“How much,” Mira bit off.
“Ten grand?” Emi shrugged. “Don’t stress. I have someone at home who has instructions on how to get me out.”
“Uh . . . is it Janice?”
For the first time, Emi looked nonplussed at Naveen’s question. “Yeah.”
Mira puffed up her cheeks. “I don’t think she’s going to get you out of anything, Emi. She, uh, looked pretty upset when we went by your place.”
Emi closed her eyes and let out a long, low sigh. “Fucking hell. I knew she found out about Chelsea, but I assumed she’d calm down and move on. No wonder I was losing; I bet she was feeding me bad info. So hard to fuck good help these days.”
Naveen exhaled. “Please tell me that wasn’t your only exit strategy. Like, it’s not Janice or the window, right?”
“No, no, no, of course not.”
“Thank God.” Mira looked around, half expecting someone to rappel through the window, or a secret tunnel out of the room. For all her faults, Emi was excellent at not getting caught. The one time she had, Mira had bailed her out. Not that Emi knew about that. “Did you bribe the bouncer or something?”
“Nah, I just met him tonight. You know everyone likes me.”
That tracked. “Then what’s your plan?”
She sat forward and gave Mira a winning smile. “Hey, Mira.”
Oh no.
Before she could speak, Naveen did. “Mira’s your plan?”
“Sure is.”
“What do you expect Mira to do? We gave the last cash we had to your girlfriend.”
Emi’s smile brightened, and she didn’t take her gaze off Mira. “They’re playing poker. Texas Hold’em.”
Fuck. She avoided looking at Naveen. “I noticed. I don’t play anymore.” That wasn’t necessarily the truth. She played online sometimes, late at night when no one could see. It helped her sleep, and she was responsible, only trading in small amounts.
“Did you used to play?”
Emi smirked at Naveen. “Oh, you don’t know? Your ex was legendary. Mira here could have gone pro easily.”
She controlled her flinch. “Emi’s exaggerating. I haven’t played for high stakes since I left home.”
“It’s like riding a bike. Rusty you is better than cheating me.” Emi nodded at Mira’s ears. “Looks like you have some gold on you, Mira. Might be enough for a buy-in.”
Mira tucked her hands into her father’s jacket pockets and ran her thumbs over the lighter. It was cold to the touch, and she absorbed that ice.
You can’t seriously be considering this. Not in front of Naveen.
Wait. Why not in front of Naveen? He wasn’t some new guy she was dating. He already knew she’d lied. What did it matter, if he saw her play a fucking card game? Especially if winning the card game could get them a step closer to keeping his family safe?
“No,” Mira said.
Naveen nodded. “Exactly. That’s absurd. She—”
“Unless you agree to do something for us.” She may not be able to put all the fires out, but this one could be doused fairly quickly.
Naveen gave her a sideways glance. “Mira, no.”
Emi regarded him with pity. “Mira, is something wrong with your boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend,” he interjected, and Mira avoided the twinge at how quickly he said it. “We are not risking our lives to get a hacker’s help. It’s not worth it. My buddy, Alan, I think his sister works at Google.”
“That’ll take time we don’t have. Like you said, the phone’s the only lead we have, and the only way we’ll get it back from Ralph is if we can walk out of here.”
“What phone?” Emi asked.
Mira raked her hair back from her face and tied it up in a messy bun, no longer caring what she looked like. “We have a phone from my father, and it’s password protected. Ralph took it from us. Can you help us get in?”
“In my sleep.” Emi raised her eyebrow. “Uncle Vassar won’t give you the password?”
“My dad died a year ago.”
“Oh.” Emi stilled. “I’m so sorry, Mira.”
“Thanks. He had some health issues.” The words were bare. It was easier to strip emotion out of them than to analyze what her emotions were over the event.
“Damn. That sucks.”
“We weren’t close,” she felt compelled to say to Emi, like she said to everyone who gave her their condolences. They could save their sympathy for people who deserved it. It made her feel like a fraud.
“You were once.”
Mira flinched at those simple words. She’d been hesitant to come here because of the memories she had with Emi, yes, but also because of how those memories intersected with memories of her father. “I don’t want to discuss it.”
She was glad Emi had never met Sejal, or Rhea, so she wouldn’t ask about them. Emi gave a short nod. “Okay. So, yeah. You get me out of my debt, and I will happily open that puppy up for you.”
Mira believed her. There was indeed honor among thieves, and it was built on a complicated system of back scratches.
Naveen shook his head. “This is a bad idea.”
There had been a time for them to talk, but this wasn’t it. Right now, her priority was getting them out, and getting that phone cracked. “I got this.” She went to the door and knocked on it sharply. “Hello, Mr. Ralph?”
The door opened, and the bald man’s scowling face filled the gap. “Just Ralph. What do you want?”
Mira drew herself up to her full height. A low hum of energy filled her, ready to be channeled somewhere, and she was all out of pillows to scream into. “I’d like to speak to whoever’s in charge.”
Chapter Eight
Most of Naveen’s job was spent analyzing risks, but so was Mira’s, so he was quite confused as to why she thought trying to beat card sharks at their own illegal game was a good idea. “Mira, we need to talk,” he hissed, while they walked down the hallway again.
She kept her gaze fixed straight ahead, hands shoved into her too-big jacket’s pockets. “Don’t worry.”
“You said you don’t play anymore.”
“In person? Not since high school. But I play online.”
He screwed up his face. “I was president of the chess club in high school, you don’t see me risking our lives by entering championships.”
“Don’t know if I’d brag about your chess creds that loudly, friend,” Emi remarked from behind him.
He cast her an exasperated glance over his shoulder. Who was this person again? “I am talking to Mira. Mira, we don’t have time for this.” Had she forgotten the federal-agents-slash-kidnappers on their trail?
“Hey. It’s okay.” She cast him a wide smile, and he was so distracted by it that he nearly tripped over his own feet.
Her smiles were polite affairs, mostly lip tilts. This smile, though. He hadn’t seen her smile like that in . . . well, he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her smile like that. It was a reckless smile.
“I can get us out of this. Trust me.”
To gamble with their lives, no matter how much experience she might have with the game . . . it was absurd. He was frustrated enough to not mince words on his reply. “How am I supposed to do that?”