“How about a wager?” Ephraim moved his next piece.
Blake raised his brows in question.
“You win this game, and I’ll tell you everything I heard.”
“Deal.” The answer burst out faster than Blake wanted.
Ephraim’s chuckle was flat. “Your move.”
Blake turned his focus inside long enough to lock away all distraction, then looked at the board. Even in November, Arizona wasn’t what he’d call a temperate place. A bead of sweat trickled down his back, and another along his cheek. Seconds ticked into minutes and crept on up an hour as he took each move, then waited for Ephraim to counter.
The board held only a few pieces now, and Blake scanned each, potential moves scrolling through his head without effort. No. He smiled and slid his bishop to take Ephraim’s knight. “Checkmate,” he said.
The elation that spread inside should be at beating his friend for the first time. Instead, Alice occupied his mind.
Ephraim scrubbed his face. “I’m not sure I should give you this.”
“A bet’s a bet.”
“You’re right.” He slid an SD card across the now-barren chess board. “She was in Las Vegas this afternoon. Made sure the cameras saw her and everything. She played a couple of hands of blackjack, then talked to a man with a blond ponytail before she left.”
Jabberwock. But that was hours ago, and if she left... The thought went nowhere. Blake couldn’t begin to guess what she was up to. The only thing he knew was when she said she intended to tear Jabberwock’s organization down from the inside out, the haunting tone in her voice was sincere.
He picked up the memory card and studied it. Did it have the answers he’d wanted for so long? No. Only she did. But it might point him in the right direction. He stood. “I’ll be in and out. You’ll see. If she’s not there, I’m done chasing her ghost. If she is, I’ll ask her my question. Either way, by tomorrow night, I’ll be on a plane to Fiji.”
Ephraim twisted his mouth. “I hope so. For your sake, I pray that’s exactly the way things go.”
The story continues in The Hatter and The Hare, available September 2017
Also by Allyson Lindt
3d20
3d20 Box Set (Books 1-3)
Hacking Wonderland
Reagan Through the Looking Glass
Love Equation Box Sets
The Love Equation Box Set #1 (Books 1-3)
The Love Equation Box Set #2 (Books 4-6)
Love Hack
Breaching His Defenses
Sheltering His Desire
Securing Her Surrender
Love Hack Box Set
Love Hashtagged
The #5Star Affair
Too Goode to be True
Ridden Hard
Hard Flip
Hard Pack
Riding the Wave
Drive Me Wild
Romance Shots
Unconventional Fling
He Said, She Said
The Love Equation
The Rival and The Billionaire
The Geeks and The Socialite
The Second Chance and The Auctioneer
The Virgin and The Kingpin
The Nerds and the CEO
The Boyfriends and the Matchmaker
Version 2.0
Denial of Interest
Standalone
Paranormal and Loving it!
Toeing the Line
Room for Love: A Roommates Contemporary Romance Box Set
Watch for more at Allyson Lindt’s site.
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Allyson Lindt is a full-time geek and a fuller-time contemporary romance author. She likes her stories with sweet geekiness and heavy spice, because cubicle dwellers need love too. She loves a sexy happily-ever-after and helping deserving cubicle dwellers find their futures together.
Read more at Allyson Lindt’s site.