Secrets That Kill: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

by Colleen Helme

  “You should fold on anything in your hand that isn’t good,” he said. “Since you don’t know what you’re doing, that’s probably best.” He didn’t think I could ever pull this off, and figured the only reason Manetto agreed was because I was his niece and I’d insisted. Manetto was blinded to this stupidity because I was family. He vowed then and there never to let any of his relatives get to him like that.

  Ramos came through the door, and I happily threw down my cards. Nick had destroyed my confidence, and I couldn’t take another minute of it. I lurched to my feet and glanced around for my purse. “I’ve got to go to the store,” I announced. My stomach clenched, and I bent over until the pain passed. “Right away.”

  “What’s wrong?” Ramos narrowed his eyes.

  “Nothing a little Mylanta won’t cure,” I said. “Can I have the keys?”

  Ramos studied me and realized I needed to get out of the house almost as much as I needed the medicine. “I’ll take you.” He turned to Nick. “I got it all set up for tonight and met with Carson to set the terms. I need you to let Manetto know how it’s going. We’re playing the game at Max’s Club. Will you call Manetto and make sure it’s good with him?”

  “Sure,” Nick agreed. “Oh, and while you’re out, you might want to get Shelby something nicer to wear. Probably something that will distract Carson. She needs all the advantages she can get.”

  I had pulled the front door open, but turned with a gasp of indignation at his comment. That was just too much. I tried to push past Ramos, but he wouldn’t let me get around him, grabbing my shoulders and holding me back. “Come on, Shelby, let’s go. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “Yes he did. He’s been thinking…he’s been…he said…” Damn, I couldn’t say it out loud. “Oh, all right.” I pulled out of Ramos’ grasp and marched out the door, knowing I had to get a hold of myself and calm down.

  I took a deep breath and got in the car, clicking my seat belt in place while Ramos started it up. Ramos wisely didn’t say anything, and his mind was quiet, giving me the silence I needed. We pulled into the grocery store, and I grabbed two bottles of Mylanta and some Tums. I also found some flavored water and grabbed several bottles of that. The way my stomach was behaving, I knew I couldn’t drink soda until I had some food in me, and this would taste better than plain old water. Plus I needed it with what I had to face today.

  We got back to the car, and I opened the Mylanta and took a few swallows. Feeling better, I found a bottle of water and drank half of that. With my stomach starting to settle, I knew I needed something to eat or it would start up all over again. “Can we go back to that place with the fish tacos?”

  Ramos allowed a small grin. “Sure.”

  I didn’t know how far away it was, so I was surprised when we pulled up a few minutes later. It was just past eleven, but there was already a line. We placed our order and found a table. After devouring my tacos, I felt a lot better and sat back in my seat, finally ready to talk. “Nick thinks I’m stupid and that I’m going to lose all that money.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Ramos said. He was thinking I was sweet and unpredictable, even though I could be pretty stubborn. There was more to me than most of the women he knew, and he liked that. “You’re a lot of things, Shelby, but you’re not stupid. You can do this. It’s really not that hard. When we get back I’ll show you how you’re going to beat Carson at his own game. You’re going to make him so mad. It’ll be great.”

  “Okay,” I said. “But I’m still nervous.”

  “I’m sure you are, but it’ll all work out.” He checked his watch. “We’ve got a little over five hours before the game starts, so we’d better get moving.” I followed him to the car, feeling much better.

  “We have to make one more stop before we head back,” he said, thinking he had to be careful about how he said it.

  “What’s that?” I asked, curious.

  “Well, Nick had a point. You do need something nicer to wear.”

  I chuckled. “I know that. I was thinking that earlier myself. So what do you suggest?”

  “I’ll show you.” His eyes held a hint of excitement, so I knew it had to be good, which made me excited too.

  A few minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of this huge mall and followed the lane toward the main building. Palm trees lined both sides of the drive, and Ramos pulled to a stop in front of a glass-enclosed, circular, two-story entrance. A valet opened my door, and I stared up at the mall while Ramos circled the car to join me.

