I’m never letting go of her again.
Tegan’s face lights up. “Then you know we’re in this together,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her body presses against me, and blots out everything in the world. I can’t hold back anymore, I can’t deny the only instinct drumming through me with every heartbeat.
I find her lips, and I kiss her with everything I have.
Tegan melts against me, clutching me tight. A month of anger and regret, a lifetime of loneliness and pain; it all melts away in the passion of our embrace.
She came for me. She didn’t give up. I left her, and she still believed in me.
This girl. This girl is everything.
I kiss her, greedily prying her lips apart, tasting the sweetness of her mouth. I lose myself in her, until at last we break for air, and reality crashes back.
“You can’t be here,” I tell her regretfully. “I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do, but right now, you don’t belong here.”
Tegan cups my cheek. Her eyes shine with emotion. “I won’t lose you. I’ve only just gotten started loving you, Ryland James,” she adds with a smile. “And you know I’m damn stubborn when I set my mind to it.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I thought it was sweet pea,” she grins. Then her eyes slip past me, and the smile fades.
I turn. Driskell, wearing a cold grin. His eyes roam over Tegan from head to toe, and I’m seized with the urge to punch that smug look right off his face.
“Introduce me to your lovely friend,” Driskell says, a dangerous edge to his voice.
Shit.
“This is…” I think fast for a name, but Tegan doesn’t blink.
“Tegan,” she says, holding out her hand.
Driskell grips it a moment too long. “Tegan Callahan,” he muses, and my blood runs cold.
He knows about her. He knows how much she means.
“How’s your brother?” he asks her with a sneer.
“Which one?” Tegan doesn’t flinch. She stares back, scowling. “The rock star who has the Hell’s Angels on speed-dial? The movie star who can have every journalist in the city on your doorstep in ten minutes? Or the businessman, who’s probably out drinking whiskey with the governor right now?”
Driskell looks amused. “I like her,” he says, turning to me. “The game’s starting, and if I recall, she’s your good luck charm. Miss Callahan?”
He offers her his arm. Tegan shoots me a look and then takes it, following him to the back room.
I walk after, trying to think straight and figure a way out. Panic rises in me, watching Tegan exchange sarcastic barbs with Driskell. Doesn’t she realize we’re in way over our heads?
The back room is set up with a poker table. Kolchok is already sitting with a drink, talking to another older guy. Driskell takes a seat at the table, and gestures for me to join. “We’re down a player tonight,” he says. “Maybe you can pull off another lucky streak.”
I sit, still on edge. Tegan moves to stand behind me. She places a hand on my shoulder, and the touch gives me strength. I look around, and I realize something for the first time.
Poker isn’t about playing the best cards, it’s about playing the other players.
I don’t have the resources or power to make Driskell do what I want. But Kolchock does.
“Ready to lose some money?” Kolchock jokes at Driskell.
Driskell manages a smile. “All talk,” he smirks. “Just you wait and see.” He glances over to me. “You can use your line of credit,” he says, like he’s doing me a favor.
The dealer cuts us in, and we start to play. I’m right back where I started in Las Vegas months ago, except this time, I have something more to fight for. Then, I just wanted out: my freedom. Escape.
Now, I’m fighting for my future. A life with Tegan, something honest and good. She was brave enough to find me and come all this way. Now it’s down to me to take us home again.
My heart pounds in my chest. This is it. All on the line. I bet a little here and there, but mainly I’m watching the other guys for their plays. I fold early and keep a low profile, while Driskell and Kolchock go big to try and shut each other down.
Tegan leans over to murmur. “Are you OK? Your cards…”
She can see everything from behind me. She knows I’ve been folding on strong hands.
“Trust me,” I whisper. She nods.
The next hand I’m dealt is bad, no face value cards. But the cards on the table don’t matter anymore. I bet big, right off the bat. Ten grand.
Kolchock whistles, matching the bet. “Sure you wanna play that way, kid?”
I lean back, acting over-confident. “Why not? Business is booming, right, boss? Can’t move the product fast enough.”
Driskell looks tense. Kolchock frowns at him. “I thought you said profits were down.”
“My mistake,” I interrupt smoothly. “Hell, what do I know? I just guard the door.”
When it’s my turn again, I push more paper into the center of the table. “Raise, twenty grand.”
Driskell is watching me through narrowed eyes now. I’ve got his attention.
Good.
We go another round. Kolchock pauses, then folds. “You don’t get to where I am by sticking with a bad hand,” he says meaningfully.
The words sit, heavy on the table.
I raise another twenty. Now there’s over a hundred thousand dollars sitting on the table. “Hell, maybe I’ll use my winnings to buy myself a mansion in the Keys, right, boss?” I give Driskell a careful grin. “You should see his place,” I add to Kolchock, all friendly. “Waterfront views, tub so deep you can swim in it. Life of luxury, isn’t that the dream?”