by Dobbs, L. A.
“Ronny’s my best tech guy. He’s been here over an hour and we think there are two cheaters. He’s searching the video surveillance and databases for anyone associated with the one known suspect, Greg Walpole. If he’s got a partner, Ronny should be able to discover their identity.”
“You have a name now too?”
“Yep.” Owen pulled out the ledger sheets Alison had highlighted. “See these transactions? We’ve pinpointed at least half of them to a player’s club account under the name of Gregory Walpole. The other half use a different number, but they’re all the same. So, if we can connect the dots, we should be able to bust them both.”
“Wow.” Shelby gave him an impressed smile. “Good work, Owen.”
“Thanks.” Much as he wanted to take all the credit, his honor wouldn’t let him. “I had help though. From Alison.”
“The cute math whiz who came to her friend’s rescue?” Chase asked, winking at Shelby. “Maybe Blake was right.”
Owen shook his head, disgruntled. “No. Blake was not right. There is nothing between Alison and me, except the fact she’s good at math.”
“So.” Shelby took a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. “We need to figure out who the other guy is and get a name, right? Seems pretty straightforward.”
“Yeah.” Owen scrubbed a hand over his face. “Except even if we find these guys, we still have to prove that they’re cheating.”
“Daddy was always big on everyone enrolling in the player’s club when they came into the casino. Said it made things easier to track for us and gave them big incentives to spend more cash in the place. We give them double points for showing the card when they collect their winnings. Numbers don’t lie.” She turned to Ronny, who remained completely focused on the screen before him. “Can you get into that database, Ronny?”
“Nope. Sorry. Not without the security code, ma’am.”
“Good thing I’m here then.” She grabbed a sticky pad and pen off Owen’s desk and scribbled down six digits then slid them over to the IT guy. “There you go.”
“Awesome. Just a sec and I’ll be in…” He typed furiously then sat back, frowning. “Hmm…”
“Hmm what?” Owen peered over his shoulder. “Find something?”
“Can I see those ledger sheets again, Mr. Rockford?” Ronny asked.
“Sure.” He handed them to the kid then leaned back while his tech guru typed some more. Owen liked surfing the Net as much as the next guy, but this kid was a computer geek extraordinaire.
“Yes!” Ronny grinned wide and pointed at the screen. “Found ‘em. They used their club card here, here, and here.”
“Great.” Chase came around the desk to stand beside Owen. “Can we get a visual on them from the cameras?”
“Maybe.” Owen squinted at the screen. “What’s the name, Ronny? If we can track their movements through the card, we can pinpoint which camera locations to check.”
“Um.” Ronny hit a few more keys then sat back. “Looks like an A. James.”
“What?” His blood froze in his veins. “Say that again?”
“A. James.”
Cursing, Owen slumped against the wall. “We don’t need a visual. I know who that is.”
“Who?” Shelby leaned closer, her expression concerned.
“Alison.”
“Oh.. right. A for Alison.” Shelby's face creased. “Are you sure? She doesn't seem like a cheater.”
“Damn.” Chase leaned in closer over Ronny’s shoulder. “Yep. She cashed in those chips. No doubt about it. What do you want us to do?”
Anger and hurt stabbed Owen’s chest and he reacted from pure instinct and betrayal. “Get her photo to security. If she’s dumb enough to come in here again, we’ll have her arrested.”
* * *
“Stop here, driver.”
Alison paid the cab fare then climbed out near the bus stop behind the Lucky Ace. Another envelope was due from her contact today, so she peered under the bench once the taxi had gone.
Nothing yet, but it was still early.
Determined to tell Owen her good news, she rushed across the parking lot toward the back entrance to the casino.
Finally, she could walk into this place without feeling like a dead man walking.
She couldn’t wait to see if they’d caught the bad guys. Visiting the casino had nothing to do with the spark she’d felt between her and Owen, she just wanted to hear him say that she and Faye were innocent.
