Going All In

by Cassandra Carr

  Nathalie came onto the line. “Don’t come,” she said, her voice deep and steady. “Don’t come. I’m fine—” She was cut off abruptly.

  “Nathalie?”

  Johnson came back on. “Now, Semenov, as you can see, I’m telling the truth.” He rambled off an address in Long Island City. “You’ve got an hour to get here. No cops or I’ll kill her. Don’t be late. Or your pretty girlfriend and I will have to find ways to entertain ourselves.”

  He hung up before Alex could say anything. Cursing roundly, he slammed out the door and went hunting for a cab.

  When he arrived at the address, he realized immediately that it bore a good resemblance to the place Nathalie had described from her vision, the place he was going to be killed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When Nathalie saw Alex walk into the gutted second floor of the building, she wanted to cry. “Why didn’t you stay away?”

  “You know why.” He nodded to the gun Johnson held to her temple.

  “This is the place, damn it. This is it.” She gestured at the open ceiling, the bundles of wires and wood, the bare support columns and concrete floor. The only light in the room came from a single florescent bulb blinking irritatingly behind where she and Johnson stood. The scent of construction dirt and unwashed, sweating male made her stomach turn.

  “I know,” Alex acknowledged her warning.

  “Fuck!”

  Johnson laughed, the sound nervous and jumpy. “Not a delicate little thing is she?” he said to Alex. “But a pretty one. I can see why you want her. With this body? Bet she’s wild in bed.”

  “You wish you knew that,” Nathalie said, as Alex’s eyes narrowed dangerously. She could get out of this. But with Alex here now, she was terrified he’d be killed or hurt before Johnson gave her a chance to escape. The bastard had taken her by surprise right outside her own apartment building, giving her no chance to act. She’d been waiting for the right moment since he’d taken her, and finally, he was close enough she could do something. But now she had to worry about Alex. Knowing this was the exact location where she’d seen him killed in her vision made the whole thing a surreal nightmare.

  “Alex, get out. Don’t worry about me.”

  “Oh, no, Alex. Worry. Worry,” Johnson said. “‘Cause if you don’t do what I tell you, I’m going to hurt this yummy girlfriend of yours. You kept telling me you had no reason to do me any favors? Well now you do. I tried to be reasonable, just asking an old friend for help. You’re the one that pushed things this far. I got nothing to lose now. I either pay them back or they’re going to cut me up. I got nothing left to lose,” he repeated, and Nathalie heard the resolve and desperation in his voice. “But you do have something to lose now.”

  Johnson sniffed the side of her neck, a move that made Nathalie snarl in disgust and Alex take a step closer. Johnson pushed her head sideways, pressing the gun harder against her temple. Alex froze.

  “What do you want?” Alex asked Johnson, but kept his gaze steady on her face.

  “You’re going to let a few pucks in during your next game. Let the other side win and end your streak. You’re gonna give me the seed money I need to make the bet. And I’m going to clean up.”

  “What makes you think I won’t call the cops?”

  The gun butted her temple again. “I’m gonna keep pretty here with me until after I collect my money. You do anything I don’t like, she’s dead. And I won’t kill her quickly, Semenov. I’ll play with her first.”

  “What the hell happened to you, Ben?” Alex asked, as he took a single step toward them.

  “Hey, desperate times, man. Guys gotta do what he’s gotta do. Right?”

  Nathalie rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut as she waited for the break she needed.

  “And after you’ve collected your money?”

  “You two can go on your way.”

  “You aren’t worried about the police then?”

  “Na. I don’t think you want the police digging into your affairs anymore, do you? Not when pretty here is a witch. Not after they find out you gave me the money to place the bet. You’ll want all this kept nice and quiet.”

  “I don’t care if people know I’m a witch,” Nathalie said because she wanted to make sure Alex realized that. But most of her concentration was on the movements of Johnson’s body and the gun against her head. He had an arm around her waist but he hadn’t bothered to bind her arms or hands. He had the gun, why would he?

  She let one hand, the one opposite the gun, hang down near his thigh and waited for him to return his attention to Alex. When Alex stepped closer, she got her chance.

  “Let her go, and we’ll talk.”

  “We can talk like this. I’m tired of pussyfooting around with you, Semenov.”

  Nathalie’s stomach clenched. The words from her vision echoed in the open, empty space, sending panic through her. Alex cursed and threatened Johnson in a way that was probably anatomically impossible. Johnson threatened back, throwing in a few anti-Semitic slurs just to charge the atmosphere more. And the two men got so caught up in their verbal fight, she got her opening.

  She let heat spark on her fingertips then set them gently against Johnson’s leg. The spark was hot enough to burn.

  “Fuck, what the hell?” he grunted and looked down at his leg.

  The movement shifted the gun a very small bit, but it was enough. She pinched the edge of the barrel with her other hand, which was already glowing with heat. She didn’t dare apply heat to the chamber or magazine, but she could make the gun unusable. Her hand was hot enough that it only took a moment to collapse the very tip of the barrel, but a moment was all she had before Johnson tightened his hold on the weapon and tried to turn it to her head again.

