I giggle. Somehow, I’ve hit some kind of magic hot-guy lottery. Either that, or I’ve managed to dream up the entire last few days, in which case, I don’t want to be woken up. “Since I did agree to obey,” I reply solemnly, “I guess I have no other choice.”
I stand and they both dry me off between luxuriously soft towels, and we go to the bedroom and make love all over again.
15
Carter:
In order to keep myself from going ballistic, I spend most of the next day trying to get a handle on what really happened with Gabby the night she lost ninety-something thousand dollars at the poker table.
In a perfect world, I could approach Sammy D directly. No one is accusing him of anything, and he should be just as eager as I am to see that his dealers are clean. If word gets around that his games are rigged, his business will dry up.
But things are never that simple. People are touchy, and they act before they think. It’s just as likely that Sammy will get offended and refuse to talk to me entirely.
Which leaves tracking down the dealer, or tracking down the couple that won big. The dealer is easier, so I start there.
Underground poker is a strange beast. Stopping people from gambling doesn’t bubble to the top of the agenda of New York’s overworked cops. As long as Sammy runs a clean game, the police will turn a blind eye to his activities. That doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s going on.
If anyone is likely to have some insight into this world, it’ll be my buddy JP. He’s worked on the force for twenty years. He’s smart and observant, and he has a soft spot for Noah. I dial his number, and the phone rings, once, twice, before JP picks it up.
“I’m on a date, Hughes,” he growls into the line.
“It’s nine in the morning, JP,” I retort. JP’s been married three times. He pays an absolutely crazy amount of money in alimony. If I’ve interrupted his date, I’m probably doing him a favor.
“Do you have any idea how much it costs to spring for dinner in this city?” he grumbles. “I’ve taken to taking them out for breakfast. Much cheaper. Plus, the women think I’m original.”
No doubt he’s got a line for the woman he’s with. If I know JP, it’ll be something to the effect of him wanting to start his day right. JP is a master at pickup lines. “I need some information,” I tell him. “I’m looking for a dealer that works with Sammy D.”
“The guy who runs the poker rooms?” He sounds curious. “He keeps out of trouble.”
“He’s not in trouble,” I assure him. “But one of his dealers might have drugged someone I know.”
“A girl?” JP sounds amused. “And just like a white knight, Carter Hughes rides in to save the day?”
I give him the finger, but of course, he can’t see it. “Can we focus on the dealer?” I grind out.
JP ignores my attempt to change the topic. “Girlfriend of yours? About fucking time you settled down.”
“JP,” I say patiently. “The dealer.”
He sighs. “You are no fun, Hughes,” he grumbles. “Okay, I’ll look into it. A crooked dealer will leave a trail.”
I know. If the dealer received a payoff for his role in that night, we’ll find him. When people receive an unexpected sum of money, they can’t resist spending it. In fact, if I correctly remember the statistic, most lottery winners are broke within a year. “Thank you,” I say to him.
I don’t tell him that Noah’s birth father has abducted him. I don’t tell him about the stress that weighs down on me, stress that lifts only in Gabby’s presence.
* * *
My morning is busy. I meet with the teams that are working around the clock trying to find Ed Wagner. This should normally not be as hard as it’s proving, but Ed’s keeping his head down.
“No activity on his credit cards?” I ask for what has got to be the tenth time.
Neil Holder, the guy who’s leading up one of the search teams, shakes his head. “Not even a peep,” he confirms.
“We’re watching his friends,” Matt Gao adds. “We’ve got eyes on his former roommates, his older brother, his ex-girlfriend, everyone.” He looks sympathetic. “We’ll find him, boss.”
“I know you will,” I say. I’m tempted to yell and scream, but what’s the point? They are doing everything they can. Neil and Matt look like they haven’t slept for days. “Soon, this will all be behind us. You guys are doing a great job. Thank you for going above and beyond on this.”
The two of them stand a little taller; their eyes brighten. It’s the magic of a well-placed compliment. Now, they’ll work even harder to find Noah.