Practically floating on an air of confidence, she stepped inside the shadowed casino and headed for the hallway where Owen’s office was located.
Too bad there could never be anything between her and Owen Rockford. When the smoke cleared, she would still be on the run from Copernatech. Her fuzzy interlude in Vegas couldn’t last forever.
11
“Wait a minute.” Shelby pushed to her feet and joined Chase behind the computer. “You can’t arrest her based just on this. What happened to proving she’s a cheater first?”
Oh, she’s a cheater all right. Just like Faith…
Still, much as Owen hated to admit it, Shelby was right. “Fine. I’ll go down to the cashier window and talk to the employee who handled the transactions. That’ll give us both video surveillance and an eye witness putting Alison on the scene. Coupled with the ledger transactions she pointed out herself, and we should have enough to get the cops to haul her in for questioning.”
“I don’t know.” Shelby shook her head and crossed her arms. “I’m still not convinced. Why would she call attention to the ledger transactions if it would implicate her.”
“Arrogance.” Owen pushed to his feet and paced the room a seed of doubt creeping in. Alison wasn’t arrogant, so why would she point out that entry? But there was mounting evidence against her. “There was video of Alison at Faye’s table. Walpole was there too. She sat close to him and now I know why. We’ve confirmed he’s the other culprit, so it makes sense.”
“Um, Mr. Rockford?”
“What?” Owen did his best to hide his growing agitation and failed miserably, if the way the kid flinched was any indication. “Sorry. What is it, Ronny?”
“Someone just made another big transaction with this club card.”
“Really?” Owen stepped in on the kid’s other side to stare at the computer screen. “When? What cashier?”
“A few minutes ago,” Ronny said. “Around three forty-five. Let me check the security camera near there.”
While he watched Ronny zip through several pages of video feeds, Owen was torn between excitement and despair. Excitement over finally catching a break on the cheaters, and despair that all fingers pointed to Alison. Before he could wallow in his feelings, however, the phone on his desk rang. “Yes?”
“Sir, we’re tracking your suspected cheater on the casino floor now. Should we apprehend her?”
Alison. Eyes squeezed shut and muscles tight with tension, Owen nodded. “Yes. Pick her up. Do not let her get away.” He slammed the phone down and turned to the others. “She’s here. Ronny, get that video from the cashier’s cage as soon as possible. I’m going to head out there and—”
The office door burst open. One of the security guards held up a manila envelope similar to the one Owen had seen Alison nab that night behind the casino. “Sorry, sir, but Blake Rockford said you needed this information right away.”
He snatched the envelope from the guy and tore it open then scanned the contents fast. “When did you find this?”
“About three forty, sir. Five minutes before the redhead showed up to retrieve it.”
“Wait!” Shelby shouted. “If Alison was outside getting this envelope at three forty-five, there’s no way she could’ve cashed in those chips.”
“She’s right, sir.” Ronny swiveled the monitor to face Owen. “The video shows a blond guy using that card just now, not a woman.”
“Goddammit!” Owen bolted from the room, praying he had time to find Alison before his s
ecurity guards.
* * *
Elbowing her way through yet another crowd of players, Alison headed toward the back of the casino and Owen’s office. The place was crazy busy this afternoon for some reason. Crowds were definitely not her forte, mainly because it made it that much harder to spot any Copernatech bad guys lurking about.
She weaved through a raucous bunch of senior citizens having a heyday at the penny slots and stepped out into a small open spot. Taking a deep breath at last, she glanced around only to find two black suited security guards watching her from a nearby alcove. One of them whispered toward the earpiece on his right side then both started toward her.
Her blood froze. What could they want with her?
Not wanting to wait around to find out, she panicked and turned to flee and smashed right into a six-foot wall of pure, hard muscle. She looked up and met a pair of familiar brown eyes.
Owen.
He waved off the guards and took her arm, guiding her toward the opposite wall where it was quieter. She tried to pull free but his grip was too firm. “What’s going on?”
