Page 23 of Graveyards & Greed

We grabbed coffee and headed to Ezra’s office. As we set up the game, he studied the pieces. “Is this a Noj Dubrovnik chess set?” He turned the black queen upside-down and gazed at the marking on the bottom.

“It is. Ezra ordered the set from Slovenia years ago.”

He weighed the piece carefully in his hand. “My grandfather would have loved it.”

“Did he teach you to play? Ezra taught me.”

His lips twitched, and he set the piece down. “He did.”

“I used to play in local tournaments as a kid. Chess was one of the few things that kept me out of trouble and held my attention for more than a few minutes.”

Drakos cocked his head. “Did you enjoy the tournaments?”

I shrugged, mildly uncomfortable at having such a normal conversation without insulting or baiting each other. “Mostly. It felt like I had a little control over something in my life when… other things were chaotic.”

He studied me. “Do you want to play the black or white?”

Cracking my knuckles, I nodded to the board. “Guest’s choice. Tournament rules?”

“No, I want to talk while we play, and in keeping with your devil theme for me, I’ll choose black.”

As we finished setting up the pieces, a familiar thrill, mixed with the novelty of sharing this part of myself with Drakos, sent happy chemicals through my body. Grinning, I reached over to shake his hand, then made my opening move, a typical king's pawn to e4. “You’ve played before if you recognized a Dubrovnik chess set.”

Drakos watched the board intently. “Mostly with my grandfather, but he passed away a while ago. He liked to take me to his favorite pub in Betterton and brag about beating me.”

“Where is Betterton located?” I asked, studying the board.

“In Maryland.”

I looked up. “Did you grow up on the East Coast?”

He shrugged. “For the most part. I was a moody little bastard as a teenager and ended up in Arizona. Then the partners and I moved to Las Vegas.”

When Luna became Roman’s intern, we’d researched Roman and his partners, and Alexa found the link that forged their bond and brought them together. It was a horrible, violent reform school on a ranch in rural Arizona. The FBI had finally shut the place down.

“I know about Bitter Creek Ranch,” I murmured carefully.

Drakos’ hand froze over a chess piece. “I’m aware.”

“I’ve also heard some of the people who owned or ran that facility have had extremely bad luck. Or died.” I looked up.

His eyes went cool. “I’m aware of that as well.”

Holding his gaze, I nodded carefully. “It seems fitting, Karma catching up with them when the law didn’t.”

He gazed at me while moving his rook out. The man played aggressively. I wasn’t surprised. “Is that what they call revenge nowadays?”

I shrugged and studied the board. “Karma, revenge, justice. Whatever it is, I approve. And here I thought you were just a well-dressed, cynical, sexually promiscuous lawyer.”

“Who’s been gossiping?” He leaned over and took one of my pawns in retaliation.

“Is it gossip if it’s true?” As soon as the words were out, I wanted to reach out and grab them back. He would think I cared about the rumors that swirled around about his sexual proclivities. Staring down at the board, I made a move. “It doesn’t matter. Your turn.”

He leaned across the board and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear before I could pull back. “Look at me.” His deep, quiet voice sent a shiver through me.

I stubbornly kept my eyes on the board. “Why?” I mumbled.

“Because I want to see your face when I tell you that itdoesmatter, and after we start fucking, neither of us will be touching another person.” My head snapped up and my eyes blazed, but he kept going. “And Sylvie? Consider this fair warning. If you do, that person will die an agonizing, creative slow death. Your move.”

---