Yes, I’m a cynical bastard. But if it’ll bring back my nephew, then it’ll have been worth it.
I don’t see Gabby till well after lunch. She looks despondent as she opens her door. “Hey,” she greets me. She’s missing her customary fire, and it shocks me how much it affects me that she’s sad.
“Hey yourself,” I pull her in for a hug. “What did you do with yourself this morning, and where’s Dominic?” She was still sleeping when I’d left her room at dawn, and I hadn’t wanted to wake her.
“Moping, mostly,” she says honestly. “I feel like a fuck-up, Carter.”
“Hey there,” I soothe her. “Where’s this coming from? Where’s the Gabby that threatened to run over my foot with a wheelchair?”
Her answering smile is small. “It’s better that Crazy Gabby doesn’t make an appearance,” she says. “Had I tried harder that first night, had I not been so caught up in my own hubris, maybe Noah would be back here by now.”
Okay, she’s in full-on self-hate mode. I’ve seen this happen before with Chloe and I know, firsthand, how destructive it can be. “Stop,” I tell her firmly. “You did all the right things. It would have looked extremely suspicious if you’d abandoned a winning hand to chase after Ed.” I wink at her. “After all, Wagner’s no looker. Not like me.”
She laughs, a clear bright peal of laughter that transforms her. “Vain much, Carter?”
“Made you laugh, didn’t I?” I retort smugly. “Mission accomplished.”
She grins. “Where’s Dominic?” I ask. “I thought that he’d be here.”
“He had to work,” she says. “He did come and have lunch with me though.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s like neither of you trust me to spend a moment alone.”
“Come take a walk on the beach with me, and I’ll explain what that’s about.”
Her eyes gleam with curiosity. “Okay,” she agrees, “that sounds like a plan.”
* * *
It’s a weekday afternoon, and although it’s still summer, the beach is relatively empty. Of course, in Atlantic City, this means it’s still crowded enough that we have to make our way around clusters of sunbathers. I shouldn’t complain too much. In the evening, these tourists will spend their money at Dominic’s casino, and their willingness to return to Atlantic City keeps me employed. The Grand River is growing while other casinos in the area are on the verge of shutting down, and I have plenty to be grateful for.
“Did Dominic tell you how my parents were killed?”
At my words, her beautiful brown eyes lock on my face, wide and stricken. “Oh Carter,” she says softly, taking my hand in hers. “No, he didn’t. I’m so sorry.”
It should stop hurting after all these years, but the pain is always there as a dull background ache. “It was a long time ago,” I shrug. My attempted indifference isn’t fooling her; her grip on my hand tightens, and she moves closer to me.
“How? When?”
“It was the stupidest thing,” I reply. “A house robbery gone wrong in Buffalo. Some kids were searching for money.” I pause before I speak the next words. “To buy drugs.”
Life can be so ironic sometimes. The same forces that killed my parents killed Chloe.
I can see from the flash of understanding in Gabby’s eyes that she gets it. “How old were you, Carter?”
“Sixteen,” I tell her. “Chloe and I were twin
s. We were both sixteen.” I try not to think about Chloe. “Both of us had a hard time coping with their deaths,” I continue. “But we reacted in very different ways. I threw myself in my studies. While I was busy busting my gut in college, Chloe fell in with the wrong crowd. She started using.”
“And she dated Dominic?”
I nod. “Dominic and I were college roommates. She’d come up and visit sometimes. He was crazy about her. He asked her to go out with him for years before she accepted.”
“He didn’t tell me that.”
“It’s in the past,” I assure her. “I loved my sister more than anyone in the world, but even I can tell you that the idea of dating Chloe was much better than the reality of dating Chloe.”
“What do you mean?”
“She could be flighty,” I say. It feels disloyal to talk about my dead sister this way, but it’s the truth. I can see that Gabby thinks that Chloe was the love of Dominic’s life, but it didn’t play out that way. Real life has a funny way of interfering with the fairy tale narratives in our minds. “She’d blow hot and cold. And, most importantly, she swore to Dominic that she was clean. And she wasn’t.”
