11

Monroe plays like he lives – hard and dirty. It’s a little after two in the afternoon, and we’re an hour into our first practice game as a trio. Monroe’s up, JT’s about even, and I’m struggling to stay in the game.

‘So what’ve you got?’ Monroe looks at me over his cards. His eyes have a manic glint – like he’s jacked up on the adrenaline of the game. ‘You think you’re going to beat me? I doubt it. You’re not playing well. You best quit, because you’re not going to beat me. I’m going to win. I’ll take all those chips.’

I look from Monroe to my own cards. Try not to let him rile me. I know the taunting is part of his game play; he’s trying to distract me. In my hand I’ve gotten a pair of jacks. Not a bad hand, but the odds say it can be beaten. Biting my lip, I take my decision. Count four chips from my diminished stack and slide them across to the middle of the table. ‘Call.’

Monroe lets out a little squeal and rubs his hands together. ‘Yes siree, the lady wants to play.’

JT adds four chips to the pot, matching the bet. Then he deals the next three cards, placing them face up, one by one onto the table: queen of hearts, ten of diamonds, jack of hearts.

I feel a fizz of excitement as I realise I’ve got three of a kind, jacks.

‘Now that makes things interesting,’ Monroe says, taking another four chips from his stack and pushing them to the centre of the table. ‘Raise.’

He’s looking at me. Watching for my move. I take another four chips and add them to the pot.

Shaking his head, JT throws his cards into the middle of the table. ‘Game’s too rich for my blood. I’m out.’

‘Just me and you, Lori,’ Monroe says, grinning. ‘Bring it on.’

My heart hammers in my chest as JT deals the next card. It’s the jack of spades. I’ve got four cards of the same kind – jacks. It’s a good hand. It can be beaten, but it’s pretty up there.

‘Raise.’ Still grinning, Monroe puts another four chips in the middle of the table. He holds my gaze. Winks. ‘What you going to do now, Lori?’

I hate how he keeps on using my name and the way he’s trying to goad me. I hate it, but I react to it, because I’m human and I sure as hell don’t want him to win this; to buy into the game in Skyland Tower I need $50,000 of the FBI’s money, and Monroe’s the only person who can vouch for me to get it.

I look at my chips – only nine left. My hand is good, but there’s a possibility Monroe could have a straight of cards in numerical order that will beat it, or if his cards are hearts he could be on his way to a flush of five cards from the same suit. The safe thing here would be to fold. I glance again at my cards. I don’t want to play things safe, I want to wipe the smile off Monroe’s smug face.

I push the whole stack into the centre of the table and bet everything I’ve got. ‘All in.’

He whoops. ‘Things just got interesting.’ Counting out nine chips he adds them to the pot. ‘Come on then, I’ll see you.’

I turn over my cards. ‘Four of a kind, jacks.’

Monroe is smiling. ‘Nice hand.’

JT looks worried.

Monroe turns over his cards. They’re the two of hearts and the nine of hearts. He looks at JT. ‘Why don’t you deal us the last card?’

Taking the final card from the top of the pack, JT deals it face up on the table. It’s the three of hearts. Monroe whoops and claps his hands. Disappointment punches me in the belly.

JT nods to Monroe. ‘Flush beats four of a kind.’

With that last card Monroe got five cards in the same suit – hearts – a more valuable hand than mine. I cuss under my breath. Annoyed that I let myself get carried away with the game.

JT leans over towards me. ‘I told you not to just play the cards. You’ve got to play the players as well.’

I glare at Monroe who’s still gloating. ‘I was doing that, but he was—’

‘Listen to him, he’s giving you good advice,’ says Monroe. ‘People try to hide their tells, but it’s rare they truly can. You need to watch for their reactions and play the person, but you need to think about what you’re giving away yourself too. You were easy to read, Lori. You bite your lip when you’ve got a good hand, and when you try to hide it your cheeks flush.’

