Texas Hold 'Em

by Christie Craig

  “Evelyn!” Jamie screamed out.

  “What the hell is it this time?” the older woman snapped, and they both took off toward the front.

  Jamie stood behind the counter, a disgusted look on her face and pointing downward. He and Evelyn moved closer.

  “Stop him,” Austin snapped, when he spotted the big orange and white cat, even bigger than Leah’s Big Orange. The cat had his face buried in the shoe box on the floor, eating the evidence.

  “That’s just gross!” Jamie said.

  Roberto went back to work, but he kept thinking about Brad. What was the guy up to? Then Roberto thought about his promise to Brad: to call Sandy. Roberto really didn’t want to do that, but he was going to… just as soon as he decided what to tell her. She was going to be pissed. The message from Brad would bring on more questions than answers. And he didn’t have answers.

  When he wasn’t worrying about that, he was thinking about Sara and that damn romance novel. It had pulled him in about as quickly as Sara had. The author had used suspense, some humor, and lots of steamy parts to keep the reader turning pages. And while he’d been turning pages, he wasn’t dwelling on his own problems.

  Not that reading was as good as talking to Sara. But it was less complicated. When he finished a book, it was finished. Every time he spoke with Sara, he felt as if he owed her something. A promise of them getting together, or an excuse of why he couldn’t.

  He didn’t need to be in debt to anyone. He sure as hell didn’t need anyone counting on him.

  After about an hour of taping Sheetrock, he decided to take the rest of the day off. Considering he had to meet Cruz at midnight, he could claim he needed time to get his shit ready.

  He packed up and started out. One of Cruz’s overseers saw him walk out. “Where you think you’re going?”

  “I’m taking the afternoon off. I’m doing some overtime work for Cruz tonight.”

  “Whatcha doing for him?” the guy asked.

  “Whatever Cruz needs me to do.” He walked off.

  He climbed on his bike, but instead of heading back to his apartment, he headed toward Brad’s home. He might as well get this over with.

  Holding the box carefully in one spot, so as not to disturb any prints, he placed it on the floorboard. Once he crawled back behind the wheel, he dialed Tyler.

  “I got something else I want checked out for prints. Can you send Nance back this way?”

  “Another gun?” Tyler asked.

  “No. A shoe box with chicken parts, or it had chicken parts in it.”

  Silence crawled into the line, and he realized how crazy that sounded.

  Tyler spoke up. “Why is it that I’m not nearly as shocked as I should be? I swear, you are always getting yourself into more shit.”

  “What shit?” Dallas’s voice echoed in the background.

  “Let me put you on speaker; Dallas just walked in and he has to hear this one from you. Oh, by the way, who was it that really gave you the black eye, the blonde or Leah Reece?” Tyler laughed. “Sounds like things are really getting interesting there.”

  So Nance was running his mouth. “Look, I’m not joking. This is serious,” Austin bit out. The line clicked and he knew he was on speaker.

  “What do you have this time?” Dallas asked.

  “Leah was delivered a bloody shoe box with chicken parts in it and a threatening note. But a cat ate the parts.” He shuddered remembering, too.

  “Voodoo?” Dallas asked.

  “No, just a threat. She thinks it’s from a guy who almost raped her a while back. All the name I could get from her was Cruz. I don’t know if that’s a nickname or a last name. Oh, and she thinks it has something to do with her brother meeting up with this guy.”

  “So she knows you’re looking for her brother?” Dallas questioned.

  “Not DeLuna, her younger brother.” Austin started his truck, giving Leah’s vet office one last look. “And do me a favor, Tyler, do a good check into Luis Reece. I want to know everything.”

  “Will do,” Tyler said.

  “Austin,” Dallas said, and then paused. “Just so I’m clear. Do you think this… the break-in and now this bloody package has anything to do with DeLuna?”

  “I was about to ask the same question,” Tyler replied.

  Austin realized the problem his partners were having. His interest in Leah had gone beyond his need to get DeLuna. And it was a real problem his conscience said, but his conscience could just go to hell. Keeping Leah safe was his main concern.

