Stacking the Deck (Redemption Club Book 1)

by Anne Marie Becker

  “No, let me explain, because you clearly don’t understand. I’m not a sellout, and I don’t come cheap, especially not for a sleaze like Robert Stone. I only work for people who can be trusted, people who need my kind of help.”

  “As long as they can pay.” For some reason, the accusation in his tone stung.

  She twisted to try to get away, but he tugged her back against him where he sat. Suddenly she was nestled between his thighs, her back to his front and her bottom snug against his crotch. One arm was crossed over her chest, his grip on her wrist trapping it against her opposite shoulder. His other hand slid across her stomach to pin her other arm and anchor her against him. Every nerve ending in her abdomen heated as if he were branding her. In a way, he was. She suspected anybody who looked their way would believe them to be a couple engaged in a loving embrace.

  The bristles of his five o’clock shadow lightly scraped her jaw as his mouth moved to her ear so he could be heard over the music. “I don’t want you to sell out, and I don’t want you working for Stone. It’s me who needs your help. And I’m the type who can be trusted.”

  “Yeah, like following me to Arizona fosters trust. Is this some kind of game?” she hissed over her shoulder, but that put his mouth entirely too close to hers so she jerked her head around again to face the dance floor, ignoring the tingle of desire that skipped along her spine. His warm male scent—not cologne, but honest, hardworking man—along with the hint of a beer he’d sipped earlier, filled her nostrils. “I thought you worked for Stone. Shouldn’t he have your loyalty?”

  “I’m Stone’s bodyguard, but he doesn’t own me. I only work indirectly for him. He contracted security with my private firm, Global Security Solutions. I’m not here to hurt you. In fact, I’m not supposed to be here at all. Stone doesn’t know I came. A few minutes of your time is all I ask, but somewhere private, where we can talk.” As he flexed his fingers, fanning them against her stomach, his thumb brushed the underside of her breast, setting off a cascade of shivers throughout her body. That, combined with his warm breath against the most sensitive part of her neck and the feel of his erection against her lower back, had her knees wobbling. She locked them, and her needs, down tight. At least she wasn’t the only one affected by this strange chemistry. But it was time to put on the brakes.

  “It’ll cost you a million dollars.” She glared at him over her shoulder. “My time is valuable.” As was her trust. She had to get out of here and regroup. She’d never been held this way by a man who took complete command of her body and, damn it, she couldn’t think. He’d gotten past her mental defenses and that was inexcusable. She started to step away and his fingers tightened on her wrist and waist.

  “What would five minutes cost me?”

  She glanced at his face and saw the frustration and need in his eyes, but she didn’t know him. Despite whatever spell he’d cast over her body, he was a virtual stranger, and she couldn’t let his needs override her own safety.

  She envisioned various ways of disengaging herself from the situation. She wasn’t scared of him. She had options. Like throwing her head back into his nose and breaking it. Which would be a shame. He had a great profile. Or slamming the heel of her boot into his foot, which was clad in a tennis shoe. Or shoving her elbow into his ribs. The hard washboard abs she felt beneath his chambray shirt wouldn’t protect him from a move like that.

  Oh, yes, she definitely had options.

  Or you could give him five minutes, for free. But after the past twenty-four hours of craziness, and her uncle’s repeated warnings to be careful, to lay low, trust was at a premium.

  “This guy bothering you?” Her cowboy, Darren, approached, stopping close to her. Apparently, he was going to make himself an option, as well. His aftershave tickled her nose like an annoying gnat. He might not be from the area, and he might not be who he pretended to be, but she wouldn’t refuse his help at the moment.

  “Yeah.” She took a step forward and Jared’s hands fell away, leaving a sudden sensation of cold where there had been intense heat. “Thanks, Darren.”

  “How about that drink?” Darren draped an arm across her shoulders, preventing her from going more than a couple of steps.

