“I fucking knew it!” Isla pumps her fist in the air, and he holds back another grin.
“That you did. Youarea little hunter,” he widens his eyes in daring, urging her to fight back.I’m gonna have to keep these two from killing each other if they don’t split up soon.Isla barely manages to bite back whatever venom waits on her tongue, and Eamon smiles like he’s won something.
“I’m going to drop in right here,” he points, “and scope it out while I wait for Caspian.” He looks at me, “Call me if anyone shows up here, even if they’re just asking innocent questions.”
“You got it, man,” I assure him, and he walks into nothing, disappearing into theAether, leaving behind a waft of red smoke.
“That guy’s an asshole,” Isla announces once he’s left, examining her nails to feign disinterest.
Knowing I have to approach this delicately, lest I be the one she puts a bullet hole in, I explain, “He’s just…”
“Anasshole.”
“Yeah, kinda,” I admit, “But his heart is in the right place.”Cliche.
“If it was up to me, his heart would be in thewrongplace,” she tells me, and I fully believe her. If any mortal could find a way to kill us, it would be this one.
“Well, look on the bright side,” I try, “He is going to help us get Bel back, then he’ll be gone and you’ll never have to see him again.”
She purses her lips, muttering, “One can only hope. How dare that fuckhead try toflirtwith me like that? Calling mesweetheartlike that? Gag.”
I release a nervous laugh before asking, “He’s kinda hot though, right?”
Before I can even react, a pillow hits the side of my head hard enough to knock me off balance, forcing us both into a fit of cackles.
“Am I wrong though?” I prod.
“No,unfortunately,you are not wrong. He is hot. But his personality fucking sucks,” Isla comments before asking, “So… what are we supposed to do while we wait?”
“You play Texas Hold ’em?” I hope.
“Are you kidding? I make my money with numbers and statistics. I’ve never met a poker hand I couldn’t make a winner.”
Finally, a challenge.
???
“How the fuck are you winning?” I blurt, after the third round that Isla schools me on my favorite game.
She cackles and takes a swig of the beer she’s been sipping, “Itoldyou! It’s all numbers and reading your opponent. I gotta be honest, my guy. Your poker face is terrible.”
I throw my cards down, “That is just not true! I do this for a living. I’ve been playing this game longer than you’ve been alive.”
Her silent laughter shakes her whole body as she tries to calm herself, “Well most of your patrons must be wasted off their asses cuz I can see right through you.”
I can’t even manage to pick my jaw up off the floor. FuckingdecadesI’ve been doing this shit, yet a mid-20s girl is kicking my ass. What the fuck is that about? I wanted a challenge, but I was not expecting to beembarrassedlike this.
“To be fair,” I tell her, “You are only maybe the third or fourth mortal whose emotions I could not sense, so perhaps that gives you an advantage.” Not having to balance my feelings against those around me is refreshing, to say the least. But it certainly makes me feel clueless.
“That sounds fucking horrible,” she tells me after another sip. I’m not sure drinking while in this situation is the best call, but who am I to tell someone how to cope when their whole life has just been turned upside down?Maybe it’ll help keep her calm, too.I’ll just have to retrieve and hide the gun before Eamon returns.
“It’s a nightmare most of the time, if I’m being honest,” I confess a notion I rarely even let myself think, much less say aloud.
She purses her lips for a moment, “Is that why you looked at me so weird when we met?”
“Did I?” I laugh, “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to. It is very strange to see someone yet not sense them.”
With a nod, she picks up the deck and begins shuffling before dealing another round. “I started playing poker with my dad when I was young,” she tells me while we look over our cards. “One of the few good memories I have of him. Of course, that was before I hit puberty and started having opinions of my own, so…” she slides a couple of almonds into our makeshift pot in the middle, “I raise.”