“He broke up with her.”
“Part of him was hoping that she’d be shocked clean,” I confirm. “But there’s also a part of him that was relieved to be out of that relationship.” I grimace. “That’s the thing about the dead,” I say. “The things that you can admit to yourself when they are alive, you can’t say after they die. The truth that they weren’t right for each other. She hurt him more than she provided comfort.”
“How does this relate to the two of you not letting me out of your sight?”
I smother a smile. Gabby is so… well, Gabby. I hear the note of ire in her voice. “You’re upset today,” I reply. “Do you think either of us will let you bear that alone?”
“I’m not Chloe,” she replies. She’s two steps ahead of me. “I’m not fragile. Sometimes, I’m going to be upset, and want to be left alone.”
“You aren’t Chloe,” I agree. I don’t know how to articulate the desire to make amends for the past. Had I not been as busy with school, maybe I could have kept Chloe away from her friends, the ones that pulled her down. Had Dominic not broken up with her, maybe Ed Wagner would never have been in the picture. This time around, I’m determined to get it right. “And if you want to be left alone, all you have to do is ask.”
She puts her hand around my waist. “What’s that?” I tease. “Did I hear those words? Leave me alone, Carter?” I put my hand behind my ear in an exaggerated gesture. “Did you say something, Gabby?”
Her lips twitch, and she pinches my side hard. “Not an ounce of spare fat,” she marvels. “It’s very intimidating to sleep with two guys that are so physically perfect.” She pinches me again for good effect. “I’m enjoying this walk on the beach,” she says. “Every single woman here is looking at me with envy because I’ve snagged a hottie, and that’s pretty damn nice.”
“They are?” I haven’t noticed. I’m walking alongside the woman who’s taken residence in my dreams for many months now. Why would I look around?
She laughs. “Yes Carter, they are.” She rises on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For this. For noticing that I was sad in the hotel room. For caring enough to help me.”
Seriously, who are the fuckers she’s been dating? Still, I can’t complain. Had even one of those guys been man enough to keep her, she wouldn’t be ours now. I’m about to say as much when her phone rings.
She pulls it out of her pocket, making an apologetic face at me, then she looks at the screen and tenses. “It’s Bulldog,” she says to me. “Why is he calling me?”
16
Dominic:
It’s ten at night. The sun has set and the bright lights of the neon signs shine in the dark. People are wandering about on the streets, walking from casino to casino, chasing lady luck.
I’m in the parking lot of the Grand River, standing in front of Gabby’s rental car. “You don’t have to do this,” I say, for what seems to be the hundredth time. “This whole thing doesn’t seem right to me.”
That’s as much unease as I’m going to vocalize. I don’t want to make her any more nervous than she already is, and maybe I’m just being paranoid. But something doesn’t add up in this situation. Gabby’s made a fair bit of money both days at Bulldog’s table. The chances of him inviting her back are slim - his regulars will undoubtedly have grumbled about the woman from New York who was stealing their hard-earned money. If Bulldog was thinking about this from a business standpoint, he wouldn’t have sent her tonight’s location.
So he’s not thinking about business. The only other explanation is that Ed asked that Gabby be there. Perhaps it’s because of Gabby’s charm, but a more sinister explanation is that Ed suspects something.
Like I said, I don’t have a good feeling about this.
“Look,” she reasons. “If there’s a chance to find Noah, don’t you think I should take it?”
Yes, damn it. That’s the rub, isn’t it? There are no good choices here. Either I endanger a woman I care very much about, or I endanger my five-year old godson.
“You have the tracker?” Carter asks.
“I do,” she confirms patiently, slipping off her pretty high heels and showing us where it’s hidden on the inside of her shoe. This is not the first time Carter’s asked that question. “I promise, I won’t go anywhere without it.” She smiles bravely. “You guys will be right behind me,” she says. “I have nothing to be afraid of.” She envelops us in a hug, drawing us near. I can smell her perfume, the subtle tones of jasmine and mint messing with my mind. We all cling together for an infinite second, then she pulls away and unlocks the car door. “I have to go.”