“We found the cheaters.”
“Me too. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to tell you so you could—” A blond guy raced behind Owen and her eyes widened. “Oh, my God! That’s him! Cory Springer, Walpole’s partner. You need to stop him before he gets away!”
“Stay here,” Owen warned before rushing after the guy.
Not wanting to risk her one shot at clearing her and Faye’s names, Alison followed right behind Owen. If Cory Springer tried something, she’d happily bust out all of her self-defense karate skills on his sorry ass. Might help her work out some aggression too.
Owen raced for the front entrance while she took a detour toward the side door. Walpole and Springer were smart. Far too smart to run out right beneath security’s noses. The side exit seemed a much likely probability.
Sure enough, she made it to the door at the same time as Springer and managed to catch him by surprise. He went for a classic around-the-waist hold on her, thinking she was some small, helpless female.
Big mistake.
He no sooner had his arms around her then she went for the SING—solar plexus, instep, nose, groin—then finished with a nice roundhouse kick that sent him flying through the glass door. She reached out to catch him by the scruff of his shirt collar but ended up cutting her arm on the shards still hanging on the door frame instead.
“Ow! Shit.” She hissed and scowled down at Springer’s now unconscious form lying in a sea of glass on the pavement. After a kick to his shin for good measure, she turned to find a stunned Owen and his crew watching her, along with Shelby, Chase, Blake and another woman who shared the Rockford family’s coloring and good looks, but whom she’d never met. “What?”
“Damn,” the unknown woman said. “We missed it.”
“Not now, Liv.” Blake stepped forward and wrapped his handkerchief around Alison’s now oozing cut. “We heard something was going down at the Lucky Ace and rushed over to help. Thanks to you, it looks like it’s all taken care of.”
She replaced his hand with hers on her injured forearm and applied pressure as best she could. The damned thing was really starting to hurt. “Thanks. I got it.”
“Yeah.” Chase stepped forward to look Springer over. “Thanks to Alison’s help here, we figured out who the cheaters are and caught them.”
“Yes. Thanks so much, Alison.” Shelby moved in beside her. “Oh, gosh. Your arm looks pretty bad. Let me call the house doctor over to take a look at it.”
“No, no. I’m fine.” She inched away. “Really. It’s nothing.”
Chase took her hand and lifted it away along with the now soaked handkerchief. “No. That’s a nasty cut. You need to go to the ER. Probably needs stitches.”
As much as she hated crowds, hospitals were even worse. Hospitals kept records and medical records could lead Copernatech right to her doorstep. “Honestly, I’m fine. I’ll just bandage it up and I’m all good.”
The woman Blake had called Liv piped up next. “You know, I installed a brand new first aid kit at Owen’s apartment. Fully stocked and raring to go. His place is right around the corner too.”
Blake took her elbow gently and guided Alison toward the front door before she could protest. “Sounds like a plan.” It wasn’t until she was standing outside the casino that Alison realized he’d hauled Owen out too right alongside her. He gave them both a slight push on the back before heading back inside. “You guys go take care of her arm. I’ll handle things here.”
“What about the police reports and the paperwork and—”
“I got it,” Blake said, holding up a hand to severe Owen’s excuses. “Ex-police force, remember? Besides, there’s nothing here you can’t handle later, cuz. Go take care of what’s important.”
“He’s right.” Shelby joined them outside. “In fact, take the rest of the day off. You’ve been working non-stop the past couple of weeks and deserve a break after this. I’ll handle any questions for now.”
“Go on.” Blake waved them off. “Go. We’ll take care of it and I’ll call you if anything comes up, okay? Owen, take care of Alison. You owe her, especially after she did you a big favor by stopping that guy. Show her some appreciation.”
Alison
was too tired to argue now that her adrenaline buzz was wearing off. Plus, her arm stung like a son of a bitch. Dazed and slightly shaky, she allowed Owen to lead her through the covered Fremont Street Experience and out into the bright sunshine beyond.