  “It could be,” Austin said. “Someone at Leah’s office saw the guy dropping off the shoe box. Latin, not quite six feet, dark hair, medium build, light olive skin. You know who that sounds like?”

  “Me and about fifty percent of the Latin population,” Tyler said. “That’s not enough to—”

  “Fine, it’s a long shot. But we could send someone up here and show her a photo lineup.”

  Dallas spoke up. “I’ll look into it.”

  But his tone said he thought Austin was getting carried away.

  “Just do it!” But damn, his feelings for Leah were nothing more than him being a man and her being a woman. A decent woman who stirred up his protect-and-serve gene that had landed him as a cop.

  So what if he wasn’t a hundred percent about DeLuna being involved.

  Wanting to help someone didn’t mean anything. Maybe it was just about him being a decent human being and not wanting something bad to happen to someone who didn’t deserve it. Wasn’t that part of what Dallas had set out to do in the first place with opening the detective agency? To help people?

  “Look, Austin,” Dallas stated. “I just—”

  “I shouldn’t have to explain myself. I want Nance to come pick this up and have it checked. And don’t just send it to Tony. Send it to Logan at Lab, Inc. I heard he’s doing some initial fingerprinting for a couple of the detectives in Houston. If he gets a print, then send it to Tony and beg him to run it. But I don’t want it to get lost in their backlogged cases.”

  “Logan charges an arm and a leg to check for prints. Blood is his specialty,” Dallas said.

  “Damn it, have I questioned how you guys want to run a case? If it’s a friggin’ problem, I’ll pay for it myself. Just do it.”

  His outburst warranted him nothing but silence from his two partners. And he knew the reason for it, too. This wasn’t like him. He was a damn good detective, and part of the reason he was good was because he always kept his perspective, never let things get under his skin. It was a job. The only case that got under his skin was finding DeLuna. Part of him felt as if he was holding his breath waiting to prove to the doubters that he hadn’t followed in his parents’ footsteps.

  Realizing he was having a mental conversation with himself while his two partners waited, he said, “Have Nance call me and let me know exactly when he’ll arrive. I’ve got some things I have to do.”

  “Okay,” Dallas said. “And, Austin, don’t get in too deep.”

  Tyler broke in, “If you don’t know exactly what Dallas means by that, he’s saying don’t sleep with her.”

  “I’m not sleeping with her!”

  “Tell me you haven’t even thought about sleeping with her and I’ll feel a hell of a lot better,” Tyler said.

  “Tell Nance to call me.” Austin hung up. Then remembering something he wanted to pick up for Leah, he turned his truck toward Main Street.

  Leah with her I-don’t-like-gifts attitude was probably going to get pissed, but she’d just have to get over it.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  EVEN WITH THE hum of his bike beneath him, Roberto felt his phone vibrate. He suspected it was Austin again. He’d left a message wanting to know if there was a Cruz in DeLuna’s operation. Roberto needed to call him back, but he had a bad feeling. A feeling like Austin or one of the other guys would try to step in. He was getting close and didn’t want their impatience ruining anything.

  He pulled his bike in front of
Brad’s house—a nice home in a decent neighborhood, but nothing too showy. And considering Brad’s salary, he could have afforded better. But Roberto remembered Brad saying they were putting money away to pay for his girls’ college funds.

  Cutting off his motor, he sat there for a second. He’d been here once, but had waited in the car while Brad ran in to get the phone he’d left behind. Come in and meet my girls, Brad had offered. He hadn’t. He hadn’t wanted to. Hell, he’d turned down at least a dozen dinner invitations from the man, too.

  From the beginning, Roberto had worked to keep their budding friendship from going anywhere. Worked at keeping Brad at a distance. Apparently, all his efforts were in vain, because like it or not, he actually cared what happened to the big guy. He shouldn’t, but he did.

  He got off his bike and walked up to the door. Knocking, he hoped she wasn’t home. He could say he tried and have a clean conscience. His hope fell flat when footsteps sounded from behind the door.

