Page 68 of Keeping Knight

“I’ll call,” I say, while adding my chips to the pile.

Houdini nods. “Everyone show their hands.”

Rogue flips his cards over first. He has a pair of twos, which means I beat him, at least. When I show my hand, Rogue makes a face and flicks one of his cards at me. “Just had to one-up me, huh?”

I laugh and flick a card back at him. “Don’t be a sore loser.”

Wraith turns his cards over next. He has three sixes, which puts him in the lead. “Sorry, Knight,” he says without a hint of apology. “Better luck next time.”

Ruby frowns at her cards. “It’s fine,” I tell her. “Remember, it’s just for fun.”

“I know.” She leans forward and splays her hand face-up on the coffee table. A wide grin stretches across her face. “Full house.”

Rogue laughs. “Damn, Ruby.”

Wraith cracks a smile. “Talk about a good bluffer.” He gives Ruby an approving nod. “You got me.”

Sofia beams at Ruby. “That was awesome. I thought you were about to fold.”

Ruby’s cheeks are pink with pleasure as she drags the pile of chips in front of her. “I used to play poker with my dad. We’d make bets using candy. I really loved sweets, so…” She shrugs. “It was motivation to win.”

I loop my arm around Ruby’s shoulder and kiss her cheek. “That was awesome, Rue. You really had me going.”

“Does that mean we’re going to keep playing?” Jester asks. “It looked like Knight was about to put an early kibosh on poker night, there.”

“You were?” Ruby gives me a questioning look. “Why?”

“Because he didn’t think you were having fun,” Sofia answers.

“Really?” Ruby asks, more to me than to Sofia.

“Yes,” I reply. “I didn’t want you to get stressed out about the game.”

“Micah.” She kisses my jaw. “Thank you. But I’m having a great time.” Her smile brightens. “Especially when I’m winning.”

Houdini scoops up the deck of cards and shuffles them with a flourish, creating a waterfall from one hand to the other. Then he does it again, but in reverse. Always the showoff when it comes to card tricks, he finishes with a trick he calls the card spring. Then he sets the shuffled deck on the coffee table and leans back on the couch. “Who’s dealing next?”

Ruby stares at him. “How did you do that?”

“Practice,” he says with a smile. “You weren’t the only one who played cards when they were a kid.”

After a beat, she nods. “I guess that makes sense. With your nickname and all.”

“Not quite,” I tell her. “He’s good at card tricks. But that’s not where the nickname came from.”

“Houdini can get out of anywhere,” Jester explains. “And he can get into anything. Doesn’t matter what kind of lock the door has.”

“He can pick a lock in under thirty seconds,” Sofia chimes in. “I’ve watched him.”

Houdini shakes his head. “Thirty seconds is nothing, Sofia. I was taking my time so you could see what I was doing. If not, I could have done it in half that.”

I glance at Ruby to see if she looks interested or concerned. After all, lock picking isn’t something the average person approves of. “We don’t do it with our F&F jobs,” I tell her. “It’s just in case of emergencies. Or when Houdini feels like showing off.”

“That’s really cool,” she says after a brief hesitation. Then she smiles at Houdini. “Could you show me how you do it sometime?”

Houdini flicks a lightning-fast glance at me, silently asking for permission. In response, I give him a quick nod. “Sure,” he says, looking pleased about it. “I’d be happy to.”

“Okay.” Rogue grabs the cards and gives them another shuffle. “I’ll deal this time. And now we all know we have to look out for Ruby.” He flashes her a smile. “Since Micah never told us she was a ringer.”