Sin City Collectors Boxed Set: Queen of Hearts, Dead Man's Hand, Double or Nothing
Page 33
“You would do that?”
“You are hoping to be together again, da?”
With every fiber of his being. “Yes.”
“Da. Then I do this. No problem.”
“Except I haven’t talked to her about it yet.”
“Then you do that.”
“I will.” Some of the weight lifted from Gage’s shoulders. “Thank you.”
“How is brother? He want job, too?”
“He’s good. Don’t know if he’s ready to sign on as a Collector just yet. Catching up on two hundred years of progress takes time, but he’s getting there, and Minka is helping a lot.”
“She is good woman, that one.”
“Yes, she is. You have no idea.”
He barked out a laugh. “She have sister?”
Gage laughed, too. “No, sorry.”
“Was worth asking.” Sergei yawned. “I go now. You tell me decision later.”
“Will do.” Gage hung up. He looked up to see Caleb standing in the door. “Hey, I was trying not to wake anyone.”
“You didn’t wake me. I’ve slept plenty, trust me.”
“Yeah, I guess you have. You can come in, you know. This is your home, too, now.”
“I confess, it has yet to feel that way.” Caleb took a seat on the large leather sofa that anchored the south wall. “Is something wrong? You look troubled.”
Gage shook his head. “Minka’s leave of absence is up tomorrow.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she’ll be going back to Nevada.”
A look of horror came over Caleb’s face. “She doesn’t live here?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Good question. “Because—”
“Because he hasn’t asked,” Minka answered. She slouched against the door in gym shorts and his T-shirt.
“You’d stay?” Gage took that in while she strolled into the room and took a seat on the couch with Caleb.
She shrugged one shoulder. “I might. It’s open to discussion. Especially when I know you can’t go back to Vegas.”
“How do you know that?”
She took a deep breath. “I talked to Romero. He’s willing to forgive what you did considering the circumstances, but it’s too much to forget. If you want to keep being a Collector, you have to stay here.”
“Then stay here with me.” Gage had never wanted anything so much in his life.
She looked at Caleb. “Your brother needs to step up his game, don’t you think?”
Caleb nodded slowly, his gaze full of questions. “Yes. His game definitely needs…what game is this?”
Gage understood. She wanted some wooing. He could woo. “It’s the game of love.”
“Ah,” Caleb said. “I know that game.” He pointed at Gage. “You love her?”
“Madly.”
Caleb pointed at Minka. “You love him?”
She tilted her head coyly. “Yes.”
Caleb held his hands out. “I don’t understand the problem.”
Gage did. And based on Minka’s lack of answer about staying, he could only guess she wasn’t ready to give Vegas up. “She has commitments in Nevada, Caleb. It’s not that simple.”
“Actually…” Minka tapped a finger on her bottom lip. “I don’t really have those commitments anymore. I mean, I could get rid of them pretty easily.”
Gage stilled. “So…you would stay here?”
“I might if things were right.”
Gage shook his head. “What does that mean? What else needs to be right?”
Caleb growled in frustration. “Perhaps it’s that you still haven’t asked her to stay, you dolt.”
She rolled her lips in to keep from laughing. “I see your brother got the brains in the family.”
Gage stood. She wanted to be asked. He could do that. He could do better than that, actually. Up his game. Hmph. He walked over and got down on one knee. “Minka Winslow, would you stay with me and be my wife?”
She clapped a hand over her mouth, then threw her arms around him and kissed him before answering, “Yes to the staying. Maybe on the wife. Ask me again in six months.”
He looked at her. “You still think my game needs stepping up?”
“It’s been two years. I’m not even sure how well you play anymore,” she teased.
He laughed, happy to see her eyes were sparkling with joy and love. “Well, then. Let the games begin.”
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*Contributing SCC authors*
Amanda Carlson
Suzanne McLeod
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About the Author
Kristen Painter likes to balance her obsessions with shoes and cats by making the lives of her characters miserable and surprising her readers with interesting twists. She currently writes paranormal romance in the Sin City Collectors series and award-winning urban fantasy for Orbit Books. The former college English teacher can often be found all over social media where she loves to interact with readers: Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram.
Other books by Kristen Painter
URBAN FANTASY
The House of Comarré series:
Forbidden Blood
Blood Rights
Flesh and Blood
Bad Blood
Out For Blood
Last Blood
Crescent City series:
House of the Rising Sun
City of Eternal Night
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Dark Kiss of the Reaper
Heart of Fire
All Fired Up
Nothing is completed without an amazing team.
Many thanks to:
Cover design: Robin Ludwig Design Inc
Interior formatting: Author E.M.S.
Copyedits/proofs: Joyce Lamb
Table of Contents
Copyright
The Table of Contents
Queen of Hearts Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Dead Man’s Hand Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Double or Nothing Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
The Sin City Collectors
About the Author
Many Thanks
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