Chapter 21

The sounds of chips hitting the table and cards shuffling was my happy place. It was familiar and just itched that perfect spot inside my head.

A dopamine rush like nothing I"d never experienced.

This room was better than the last couple I"d found too. A backroom of a gentlemen"s club where the men were in suits, instead of stained tracksuits and holey T-shirts. Part of it was because I was semi-famous as the manager for Atlas and Kim.

Which was a fucking fight. The agency thought I was a kid with no business sense. Then I fleeced the owner from a substantial amount of money during a card game one night.

Then I did it again. And again.

Once he realized the head I had for numbers, he told his minions to let me be their manager. There were still bumps in the road, but nothing major.

The other part of the invitation to the better rooms was my wider range of connections.

Know more people, get better invites.

Know the right people, sit at the most lucrative tables.

The cards in front of me were the nine of clubs and eight of hearts. I"d observed enough of the cards played in the last few rounds to know most of the larger weighted cards were sitting in the used stack.

"Hit me." I tapped the felt table next to my cards. The attendant nodded and flipped over a four of clubs.

I broke out into a wide grin that was absolutely not contagious when I glanced at my table mates. It wasn't even the alcohol lifting my spirits, I only had one drink tonight.

Beasty didn"t know this side of me, at least the drinking side. And I"d like to keep it that way. If I went home one too many times with glazed eyes and alcohol on my breath, she"d notice.

That was something I couldn"t handle. Not until she was firmly ingrained with Kim. Then maybe I"d be able to slip up every now and again.

A man caught my eye across the room, and I grabbed the hard-won chips and gave a two-finger salute to my table mates.

"It"s been a pleasure."

They grumbled and the attendant eyed me with disdain. I"d get maybe two more times in this room before they kicked me out. They hated card counting. I could prolong it with a few poker games because the management didn"t care if I took the patron"s money. Just not theirs.

The man I approached smiled, leaning back on the counter to prop himself up on his elbows as he twisted his stool from side to side.

He wasn"t anything to write home about. Not really. Average features. Brown hair. Large glasses.

At least until he smiled, then he could give even Atlas a run for his money.

"Ratio." I tapped my fist against his as I slid onto the open seat beside him. "Strange to see you in my neck of the woods."

"These places are going to get smart one of these days. You"re too obvious." He grinned, turning to face me. This guy was the picture of normalcy. But I didn"t buy it. It was too suspicious how he came into my life. Yet I couldn"t get too upset about it.

He helped us out in a big way when we first left home. Saying it was a favor to a friend.

"Just because you have a math related nickname does not make you smarter than me." I scoffed. He was good. Scary good. The one time I played against him–which was the only time–I almost didn"t win.

A sobering reality to find myself in.

He hadn"t asked for a rematch and that made me suspicious. For men like us, who understood numbers more than the written language, gambling was an addiction we couldn"t shake.

It worked out because my gambling was the second reason we were as independent as we were.

The first? Was help from Ratio.

"The humble ones are the ones you have to look out for." He touched the side of his nose like he was letting me in on a secret. "They don"t even see me and don"t realize I won until I"m gone. But you," he raised his voice, "you"re loud and they see you coming from a mile away. They keep playing you, hoping to get their money back, but someday they"ll get wise and walk. Or kill you."

He said that last bit with a smile that was so unbothered, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"What are you doing here?" I changed the subject. Philosophical conversations weren"t my thing. I"d rather have fun taking men down a notch at the tables.

"I got a lead on another treasure. Thought I"d pass it along." Ratio faced the room, looking for all intents and purposes like he hadn"t rocked my world yet again.

The first time? After I"d taken his money, he"d pulled me aside and told me where the Ming Dynasty vase was.

"Why are you telling me this?" I narrowed my eyes. This was too fucking suspicious. The first time, fine, he wanted to help us, even though I couldn"t figure out why. This time? Too fucking weird.

"Let"s just say, I know a man who hated the Curator. He likes to right wrongs where he can."

"So this is a tip from him?" I pushed, hoping he"d give me more information than last time.

"Nah, I hadn"t talked to him in a while." His face darkened, then cleared right the fuck up. "I caught wind of this lead. I don"t need the money, and I"m sure you get more fuck you satisfaction out of his stuff than I ever could."

"That"s a fair assessment." I grinned. I still didn"t trust him. "What is it and where?"

"Just some old books someone traded for his services."

That was all it took for sweat to break out across my face and my throat to close up. I couldn"t fucking breathe.

"You okay?" He eyed me with so much intelligence in his eyes, he had to know exactly what his words just did.

Fucked me up.

Because I was a pussy who couldn"t stand reminders of being kidnapped and abused.

"Yeah," I coughed, blinking. "I got something in my eyes."

Ratio sighed. "I left the details in your car. But I hope you"re not driving back."

I didn"t answer. I"d only had one drink. I had fully planned on driving home, but now? I might need a fifth just to function.

"I"m watching. Don"t drive." He hopped off the stool and sauntered through the tables toward the exit. Not a damned person looked at him.

Me? Several men glanced at me, either cutting their eyes in jealousy, or with thoughtful, curious expressions.

I couldn"t blend into a crowd if I wanted to. Neither could the others. For the most part, it was the reason we were as successful as we were. I wasn"t about to start hating our blessings now.

Somehow, I"d cashed in the chips, got confirmation of the electronic transfer, then left through the back. I could have walked out the front, but I needed air.