  “I’ve got a pounding headache. I think I’ll head home, but I appreciate the offer.” She glanced back at Jared, who had risen to his feet but made no move to follow her. His hands, which had been so firm on her body just a moment ago, hung loosely at his sides. Smart man. If he reached for her now, she’d land him on his ass. His mouth was set in a hard line and his eyes held questions and no small amount of irritation. For one crazy moment, she was tempted to go back and comfort him, to give him his five minutes.

  But he’d stalked her, followed her hundreds of miles, and had even tracked down the unlisted phone number for the compound where she lived and her personal email address. And even if he wasn’t here on Stone’s behalf—which she wasn’t sure she believed—he was contracted with the man.

  She needed time to regain the upper hand. If she chose, she could email him later and set up a meeting on her terms.

  In a smooth move that looked like she was doing a playful dance twirl, she twisted out from beneath Darren’s arm and spun out of his reach, adding a playful laugh to soften the rejection. “Thank you for being my hero tonight, Darren, but I really do have to go.”

  Darren scowled but didn’t reach for her, and certainly didn’t volunteer who he really was. Maybe he was a newcomer, intent on trying on the role of cowboy, and that explained the crispness of his clothes. Hell, maybe he was who he pretended to be and it was payday and he’d simply gone shopping in town. Her mind was seriously fucked up sometimes, seeing threats where there were none. But Tom, Viper, and the other survivalists she’d grown up with, as well as her experiences as a young child before her parents had died, had ingrained in her an innate sense of distrust and self-protectiveness that she couldn’t shake. And it had saved her enough times that she erred on the side of caution.

  Still, like an invisible thread connecting them, she felt Jared’s gaze on her back as she left. They were both too proud to bend, so it was better to make a break for it.

  Chapter Six

  Skye gulped in a breath of cool, pine-scented air as she crossed the parking lot to her truck. Her duffel bag very likely sat in one of these cars. Which one would a man like Jared drive? Probably the big, dark SUV parked near the door, facing front out so he could make a quick getaway after he’d gotten what he wanted from her. The reminder that he could come out at any moment had her deciding she’d have to retrieve her rifle and other weapons another time. Precious would have to wait. Besides, she had other weapons at the ranch.

  She slid behind the wheel of her pickup before sending a quick text to her uncle. Home in ten.

  His reply was immediate. Will be watching for you.

  Her finger hovered over the screen as she debated sending a warning that someone might be following her. Her gaze lifted to the bar’s front door, but neither Darren nor Jared exited. Maybe they’d respect her wishes and let her leave peacefully. Maybe all the devious plots really were in her head. And if Jared wanted to find whoever was trying to hire someone to harm his employer, there had to be other people he could pester or bribe—probably for a lot less money and effort.

  She started the truck and swung onto the main road. A few minutes later, just as she turned onto the narrower gravel road that belonged to the ranch, she spied a pair of headlights behind her. She kept her gaze on the rearview mirror, peering through the wake of dust she left as she drove, and breathing a sigh of relief as the car continued past her turnoff.

  It was another minute before the house came into view, twin arms of warm light spilling through the front windows and slanting across the yard as if reaching out to embrace her. She parked in the circular drive and rushed up the four steps to the porch, forcing herself to slow her strides so she didn’t look as flustered as she felt. She hung her jacket
on the coatrack just inside the door. The wooden floorboards creaked as she crossed the living room toward the back of the house.

  She stopped short in the kitchen doorway and frowned at her uncle’s bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. “That’s what you’re having for dinner?”

  He shot her an unrepentant grin. “And dessert.”

  “Let me cook you something.” She moved to the fridge and started poking through its contents, then remembered she hadn’t done the grocery shopping yet. And she’d likely be leaving again in the morning. She’d track down Mark, who she hadn’t run into all day, and see if he had any new credit card transactions. Perhaps Loretta had turned west toward LA again, after hitting Kingman. Or maybe she’d bypassed the ranch on her way east and gone through Flagstaff, or south to Phoenix. Either way, Skye would find some trail to follow to keep her busy for a few days. Maybe a few weeks. Let things quiet down again around here.

