Bluff (Stacked Deck Book 6)
Page 28
“She’s stuttering,” Kane snickers. “My baby is stuttering. I’m so proud.”
“Shut it!” I lean around Aiden and point a finger. “Zip it! I’m not afraid to take you out.”
“She’s kinda snappy,” Bobby drawls. “Evie’s never this sassy.”
I turn my pointing finger toward him. “That’s a damn lie, and you know it.”
“My intentions are to make her happy,” Tucker answers seriously. “For a very long time. Eventually, we’ll either live under the same roof, or we’ll have tried to run the other down with a car. Neither of us can be sure which way it’s gonna go at this point, but here we are.” He slides his hand along the column of my neck and grins. “We’re gonna try it out and see if it fits. We’d love your support.”
“Fair call.” Kane sits back and bobs his head in thought. “Watch these girls, though. Jessie shot at me when we were new, and I know for a fact that Nora is trained better than Jess, so just…” He snorts. “Don’t be a prick.”
“Guys?” Evie pokes her head through the back door and smiles. “Can you come inside?”
“Yep!” I jump up from my chair like I have springs on my feet, snatch Tucker’s hand, and dash inside to get away from Kane’s annoying chuckle.
I grab Evie as I pass, squeeze her close, and grit, “Make it big, blow Aiden’s mind, because he asked Tucker his intentions! His intentions! I don’t like it.”
She drags me to the kitchen with a laugh and stops beside Ben. “Welcome to my world, sweet Nora. I’ve had to put up with that shit all my life, except with, like…” She counts on her fingers. “A lot of fighters. Dozens of them. They all think they get a say, and none respect personal space when it comes to their little girl. Hey, Sasquatch.” She slides into Ben’s hug and plasters her body to his so there’s no space between them. “You ready?”
Bending his neck, Ben presses a breathy kiss to the top of Evie’s hair and nods. “Ready. This is gonna be fun.”
His eyes come to study me standing with my back pressed to Tucker’s chest. I didn’t pull him close, but he made a point of keeping up. Of pressing his heart close, so all I have to do is rest my ear to listen as it skips a beat.
“It’s gonna be fine,” Ben murmurs. “It’s gonna be fun.”
“You scared?” I tease. “Did you say goodbye to your mom and sister yet? Because you sound kinda panicky.”
“Not helpful,” he growls. “If you’re not helpful, then you’re a pain in my ass, and could probably go sit elsewhere.”
“So cranky,” I laugh. “When was the last ultrasound? Is there more than one in there?”
“Stop it!” he snaps. “Jesus, since when is Nora so fucking loud?”
“She’s learning from the best.” Evie looks over my shoulder and grins for Tucker. “Best friend and boyfriend. We’re exactly who she needs.”
“Stop talking about me now.” I turn and smile as Aiden slides through the crowd.
It’s like a parting of the seas, like Poseidon descending, while Kane and Bobby follow close behind, and then Jay and Soph after them. On his way past, Aiden snatches his wife’s hand, and drags her close, because he knows something big is going down, and he refuses to face it alone.
Music plays from somewhere in the house, softly, but loud enough to notice when it turns silent. The fighters in the room go quiet, and adrenaline ripples in the air as Evie draws a bolstering breath.
Finally, Aiden stops in front of our little group. He looks from me and Tucker to Mac and Bean, when she joins us, then to Evie and Ben with firmed lips.
He’s big mad.
“Um…” Evie’s voice cracks. For the first time ever, her voice breaks, as she turns to the cluttered island counter and snatches up an iPad.
Maybe she has an ultrasound picture to show him. Perhaps a 3-D video from the fancy scanning places.
Ben’s eyes scour my face; worry, fear, nerves. He swallows as Evie unlocks the tablet and swipes screens, and Aiden stands over us with throbbing muscles, a grinding jaw, and laser-sharp eyes as Evie does whatever she’s doing – struggling with technology – and he grows impatient.
“Eve?” Ben’s voice is low, almost a growl. “Hurry up.”
“I’m doing it,” she hisses. “Just… shh. Wait a sec.”
“Evelyn…” Aiden scowls. “Put us out of our misery, honey.”
“I’m trying! I just…” She smacks the tablet. “I can’t get this thing to work!”
“Here.”
I snatch it from her hands, swipe it open because somehow it locked again, then I prepare to spin the device and show the crowd a fat baby sonogram image. Instead, I see an architect’s drawings. “Oh, my bad. This isn’t… Evie?” I look to her. “Which file am I looking for?”
