His frown grows and he slumps in his seat, seeming too defeated. "Hit me," he mumbles. I wait to see if he needs another card, but he waves me off, his posture still sagging.
Then I take a card for myself, keeping a stoic face. He sighs before turning his cards up. Twenty. Of course he has twenty. But, there's one thing I learned from Ray - how to win.
"Twenty-one," I murmur with a grin.
"You cheated," he accuses, as always.
"You never taught
me any other way to play," I say while shrugging, prompting him to laugh.
I keep control of the deck as we continue to play several hands, all of which I win without him catching my slide-of-hand - even though he knows I'm doing it. If he didn't want to lose, then he shouldn't have left me ingrained with the skills.
We talk as we play, and I fill him in on the highlights of my life between school and my bizarre living arrangement.
"I'm not going back to the life, Raya," he says suddenly, killing our casual conversation.
I look up at him, praying I can believe what he says. "I hope you're right."
He sighs out hard as he searches for the right words. "I'll be working with Brody, just as I do now, and I'll still be conning, but it'll be legal. Believe it or not, the FBI has more cons working for them than they do agents." He chuckles, which makes me smile as well. "It's actually more of a rush to con cons. It takes more strategy, which makes it more fun. I have numerous jobs lined up, as I've already told you. Everyone wants Ray Drivel to make their shit untouchable."
Amused, I mutter, "And who says crime doesn't pay?"
He laughs, but it's a sad laugh; a laugh I understand. He only lost six years of his life to pay for the millions he stole, but those six years had a lot of life to lose. My first date, my first dance, my prom, my graduation, going off to college... he lost his chance to be a father for some of the most important years of my life. And... he lost Mom.
"I love you, Raya. You know that, right?"
It's rare he says those words, even though I know he wants to say them all the time. I smile as I look up from behind the ace and king. "I love you, Daddy. But you suck at this game."
I put my cards down, and he chuckles a more heartfelt laugh that warms my soul.
Too soon my time with him ends, just as it always does. "How did you get here?" he asks, possibly prying to see if I let Kade drive me.
"I borrowed some money from Mom when I went to see her."
He frowns again. "You'll take her money but not mine? You're just like her. She always tore up my checks, too. I assumed it was because she hated me."
I shake my head as I stand. "She doesn't hate you. Never did. She just hated what you did to earn that money."
He forces a tight smile just as they announce visiting hours are over. I'll be glad when I can hug my father again. As we say our awkward farewells, I turn to walk out. In just a few more months, I'll have my father back.
Chapter 11
Baby Steps
The house is quiet when I get back. Kade is most likely out with some friends. We leave for Aspen early tomorrow morning. It's already seven in the evening. He begged me to tell him my plans, but I just told him I had errands to run. I hated to lie to him, but it wasn't exactly like I could tell him the truth.
I'll have to find a way to ease him into understanding where I come from, and then pray he accepts it better than the others who have found out.
A knock at the door draws my attention just as I finish settling into a pair of sexy pajamas I hope pique Kade's interest. Ember called earlier to see if she could borrow a dress from my closet, so I guess she's here to collect.
When I swing open the door, my greeting smile turns to fear. I'd know a Fed anywhere, and this guy has it tattooed on his forehead. Clean-shaved, sexy but militant hair, a charming but authoritative grin, and a rigid, dominant posture that seals the deal.
"What did he do?" I groan, cursing my father silently.
He laughs momentarily, but it turns into a sharp breath when his eyes scale up and down the length of my body, settling on my exposed inch of stomach for a minute, and then they ride back up to my cleavage.
"Damn. Not what I was expecting," he murmurs to himself, seeming a little breathless.