Devilish Game (Shadow Guild: The Rebel 4)
My skin chilled, and I nearly fell out of my chair. Instead, I just barely managed to raise my eyebrows in a calm expression of interest. “You don’t say?”
“Indeed.” Anton watched me with interest.
“Next hand.” Atticus grinned widely. “Let’s not dawdle, I’m getting no younger.”
I glanced at him, surprised. He clearly had my back, trying to get Anton’s attention off me. His gaze flicked between the table and me.
He knows what I’ve done.
I smiled brilliantly, hoping it would throw him off. He huffed a small laugh, then turned toward the dealer as the cards were passed out.
The game continued uneventfully—or as uneventfully as it could when so much money was on the table. The woman and her poodle bowed out, and then it was just me, Grey, Anton, and Atticus.
Unfortunately, Atticus didn’t seem like he was going to throw in the towel any time soon. The stakes just kept getting higher and the hour later, my concern for the kidnapping victims only growing.
Anton won another hand, then Atticus. Anton turned to one of the guards, his attention diverted from the table as he ordered another drink.
I glanced at the thief next to me, then gambled. I leaned close and murmured, “Don’t you have some back hallways to sneak through?”
His brows rose slightly, and a tiny smile quirked the corner of his mouth. “Insightful, aren’t you?”
“Yes. And I’ll keep him occupied while you go and get about your business.”
“You’re not here for poker, are you?” His words were so soft and quiet against my ear that no one could hear them.
His posture, however, was another matter altogether. He was leaning close to me, his big shoulders curved inward like he was protecting me and his mouth close to my ear. It was a bullhorn that shouted We’re flirting.
It was good cover and a smart move, despite the frown lines that cut deeply around Grey’s mouth. Better for Anton to think we were flirting than conspiring against him.
And I wasn’t supposed to be with Grey anyway.
“I’m not,” I murmured back to Atticus. “And neither are you. So, go do your business while we do ours.”
“Ours?” His gaze flicked to Grey, and he nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Several hands later, after winning a sum of money that would buy me a nice flat in London, Atticus departed the table with a wave.
I caught Grey’s eye.
It was time.
7
Grey
I watched Atticus rise and leave the table, something loosening inside me to see him putting distance between himself and Carrow.
I shouldn’t care.
I knew I shouldn’t. Not just because of the curse, but because she wasn’t mine. No matter how much my soul screamed it, she wasn’t.
My gaze lingered briefly on Carrow, unable to resist her beauty. She pressed her fingertips to the golden charm at her throat, contacting Mac.
It was time.
“Well, it’s just the three of us now, isn’t it?” Anton’s eyes glittered with the thrill of the hunt.
I’d never enjoyed poker—too often it sat you next to the likes of Anton. I didn’t let it show on my face, however, and gave the bastard my best bland smile.