Page 47 of Clear Shot

“You know that no one can make Hana do anything, right?” I ask, lowering my voice. “She didn’twantto. Believe me, I tried.” Probably not hard enough, but again, she was pretty firm in her insistence in staying.

“She’s stubborn,” he mutters.

“The timing was unfortunate, but we’ll be fine. You have my word.”

“Stay safe,” he says finally. “All of you.”

“Mr. Knight is on top of this.”

“But he senthisfamily away.”

“I know.”

There doesn’t seem to be anything else to say so we disconnect after promising to stay in touch as long as possible.

“He’s upset,” Hana says when I hand her back her phone. “But he’s just worried. He’s not mad at you.”

“No, but I’m a little mad at myself.” I meet her gaze. “If something happens to you…”

“If something happens to me, the same thing will happen to you, so we’re in this together. Isn’t that how it should be?”

There’s a lot to unpack in that statement but we don’t have the time or privacy to get into it, so I just nod.

“Poker time!” Jordan calls out.

“Let’s play here in the solarium,” Remy suggests. “That way we’ll see when the storm starts and can close up the patio.”

We gather in the brightly lit room and Flora brings out a big box of chips.

“Join us,” Remy tells her. “It’s going to be a long night. You don’t have to work.”

She hesitates but then nods. “Let me change into something more comfortable. Deal me in. Seven card stud?”

He nods and it’s obvious to me that they’ve played poker together before.

Hana sits next to me on one of the love seats and our thighs are pressed together as she leans forward. Remy is dealing the first hand and I watch Hana discreetly check the cards that are face down. In seven card stud, the dealer passes out two cards per player face down, then there’s four rounds of cards face up, with us placing bets between each round. Players can fold at any time in the process, but if you stay in, the final card is also face down.

Hana has definitely played this game before, her expression neutral as she watches the cards.

Jordan folds first, and then me.

“Whatcha got?” I ask her quietly now that I’m out.

She surreptitiously angles the cards in her hand so I can see them.

Holy shit.

She has two aces in her hand—and two more on the table.

Four aces is an incredible hand, and one that’s hard to beat.

However, Remy has four clubs showing—and they’re a straight, which means they’re in a continuous sequence. If he has the fifth one in his hand, it would be a straight flush, which is pretty much the only thing that can beat Hana’s hand.

“See your bet and raise you,” he tells Hana.

She doesn’t react, merely puts more chips in the pile.

Remy lays down his hand, shaking his head.