Page 100 of Torched Spades

Someone’s done his homework.

I can tell he’s held onto that poisoned dart for a while, just waiting for a clear shot. Unfortunately, the chief is playing a dangerous game in an unsanctioned league. One with no rules and no conscience.

One whose blood runs in my veins and on my hands.

“Stay the fuck away from Becca,” I warn. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I can’t be pushed too far.”

“Are you threatening an officer of the law?”

“As I’ve told your daughter, I don’t make threats. I make promises, and unlike you, I keep them.” I nod at the stained card and ID still in front of him. “Consider those to be a reminder.”

He glances down. “A reminder or evidence?”

“You won’t do shit but get rid of them both. Your hands are just as dirty as mine, Chief.” He opens his mouth, but I’m way ahead of him. Turning my phone around, I tap the screen to reveal a running voice recorder. “And if you’re thinking of hiding them behind that badge, I’d reconsider.”

“Know what I think,Torch?” he taunts, his arrogance making a swift return. “I think all your cards are finally on the table.” He gestures to the stained playing card in front of him. “You don’t have a single ace left to play.”

Wrong. Dead fucking wrong.

Tucking my phone in my pocket, I give him a withering stare and slide out of the booth. “Who needs an ace when I have ajack?”With his strangled curse at my back, I walk out of the diner, the rusted cowbell above my head signaling my final act.

Chapter Thirty-One

BECCA

Betrayal is like a nightmare.While trapped inside it, you think you’ll never wake up. Then, eventually, dawn comes, and you move on. The fear fades, and you learn to sleep again. That’s when it returns, dragging you back in its clutches and forcing you to relive every horrifying moment.

But this time, it’s so much worse.

You know how it ends; you’re powerless to stop it.

Six hours ago, I walked from my car into a crime scene, police already surveying the damage and taking eyewitness statements. Of course, even though they were the ones who reported the break-in. No one knew anything, and even if they did, I doubt they’d bother to get involved.

Not that it matters.

This wasn’t a robbery. It was a betrayal.

One proven when after completing a final sweep of the place, one officer asked for access to the security cameras in my house.

Security cameras.

I played it off, shaking my head and insisting I didn’t have cameras, even when he aimed the flashlight on his phone at the smoke detector above my bedroom door and arched an eyebrow at the small black dot that appeared.

“No cameras…” I’d insisted, then calmly asked them not to file a report. Not that I thought they’d honor my request. After all, changing your name doesn’t change your identity.

Sorry, standard operating procedure, ma’am, they’d said, cushioning the blow with an offer to hammer a few pieces of plywood into the drywall.

Now, here I sit at one-forty-five a.m., staring at the now boarded-up window, scattered playing cards, and six tiny cameras spread out front of me. In the back of my mind, I register a knock on my front door, but I have no intention of answering it. I know who it is, and I have no interest in fighting with him again.

Ignoring the incessant banging, I dial Jack’s number for the fifth time, my gaze wandering to the dismantled smoke alarm hanging from the ceiling. “Pick up,” I plead, only to hear him ask me to leave another message at the beep. Sighing, I toss my phone and pick up one of the playing cards, Johnny’s warning from last night echoing in my head.

“You can never be too careful, cara mia. After all, you know firsthand that anything can happen when your back’s turned.”

“Why?” I choke out, the word weaving through the memory still fresh in my mind.His touch. His taste. His smell. His commands.Tears burn the back of my eyes, my heart shattering in realizing the safety and passion I felt in his arms were nothing but lies.

Another betrayal.

Another nightmare.