“We’ve got your back, Gabby,” Carter promises.
She grins. “I know, Carter,” she says cheekily. “Else I’m going to break your toes with my wheelchair, remember?”
* * *
Once she’s gone, I turn to Carter. “What do you think?”
“I don’t have a good feeling about today,” he says. “It’s risky, but I think we should move closer.”
“Can we get anywhere near the address? Where is it, anyway?” Even as I speak, I’m punching in the address Bulldog texted her into Google Maps. “Shit, this isn’t even in AC. This is Pleasantville.”
Carter nods. “It’s the basement of a Mexican restaurant,” he says, looking over my shoulder. “I know the place. I can’t get crews right to the door, but I can set a perimeter in a two-block radius.”
“Do it,” I say. I feel the same disquiet that Carter is feeling, the same sense that something bad is going to happen tonight. “Let’s get as close as we can. If this ignites a war with Bulldog, then so be it.”
Gabby’s brave and spirited, and she can take care of herself. But we are still going to be right behind her. Noah’s precious to us, but so is Gabriella, and tonight, we are getting both of them back.
17
Gabriella:
I’ve tried to conceal my nerves from Dominic and Carter. I can tell they don’t want me to go. But though Carter doesn’t want to admit it, his men are no closer than they were to finding Ed than they were two days ago. This might be the quickest and easiest way.
As I drive, there is a clamor in my brain, but one set of facts rise to the top. There’s a ton of bad blood between Carter and Ed Wagner. Carter blames Ed for Chloe’s death, and he judges Ed because of his failure to see his son since Chloe’s death. And on the other end, Ed even accused Carter of sending him to jail.
I don’t know what the whole and complete truth is, but this situation just seems sad. Noah’s a child who has lost his mother, who barely knows his father. I know that Carter’s desperate to protect his nephew, but is it right to keep a child from his father?
Of course it is, a voice rebukes me. Not all parents deserve to be parents. It�
��s a genetic lottery, not a measure of worth. Plenty of people who are kind and good, who long with futile desperation for a child of their own, aren’t lucky enough to have their wishes for children come true. Conversely, there are people who should have never become parents. Lady Luck is capricious and willful, and life isn’t always fair.
I don’t know what to think. I don’t know if my mind is clouded because of my overpowering attraction to Carter and Dominic. Two days ago, as I’d driven to Bulldog’s, I’d had the same doubts I’m having now. Are they worth listening to?
I wish I knew more. I wish I could figure out why Ed took Noah, and what he really wants.
But the time for wishing is past. I’ve arrived at the address that Bulldog texted me. There’s a pink neon sign of a margarita glass in the window of the restaurant, and next to it is a green neon cactus. The universal sign for a Mexican restaurant.
I have reached my destination. Bulldog’s guards signal me to stop in the parking lot, and I roll down my window. They shine a flashlight in my face, then they nod and step aside. Security’s tighter tonight, another thing that frays my nerves.
But I force it all to the background. The game is upon me. It’s now time to go and play, and tonight, it’s time to win, and win big.
* * *
Ed’s already there when I arrive. He greets me with an uncharacteristically wide grin. “Hey there,” he says to me.
Well, that’s different. He hasn’t ever been this friendly. “Hey,” I reply. I remember I’m supposed to be pissed that he took off yesterday without telling me. “So what happened last night?” I ask him. “You sort of disappeared on me.”
He looks apologetic. “Sorry about that,” he replies. “I got a phone call. My son’s babysitter had an emergency, and I had to go watch my kid while she dealt with it.”
My son’s babysitter. My skin prickles with excitement. This is the first time he’s mentioned Noah, the first time he’s ever actually volunteered any information on his own. “You have a son?”
Gambling with Gabriella (Menage MfM Romance Novel) (Playing For Love Book 2) Page 9