Lockout (The Alpha Group 2)

He gave a little shake of his head. "Trey is just terrible at poker, that's all. And everybody knows it but him. At this point it's become a matter of pride more than logic, I think."

It only took a couple of hands for me to see that Sebastian was right. Trey was nothing short of awful, bluffing when he had no business bluffing and calling when presented with a clear fold. Mostly due to good luck he managed to win a little, but luck inevitably runs out in the end.

As one hand ended, a man who had been lingering by the door approached. "Sebastian, I hear you've been looking for me."

Sebastian nodded a greeting. "Will. About time you showed up. Can we go and talk for a few minutes?"

"Sure."

He turned to me. "Want to hold down the fort while I'm gone?" he asked, gesturing to the table.

The huge wall of chips loomed up at me. "Oh I can't play with that kind of money."

"Sure you can. You've been doing just fine from back there. Why not take a turn in the hot seat?"

I waved him off. "Really, I wouldn't want to ruin all your hard work."

"If I thought you were likely to do that, I wouldn't ask. Look, either you play, or we lose our spot. It'll just be a few minutes, I promise."

I eyed the men around the table. As intimidating as the prospect of playing with them directly was, it was also kind of exciting. You don't get into law unless you have a healthy competitive streak. "Well, if it's just for a few hands..."

"Excellent." He got to his feet. "Everyone, Sophia here will take my place until I get back. Play nice with her." He winked at me. "Back in a few."

I slid into his seat.

"Not sure we've ever had a girl at this table," said Ewan, clearly not happy about the fact.

"It's kind of nice," said one of the other men. "Gives us something prettier to look at than your ugly mug." Laughter rippled through the room and Ewan scowled at me, although he kept silent.

Play resumed, and soon enough Trey found himself in a tight spot. All the cards had been dealt, and he was facing a massive final bet. I knew straight away his opponent had something strong. He had shown no propensity to bluff in spots like that. But Trey appeared oblivious. Rather than folding as he should, he seemed to be considering making a heroic call. Sure it would look amazing if he was right, but the chances of that seemed impossibly low.

Sure enough, after about thirty seconds, he pushed his chips into the middle. "Call." He wore a rather triumphant look, but it quickly dissipated as his opponent flipped over his cards.

"Full house," he said with a smirk.

Trey stared for a few seconds, before smashing a fist down on the table and throwing his hand away.

"Have you ever considered taking up knitting, Trey?" Jav asked. "Or maybe stamp collecting? There's not a lot of profit there, true, but at least you wouldn't be actively losing money."

Trey just stared down at his few remaining chips and shook his head. I felt bad for him, but there wasn't much I could do.

The game continued. I still hadn't played a hand. Part of me wanted to jump in and throw my chips around as recklessly as the rest of them, but I was afraid of putting Sebastian's stack at risk.

"Is that your plan then?" asked Ewan, after a few minutes of this. "Just play scared and fold until Sebastian gets back?"

Despite the fact that he was right, I was sick of his banter by that point. "I'm not scared. I'm just waiting for the right hand to take your money, that's all," I replied, as sweetly as possible.

There were several chuckles. "That sounds like a challenge to me, Ewan," said Jav.

"That it does," the other man replied, staring straight into my eyes. I knew that from that moment it was game on between us. The second I played a hand, he'd be all over me.

And a few minutes later, I was dealt something I couldn't ignore. A pair of Queens. One of the best starting combinations possible. My pulse quickened. This was it.

I raised, and several people came along for the ride, including my new friend. The first three cards dealt into the centre looked harmless, so I bet again. Everyone folded until it got around to Ewan.

"Finally found some stones, hey?" he asked. "Alright then, let's play." He threw in enough chips to match my bet. Everyone else folded.

The next card didn't change much, but nonetheless I began to feel nervous. The first few bets in any given hand are relatively small, but as the money in the middle grows, so do the size of the wagers. There was already a large sum in the centre of the table. This hand had the potential to get out of control very quickly.

I considered just cutting my losses and giving up, but I couldn't stomach the thought of giving Ewan that satisfaction. I'd sat down to compete, and so compete I would. With shaking hands, I bet again.

He thought for about thirty seconds, staring me right in the eyes. "Okay," he said, then called once again.

The final card was an Ace. It wasn't very likely that it helped Ewan at all, but it was still a scary card. One of the only ones higher than my pair. I didn't think I could bet again.

"Check," I said, passing the action over to him.

Instantly he pushed a tall stack of greens into the centre. "Nine hundred."

I exhaled slowly. It was a huge bet; all of my remaining chips. My first instinct was to fold. I couldn't imagine calling such a bet and being wrong, and Ewan had made a habit out of betting big when he had the goods. For all his recklessness, he hadn't shown much of a propensity to bluff.

But as I thought it through, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just being bullied. My presence clearly offended him, and this was the perfect opportunity for him to show me who was boss.

As if on cue, he spoke. "Just let it go, girl," he said. "You've still got most of your lad's money. There's no shame in admitting you're outgunned here."

I'm not sure if it was his tone or the smug look on his face that did it, but I suddenly knew I couldn't fold. If I was wrong, I was wrong, but I wasn't going to let him intimidate me.

With my heartbeat thundering in my ears, I silently pushed my money forwards and flipped up my hand.

He gazed at me for what felt like a lifetime, his mouth slowly twisting into a snarl, before shooting wordlessly to his feet and storming from the room. The table erupted into applause.

"I guess he folds," said Sebastian from behind me. I hadn't even realised he was back. "God, that was the most satisfying thing I've seen in a while."

I grinned. "It felt pretty damn satisfying too."