  “Wouldn’t fire that if I were you,” she said. “It’ll blow your hand off now.” She took a risk and dropped her hold so he could see the melted metal.

  “What the fuck?” He pulled the gun away from her completely and she used that action to turn and thrust her broiling hand against his chest.

  He screamed and launched back, but she didn’t move away fast enough. He slammed the now useless gun into the side of her head. Pain exploded through her temple and cheek in the second before blackness swallowed her whole.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nathalie woke suddenly and tried to sit up, panic shooting into her bloodstream. Spots jumped in front of her eyes and pain sent her retching sideways, as her stomach threatened to send her last meal back up again. Fortunately, she’d eaten ages ago and nothing came but a little bile into her throat.

  She groaned and opened her eyes, panic still pushing her to see where she was and what had happened.

  Before the spots cleared, she realized someone had their hands on her shoulders and was steadying her.

  “Shhh,” Alex murmured, “take it easy.”

  “Johnson?” Her voice sounded hoarse and rough.

  “We’re safe. Settle down and let the wooziness pass first.”

  She eased back onto her butt and found herself in Alex’s arms. Because her head was pounding, she let it drop back against his shoulder. As her vision cleared, she realized they were still in the gutted second story of the building in Long Island City. Johnson was nowhere to be seen.

  “Are you hurt?” she asked.

  “Nothing that won’t heal.”

  She turned in his arms and looked at his chest. “You’re alive. There’s no bullet hole.”

  “You did a very good job of ruining his gun. Thanks for that.”

  She lifted a hand and waved it. “Handy hands. Har-har-har. What happened after the bastard cold-cocked me?”

  Alex fingered her temple, scowling. “You’re going to have a serious lump here. And a bruise. I think we should take you to the hospital.”

  “And tell them what? I’ll get my grandmother to look at me and make sure I’m not damaged.”

  “I’m going to stay with you in case you have a concussion. Your place if
you’ll be more comfortable. But I’m not leaving you alone until I know you’re okay.”

  He touched her cheek and she hissed in a breath. That part of her face was starting to throb.

  “My heart stopped when you went down,” he said.

  “What happened after that?”

  “I beat the ever-loving crap out of him, until he bled. A lot.”

  She raised her brows. “You never fight on the ice. I didn’t know you could.”

  “Team won’t let me. Don’t want to have me sent off. But I know how to throw a punch.”

  “A pugilist, are you?” She smiled because he looked so fierce and angry. And he wasn’t dead. They were sitting in the middle of her worst nightmare and the worst hadn’t happened. Relief was actually making her head hurt more, but she didn’t mind that kind of pain.

  “Bet your ass,” he said.

  To her surprise, he dropped his hand to her butt and caressed her. The feeling was almost nice enough to distract her from the ache in her face. “So after you made him bleed—thanks for that, by the way. Bastard. I can’t believe he hit me with the fucking gun. Anyway, what happened after you kicked his stupid ass?”

  “He threatened to go to the cops, which made me laugh.”

  “He didn’t?”

  Alex shrugged. “He’s a dumb ass. He always has been, though. Which is why he got into trouble in the first place. Then he threatened you again. But he still had your handprint on his chest, so I reminded him what a bad idea that was. And I told him he needed to leave me and you and everyone else on the Empires alone, or I was going to let you turn him into a spontaneous combustion mystery. I think he’s actually more afraid of you than he is of the men after him.”

  She snorted, then grinned big. “You know, I could probably do that. Yaya told me early in my training that one in every hundred cases of supposed spontaneous combustion was actually a pyrokinetic accident.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yaya could have been telling stories. She does that sometimes.” She reached up and cupped his face. When he didn’t flinch or pull away, she let out a slow breath. “Not afraid to have me touch you anymore?”

  “I love your touch. I always have.”

  “Not so much right before I left that last time.”

  “You took me by surprise, Nathalie. People don’t light their own hands on fire every day. But I’m not your mother.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I knew that already. I’ve seen you naked.”

  He didn’t even smile at her stupid joke. “I’m not turning my back on you because of this. I don’t think you’re devil spawn. I actually think you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

  She pulled back a little to get a better look at his face. “Brave? Me? Why?”

  “Outside of taking on a desperate and corrupt scumbag without fear?”

  She waved that away. “He was an idiot. His plan was never going to work. I was only really worried about him shooting you.”

  Taking her face very gently in his hands, he set his lips against hers in a soft, tender kiss. “You’re brave,” he said against her mouth, “because you live your life on your own terms without excuses or apologies for who and what you are. Another kind of woman would bow under the pressure of carrying this secret around, of the responsibility required to control this. You don’t. You just get on with things.”

  “I’m not sure that’s brave. I don’t know what else to do but get on with life.”

  “And that’s what makes you brave.”

  She started to shake her head but he stilled her with the hands still cupped around her jaw.

  “Don’t argue with me while I’m complimenting you,” he said, his brows lowered.

