I knew exactly what Mark was doing. He wanted to toy with me, to shatter my nerves piece by piece, to drown me in fear and despair until I broke.
But reality left no room for dwelling. The dealer had already approached to deal the cards. Every man in the room rushed to place bets—all of them on Mark's side.
May swirled the red wine in her glass, watching the scene unfold with the calm certainty of someone who'd already won.
After the deal, I lifted my hand and checked my cards, flipping up the seven of hearts as my face card. My hole card would be my lifeline.
The shark's face card was the king of spades. He looked at me with undisguised contempt.
"Kerry, you'd better watch yourself."
The crowd craned their necks to see, laughing and clapping.
"I've got the high card. I'll call it—betting the second piece of clothing off that old hag."
I had no choice but to match. But May objected.
For a split second, I thought she'd had a change of heart. I was wrong.
"You don't have any stakes to gamble with! Sure, the company's mine now, but all that money you've squirreled away over the years isn't in my hands."