"Did you ever play poker before, Robert?" Amanda asked as she clicked the locks on the SUV she'd borrowed from Kian and engaged the alarm.

Smart move. Eva's neighborhood looked affluent, but that didn't mean an unsavory element couldn't drift through it, especially since one of Eva's neighbors must have been having a party. There was no available parking for several blocks.

Robert fell into step with her. "I did. But I'm not very good at it."

Once again, Amanda wanted him to check out a potential Dormant. Robert had no idea why. For some reason, out of all the immortal males of her clan who were all yearning for a mate, she had decided to give him priority.

Must have been pity.

The keep's population was divided into two camps. One camp was comprised of those who still regarded him with suspicion, and who were not about to trust an ex-Doomer now or ever. The other camp was comprised of those who pitied him—the poor guy who had sacrificed everything to save Carol from nightmarish captivity, only to be rewarded with her kicking him out.

He was still getting those damn pitying looks.

Anandur slapped his back. "Don't worry, none of those suckers is."

Amanda lifted a brow. "What makes you think so?"

"Because I played with Bhathian before and he sucks. Eva, I don't know about, but the other two are human. They can't hide their emotions from us even if they have the best poker face on the planet."

Amanda patted Anandur's arm. "Sorry to disappoint you, darling, but we have a way to even the playing field."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Incense."

"The stinky stuff they burn in those New Age stores?"

"Yep. But there is nothing new about it. Immortals have been using it to hide emotions from each other since antiquity."

"A useful trick," Anandur agreed. "How come no one told me about it?"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "As if you have any use for it. You wear your emotions on your sleeve."

He wrapped his arm around her. "That's because I'm such a cheerful sort, and I love spreading the joy, making people happy."

"Yeah, when you don't do your best to annoy them."

Neither admitting nor denying, Anandur shrugged.

Amanda turned into the stone-paved walkway leading to Eva's house, climbed the few short steps up to the front door, and rang the bell.

A moment later, Eva opened the way. "Hi, guys. Sorry about the parking situation. Usually, there is plenty of space in front of my house, but my neighbors are having a party."

Amanda kissed her cheek. "Nothing to be sorry about, darling. We had a lovely five-minute walk."

Eva stepped back to make room for them. "Please, come in."

"After you." Anandur motioned for Robert to enter even though he had been waiting patiently at the bottom of the stairs, letting the others go ahead.

Apparently, the guy was taking his guard duty seriously. As if left alone outside for a couple of seconds, Robert was going to make a run for it.

He wondered how much longer it would take for Kian to finally trust him and allow him some freedom. It was ridiculous that on top of the damned locating cuff permanently attached to his wrist, Robert still had a guard accompanying him whenever he left the keep. Not that he did that often.

He had no need.

Robert didn't have anyone on the outside, immortal or human. The other male occupants of the keep went out almost nightly, prowling for hookups, but Robert had all the female companionship he could handle and more on the inside.

As the only unattached immortal male who was not a relative, he was in high demand. In fact, he had trouble fending off all the attention.

Bringing him to tonight's card game made no sense whatsoever.

At the moment, Robert was the only potential mate for the clan's females. By introducing him to the suspected Dormant, Amanda was shortchanging her male and female relatives alike, depriving them of a chance of finding a mate.

Did Amanda know something she wasn't sharing with him?

Syssi, Kian's mate, was rumored to have visions of the future. Perhaps she’d seen Robert's and told Amanda that he needed to be at Eva's place tonight?

Who knew, maybe his destiny was waiting for him inside?

Right. He was not that lucky.

Stepping in, Robert was hit by the fumes coming off the incense burning in several containers scattered around the living room. The smell was barely tolerable, but it did a good job of masking everyone's emotions.

Bhathian greeted Anandur with a handshake and then some loud brotherly back-pounding. He repeated the ritual with Robert, which was nice. It wasn't often that Robert felt welcomed.

Eva smiled at her mate. "Bhathian, could you please make the introductions while I bring out the snacks?"

"Of course," Bhathian said. "Sharon, Nick, this is Robert, a buddy of mine from work."

The girl smiled at Robert. "Nice to meet you. Did you bring a sack of pennies?"