  Inside we found more trees, several fountains, a breathtaking glass ceiling, and every store imaginable. I didn’t know where to start. “What do you think I should wear?”

  “I don’t know,” Ramos shrugged. “Something casual, but sexy, like a short dress and heels. Just something to keep Carson a little distracted. There.” He maneuvered me toward a large Neiman-Marcus store. “They should have something here that would work.”

  “Okay, sure,” I agreed, pursing my lips to contain my enthusiasm.

  We found the dress department, and hardly a minute went by before an attendant spotted us and eagerly trotted over. She was young, probably a college student, and barely looked at me while I tried to explain what I wanted, instead staring at Ramos with undisguised admiration. She sent quick glances my way with an occasional head nod to show me she was listening, but her smile was all for him.

  Ramos’ phone buzzed, and he excused himself to take a call from Nick. I breathed a sigh of relief to have him gone, and the attendant finally turned her helpful attention to me. From her thoughts, I knew she was determined to find something I’d love just so she could see Ramos smile again.

  I tried not to snicker at this turn of events and let her help me all she wanted. This time she listened when I told her I was going for the playful but sassy look that didn’t reveal too much, but still looked feminine. I also wanted it to be comfortable since I’d be sitting in it for hours and hours.

  After my explanation, she found the perfect dress. It was a blue floral-print georgette with a gathered split surplice neckline that didn’t reveal too much, but just enough to be sexy. It was sleeveless and had a smocked waistband that wasn’t a bit uncomfortable. The length was just right as well, hitting my legs a few inches above the knee. Even better, she thought I looked great.

  “Do you have shoes?” she asked. I shook my head, telling her no, and her eyes lit up. “I know the perfect shoes to go with this dress. Follow me.”

  With the dress still on, I followed her to the shoe department, and she went straight to a pair of black leather zip-back sandals. My breath hitched at the price, then I realized they were Prada. I’d never worn Prada before, and my heart rate doubled just to try them on. The attendant also brought over a pair of Jimmy Choo’s that were similar in style and price. I’d never worn those before either. Indulging myself in the moment, I tried them both on. No doubt about it, they looked great and gave me a boost of confidence, but I couldn’t get over the nearly thousand-dollar price tag.

  “Do you have anything else?” I asked the attendant. At her crestfallen expression, I continued. “You know, just to compare?”

  “Sure. Let’s look over here.”

  We came upon another pair that I immediately liked. They were dark paloma snakeskin suede sandals, which seemed kind of fitting in a way, and even better, they were on sale. They were still expensive, but at least they didn’t cost more than the dress. I put them on and smiled. They looked just as good as the others, and more important, I still got a rush of confidence just walking around in them. “I’ll take them.”

  “Great choice,” the attendant said. “How about some jewelry?”

  Wow, she was good. “Yeah, I probably need that too.”

  She grabbed the shoebox and led me across the aisle to the jewelry department. “I’m thinking silver and blue,” she said. She went straight to a striking three-strand blue-beaded silver necklace with matching earrings. They were
simple, but elegant, and set off my dress beautifully.

  “Yes,” I said, my eyes glazing over, knowing I had to have them.

  “Okay then, let’s get you back to the changing room.” The attendant was glowing herself, thinking how satisfying her job was when she helped someone like me look so good. I tried to take that as a complement. Anticipation ran over her to see Ramos again, and she wasn’t disappointed to find him sitting in the chair outside the changing room.

  “What do you think?” she asked, gesturing toward me and hoping she’d pleased him.

  He glanced at me and nodded, a slow grin spreading over his face. “Very nice,” he said. The attendant followed me to the changing room and unlocked the door. Once I was inside, she wasted no time getting back to Ramos.

  Shaking my head at her reaction, I quickly changed into my clothes, placing the dress on the hanger, and the shoes back into the box. I’d certainly enjoyed myself with this little shopping excursion, but now it was time to get back to business. An hour had passed, leaving me with only three hours to prepare for the poker match. My stomach clenched, and I took another swig of Mylanta before opening the door.

