Strangers in Danger

Chapter 1: Lucas

People would call it cheating and I agree. I'm always careful not to win too much money. It's always a red flag when players are too good. I try to come off as decent. It helps me fly under the radar and keeps me welcome at the table.

I don't need to win big because cheating at poker isn't how I pay my bills. I have a day job for that. I cheat at poker for the fun of it. It adds a little thrill in my life because being a nurse practitioner in a rural clinic isn't much of an adrenaline rush. I use the extra cash to pay down my student loans and buy medical supplies that I keep stashed away for my patients. You'd be surprised how many people just suffer with minor aches and pains because they can't afford a bottle of ibuprofen.

So needless to say, my morals are a little gray. It could be worse.

James, my favorite dealer at this particular casino, dealt a hand and I studied my cards. Three people sat around the green table staring at the cards in their hands, their eyes shifting from their cards to the ones in front of James, back to their piles of chips. This continues for a few minutes and I listen. I listen to their silent voices. The voices inside their heads weighing their options and examining their risk. The old man on my right is more conservative than the younger man next to him, who plays big and loses big more often than he wins. The guy to my left is a professional on the circuit and here for a few training games before a tournament in Las Vegas next month. He's good at picking up tells, which I've used to my advantage a few times to throw him off. His inner thoughts about our waitress as she walks by are more offensive than the awful things he actually says to her. It brought me joy to take him down a couple of pegs.

I decided that this is going to be my last hand. A couple of burly guys had been watching our table for about 30 minutes and their constant staring made me uneasy. They were too far for me to hear. My gift has a range and they were beyond it.

We exchange our cards, place our bets, and throw down our cards. I win this one, doubling the modest amount I entered the game with. "That's it for me, guys. Wife wants me home while I'm still ahead." It was a lie. There was no Mrs. Stevens at home, but when playing with bros like these, it's easier to leave the table without causing a scene when you have a wife to blame.

They laughed their big laughs and wished me well. "Buy her something nice on the way out," said the old man. "Women love sparkly things."

"Yes, sir," I said as I dumped my chips into a bucket. I threw a few at James and nodded my head. He gave a small smile as he pocketed the tip. He didn't know it, but his wife was one of my patients. Sweet woman with type 2 diabetes. They often struggled to afford her medication even with health insurance provided by James' job at the casino. I always tipped him enough for a month's worth of meds and I know it's part of the reason his wife has had her diabetes under control for so long. She never tells me, but I know.

I head to the casino banker to cash out my chips. Walking by a mirror I see the burly men following behind at a frustrating distance. I still can't hear them. They move around a corner as I'm collecting my cash. I fold it up and zip it up in a pocket inside my jacket.

I make my way to my truck, keeping a lookout for my new friends. They seemed to have disappeared but I don't buy it. They're here somewhere and I won't feel comfortable until I'm in my vehicle and on the way home. I see my truck a few spaces ahead, parked in one of my few usual spots. I start to breathe a little easier. Maybe I need to take a break. The stress might be starting to get to me.

"Maybe I'm paranoid," I whispered.

And that's the last thing I remember.