12
“So, uh, here we are again.” Owen unlocked the door to his apartment and gestured for Alison to enter ahead of him. “I wasn’t expecting company, so, forgive me if it’s kind of a mess.”
He closed the door behind him and shook his head, glad she couldn’t see his face. Jesus, he was babbling like some teenaged kid, all because he’d brought a pretty girl home. Sighing, he dropped his keys on a side table and shoved his hands in his pockets.
Correction.
Not pretty. Gorgeous.
Even with one arm all trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey and her hair wild from the altercation at the casino, she looked like his every fantasy come to life. Owen cleared his throat to loosen the sudden constriction and forced a weak smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”
Alison stood in the middle of his living room, staring at the wall of family pictures Liv had put up. “No. I’m good, thanks. I would like to get this cleaned up though.” She raised her injured forearm. “Can you show me where that first aid kit is?”
“Right, sure.” He led her back to the bathroom where he’d stowed the kit under the sink. Hoping to make amends for suspecting her of being the cheater, he pointed toward the ledge of his bathtub. “Have a seat. That’s kind of an awkward spot to do things yourself. I’ll help.”
She did as he asked, if somewhat reluctantly. While he fished out the first aid kit, along with several clean towels and a washcloth, he tried to keep the banter light. “So, where’d you learn to fight? Those were some pretty impressive skills you showed back there.”
“Oh.” Alison frowned and looked away. “Self-defense classes.”
“Rough neighborhood where you’re from?”
“Something like that.”
Her non-answer made him swivel slightly to glance at her. Dots of pink now flushed her cheeks and dark smudges colored the delicate skin beneath her eyes. She looked as stressed and exhausted as he was.
An unexpected wave of protectiveness surged through him and he gathered the things to patch her arm then knelt in front of her. Gingerly, Owen grasped her forearm and started to peel back the bloody handkerchief tied around it.
“Ouch!” She clenched her teeth, her gaze lowered, and her brows drawn together. “It really stings.”
“I’m sorry.” Once the cloth was gone, the cut started to bleed again, but thankfully after he got it cleaned up it wasn’t as deep as he’d originally thought. He’d
seen his share of wounds in combat and this one didn’t look like it would need stitches. “This might hurt a bit, but we need to make sure it’s clean so it doesn’t get infected.”
Owen dabbed a cotton pad soaked in antibacterial solution around the area, doing his best to concentrate on keeping his touch gentle and light and not think about how silky her skin felt beneath his fingertips.
Nose wrinkled, Alison squeezed her eyes shut and looked away. “Thanks for helping me. It would’ve been hard to do it myself. You were right.”
“Say that again.”
“What?”
“The last part.” He glanced up at her and grinned. “It’s not something a man hears too often. I just want to savor the moment.”
At last, her serious expression cracked into a wide smile as he tossed the soiled cotton pads into the trash and opened several packages of sterile gauze to cover the cut. “Funny. Where’d you learn to play nursemaid?”
“Military.” His answer came out more clipped than he’d wanted, but his past wasn’t something he wanted to discuss. “We all got trained in basic first aid and wound care.”
“What branch?”
“Marines.” He straightened and picked up the supplies. “Ok. That should be good to go.”
“Right.” She nodded and stared at the floor. From her confused, slightly hurt expression she’d taken his abruptness as a rejection. He felt bad about that until he remembered how much beautiful women could hurt you. Better to leave this one alone.
“Um, thanks.” She started to get up then swayed slightly on her feet.
Owen spotted her near collapse in the mirror and caught her before she hit the floor. “Hey. You okay?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m feeling dizzy all the sudden.”
She tried to push him away, but he held fast. No way was he letting her hurt herself even more on his behalf today. Slipping one arm around her back and the other under her knees, he picked up her slight weight and carried her out into the living room then placed her on the sofa where they’d sat the day before.