Lucky Streak (Lucky 2)

Mike’s blood chilled. If he’d known, he’d never have spent the day with Amber. Never have married her.

She touched him on the shoulder.

A mixture of warmth and hurt flooded him on contact and he jerked away.

“Hey! Don’t you judge me until you’ve been in my shoes!” she said with indignation. “Imagine what you’d do if you couldn’t pay for decent care for your father.” Her eyes flashed with defiance, defending her choice.

“I have thought about it, dammit. While you explained your reasons, it’s all I could think about. I’m trying like hell not to judge you, but I’m a cop. Right and wrong is just too clear-cut in my world.” He ran a hand through his hair, wondering how she couldn’t see the solid barrier her past…hell, her present, placed between them.

“Then consider yourself lucky things are so simple for you,” she said coldly.

Once again she was angry at him for something he hadn’t caused, he thought, the irony strong. This woman and her damn contradictions, her warped sense of right and wrong.

“Why don’t you continue,” he said, suddenly exhausted, but knowing she hadn’t finished.

Amber let out a sigh. “You know the rest. High-stakes poker games for big money. Every penny went to the home for my father’s care. I supported myself with savings and the money I made working at my friend Paul’s bar. Look, I’m telling you this because, despite how it all looks, I believe in honesty. I’ve wanted to tell you all along. I just didn’t know how you’d react to the truth.”

“Like hell. You’re confessing now because you’re cornered and you need protection.” Did she really think he was an idiot? he thought, frustrated.

“I’m telling you because if King Bobby is coming after me and I’m staying here with you, you need to know what’s going on. Again, it’s about honesty.”

“King Bobby? What the hell kind of a name is that?” He couldn’t help but laugh.

She tried unsuccessfully to block a grin. “King Bobby, owner of the biggest used-car dealership in all of Texas,” she said in a Texas drawl.

“Oh, brother.” Mike rolled his eyes. “How do you know for certain he’s after you?”

She recounted how she’d seen King Bobby and his wife at the Bellagio after she’d gone looking for Mike. She explained the trail King Bobby had left from Vegas to Beverly Hills, asking about her. “He’s a smart guy and chances are, he’ll dig up our marriage certificate and track me down here. It’s only a matter of time. I don’t know what he wants, but I like my body the way it is too much to let him find me.”

Mike liked her body, too. That was part of the problem.

“We have two choices. Hang around like a sitting duck for this King Bobby character to find you, or hide out.”

“We have two choices?”

He shook his head in frustration, not sure if he wanted to strangle her or kiss her senseless and make her problems go away. “Did you really think I’d just abandon you to deal with this guy on your own?”

“Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect from you.” She sniffed and turned away.

That disappointed him. Hadn’t he come through for her before?

“Go pack up your things.”

She frowned at his order. “To go where?”

To the only place he could think of where she’d be safe. Where a man named King Bobby from Texas would have a hard time tracking her down. “To my father’s place. This King would never guess to look for you at the home of a reclusive old man without a phone.” And when Edward had had a telephone, his number had been unlisted.

“Are you sure he won’t mind us staying there?” Amber asked, obviously surprised at Mike’s choice of hideouts.

“Not us. You.” Mike bit the inside of his cheek. “I can’t get off until this weekend. I’ll have Derek head over and prepare my father. You can take my car first thing tomorrow. It’s a fairly easy drive.”

And since she needed a safe place to hide out, Mike trusted her not to run away again.

Her eyes turned soft and liquid as she stepped toward him. “I really appreciate your help, considering how you feel about me.”

She had no idea how he felt about her. Hell, most of the time he had no idea how he felt about her. He just knew how he felt about what she’d done.

Not trusting himself with words, he stepped out of her reach and gave her a curt nod.