"Pennies?" He cast a questioning glance at Amanda. What the hell was the girl talking about?

Sharon lifted a brow. "We play for pennies. Didn't Amanda tell you?"

"No, she didn't."

Amanda patted his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I brought plenty for everyone." She hefted her purse and gave it a shake. It rattled with what sounded like hundreds of pennies.

Robert let out a relieved breath. He hated being unprepared. It made him feel physically ill, which was probably as close as an immortal got to experiencing disease.

"Come, sit next to me," Sharon beckoned.

"Thank you." He sat down gingerly.

The girl was pretty, and her smile was one of those that made a guy think of things he shouldn't. Not with someone like her who seemed to have an outgoing personality. Girls like Sharon found Robert dull.

Two minutes of a strained, boring conversation and she would lose interest like all the others. He was already bracing for the rejection.

Amanda and Anandur didn't need any introductions. Anandur and Nick slapped hands, and Amanda gave Sharon a hug before taking a seat next to Nick.

Two more chairs remained unoccupied. One was Eva's, but who was the other one for?

"Are we waiting for one more player?" Robert asked.

"Yes. Monica from accounting," Bhathian said.

Robert scratched his short-cropped hair. Did they have a Monica in the accounting department at the keep? He thought he knew everyone there. Maybe she was new. Or maybe she wasn't from accounting and Bhathian was making it up because his poker guests were supposed to be coworkers.

Monica might not even reside in the keep. Like it or not, Robert was familiar with most of the keep's females.

"So, tell me, Robert, what do you do?" Sharon asked.

"You mean at work?"

She smiled indulgently at his stupid question. "In general. Work, hobbies, anything and everything. I just want to get to know you." She winked and leaned closer. "The more I know, the better I will read you, which is everything in poker."

Up close, he got a whiff of her scent despite the overbearing incense. She was wearing some delicate, flowery perfume. A very pleasant, unassuming scent.

"I work at acquisitions. I take bids, compare them, and make recommendations to management."

"That sounds like a lot of responsibility. What if you recommend the wrong thing?"

"Didn't happen yet. I'm very thorough. I don't recommend anything until I'm sure it's the best option."

Sharon nodded. "That's good. Too many people in the workforce just go through the motions and do the minimum required of them. I'm very thorough at what I do too. Eva depends on me. If I screw up, I put her in danger."

Robert was starting to relax. Sharon was easy to talk to, and she seemed to be really interested in what he did, even though his current job was very boring compared to hers. If he could have talked about his days as a Doomer, he could have dazzled her with war stories.

Or maybe not.

Storytelling required talent. When Robert did it, it sounded like reciting facts.

"Are you a detective like Eva?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Maybe one day I will be. For now I'm on reconnaissance."

"That is probably just as interesting."

"More," Eva said as she put down a tray loaded with snacks on the table. "People think that detective work is exciting, but it's not. The preparations are the fun part. Once everything is in place, it's a wait-and-see game. Sometimes I hang around for hours, and nothing happens. Patience is a detective's most valuable attribute."

Sharon snickered. "I disagree. You should see Eva put on her disguises and then act the part. She is awesome."

"I can attest to that," Bhathian said. "If not for the stink of latex betraying her disguise, we would have never recognized her." Bhathian winced as Eva kicked him under the table.

Robert lifted a brow. "I have not heard that story."

Eva waved a hand. "It was a game I played with Bhathian. He wanted to see me in action, so I told him to wait for me in a café. I put on one of my better disguises and walked by him. He didn't recognize me, but I made the mistake of getting too close, and he smelled the latex."

Clearly, there was more to the story, but it was not for Nick and Sharon's human ears.

Nick accepted Eva's version without batting an eyelid, but Sharon grimaced and shook her head. The girl suspected something.

Uncomfortable, Robert reached for the bowl of peanuts. "Would you like some?" He offered it to Sharon.

"Sure."

Careful not to spill any of the peanuts, Robert put his hand underneath Sharon's, then shook out a small handful into her open palm.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

A knock on the door saved him from having to come up with more to say.

"That must be Monica." Bhathian pushed to his feet.