“She had a great fucking night. Turned her hundred bucks into two grand.”
Two fucking grand?
Wraith shifted his eyes to her at the same time Cleo jerked her head, seemingly shocked by his statement. She knitted her brows and scrunched her nose.
“I don’t think…”
Before she could finish, Trey reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick envelope, and handed it to Cleo. She hesitated slightly, but eventually took it with a shaky hand. When she peeked inside, her eyes instantly widened.
Ace clasped his hands, showing not an ounce of emotion. “That’s impressive.”
“Well…” Rogue smirked. “She had a little help. I threw down a thousand.”
And here it fucking is.An ulterior motive.
“You did?” Cleo asked.
“You brought a hundred to the table and played for an hour. You think you made two grand without using more than ten-dollar chips?” Rogue scoffed. “You’re good, but you ain’t that fucking good.”
“I don’t understand.” She said.
Trey turned to her. “When Dante brought over a new set of poker chips, they were courtesy of Rogue in one-hundred-dollar increments.”
She gasped. “I was betting hundred-dollar hands?”
Trey’s face softened. “And winning.”
She smiled, practically bouncing on her toes and looked over at Wraith. She was failing to see the severity of the situation. She quickly lost her excitement up against his harsh glare and dropped her chin to her chest.
“Well, that was fucking generous, Rogue.” Ace’s tone was laced with venom. They all knew exactly the hand Rogue was playing. He didn’t do anything out of the kindness of his heart.Does he even fucking have one?
“Turns out it was a good investment,” Rogue said. “I got a proposition.”
Ace scoffed. “Ain’t looking to make any deals with you, Rogue. You got nothing we want.”
The corner of his mouth curled. “Wasn’t talking to you, asshole.” He turned to Cleo. “You come play the tables for me.”
What the fuck?
“No,” Wraith snapped.
“I wasn’t fucking asking you, Wraith.”
He lunged forward, and Cue stepped in front of him, lowering his voice. “Calm the fuck down.”
Wraith ignored his brother, pushing past Cue. Only a few feet and a table stood between him and Rogue. “And I’m telling you, she’s not doing it, motherfucker.”
Cleo stepped farther into the room, slightly closer to Wraith. “You want me to be your shill?”
Wraith, along with everyone in the room, looked over at Cleo. It was her first time at a poker house and after playing for an hour, she’d picked up the lingo?Jesus fucking Christ!
Rogue snorted. “Yeah, you can bemyshill.”
The emphasis on “my”was intentional and sent Wraith’s rage to another level. It was a calculated move.And it’s fucking working.As if she sensed that he was about to explode, Cleo shifted closer to his side, brushing against his arm. Rogue glanced between them and smirked.
“Because I won tonight? That might’ve been just beginners’ luck.”
“I’ll take my chances.” Rogue smiled at Wraith.