  The attendant bagged my dress efficiently and scanned Ramos’ credit card, paying special attention to Ramos’ name. She sighed over it, thinking Alejandro was perfect, and bid us a fond goodbye, her gaze following Ramos all the way out the door.

  “You do know she was totally into you, right?” I couldn’t help asking.

  He pursed his lips. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He threw a mischievous grin my way. “Especially when I’m with someone. It’s like they gang up on me. I guess they just can’t help themselves.”

  “Whatever,” I said, rolling my eyes. He chuckled and we got in the car. “So, is everything set up for tonight?” I asked.

  “Pretty much,” Ramos responded. “Like I told Nick, we’re playing at Max’s Club, and I already met with Carson this morning to agree on the place. One of Manetto’s friends suggested it, and since it wasn’t on Carson’s list, I checked it out. I hit it off real well with Max, especially when I mentioned we were playing against Carson. Turns out, he doesn’t like Carson much, and was real interested when I told him about our agreement. He told me Carson wasn’t known to cheat, but he wasn’t to be trusted either.

  “I asked him about hiring a few of his bouncers to keep a watch out on Carson’s men, just in case he tried something, and he was very obliging. So we’ll have extra people there to rely on if we need them.”

  “That’s good to know,” I said. “What about Nick? Will he be able to come at all? He talked about delivering the evidence of Carson’s cheating to his associates during the game.”

  “Yeah. But that shouldn’t take all night. Once he’s done, he’ll be back to help out as well. Right now, Nick’s on his way to the club to meet with Carson’s men. It’s just a preliminary kind of thing where the location is inspected by both sides to make sure there’s nothing set up that could be interpreted as cheating, or anything like it. After that’s accomplished, we should be set to go.”

  I nodded, feeling a chill at the back of my neck. “Do you think it’s all going to work out?”

  “Yes,” Ramos said. “Now all we have to do is get you ready. I’ve hired a professional dealer, so all you really need to do is play the game.”

  It sure sounded easy to him, but what if I messed up? What if I got mixed up between a flush and a straight and which was better? What if I didn’t realize that what he had in his hand was better than mine until it was too late? What if Carson cheated? How would that go over if I accused him of cheating? I could imagine him pulling a gun and everyone shooting everyone. So much could go wrong.

  “Shelby?” Ramos asked.

  “Huh?” He nodded toward my hands and I realized I’d been clenching my purse. “Oh.” I let go and smoothed out the wrinkles. “I guess I’m worried about tonight. Do you think I could take a cheat sheet? You know, with the ranking order of the poker hands so I don’t mess up?”

  Ramos let out a laugh. “Sure. That’s a great idea. It would totally throw Carson off his game. He’d think you were a total novice, and then when you started winning it would drive him nuts. That’s perfect.”

  “Okay, good,” I said, going along with him, and not pointing out that I really was a total novice.

  Sometimes I just didn’t understand that competitive streak men seemed to have when it came to sports and games. It seemed to cloud their judgment. Ramos was so stoked about my ability to win, that I worried he knew what he was doing. Of course, worrying about it now didn’t help, and I knew I had to change my attitude and quit worrying so much. If only I could convince my stomach, I might begin to believe it.

  Chapter 10

  Back at the house, we settled in at the table to play some poker. I grabbed a granola bar, and Ramos got me a soda with crushed ice. It was so sweet of him that I didn’t have the heart to tell him it might upset my stomach. Of course, with the food we’d eaten earlier, I was feeling lots better, so maybe I could handle a soda.

  It was also a relief to have Nick gone so Ramos and I could actually talk about how to use my mind-reading skills to play the game.

  “Our strategy is to play cautiously,” Ramos said. “I don’t want you to bluff, and only bet when you have the advantage. If your first two cards are higher than his, then stay in. Fold if he has the good cards. It’s as easy as that.”

