the first few minutes until she dared to accuse the powerful Bobby Kincaid of swindling her elderly parents out of fifty thousand dollars to fund his condominium development. After that, not one officer had taken her complaint seriously.
The police had asked her questions she could not answer. Questions she’d mulled over in her own head for days. Why would a man worth millions jeopardize his professional reputation over fifty thousand dollars? Why would he target her parents when there were others who’d invested two and three times as much?
What hurt the most was that even if the police had believed her, Roxie knew they could never give back to Theo and Tessa what mattered most: their professional dignity. For two retired con artists, nothing was worse than being duped, the sense of having been bested at what they were once best at.
When the pair inadvertently found themselves the parents of an abandoned ten-year-old girl, they vowed to give up their shady occupation in the interest of setting an example. After a lifetime of easy scores, they’d both found legitimate occupations and had walked the straight and narrow for the past twenty years. The only remnant of those adventurous years gone by was the nest egg they’d stocked away, some of which they’d invested in Bobby Kincaid’s Tumbleweed condominium development, believing the price of the stock was a steal.
They’d jumped on the opportunity with both feet, hoping the return would not only take care of them in their old age, but also take the burden of their well-being off the shoulders of their adopted daughter. For their small investment, they would be given stock and one of the condominiums as a beautiful retirement home. It would have been the perfect arrangement. That is, if the deal had been legitimate, which it apparently was not.
Roxie had tried to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Bobby Kincaid to get her parents’ money back, but there had been more red tape and hoops to jump through than if she’d tried to meet with the President of the United States. In the end, the most Bobby’s secretary would promise was a tentative appointment in six weeks, or Roxie was welcome to send correspondence addressing her complaint.
Of course, both of those options were unacceptable. Exactly how did you accuse someone of theft in a letter? Especially when you had no proof! Besides, she didn’t have six weeks. Her parents needed the money back right away.
Believing they would soon be moving into their newly built condominium, they’d sold their home without Roxie’s knowledge, and were now only days away from being forced to leave.
Roxie made a decent salary, and if push came to shove, she knew she could take care of her folks. Although, she was certain her parents would fight her tooth and nail before accepting her help. Anyway, it was not the money that had brought her to this act of desperation.
No, what had brought her here was the look of humiliation she’d seen in Theo’s eyes when he’d been forced to reveal to Roxie all that had transpired.
Pressed for time, and knowing she would get no help from the authorities, Roxie decided to fight fire with fire. Bobby Kincaid had stolen the money from her parents, and tonight she would steal it back. If only she could keep the wolf at bay for another thirty minutes.
She’d spent a fortune on creating just the right look tonight. She needed to be a high roller. An experienced gambler, whom Bobby Kincaid would tolerate, believing that, in the end, she would lose more than she won. And true to her role, Roxie had consistently allowed herself to lose the occasional hand throughout the evening. But obviously she had not lost enough.
She discreetly watched as Wolfie approached. The closer he came, the more imposing he became. She sat ramrod-straight in her chair…waiting.
But instead of stopping at her stool, he walked right past her and around the table to sit directly opposite her. As he took a seat, he motioned to the dealer to deal him in to the hand.
It took all of Roxie’s concentrated effort not to stare at the newcomer. This man was very different from the one casually relaxing at the bar. That man was a nonthreatening, grayish blur. The superfine brother sitting across from her was dangerous and vivid in the extreme. His caramel-brown skin was tinted with a touch of reddish hue that seemed enhanced by the bright casino lights. His full lips were perfectly outlined with a thin mustache and goatee. His dark hair was close-cropped and freshly trimmed. The snug-fitting, coffee-colored sweater and matching slacks indicated a very fit body beneath.
This was not your typical rent-a-cop security guard that worked the Vegas casino strip, Roxie thought. This was definitely a different breed. Maybe Wolfie wasn’t such a good nickname. Now, that seemed too apt a description.
Slowly, he lifted his eyes and looked directly at her for the first time. Coal-black eyes as dark as a starless night and just as unsettling pinned her to her chair. Gypsy eyes, trimmed in the longest, blackest lashes she’d ever seen, studied her, seeking the answers he knew her lips would never reveal. It was like he’d reached beyond the surface and was searching her soul.
Roxie quickly looked away.
She tried to ignore the man, but with each hand, another player dropped from the game until only the two of them were left. She studied her hand, biting her lip in concentration.
“It’s your play.” The sultry voice drifted across the table, and Roxie looked up in surprise to find those intense, dark eyes on her once again. He was waiting, watching like the careful predator he was. Roxie felt trapped. Something about those eerie eyes spoke of unseen peril. She realized in that instant just how little she knew about the people she was dealing with.
This was Vegas, after all—ruled with an iron fist by a small group of overlords.
What if Bobby Kincaid decided to carry out his own brand of justice? What if the man sitting across from her was the only judge or jury she would ever stand before?
Suddenly, her little plan to take back what had been taken didn’t seem as clever as it had that morning. She looked at the large pile of chips in the middle of the table, considering how close she’d come to winning her parents’ money back. But getting arrested—or worse—wouldn’t help Theo and Tessa. She would have to find another way.
Roxie turned her cards face down and gently placed them on the green felt table. “I fold.”
The wolf quirked a curious eyebrow.
The dealer watched the play before speaking. “Lady Luck is obviously on your side. Are you sure you want to end your winning streak?”
Roxie stood. “I think I better end my streak, before my streak ends me.”
The man on the other side of the table was studying her with a strange expression. “If you walk now, you’ll lose everything.” He gestured to the large pile of chips in the center of the table.
Her heart sank as she realized all her effort had been futile. She came in with nothing and was about to leave with nothing. She tried to paste on her most benign smile. “A true gambler knows not to push her luck.”
Ike tossed his cards down and stood, coming around the table to block her path. “Is that your secret? Luck?” he asked with poorly veiled sarcasm.
Her eyes narrowed when she noted how neatly he’d cut off her exit. “What else would it be?”
He gave a slight nod to someone behind her. “I don’t know, some of the truly high rollers claim to have a method.”
Roxie began backing away from the table and then stopped