“That one.” Gone is her worry, her nerves, her panic about malfunctioning technology. In its place is a smug grin. “This is a little something I’ve been working on in my spare time, since I can’t spar with a baby in my belly.”
My eyes flare wide. She said it. She said it!
My gaze shoots to Aiden, to Tina, but they only smile and watch me.
“What?” My heart pounds so painfully that I have to bring a hand up to my chest. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“This is going to be a youth center,” Evie explains. She leaves Ben’s arms, and stops beside me so we stand shoulder to shoulder. “A drop-in center for bored or at-risk teens. There will be a gym that Stacked Deck fighters have pledged time to, basketball courts, arcade games, all of that shit so kids have somewhere safe to be when they’re not at home.”
“Um…” My voice quivers. “Okay.”
“We had spare cash leftover, so we bought the land that Infernos used to be on,” she murmurs just for me. “I know that might be a punch to the gut for you, but after a moment, I want it to be something else. I want it to be empowering, special. Because now we own and control Infernos. Instead of a black smudge on this town, it’ll be a place of hope and happiness. We control it, we’ll make it mean something, and we’ll help teens when they need somewhere to be.”
“I don’t…” I look to Aiden. To Ben. To Kane and Jay. And then to Tucker.
I’m the only person in this room that isn’t surprised by Evie’s announcement.
“I don’t understand. We’re here for your baby, right?”
“She already told us,” Aiden chuckles. “She video-called from the bathroom when she peed on a stick.”
My eyes whip to hers. “You didn’t!”
She scrunches her nose. “There was still pee on my hands. Do you know how hard it is for a woman to aim? A nervous woman! That shit is hard.”
“So you…” I shake my head and search for sense. “You lied to me?”
“I fibbed,” she grins. “But it was for a good cause. Infernos is no longer Infernos.” She takes my hands and stares into my eyes. “It’s now a center dedicated to Lisa. Because she means something to us all. She was worth more than what Abel did to her, and she deserves to be remembered for the rest of eternity.”
“Stop.” Fat tears spring from my eyes and slide over my cheeks. “Evie, you can’t… You didn’t… Oh my god.”
“You’re my sister,” she croaks out. “Which means she was my sister too. And around here, we take care of our family. We honor them, we remember them. “Colibri” means hummingbird in Spanish, it signifies freedom, flight, perfection.” She smiles. “Now Colibri will stand where Lisa once stood. It’ll be a monument just for her, something that will remain for the rest of time, and when folks walk through the doors and see her name right beside the hummingbird, they’ll ask who Lisa was.”
“And we’ll tell them,” Ben finishes.
“It’s a little bit like an ofrenda,” Mac adds in a solemn tone. “For as long as we remember, they’re never truly gone.”
“Guys…”
“This is what family does for each other,” Evie murmurs. “This is how we honor those we love.”
Beh
ind me, Tucker slides his arms around my hips, and pulls me close to his chest. Bending his neck, he presses his lips to the warm skin behind my ear, and I feel them curl into a smile.
“We’ll help her fly, baby.”
Continue the Stacked Deck Series in Seven Card Stud
Acknowledgments
First up, I want to thank my very best friends – Tink and Kelly. I love you both very much. Thank you for being mine.
My betas – Debbie and Siddhi – thank you for your hard work. I appreciate every scrap of feedback you give.
My cover designer – Amy Q – I seriously adore your work! Thank you.
My editor – Jen from Bird’s Eye Books. Thank you for your humour and commentary while editing. It always makes me smile.
My proofreader - Lindsi - you always make these guys shine. Thank you.
My crew – I love you guys so much. Thank you for your unending and super passionate support.
Also by EMILIA FINN
(in reading order)
The Rollin On Series
Finding Home
Finding Victory
Finding Forever
Finding Peace
Finding Redemption
Finding Hope
The Survivor Series
Because of You
Surviving You
Without You
Rewriting You
Always You
Take A Chance On Me
The Checkmate Series
Pawns In The Bishop’s Game
Till The Sun Dies
Castling The Rook
Playing For Keeps
Rise Of The King
Sacrifice The Knight
Winner Takes All
Checkmate
Stacked Deck - Rollin On Next Gen
Wildcard
Reshuffle
Game of Hearts
Full House
No Limits
Bluff
Seven Card Stud
Crazy Eights
Rollin On Novellas
(Do not read before finishing the Rollin On Series)
Begin Again – A Short Story
Written in the Stars – A Short Story
Full Circle – A Short Story
Worth Fighting For – A Bobby & Kit Novella
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Email: emilia@emiliafinn.com
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