Rules of Engagement by Stacey Abrams & Selena Montgomery

Author:Stacey Abrams & Selena Montgomery [Abrams, Stacey & Montgomery, Selena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Civelli inhaled sharply, then rose irate. “She’s cheating,” he charged. “Get Zeben. The whore and her miscreant partner are cheating! She just admitted it!”

Raleigh restrained Adam as he coiled himself to attack Civelli. “Let me handle this,” she hissed tightly. She confronted a livid Civelli. “I didn’t say I cheated. I said I received unsolicited help.”

“A matter of semantics, no doubt. You have dishonored the game.”

“Prove it,” she said softly, repeating Adam’s earlier challenge. One more game, she prayed.

“You know I cannot.”

“Then, you will learn not to say what you cannot support.” Challenge me to another match, idiot.

“I—I,” he stammered.

I’ll do it myself, she thought disgustedly. Raleigh cut him off, her tone condescending. “Because I did not deceive you, I deserve an opportunity to wager, and our time is running short. So I recommend that we play one more match. New dealer, of your choosing. And you select the game.”

Her suggestion pleased him. Resuming his arrogant posture, he ordered, “We will play an American game. Gin rummy.”

Excellent. But don’t seem too eager, she cautioned herself. “That’s not a casino game.”

“You will renege?”

Injecting a note of skepticism, she disagreed, waving a vague hand. “I didn’t say that.”

“Then you will play. We will deal for ourselves. Winner take all.”

“Agreed.”

They returned to the table and a dealer brought them a fresh deck. Civelli broke the seal. Raleigh shuffled with practiced ease. After he cut the cards, she dealt out two stacks of fifteen cards.

Winners and losers, finished with their contests, crowded around the players. Adam watched from a distance, expression impassive.

Raleigh played steadily, discarding and laying down cards without a noticeable pattern. Recklessly, Civelli drew cards, almost doubling the size of his hand.

A single card remained in the draw pile. Civelli chuckled to himself, pleased that it would be his draw. He lifted the card from the table and scowled.

The croupier stacked the discard pile, shuffled, and placed it facedown. Raleigh reached for the pile and plucked a jack of hearts from the deck. “I believe this is what you were looking for, Civelli.” She spread her cards on the table, the order running from the three to the jack. “Gin.”

Enraged, Civelli shoved the table at her and yelled. “Cheating harlot!” he exclaimed and jumped at her.

This time, before she could stop him, Adam slammed his fist into Civelli’s jaw. Civelli dropped like a stone to the floor and did not move. Two guards rushed over and lifted him to his feet. When he refused to stand, they dragged him from the room.

The dealer handed Raleigh two golden cases, smiling broadly. “Well done, Madame. Well done.”

“Well done, indeed,” Zeben said, acknowledging their victory with a reptilian half smile that bared sharp, pointed teeth. Guards stood discreetly behind him, uniformed in coats and ties. People clustered in knots throughout the room and spoke to Zeben’s lieutenants. Zeben decided to speak with them personally. “Civelli did not expect such a rout.”

A thin, almost skeletal hand reached for Raleigh’s. The skin, a dull brown parchment, stretched tight over bones and spare flesh.

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