Page 38 of Son of a Witch

Pascal flashed a slight smile and gave Tor a quick and awkward hug. Awkward in the sense that his guilt burned him.

Knoxe recovered quickly and moved Tor’s food table and whipped out a deck of cards from his pocket and tossed it on the bench. “Thought you might be bored shitless in here.”

The warden hadn’t let Tor return to his cell under strict doctor’s orders.

Tor huffed. “Bored shitless is an understatement.” He reached for the deck and removed them. “Poker? Five hundred? Blackjack?”

We often played card games at night, especially when sharing a cell with each other. It passed the time, and we all shared a laugh.

“Blackjack,” I threw my vote in.

“Blackjack,” Pascal backed me up.

“Poker.” Knoxe just had to be the outsider.

“Blackjack, it is.” Tor shuffled the cards and dealt them.

“You assholes always outvote me.” Knoxe grinned and pinched Tor’s jaw.

Tor blew him a kiss. It was beautiful to watch his fallen confidence return and the man I love resurface.

I noticed he acted raw and vulnerable with me, yet hid his pain from them.

I let that thought go as we all stood around Tor’s bed table, playing the first game.

Pascal seemed distracted and tapped out a melody with his finger.

The faintest concern for Raze needled at the back of my mind, wishing to know how he was, but it too got carried away by fatigue.

I picked up my cards. Two and a three. Damn. “Hit me.”

Tor slid me a third card. Ten. Shitty hand like my luck of late.

My mind wandered to Raze, what he was up to, if he was safe, if he missed me as much as I did him.

Knoxe must have read it in my face, and he swept an arm around me, tucking me close. “Don’t think about that just now.”

Hard not to. I didn’t know if the Guardians went after him. If he had somewhere to stay. Food to eat. Enough money for gas. If Luna had found him at my request.

“Sunset.” Knoxe’s warning vibrated through me as he tipped my chin up to meet his gaze, chocolate swirls of concern in his sexy dark eyes. “Raze is brave and strong. He’ll get by fine. You worry about getting your own ass out of here.”

He was right. Usually was. Although, my release date from the Guardians remained a secret only the gods knew. If I completed my whole twenty-five-year sentence, Raze might move on in the meantime. For now, I held onto the hope that we’d be reunited soon as desperately as wanting to see Tor walk again.

“Cheat!” Tor shouted and pointed a finger. “He’s looking down at your chest and at your cards.”

Heat stormed through me, and I crushed my cards to my chest. “Knoxe Akimura, you get your eyes off my hand. Keep them on my chest, though.”

Knoxe chuckled and pretended to shove me away but kept me close. My nipples hardened at the crush of his hard body against my breasts.

“You’re up, P-man.” Tor rapped his fingers on the table.

“Huh?” Pascal responded to his name.

Tor gestured at him to go. “Your shot, buddy.”

“Right.” Pascal scanned his cards, then tapped a finger and Tor slid him a new card.

“I’ll sit.” Knoxe gave away nothing. He had the best poker face.

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