Chapter four: The King of Hearts

Word Count: 565

Danny leaned forward against the table. In one swift movement, he collected the four cards on the table and put them on top of the others all while trying to maintain his carefully constructed mask of indifference. He didn't like the way Alma looked at him and for the first time since the questioning had started Daniel struggled with the part he had managed to play in spite of her attempts to break him. He glanced at the window; it was too dark for him to see through but he knew that they could see him.

"Did I step on some toes?" Alma asked with a teasing voice.

Daniel took a deep breath and leaned back into his chair again. He shuffled the cards between his hands and focused on counting in his head.

Every now and again he would look up at Alma and show her a card. "Was that your card? No? I'll just keep looking."

"You haven't answered my question yet." Alma commented after Danny had shown her the third card.

Danny hummed disinterestedly as he struggled to keep the emotions away from his face not just because of Alma Dray but because he knew that Jack Wilder was watching. "What question was that?"

"Do you care about Jack Wilder?"

Danny shrugged. "He's a good guy. I consider him a friend so yeah I guess I do."

Alma hummed. Though Daniel kept his eyes locked on the deck of cards in front of him he could still see the satisfied smirk on her face. He wanted to tap his feet against the floor like he always did when he was nervous. He bit his lower lip and cursed himself seconds later as the smile on her face grew.

"You fascinate me Daniel."

Danny raised his eyebrow and gave her something that almost looked like a smile. "I'm glad."

"Do you want to know why?"

"I don't actually." Danny commented with a laugh. "But I'm guessing that you'll tell me anyway."

"You act like the almighty leader who doesn't care about anyone. It's a nice persona and you play it very well." Danny pretended to take of an invisible hat. Alma laughed dryly. "You may even fool the people you call your companions but you can't fool me. Because I can see that underneath that cold exterior you're hiding really strong emotions for someone. I don't know why you're so damn stubborn about keeping them inside but I assume it's a side effect from…"

"Shut up." Danny's face had gone still. His mouth was a thin line and when he glared at Alma it was without hiding the anger that spread through his body like fire.

Alma moved closer to him. "Touchy subject? I can imagine and I understand why you wouldn't want me to talk about it in front of your companions especially not…"

Danny stood up. The handcuffs that had restrained him laid still locked on the table in front of him. "I think we're done here."

Alma stood. "What if I say no?"

"Then I'll call my lawyer." Danny said without hesitation.

"I thought you hadn't done anything criminal."

"I haven't." Danny tilted his head to the side and gave her a teasing smile; the kind that could make people want to tear their hair out. "I'm just an asshole who likes to make things hard for people like you."