I look from JT to Monroe. Feel angry, ganged up on. ‘Why don’t you play in the goddamn game?’

Monroe looks at me seriously. ‘You know it has to be you. The men at the game tonight are regular high-stakes players. You play like you just did, they’ll sniff you out as a rookie like a shark smells out blood, and then they’ll hunt you until you’re bled dry.’

Thrusting my chair back, I stand up from the table. ‘I may as well not go then, because I doubt I’m going to be getting any better before the game tonight.’

Monroe holds his hands up. ‘Don’t be so hasty.’ He gestures towards my cards. ‘This thing you’ve got going on, the impulsiveness, it’s a big part of the problem. Your game play is good, it’s being such a damn hot head that you need to get under control.’

Frowning, I turn and walk over to the coffee maker and pour myself a mug. ‘My head’s just fine thanks.’

JT shakes his head. ‘Don’t let him get under your skin. You let him get to you in the game, that’s why you lost. Your ego overruled your logic. If you’d have studied the board better you’d have seen the potential for that flush.’

I turn back and look at JT. ‘I did see it.’

JT holds my gaze. Looks disappointed. ‘You can’t afford to get overexcited. Tonight isn’t going to be some beer-keg poker party.’ He looks real serious. His tone is calm, steady. ‘In that last hand you were reckless. Monroe’s right when he says that you need to curb that. Impulsive play is a sure-fire route to losing.’

Anger flares inside me. My tone is sharp, irritated. ‘But he was goading me the whole time, and I couldn’t concentrate. I wanted him to quit it.’

‘I get that, Lori,’ JT says. ‘But it was intentional distraction. Not every player is going to sit quiet and play like a gentleman; some are going to try and rile you anyway they can, especially if you do well in the opening hands.’

‘I’m not going to go big in the opening hands, we talked about that.’

Monroe nods. ‘Good strategy.’

‘Yeah,’ JT says, fixing Monroe with his gaze. ‘I’ve warned Lori about how some players get. Advised her it’s best to sit back and let them get the dick-waving out their system before she gets full into the game.’

Monroe ignores the jibe. ‘Agreed. You need to stay in the game long enough to go heads-up with Cabressa.’

‘Sure. I’m real clear on what I need to do. I was the one with Critten when he issued the instructions.’ I don’t keep the sarcasm from my tone, and I don’t say staying in the game past the first round seems like one hell of a tall order. Instead I change the subject. ‘Did you bring the micro camera with you?’

Monroe shakes his head. ‘No, I’ve got to pick it up this afternoon, along with the money and the rest of the chess pieces. I’m briefing the SWAT team at nine, then I’ll come back here and get you set up.’

Nerves fizz in the bottom of my belly. ‘Okay.’

Monroe holds my gaze. He looks real sincere, disconcertingly so. ‘I appreciate this, Lori. I know what you’re putting on the line here.’ He looks from me to JT. ‘The both of you are doing a good thing.’

‘You didn’t give us much of a choice,’ I say. Monroe forced us into this job – he got me out of a tight fix in my last job on the condition I did this one for him. I had to give him my word; and if I go back on it, he’s threatened to arrest me and JT on the same trumped-up bullshit charges he’d made go away – so his faked sincerity doesn’t mean a thing.

Monroe shrugs. ‘One way or another, debts have to get paid.’

I watch him as he gets up and heads towards the door, the implicit threat hanging in the air between us. I owe him, and JT owes him. Without Monroe’s assistance we’d both be back trying to prove our innocence – of crimes we didn’t commit, but with no evidence to corroborate our stories. We needed Monroe and he helped us, but it was like making a deal with the devil. And now the devil’s called in the favour.

‘Keep practising,’ says Monroe as he opens the door. ‘See you tonight.’

As the door closes behind him I glance at JT. We don’t speak, but I can tell from his expression that we’re thinking the same.

What happens if we can’t pull off this job?