mind that I’d spilled the beans, and Uncle Joey perked up, just now realizing Ramos already knew and hadn’t told him. Crap! Now I was in trouble with Ramos.

“Look at it this way,” I continued, trying to smooth things over. “Now you’ve got someone you can trust to keep tabs on Carlotta, and the fact that he knows Miguel is a good thing.”

“How is that good?” Uncle Joey asked. “Because Jack’s with Carlotta, he has a relationship with Miguel that I’ll never have.”

“True, but you didn’t want to be with her anyway. Don’t forget that you can’t stand her, and since she’d be with someone else, isn’t it nice it’s Jack? I mean, Miguel would have a relationship with whomever Carlotta was with, and Jack’s a good guy, right? He’s going to be a good influence on Miguel. Who wouldn’t want that over some bad… jerk?” I was sweating now, since I almost said some bad-ass criminal instead of jerk.

Uncle Joey nodded in agreement, thinking what I said made sense, and I tried not to sag with relief in my seat. “You have a good point,” he said. “I think you’re right. Jack doesn’t pose a threat to me, and with Miguel at school, he isn’t there much more than when he’s with me, so it all works out.”

“That’s true,” I quickly agreed.

“And now that we know the judge isn’t Jack, we can focus on the next judge,” he said. “I told you this judge was the church-going type, and I was afraid you’d have to wait for Sunday to go to church with him, but I found out he holds a bible-study class during the week, so you’re in luck. The next class is tomorrow night.”

“And you want me to go?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said slowly, but he was thinking
duh.
“Do you have a problem with that? I thought you went to church every Sunday.”

“Oh I do. That’s not a problem.”