Chapter 40 A Dangerous Hand
Finished
The other two yers pushed their chips toward Yunice. The liveliest one–Bale–pped down a thick wad of cash in <b>front </b>of her, probably around thirty grand.
That’s when Wyatt finally sat up. He leaned his elbow against the armrest, tilted his head, and stared at the stack of cash in front of Yunice for a while.
As the others reshuffled the tiles, Yunice reached out to <b>draw </b>a new <b>hand</b>–<b>but </b>Wyatt tapped her hand twice.
She looked at him. With a cigarette between <b>his </b>teeth, Wyatt leaned forward and drew the tiles himself, leaving her on the sid?lines.
They started a new round. Before long. Wyatt had lost all the money Yunice had just won.
“Man, Wyatt’s luck is cursed today.”
The other three raked in piles of winnings while Wyatt looked utterly unfazed.
After a few more rounds, one of them excused himself to use the bathroom.
Bale seized the opportunity to pull <b>Jordan </b>aside.
In a quiet corner, Bale leaned in and asked, “Jordan, who the hell is that <b>woman</b><b>?</b>”
Jordan yed dumb. “What woman?”
“Oh,e on. Drop the act. That chick cheated–Wyatt caught it.”
Jordan blinked, clearly surprised.
Bale continued, “I had a tile down on the table. She dropped the same tile in her hand. Where’d herse from?”
There was only one <b>answer</b>, Yunice had swapped tiles.
And since she was ying for Wyatt, her cheating reflected on him, Bale had no choice but to swallow the loss and keep quiet.
That wasn’t the shocking part, though. What really blew his mind was that Wyatt noticed–and said nothing.
“She cheated right in front of him,” Bale <b>said</b>, “and all he did was tap her <b>hand </b>like a warning. That’s not normal!”
Anyone else pulling tricks at Wyatt’s table would’ve lost a few fingers by now.
The more Bale thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. “Jordan, you’ve been with Wyatt the longest. So the rumor’s true, <b>isn’t </b>it?”
Jordan gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t jump to conclusions.”
But Bale raised a brow. If Jordan <b>wasn’t </b>denying it, then it had to be true.
By the time they returned to the game <b>room</b>, both Wyatt and Yunice were gone.
Inside Wyatt’s RV, Yunice stood beside the <b>sofa</b>, taking in the luxe interior.
Wyatt settled into the seat, set his cane <b>aside</b>, then finally nced her way. “You really tried cheating at my table? Not afraid of <b>losing </b>your hands?<b>” </b>
Yunice clutched her bag strap. “I just wanted to <b>win </b>you a round.”
Chapter 40 A Dangerous Hand
Every time they met, she was either ttering someone or scheming something.
thus with a motive.
Finished
Yumice didn’t defend herself. Instead, she stepped forward and ced a bottle of pills on the table. These are my modified Alphasirox pills. I’ve been testing them on myself for a week now. So far, no side effects. You can run a parallel trial if you
want
Wyatt’s eyes changed. Human testing was no joke–new drugs were unpredictable, and the risks could be permanent eveni fatal.
In the pharmaceutical world, volunteers had to be paid big money to take that risk
For Yunice to try <b>them </b>herself she was either overconfident or proving her loyalty
Wyatt narrowed his eyes. “Risking this much?”
Yumice said evenly, “Wyatt. I cheated because I want a backer. Whether it’s you or Madam Johnson. I’m casting a wide- someone’s bound to take me in, right?”
That was Yunice’s skill–she walked the line between clever and naive.
Just smart enough but never too much.
It gave the people in power the illusion that she was easy to control.
The less they felt threatened, the less they kept their guard up.
And cheating at the table? That had been a test–to see how much Wyatt would tolerate her.
Judging by the oue, she had some value.
And value meant survival
Wyatt wasn’t surprised by her answer. Her ambition was practically written all over her face.
He asked. “Why not go with Paul?”
Yunice replied. “Betray me once, I won’t trust you again. I’m not here to be someone’s pawn”
The Powell family had never wanted her. They’d made it clear she was disposable. So she had no reason to waste her time on
them
Wyatt raised an eyebrow, then made a decision. “Fine. From now on, you’re with me
Joy hit up Yunice’s face. For the first time, she felt a flicker of belonging.
It meant she wasn’t a tray anymore–no longer chasing dead–end favors.
She stood there frozen, until Wyatt reached out and pulled her down beside him “You don’t understand what I meant
His eyes were sharp, predatory. Yunice stiffened under his gaze.
{Then it clicked—he said she could follow him, not sleep with him.
One word off, but a world of difference