Lucky Streak (Lucky 2)

A quick tally in her head told her Marshall had won what he needed and she was halfway to paying back Mike. They were almost there.

“Bobby, honey, were you able to get us into the Country Club for dinner?” Emmy Lou asked. The exclusive restaurant in the Wynn hotel was world famous.

“Damn, woman, can’t you see I’m busy? Call the concierge and find out if she made us a reservation if you want to. But let King Bobby be.” He tossed her his cell phone.

“That’s it!” Howard rose from his seat.

“Don’t tell me this yahoo won again,” King Bobby muttered. “It’s enough that guy’s messing with the King’s mojo tonight.” He gestured to Marshall.

A skittering of dread rushed through Amber and the hair on her arms stood on end.

“No, I just remembered where I saw her before.” Howard pointed to Amber. “I may not remember the name, but I never forget a face. You were the concierge at some hotel in Beverly Hills.”

Amber breathed in deep and forced a silly giggle. “Me, a concierge?” She turned to Marshall. “Baby, he thinks I’m smart enough to be a concierge.”

“Lord, a man can’t concentrate tonight what with these women gaggling like geese and this guy worried about where he met some two-bit whore before,” Chuck, another man from somewhere in the Midwest, said angrily.

“He’s got a point. I fold,” Marshall said, tossing down his cards.

Amber didn’t need to count again to know they didn’t have all the money they needed. At least, not enough for her to return to Mike with a semiclean conscience, an explanation and a plea for forgiveness.

“That’s it for me.” Marshall rose.

“But honey, the necklace—”

“Maybe another time.” He gathered his chips, cashed in, ignoring her tapping foot behind him and King Bobby’s loud complaints that Marshall wasn’t giving him a chance to win his cash back.

Once he was finished, Marshall grabbed her arm hard enough to leave a bruise and guided her out the door while saying his goodbyes all at the same time.

It wasn’t easy, but Amber held in her angry explosion until they were safely in the car and out of earshot of anyone from the game.

“How the hell could you walk before we won what we needed?” she yelled at him.

He started the car. “In case that genius brain of yours missed it, I won what I needed.” He dug into her large purse, pulled out the wad of big bills he’d stuffed in there and counted out the bundles. “Here.” He slapped seventy-five thousand dollars onto her lap.

“That isn’t enough.”

“Too bad. You were fingered and we had an agreement. Cut and run at the first sign of trouble.”

Amber was so furious she could barely think straight. “That idiot Howard wouldn’t know what to do with the information anyway. It didn’t matter. There was no danger. You just wanted to play chicken with my cut!”

He turned toward her. “Chicken?” He shook his head. “I’m just being damn smart. I’m out of hot water. But what are you going to do? Go back to your husband with half his money and explain why you ran out on him?” He laughed at her predicament. “Or are you going to hide out here in Vegas? I don’t much care. But I wasn’t about to make your life any easier. Not after you screwed me by walking out of mine. And after all I’ve done for you.” He shook his head and put the car in Drive.

She clamped her mouth shut tight. He’d left her twisting in the wind on purpose. Giving her the option to return to Mike with half the money or run away from him for good, assuming he didn’t track her down and press charges. The man was a cop, after all.

She squeezed her temples with her hands. Neither option held much appeal.

AMBER KNOCKED on Mike’s hotel-room door, her stomach churning with cold fear. Facing him again wouldn’t be easy, but even if he turned her away, she owed him an explanation. That and another seventy-five thousand dollars, she thought, wondering how in the hell she’d raise that kind of money while paying for her father’s care.

Maybe Mike took MasterCard.

Or maybe he’d understand and let her pay him back over time. She seemed like a different woman than the one who was spinning fantasies of a new life with Mike just this very morning.

Five minutes later, someone from housekeeping arrived with a cart to clean the room, and informed her the guest had checked out. Amber returned to the elevator, disappointed but not completely defeated.

She had his full name and knew he was a cop who lived in Boston. She stepped through the lobby, engrossed in devising a plan to find him, when she caught sight of a ten-gallon hat and the big man wearing it.