My tongue was trying to climb up my nasal passages.

The door banged shut behind me and instantly the world was forty percent quieter. Only the distant sounds of male laughter and cars revving were present. They weren"t even bouncing off the brick alleyway because they were too far away.

My phone buzzed and I glanced down.

Atlas:

Kim and Beasty are making out in the living room.

Nothing else. No emojis to share how he felt about that. But I knew. He was burning up with jealousy and deliriously happy.

Kim was the best of us. The most controlled. The least problematic...For the most part.

He deserved Beasty and if they were together, it meant we"d be able to take care of her indefinitely.

Yet my fucking heart blazed from the brand of pain.

I didn"t respond. There was nothing to say.

There in the front seat of my car was a black folder, blending in with the black of the seats. Anyone walking by wouldn"t see it. One, it was dark, and two, my windows were tinted.

Once I was in the car, I turned it on, and started the AC. I could look at the folder now, or wait until I got home.

The hairs on my arms stood up as I debated how fucked up I was. Glancing around, I caught a glimpse of Ratio at the corner of the building. He leaned against the wall, just to the side of the light. Not enough in shadow to purposely be in the shadow, but not in the center of the light either.

I should learn a thing or two from him.

Shaking my head, I said, "Nah."

I tossed the folder in the passenger seat and headed home, forcing my thoughts on Beasty and Kim.

It was no hardship. The image of them together turned me on like nothing else. One of us with her.

Atlas and I almost saw them together before, but they jumped apart.

Lifting my ass in the seat, I shifted, trying to make my jeans more comfortable, but damn. I was thinking myself into a hell of an erection.

Even though I couldn"t sit comfortably, I could breathe better.

And damn it if that wasn"t a win.

I expected to see Kim and Beasty on the couch as soon as I walked in the door. I wasn"t disappointed.

Kim had his hands on Beasty"s waist and his tongue down her throat as she lay on him. When the door shut behind me, Kim jumped and tossed Beasty away.

I stifled my laugh.

Flushed faces and outrageous gasps looked good on them.

Kim had never done anything. With anyone. Was as virgin as the fresh snow, our childhood excluded. I ground my teeth together. Why had that thought popped up?

I knew. It was everything Ratio had dredged up at the club. He hadn"t even known it. He was too nice of a guy to mean it.

No, Kim was untouched in all the ways that mattered. I was happy for them that they got to explore this together. And frustrated as hell.

"Oh, um. I should go to bed." Beasty clumsily pushed herself up from the couch and stumbled down the hallway, like her legs didn"t work right.

Kim was left on the couch with a dopey grin on his face. "That was..."

"Hot?" I supplied.

"Mind blowing. It"s just so...different with her," he whispered, slowly climbing to his feet and stretching his arms over his head. "Everything is." His smile of genuine happiness almost cleared my thoughts of their agitated state.

"I"m glad, Kim."

I passed him to head to my room, folder in hand. I still didn"t want to look at it. I"d have Lake take care of it. He was good at these things. The man channeled his pain a different way that worked for him and us.

Kim followed on my heels and when I opened my door, Atlas kneeled on the floor in front of the air return, the cover once again discarded to the side. This time, he was trying to look through it, instead of just listening.

I knew better than to ask what he was doing. If we could hear what happened in Beasty"s room, she could hear us.

Dropping the folder on the bed, I joined him on the floor. I didn"t need my head in the hole to realize what was happening. My spine stiffened and I almost let Kim push me out of the way as he tried to wedge himself between us.

"Hey..." Lake popped his head in, but I waved a hand and shushed him.

Beasty panted, soft and fast. My eyes rolled back in my head imagining what she was doing.

"Mm..." she moaned, but it was shaking like she was rubbing herself fast and furious. Then she groaned, but it didn"t sound like pleasure. It sounded like she was irritated.

Before long, she moaned again. This one quiet.

The four of us gathered as close to this hole as we could. It wasn"t easy. Lake had triple the mass that we did, and Atlas wasn"t small either.

Beasty was masturbating. Right after a makeout session with Kim.

My body tingled with liquid fire as I dug my fingers into the carpet. Atlas still fought to see into the room, never mind that it was impossible.

We were perverts, but Beasty belonged to us, so that made this okay. She was taking care of herself because of Kim.

A sharp inhale was barely audible.

Snapping my head toward Atlas, we exchanged heated glances overtop of Kim's head. His eyes were full of desire and his pupils contracted with Beasty's next breath. We'd be fucking this out tonight.

Then another louder groan filled the air and Kim whimpered. He dropped his head in his hands, like he didn't know what to do. But the tent in his pants said otherwise.

Her breathless moans grew louder. She was getting close. When I turned to see what Lake was doing behind us, he had sat back, cupping his nape with one hand and biting his knuckle on the other hand so hard it almost looked like blood around his teeth. Yet his eyes were closed as if he was savoring every sweet sound that fell from Beasty's lips.

What was going to happen when Kim and Beasty finally starting messing around? This was going to be torture. I'd be putting in an order for better insulated walls in our next house.

"Kim…" Beasty breathed out in a voice deep with pleasure. Goddamn.

There was nothing else after that. Just the soft puffs of her breathing.

I rested my forehead against the wall, my heart pounding out of my chest.

Fuck. That was wild. We all just listened to Beasty come.

I waited for the nastiness and guilt to wash over me, but they didn"t.

The only thought crossing my mind was why couldn"t that have been us with her?