  The door opened. Seeing Sandy punched him in the gut. She looked emotionally spent. Tears glistened in her eyes.

  “You got news?” She swung open the door.

  He followed her inside, but when she motioned to the sofa, he shook his head. “I need to run. Brad called and—”

  “He called you? He’s okay?” She pressed her hand over her mouth and her eyes grew wetter. “Where is he? Why hasn’t he called me?”

  Roberto opened his mouth to explain and didn’t have a clue what to say. Finally, he went with the truth. “Look, Sandy, I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is he called and he asked me to tell you that he was okay.”

  She inhaled a shaky breath. “Did my brother send you here? Is this all a lie?”

  “No. I swear.”

  “But you work for him?”

  “I do, but… your brother doesn’t know I’m here, or that Brad called me. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it that way.”

  She nodded. “I just don’t understand. Why… what’s going on that he can’t tell me?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know.” He wondered what all Sandy knew about her brother’s illegal operations. She had some knowledge because she’d told him she knew Cruz would be furious if she called the cops. But did she know he killed people, that his operation turned innocent young girls like her daughters into addicts?

  “Is it another woman?” she asked.

  Roberto shook his head. “I’d be stunned if that was it. He’s all about you and the kids.” And that was probably why Roberto liked Brad, too. He was decent.

  She shook her head as if she believed that. “He’s alive. I guess I should take comfort in that.”

  “Yes.” He paused. “I should go,” he said.

  She walked him to the door. As he drove his bike away, he hoped Brad stayed alive. And while Roberto couldn’t be certain, he had a feeling that after tonight, after getting his hands dirty in Cruz’s little operation, he’d learn something about the missing boss.

  He just hoped he didn’t end up missing right alongside Brad.

  That afternoon, Leah parked in her spot and eyed Austin’s truck. She remembered how good it had been to lean on him today. To have someone to hold her for just a few seconds in a melt-down moment. Calling him had been a huge mistake, one she wouldn’t have made if she hadn’t gotten the damn package. Sure, calling him had been the easiest way to make sure her cats were okay. But if she hadn’t panicked, she’d have realized the organs in the box weren’t feline. She should have calmly left the office, driven home, and checked on her cats herself.

  What was wrong with her? She wasn’t accustomed to relying on anyone. Since her divorce, she’d decided that making it solo was her best course of action. And she hadn’t been tempted to stray from it.

  Until now.

  Until Austin.

  He tempted her. Tempted her in every way possible, too. She wanted to flirt with him, to laugh with him. To let down her guard and just have fun. Even worse, she wanted to confide in him. She wanted him to confide in her. This afternoon, she kept thinking about what he’d said about his mom.

  God that must have hurt. Who was she kidding, she knew exactly how that felt.

  Oh, Lordy, but she wanted to lean on him. It felt so good that few seconds she’d allowed herself to fall against him and let him hold her. As if the weight of her problems was being supported by someone other than herself.

  But that wasn’t all she wanted. Hell, she’d admit it. She wanted to have sex with him—sweaty, lusty, in-the-dark, get-naked sex.

  Closing her eyes, she bounced her head on the headrest. Maybe it was time she pulled out the ol’ battery-operated boyfriend from her underwear drawer. How long had it been since she’d taken a bubble bath, lit a candle, and treated herself?

  A long time.

  But for a good reason.

  Solo sex was like eating fat-free, sugar-free chocolate. It might cut the craving for five minutes, but it was never truly satisfying.

  Letting go of a deep sigh, she realized how crazy this was. She had big problems and instead of trying to figure out one of those, she was thinking about sex.

  What the hell was wrong with her?

  Austin, crouched down in front of Leah’s door, was still screwing in the new doorknob when he heard the elevator ding. He glanced back. Nance had come and gone, but it was about time for Leah.

  She stepped out into the hall, a bottle of wine in her hands, and came to an abrupt stop when she saw him.

  She looked tired. And stressed.

  Unhappy.