  And let Jared Bennigan return to California.

  “I’m okay, really,” Tom said, seeing her staring blankly into the open refrigerator.

  “It’s not healthy.” She pulled out some greens for a salad, but they looked wilted. She’d check the greenhouse and garden in the morning before hitting the road, see if she could scrounge up something healthy for Tom before she left.

  “Stop.” The command in his voice had her turning to him. “Sit down.”

  She closed the refrigerator and sank onto the chair beside him. “What’s wrong?”

  “You’ve been digging into the past, even after I expressly asked you not to and you promised to listen.”

  “What? No.”

  “Don’t bullshit a bullshitter.”

  She froze. “I’m not lying.”

  He scowled. “I got a visit tonight from Robert Stone. Sound familiar?”

  Shocked, her hand went to her boot, finding comfort in the bone handle of her blade.

  Tom saw the movement. “Relax. He’s gone now. I explained you weren’t coming after him.”

  “Is that what he wanted? A guarantee? Because I sure as hell won’t promise that. Not after what he’s done.” She stood so suddenly that her chair fell over backward.

  Tom winced at the noise but didn’t reassure her. Rather, he looked like the one who might need comfort. His hands started crumpling and smoothing his paper napkin in a nervous gesture that had her gut churning. She watched the mechanical movements of his hands, dotted with nicks and scars that were evidence of a tough, stubborn existence, and leathered with age and sun. Still, those hands had lifted her up into the saddle on her first horse and taught her how to grip a gun. They might not have expressed love as often as she once would have wished, but they’d taught her how to survive, which was more important, and an indication that he cared. A lot of people had a lot less in this world. She had once had a lot less.

  Tom looked as if he were preparing to say something important but couldn’t find the words. And he was avoiding eye contact. The knot in her stomach tightened.

  “This is about more than me working outside of the ranch, isn’t it?” When she yanked the mutilated napkin out from under his fingers, he toyed with the kissing boy-and-girl pair of salt-and-pepper shakers bought from Goodwill long ago.

  “I’m worried about you.”

  She quirked a brow. He was worried about her? “I’m fine. What does Stone have to do with digging up the past?”

  “I don’t know why you wouldn’t listen to me, after all I’ve done. Our priority has always been safety. You shouldn’t have taken unnecessary risks.”

  If she didn’t, who would? Who would help those who couldn’t get help through the legal channels? “We’re also, innately, lone wolves. We have a pack, if we need it, but this kind of work is what you and Viper trained me for.” Without a college education, with only a GED she’d studied for herself, they were the only skills she had that could help earn her keep.

  He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “You’ve crossed the line, going up against Robert Stone. I want you to leave.” It was said so quietly she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly, at first. As she realized she’d actually heard those words from her only family, the knot in her stomach climbed into her throat.

  She croaked out a humorless laugh, determined not to take him seriously. “Leave? I just got back. Do you need something from town? I could make a run for supplies later.”

  “No, I mean leave for good.”

  Panic fluttered throughout her body, beating against her nerve endings and numbing her limbs. “Don’t say that.” Her voice was small, raspy with emotion.

  “I couldn’t force you.” He had forced others out when they hadn’t lived by the code of the compound or they’d endangered it in some way. It was a necessary evil when one had to think of the good of the group above that of the individual.

  She glared at him, willing him to take back his words. He’d given her this life, a new beginning after the abuse she’d suffered at her parents’ hands—and now he was threatening to take it all away. “What did Stone threaten you with? Is he holding something over you?”

  He dragged his hands down his face. For a moment, she read misery in his eyes, but then they turned harder than she’d ever seen. “You need to go. We’ll all be safer.”

  Her temper snapped like a thread stretched too taut. “You’re letting Stone dictate your decisions? I thought I meant something to you.” She would not beg for validation. She’d grown used to tough love, but ostracizing her from the only community she’d ever known was beyond cruel.