  “Fine.” She nibbled her lip as she reached up to wrap her hands around his shoulders. “Where does this leave us?”

  “Safe from Johnson and dating without the pretense.”

  “The problem hasn’t gone away, Alex. This is a secret I can’t afford to let out. Not if I want to live comfortably. And that asshole knows now, what if he talks? He needs money. He could go to the tabloids. Or what if someone else finds out? I can’t…” She sucked in a breath. Saying this was harder now somehow. “I don’t want you to risk this kind of attention either.”

  “I can take it. I’m not afraid of that. And Ben Johnson isn’t going to be a problem now. He knows what will happen to him if he says anything.”

  “My job…”

  “Isn’t an issue either. I’ve already talked to your boss.”

  “What? When?”

  “While I was away, I called her.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told her you and I were seeing each other, that I intended for us to see each other for a while—if I could get you to speak to me again—and that, after some time, I had every intention of things between us getting to the moving-in-together and getting-married stage. In the meantime, I would take it as a personal favor if she left you alone about our relationship.”

  Her eyes had widened with each sentence. All she could manage was an inarticulate grunt she’d meant to be a “What?”

  “I also told her that if any gossip about us came out of the Center, even a hint of gossip about you or our relationship, I would make sure the owner found us another therapy center to use.”

  “Can you do that?” she breathed.

  “This year I can. I have a lot of clout while this streak is happening.”

  She made a face she thought might have been a smile but was pretty sure it didn’t look like one. “And she said?”

  “Congratulations. And no rumors would come out of her Center or the gossip in question was out of a job.”

  “She said congratulations?”

  “After a few long moments of silence.”

  “I’ll bet.” She licked her lips, then blew out a breath, her brain spinning. “You called my boss before we’d even talked. Pretty ballsy of you.”

  “My plan was to eliminate all the obstacles you kept throwing in our way. Your job is safe.” He looked around the shadowed, empty floor and shrugged. “Johnson isn’t an issue now, though I suppose that was more my obstacle than yours.” He met her gaze again. “As for the rest, we’ll control the information that gets out, distract and deflect attention so the press doesn’t think to dig deeper. And then we’ll keep to ourselves. I have no intentions of courting a reality show.”

  She shivered at the very idea. “How do we control the information?”

  “The team’s official blogger. She’ll help. Write up a little piece on us dating. She’ll out you as a witch, if that’s okay?”

  “I don’t really mind that part. I’m not a secret pagan.”

  “And given that bit of information released willingly on our part, what else could anyone possibly think you had to hide? Fire-starters who have psychic visions are not exactly common.”

  “What if they contact my mother? What if she tells the press?”

  “We’ll calmly say your mother is crazy and get on with things. Who do you think people are more likely to believe?”

  “Alex, I don’t know.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer against the wall of his chest. “I do. I’m willing to risk this, Nathalie. For what we have. For what this can become. The only question now is, are you?”

  She swallowed and looked away for a long moment. “Did you really tell my boss you thought we might end up getting married?”

  “I did.”

  “I’m not Jewish. Wouldn’t that disappoint your mother?”

  “The chances of my finding a nice Jewish girl in North Dakota were very slim. She just wanted me to marry a nice American girl and build a life here.”

  His palm slid down her spine and back up again, and her stomach danced in reaction.

  “I’ve got the life,” he murmured. “Now I just need the girl.”

  “And you want me?” The idea was just mind-boggling.

  “I want you. V
ery much.”

  He gave her another soft kiss, but this one had the tingling in her stomach turning into something a lot more serious.

  “Be with me, Nathalie. See where this thing between us can go. Please.”

  She groaned and set her forehead very gently against his. “I just can’t seem to refuse that please.”

  “I intend to keep that in mind the next time we’re in bed.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.” She laughed. She was giddy with excitement about her future, their future. And for the first time since that damned vision, she felt the risks she’d taken, the risks she would continue to take to be with him, would be easy to face. Her nightmare had become a dream.

  “Come home with me tonight,” he murmured, his mouth brushing against hers.

  She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

  Nathalie had a feeling she was going to be saying “yes” a lot to Alex from now on.

  The End

  Playing Her Game

  by Stacey Agdern

  To Isabo and Cassandra for taking this wild ride with me

  To Russ, Sean and anybody else who's ever been told they couldn’t be who they were. Let your light shine and hang the rest.

  Chapter One

  Even though it was an off day, even though it was only a few hours before the start of Vegas Night, Chris Emerson found himself sitting in front of Coach Peter Michaels’s desk as the man himself continued to pace behind it.

  “You should know why you’re in here.”

  Chris knew damn well there was no good answer to Coach Michaels’s question, so he didn’t say anything. Instead, he prepared himself for the beginning of the inevitable lecture.

  “You’re a magnet for trouble, Emerson. I can’t fathom why it is you continue to act so immaturely that you get attention from the media. ” Michaels suddenly stopped pacing, choosing instead to stand directly in front of the chair Chris was sitting in. “Even worse than that, you not only find yourself in the spotlight, but relish it. At the expense of everything else, streak or no streak.”