Saturday,” Kai said.
“So?”
“Poker night.” Oh, that. For the past couple of Saturdays I hid in my room during poker night. The first night was more than enough for me. Again, not totally doing my job, but for some reason I felt like I had to fake it more around those other Destroyers than I did with just Kai.
“Maybe we should take a trip to the library so I can get a book.”
Kai knelt down next to me and sniffed the rose I was tending. He brushed his finger against my cheek and I smiled.
“Actually I was thinking you could play tonight.”
“Why?”
“You remember how we discovered we can kiss in front of Destroyers?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going.
“I want to test it. That means we both have to be super careful about our Guardian energy, but it’d be an interesting test.”
“Why is it important for us to be able to kiss in front of them?”
“Because I want you to start coming with me on jobs. The only way we’ll be able to pull that off is if we can flaunt our relationship without worrying about the Guardian showing through.”
That made sense. It also meant he trusted me enough to let me help him with Destroyer stuff.
“I don’t know the first thing about Poker.”
“Then I guess it’s time I taught you.”
*
The men all glowered at me as I tried to shuffle the cards. They fell out of my hands and all over the table. Kai smiled at me and my dad nodded, but the rest of them were not happy with my presence.
I finally managed to get the cards in somewhat of a stable order and slowly dealt them around the table. The cop glared at me and the man with the harelip, Wnyatt, groaned.
“Seriously, you can’t deal faster than that?”
“Give her a break, she’s new,” said my dad.
Wyatt rolled his eyes. I picked up my cards. A king and a queen and a few numbered cards. I knew that wasn’t good. But face cards were good, right?
I had one black card in my hand and threw it away and got a nine of hearts. I knew that if the cards were all in order, I’d have a straight, but I also had a two in my hand. Darn. What to do? A few of the men threw in a couple of chips and so I did, too. A couple of men folded, including my dad and Kai. Two men were left, and so was I. I simply kept putting in the same number of chips as everyone else. Finally it was just me and the harelipped man. He sneered at me.
He threw in a couple more chips and I did the same.
He laid down his cards. “Straight, queen high.”
I looked at his cards. Then I set my own down. “Does all red cards count for anything? I can’t remember.”
Kai laughed. “She’s got you beat, Wyatt. All hearts, a flush. Go ahead, Naomi, take your money.”
I pulled the chips toward me with a grin and looked at Kai. He raised his eyebrows and kissed me quickly on the lips. I focused on Dark chocolate instead of cinnamon. No Guardian energy allowed. We played a few more hands. I lost all of them, but it was fun. I learned to fold when I didn’t have anything.
The men talked a lot. Mostly Destroyer stuff. I listened carefully.
Eventually they started criticizing Kai again. “Things aren’t getting any better. Kai, have you come up with any solutions yet?” asked the cop.
“No, but I have spoken with a liaison from the Guardians. They’ve agreed to give me more time to figure it out.”
Who was that liaison? Me? Puck? If so, why hadn’t he said anything to me? Maybe he was lying.
Wyatt spoke. “And? What are you going to do?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
The cop spoke again. “We are your council. Of course it is our business.”
Kai tensed. “I'm working on it.”
Wyatt dealt the cards.
“Work harder,” he said.
I had two queens. Not a great hand, but not a bad hand either.
“I’ve taken care of some pretty big things, I need more time. This is a bigger mess than I thought it would be.”
“You only took care of those pretty big things because of
“So?”
“Poker night.” Oh, that. For the past couple of Saturdays I hid in my room during poker night. The first night was more than enough for me. Again, not totally doing my job, but for some reason I felt like I had to fake it more around those other Destroyers than I did with just Kai.
“Maybe we should take a trip to the library so I can get a book.”
Kai knelt down next to me and sniffed the rose I was tending. He brushed his finger against my cheek and I smiled.
“Actually I was thinking you could play tonight.”
“Why?”
“You remember how we discovered we can kiss in front of Destroyers?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure I liked where this was going.
“I want to test it. That means we both have to be super careful about our Guardian energy, but it’d be an interesting test.”
“Why is it important for us to be able to kiss in front of them?”
“Because I want you to start coming with me on jobs. The only way we’ll be able to pull that off is if we can flaunt our relationship without worrying about the Guardian showing through.”
That made sense. It also meant he trusted me enough to let me help him with Destroyer stuff.
“I don’t know the first thing about Poker.”
“Then I guess it’s time I taught you.”
*
The men all glowered at me as I tried to shuffle the cards. They fell out of my hands and all over the table. Kai smiled at me and my dad nodded, but the rest of them were not happy with my presence.
I finally managed to get the cards in somewhat of a stable order and slowly dealt them around the table. The cop glared at me and the man with the harelip, Wnyatt, groaned.
“Seriously, you can’t deal faster than that?”
“Give her a break, she’s new,” said my dad.
Wyatt rolled his eyes. I picked up my cards. A king and a queen and a few numbered cards. I knew that wasn’t good. But face cards were good, right?
I had one black card in my hand and threw it away and got a nine of hearts. I knew that if the cards were all in order, I’d have a straight, but I also had a two in my hand. Darn. What to do? A few of the men threw in a couple of chips and so I did, too. A couple of men folded, including my dad and Kai. Two men were left, and so was I. I simply kept putting in the same number of chips as everyone else. Finally it was just me and the harelipped man. He sneered at me.
He threw in a couple more chips and I did the same.
He laid down his cards. “Straight, queen high.”
I looked at his cards. Then I set my own down. “Does all red cards count for anything? I can’t remember.”
Kai laughed. “She’s got you beat, Wyatt. All hearts, a flush. Go ahead, Naomi, take your money.”
I pulled the chips toward me with a grin and looked at Kai. He raised his eyebrows and kissed me quickly on the lips. I focused on Dark chocolate instead of cinnamon. No Guardian energy allowed. We played a few more hands. I lost all of them, but it was fun. I learned to fold when I didn’t have anything.
The men talked a lot. Mostly Destroyer stuff. I listened carefully.
Eventually they started criticizing Kai again. “Things aren’t getting any better. Kai, have you come up with any solutions yet?” asked the cop.
“No, but I have spoken with a liaison from the Guardians. They’ve agreed to give me more time to figure it out.”
Who was that liaison? Me? Puck? If so, why hadn’t he said anything to me? Maybe he was lying.
Wyatt spoke. “And? What are you going to do?”
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
The cop spoke again. “We are your council. Of course it is our business.”
Kai tensed. “I'm working on it.”
Wyatt dealt the cards.
“Work harder,” he said.
I had two queens. Not a great hand, but not a bad hand either.
“I’ve taken care of some pretty big things, I need more time. This is a bigger mess than I thought it would be.”
“You only took care of those pretty big things because of
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