A Pirate's Hellion by Jaden Sinclair
Copyright 2008 Lyrical Press, Inc.

  • A Pirate's Hellion
  • Jaden Sinclair
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    • "It's your move," his opponent announced impassively.

    Henry glanced up again at the man. He slouched back in his chair, blue eyes sharp as the steel on his hip, as he watched Henry. His opponent had jet-black hair, slicked back in a leather thong. A nice sized diamond stud pierced his left lobe and a well-trimmed mustache and goatee covered his upper lip and chin. His clothes appeared to be of the finest quality, something Henry found strange for a man sitting in this kind of pub.

    "How… how much was the bet again?" Henry's voice shook.

    The man smiled, his tan face showing clean, white teeth. He leaned forward in his chair, clasping his hands together. Henry licked his dry lips, staring at the pinky ring on his right hand. His ring was a snake wrapped around his finger to form the band, with two rubies for its eyes.

    "One hundred dollars," the man repeated.

    Henry looked at his cards. He knew he had a damn good hand with three tens, but what he didn't have was the hundred dollars. What he did need, however, was the money in that pot. It would pay off the many debts he owed. The money would even get him and his daughter to their new home, which is where they were heading until he lost all of their money and was now trying to gain some of it back.

    With a desperate move on his part, Henry pulled out a small cameo of his sixteen-year-old daughter. He dropped it in the pile, gazing at it with deep regret in his heart.

    "What's that?"

    "My daughter," Henry answered in a dull voice. "I will bet my daughter."

    The lips on the stranger twitched. "You would ante your child in our poker game?"

    Henry heard the disbelief in the man's voice. "I have no choice here, mister. I need the money real bad."

    He watched as the cameo was picked up and opened. Henry saw the sudden interest in that intense gaze as he examined Henry's only daughter. The bastard was all but undressing his little girl with his eyes.

    "Do we have a deal?" Henry kept his voice tight.

    The man closed the locket and placed it back in the ante pile. When he stared Henry in the eyes, Henry felt a chill of dread hit him. He regretted what he had done but knew it was too late to undo it. "We have a deal."