  Ramos told me what a good beginning hand was, and what cards I’d have the best chance of winning with. “It’s different with just two players. You’re not going to get a lot of good cards, so you’ll probably be folding a lot. Don’t forget, if his cards are higher than yours, you should probably fold. But it won’t hurt to stay in if his cards are bad, especially since he might try and bluff. That’s the beauty of reading minds, you’ll always know when he’s bluffing.”

  “Yeah,” I said, wishing I could match his enthusiasm. I sure hoped playing a few games would help me pick this up. It didn’t matter so much now, but how was I going to handle it when it was a million dollars we were playing for? Just thinking about it frazzled my nerves.

  We played a few hands, and pretty soon I started to get the hang of it. He showed me how to bet, check, raise and fold. “How much should I raise? I mean, what’s high and what’s low?” I asked.

  “In this game, anything that’s five thousand or below would be a low raise,” Ramos answered. “Just make sure you never bluff, and always raise him at least five thousand or more when he’s bluffing.”

  “Okay, I’ll try and remember that.”

  “Let’s just keep practicing,” Ramos said. “That should help.”

  I used everything Ramos taught me, and it started to make more sense and get easier. I didn’t know how hard Ramos was trying, but using his strategy, I was starting to get way ahead of him, and my stack of chips was growing.

  “This is good, Shelby,” Ramos said. “Now that you’re ahead, you have an even greater advantage. At this point, when you have the nuts, bet big.”

  “Um…I don’t think I have any nuts.” I chuckled self-consciously.

  “No, that’s not…” Ramos burst out laughing. “I guess I forgot to tell you about that.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said.

  “When you have the nuts, it means you have a hand that can’t be beaten.”

  “Oh, okay. So in that case I should bet big or raise him?”

  “Yeah. He’ll either fold, or if he has good cards, call, and you’ll win the round. Or if you have the most chips, you could go all in and win the game. But remember, you can’t do that until you have the most chips.” Ramos demonstrated how that could work until it made sense to me.

  Nick walked through the door and told us that everyone was satisfied with the location, and we were all set for tonight. A sudden fit of nervous tension ran over me, making my stomach hurt. As he came to the table, I reached for my bottle of Tums and took a few, hoping neither of them noticed. Ramos’ bro
ws creased, but before he could comment, Nick asked a question. “With both of them having so much money, how are we going to set up the game so one of them wins?”

  “Carson and I agreed about that this morning,” Ramos answered. “Since we want the game to end at midnight or earlier, we thought we would start the blinds at one thousand and double them every hour, so that by eleven o’clock the big blind will be worth sixty-four thousand dollars, and the small thirty-two thousand.”

  “That should work,” Nick agreed. He glanced at me, thinking I looked a little pale, and decided not to tell me it would take a miracle for me to win all that money. “Does she know how to play now?” he asked Ramos.

  “Hey…sitting right here,” I said. “For your information, I could beat the pants off of you any time.”

  His eyes widened. “Okay then. That’s the spirit.”

  “Go ahead,” Ramos said. “Take my place and see how well you can do.” He was thinking that all Nick needed was to get trounced by me. It was bound to convince him my skills were real and no laughing matter.

  We played for a while, and I beat Nick most every time. I had to fold when his cards were better, but I was still doing lots better than him. He was starting to get frustrated with me, and I was starting to like playing poker. Winning carried with it a sense of power and control, and I liked that feeling…a lot.

  “It’s three-thirty,” Ramos interrupted. “Time to stop. “I think you’re ready.” He glanced at Nick. “What do you think?”

  “She beat me,” he said. “I don’t know exactly how, but she’s got my vote. It’s hard to believe you’re not cheating; and you’re not, right?”

  “Nope,” I said, glancing at Ramos. He grinned, thinking that while I was cheating, it was the best kind of cheating, since it couldn’t be proven. He thought I’d do great, and I smiled back at him, starting to believe it myself.