Ma’am, I’ve never seen anyone who could count cards like you, and with that dumb Mexican act, we could rule the damned gambling houses of the world.

“Miss, you’ve made a bit of a mess for me.”
“Que?”
“Oh, let’s stop this, the both of us. I know what you are, and now I’ll tell you what I am. I’m in with that lot. We were going to rob the house and take off, then you came in. We thought we’d get your money too.”
Maria reached over and pulled out a cigar. There was no reason to hide from him any longer. “So?”
“So…,” He looked her over. She was especially captivating now that she was working on the cigar. “Why don’t you throw in with me?  How’d you like to live in the best hotels, we could go east, we could see the world. Ma’am, I’ve never seen anyone who could count cards like you, and with that dumb Mexican act, we could rule the damned gambling houses of the world.”
He was misty-eyed and Maria had him. She regarded him through the smoke. He was a good looking gringo, that was certain. She could get used to looking at him, and maybe even do some other things. She thought about him trying to cheat her. He couldn’t and that bothered her on two levels. First, she could never trust him and secondly, he was too stupid to pull it off. She was smarter, more talented than him. Why would she need him? He wasn’t really a very good player. She decided to keep these thoughts to herself.
“No, gringo. I am going back to Mexico.” Maria's Trail
Image Source ~ TennePenne