Sergio laughs, but he stops quickly when he registers the look on my face. He tugs on his collar and sniffs. “Take a joke, will ya?”
“All right, let’s not bring the ladies into this,” Maksim says smoothly, like he’s the magnanimous referee.
Our eyes meet. Every instinct inside me demands I hide how the snide comments from him grate against me, but I make a point to let the frustration bleed into my expression.
This is what he’s looking for. This is exactly what he wants to see. A man who’s been reduced to nothing. A man who’ll do anything to get back what he lost.
His lips twitch before he looks away.
The final hand comes around, and the air tenses, thick with anticipation.
When the dealer reveals the fourth card, excitement flares inside my chest. I’ve got a flush, all cloaked in hearts. A winning hand, finally.
I raise. So do Maksim, Mick, and Sergio. The pot grows to thirty grand before the dealer reveals the last of the five cards.
I reveal the two cards I’ve got, and the table falls silent as the realization dawns. Mick’s face turns an interesting shade of red.
“Well, fuck me,” he spits, his hand empty except for a useless pair.
“What he said,” Sergio grumbles.
Maksim just sniffs.
I rake in my chips, the clink of them sounding sweet to my ears. “Just playing the hand I was dealt, gents.” My smile is all teeth now, no pretense of friendliness.
“Let’s take a break,” Yannis says.
“I’ve got to take a leak,” Mick mutters, shouldering past me on his way out.
Maksim and I walk over to the bar set up in the corner. “Well played. You’ve lost a lot, Nero, but you haven’t lost your edge.”
Despite my win, I’m tense. “Yeah. Thanks. Whiskey, neat.”
Maksim nods at Yannis. “One for me too.”
Yannis pours it for us. “Here you go.”
“I can tell you’ve got a fire in you,” Maksim adds as we pick up our drinks. “Gino hasn’t managed to extinguish it.”
He’s fishing. Looking for me to slip and say something I shouldn’t while I’m still pissed. I’m fucking sure he told Mick to be on his worst behavior just to rile me up.
I let my anger slip into my tone. “Not for the lack of trying.”
“Has it been difficult?” he says, lowering his voice.
“What do you think? I’ve spent my whole life doing right by the Messeros. And this is how they repay me.”
Maksim lets the silence linger.
I huff and give my head a shake, letting my agitation roll off me in waves. “Never mind. It is what it is.”
“It’s not fair what they did to you.”
“Loyalty only extends in one direction in that family.”
Satisfaction flickers inside Maksim’s gaze. I think I have him.
“One day, it might come back to bite them,” he says smoothly.