  He wished he understood exactly what was going on so he could help her.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Replacing your doorknob.” He stood and slipped the screwdriver into his back pocket. His shirt fell open. It had gotten warm and he’d unbuttoned it.

  Her gaze lowered to his bare chest with a sweet female type of interest. Not the hot come-and-get-me looks some women used to get a man’s attention, but he saw enough interest to feel a sense of pride.

  She shook her head and seemed to struggle to move her gaze up. “Why are you replacing—”

  “I messed it up when I was getting in earlier. So I decided to replace it.” When her gaze lowered to his chest again and she frowned, he started buttoning his shirt.

  “When you what?” She watched the shirt close up.

  “Remember, you told me to break it in? To check on your cats? I tried to pick the lock, but I messed it up.” A complete lie, but it sounded good.

  “Oh. I forgot that.” She closed her eyes.

  “It’s practically done, replacing it, that is. I need to secure a few things on the inside and you’ll be in working order.” And a hell of a lot safer. He couldn’t even break in anymore—if he didn’t have his own key, that is.

  He glanced at the wine. “Did you buy us some more wine? Someone recommended a Chinese place down the street and they deliver. I thought I could—”

  “I don’t eat Chinese. And the wine… It’s not… for us. I mean, it’s yours. It’s the one I bought to replace the one you gave me.” She held it out.

  He didn’t take it. Instead, he tucked his thumbs into his pockets. “Didn’t I help you drink that bottle? I say we share this one.”

  “And I say I’ve had two headaches in the last two days, and I need a break.”

  “No problem. Just one glass, and we don’t have to do Chinese. But why don’t you like Chinese? Everyone likes Chinese.”

  “Not everyone. It’s greasy, it’s salty, and it doesn’t have cheese in it.”

  “Okay, how about Italian, and I’ll limit you to one glass of wine?” A meow sounded behind the door. Austin’s gut tightened. He’d spent the last hour inside her apartment, removing the old doorknob and putting in the new one while keeping an eye out for the felines. Twice, he literally ran from the apartment. Only his pride and concern for Leah’s safety had driven him to finish the job.

  “I don’t think so.” She pul
led the wine back to her side. “Sounds like I’m wanted inside.”

  He opened the door and let her in first, then he followed. Big Orange was on the arm of the sofa. Blacky, the one who liked to hiss, was a foot away from the door, but was too busy brushing up against Leah’s leg to care about Austin. Thankfully, the gray hair ball–hacker and the super-skittish gray cat hadn’t come out at all today. And that was fine with him.

  She scooped up the black cat and held it against her breasts. His heart raced. Didn’t she know what those claws could do to the tender skin of a breast?

  “Did you miss me?” Leah cooed.

  At the sound of her voice, the two other cats came rushing out of the room.

  Oh, shit!

  He turned and stared at the door. The scars under his arm and behind his ear itched like the devil.

  “Hey, babies,” she said, and he heard movement, and then the sigh of someone sitting on the sofa sounded in the room.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted her with four cats practically in her lap.

  She met his gaze. “They demand attention after I’ve been gone all day.”

  “I can see that.” He tried to smile, but damn it, part of him wanted to rush over there and protect her from the evil little gremlins. The other part wanted to run for his own life.

  “Of course, they smell the other cats on me and are probably jealous.”

  “Probably,” he said. He was feeling perturbed himself at the warm welcome they got considering he hadn’t even gotten a smile. Especially considering he’d put his life in danger to replace the locks with cats around.

  “Did you see Spooky while you were at the office?” she asked.

  “Spooky?”

  “The big beautiful orange tabby.”

  “Yeah, I spotted him.” He almost mentioned the evidence the feline had eaten, but decided Leah didn’t need to be reminded about that.

  “He’s a sweet cat.”

  “Yeah, I got that,” he lied.

  Watching them paw at her, he recalled Zoe, Tyler’s wife’s, words, Have you ever seen Lucky try to bite or hurt any of us? Your fear is totally unfounded. Whatever happened to you when you were young has screwed up your judgment. If you spent a few minutes every day petting him…