  Shouts of alarm from outside interrupted her, just seconds before an explosion from somewhere beyond the house rattled the walls and echoed in her ears.

  “What the hell?” Tom stood so fast he knocked his bowl over and milk poured across the table. Skye ran toward the living room window, where she could survey the front yard and the other buildings. Tom joined her.

  Flames licked the sky from the rooftop of the bunkhouse a football field’s length away. Memories of another fire, which had engulfed her entire life, threatened to draw her inward. She quickly shut that pathway down.

  “He’s attacking us.”

  “Stone?” But why? He was getting what he wanted, hurting her. “And how did he get past the electric fence?”

  “He has ways.” Tom kicked into soldier mode and began barking orders. “Keep low. Get away from the window. Get your gear and head for your truck.”

  Skye’s gaze went to her vehicle, sitting right out front. “It won’t provide much protection.” As a shield against their enemy’s firepower, it was nearly useless. “I’ve got guns and ammo in my room and there’s more in the shed out back—”

  “You have your keys?”

  Realizing his intent, she froze in a crouched position. “I’m not leaving.”

  “You’ve got to. Get out of here. Now.” His gaze shifted to the kitchen and she knew he was thinking of the back door. “It could just be one guy, but if there’s enough of them, they’ll be coming here next. These aren’t nice men, and they’ll be after you. I’m trying to protect you from him.”

  “So you do think it’s Stone?”

  He looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Could be a few different groups out to get us, but I don’t know who exactly, no.”

  “For all we know, it could have been an accidental explosion.” But as she spoke, a volley of gunfire sounded near the bunkhouse. In the black night, she could vaguely make out dark shapes moving in the shadows, like ants scattering, except these ants had firepower. Was that their guys or someone else’s? Oh, God, had she led the enemy to their doorstep?

  An image of bright orange flames, flickering upward into a dark night sky—but not these flames, and not this sky—filled her vision. She’d been six, huddled into herself, peeking through the branches in shock as her home, with her parents inside, exploded and was engulfed in flames.

  Tom gripped her shoulders tightly, bringing her back to the present. “Skye,
go. You’re all I have. I need to know you’re safely away from here, laying low somewhere.” He’d been the one to save her all those years ago. He’d found her hiding in the massive tree she’d climbed daily as a kid. He alone had held the power to coax her down. That night, he’d taken her away from the horror that had destroyed her home, and he’d never allowed her to look back. Not that she’d wanted to.

  “No. I don’t care what Stone threatened you with. You’re all I have.” The realization snapped her into action. “Go to the men. Get them organized.” They would protect him, too. Scooting away from the window, she continued until her back hit the corner, then rose to her feet.

  Tom hadn’t moved. “Skye—”

  “I’m going out the back. I’ll flank them if they’ve left an opening.” Their group had run through hundreds of scenarios in their heads. She could almost see the white board in the corner of the big barn where they trained, could smell the marker as Viper scribbled diagrams with arrows and Xs as if from a playbook. She blinked and forced herself to move.

  “Be safe,” her uncle said, apparently realizing he couldn’t convince her to simply run for her life.

  “Be safe,” she returned with a nod. It was as close as they came to saying they loved each other. In their world, that depth of feeling was something you showed, not something you spoke aloud.

  She might never see him again. That was the way they’d trained. If something serious threatened the compound, each went his or her separate way. They had plans and alternate identities in place, and nobody knew about anybody else’s because it was safer that way.

  She and Tom left through the back door but split up when their feet hit the grass. She didn’t look back, couldn’t afford to indulge in the emotion that was lodged behind her breastbone like a heavy stone, pressing against her ribcage.

  Your fault. You led them here. There was no such thing as coincidence. Stone had to have followed Jared. Or Jared had volunteered her location. She’d brought this evil to her haven and now she’d pay the price.