Michael leaned back, remembering that night clearly. Carter told him marrying Kimberly was a mistake and there was no way for him to know what he wanted that soon. It turned out to be the best decision he ever made in his life.

  “That’s not fair,” Michael said.

  “A model who used to be a teenaged runaway prostitute,” Carter added.

  “Hey!” Michael pointed angrily. “That’s between me and you. Mom and Dad can’t know about that.”

  “Have I ever said anything to anyone?” Carter asked. A promise to his brother was a promise for life.

  Michael smiled with a nod and a shrug. “Don’t expect me to like her.”

  The Century City Villa was the newest high-tech hotel for government officials, celebrities and anyone who had an ego large enough to believe someone wanted a piece of them. Cameras were everywhere and the security staff consisted of former FBI or CIA officials. When it opened, a few of the best cops on the LAPD joined the staff as well. The penthouse was the real deal and that’s where Haley was staying. It was equipped with monitors, twenty-four-hour security guards with serious weapons, emergency buttons in every room, and its own elevator that only responded to a code that was changed every day. Even the resident wasn’t given the code. For housekeeping, room service and all the other amenities, the penthouse had its own staff so there wouldn’t be any mishaps with a stand-in or replacement. If the masseuse wasn’t in that day, there would be no massage. The biggest selling point was the door that led to the roof of the tower with a helicopter pad.

  So far, so good. The elevator opened up on the eighteenth floor and Sean stepped out coming face-to-face with two gun-toting security guards. He had a feeling his badge wasn’t going to get him any further. “Take it easy, guys.” He held his hands up, his badge flashing on the loop around his neck. “I’m a cop.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything to me.” This one was tall and skinny with dark circles around his eyes that made one think he hadn’t slept for days. “No one gets up here.”

  “If I wasn’t supposed to be up here,” Sean said, guns still pointed at him, “then how would I know the code to the elevator?”

  They had to think for a second. Sean had to use blackmail to get it and he didn’t care to think about that. He hated turning on another cop, but he was desperate. He had been lucky to find one of them assigned to the building, sitting in the lobby in plain clothes. Jerry Laslow had a lot to be blackmailed over and Sean would have never chosen him for this detail. He wondered what other bad choices Davis was making.

  “I know for a fact, you’re not supposed to be here,” the other guard said. “Detective Davis told us he’s the only detective on the case.”

  “Things have changed a bit,” Sean said. “I’m back on.”

  The first guard leaned into the second, whispering something in his ear. Both of their guns lowered.

  “You really hit that scum?” the second guard asked.

  Sean nodded.

  The guard showed his LAPD badge. “Good job.”

  “Thanks.” Sean looked at the door a few feet behind them.

  “Still, you’re not getting in.”

  The sound that came from inside the room was hard to describe. Something had fallen, crashed or broken and Haley screamed. Everyone reacted immediately, but Sean wasn’t fast enough. The second guard pushed him back, pointing his gun at him.

  “You can’t go in there!”

  “Something has happened to her!” Sean was tempted to keep going. He knew the guy wouldn’t shoot him.

  The first guard opened the door and before he could get a word out, a silver serving plate smashed against his head, knocking him to the ground as he yelled out in pain.

  This was it! Haley jumped over the man and reached down for his gun. She was getting the hell out of this place even if she had to shoot somebody.

  “Haley, what are you doing?”

  When she looked up the surprise of seeing Sean was enough force to make her fall down, toppling over the injured guard.

  “Get up,” the second guard yelled at her. “Step away from that gun.”

  “It’s okay.” Sean rushed to Haley. “She’s not going anywhere.”

  All thoughts of her attempted escape washed away as Sean helped Haley off the floor. Screaming like she won something, she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. For the last week she had been going insane. She had twenty-four-hour room service and a television with five hundred channels, but it was hell. Her cell phone had been taken away and she couldn’t make outgoing calls. She missed her mother more than anyone, but she missed Sean more than anyone could have thought, and it was him she was thinking of all week when she planned her escape.

  “How did you get here?” she asked.

  “What did you think you were going to do, escape?”

  “I can’t take it here, Sean. I know it’s good for me, but I can’t stand it. I can’t even talk on the phone.”

  “Well, that’s got to be worse than murder.”

  “Don’t tease me,” she said. “Just get me out of here.”

  “He’s going to need stitches.” The second guard helped his partner up. Blood was dripping from his forehead.

  Haley didn’t feel a bit of guilt. He was there to face a drug dealing killer, so a little nick on the head shouldn’t mean anything.

  “Send him down,” Sean said. “You stay here and I’ll stay with you.”

  “No way.” He reached for his radio. “I’m calling down for approved backup.”

  Haley turned around with her back to Sean. Looking at the guard, she pouted her lips and widened her eyes in that helpless way stupid men loved to see. “Please, Len.”

  As soon as Sean closed the door behind them, Haley was all over him. He couldn’t get his clothes off fast enough. They were going at each other like their lives depended on it, both feeling some kind of refreshing sanity. Haley wanted him so bad, she thought she would explode. One can only do so much for themselves she thought as she dragged him down to the floor with her. Sean was exactly what she needed; what she had needed for some time. For whatever reason, this guy did something for her and she needed him to do it now.

  “Where’s the bedroom?” Sean asked.

  “Who gives a damn,” she answered. “I’m right here, so what does anywhere else matter?”

  She had a point. With one last bit of reason in him, Sean remembered that he hadn’t locked the door behind him. Haley was right. It did make it a little more exciting.

  Walking through Bellagio’s casino, Carter was thinking of what to say to Avery. She was going to be angry that he was there in the first place, but he had to use this to his advantage. What he wanted from her was wrong, but this was Vegas and nothing really seemed wrong in this town. He’d spent countless weekends here losing a ton of money, drinking like a fish and doing things with women he wouldn’t even tell Michael. After he could talk some sense into Avery, providing she hadn’t lost all her money already, Carter was going to go to work on that wall she was building to hide the attraction he knew she felt for him.

  The second he was beginning to think it might be too late in the evening, he saw her. She was sitting at the roulette table with a mound of chips in front of her and a drink in her hand. Carter was turned on by the sense of abandon that seemed to encircle her. In the way she moved, the way she flipped her hair back and laughed out loud after winning another spin. The way her legs rubbed against each other showing she was feeling the Vegas effect; turned on by everything. This city was crazy.

  “Looks like you’re on a roll.”

  Flipping her hair back, she turned, expecting anything but what she saw. She almost fell out of the chair and Carter grabbed her by the wrist to keep her steady. She squinted, unable to remember how many drinks she’d had. Was it possible that after so long of thinking about nothing but Carter, she was beginning to hallucinate?

  She tried to speak and her mouth opened, but nothing came out. It was him all right. Standing there with that charming smile that told the world everything was going his way; that everything always went his way.

  “Do you believe in coincidences?” he asked.

  “After a few more drinks I might.” She turned away, not wanting him to see the smile that begged to show itself. She should be angry thinking of whatever it was he used to find out where she was. “You Chases are very challenged when it comes to minding your own business.”

  “That’s the good thing about being a Chase. Anything I want to know is my business.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  “It runs in my family. It’s really not my fault.”

  She cracked a smile reluctantly. “You were right. I am on a roll, so if you don’t mind.”

  “How much?” Carter wasn’t sure whether or not he should be worried by her nonplused reaction to him showing up.

  “Twelve grand.” Avery placed her bets at the last minute. The game seemed to be getting faster or maybe she was just getting slower.

  “Then maybe you should stop.” He reached for her chips, but she slapped his hand away. “These things always turn around, Avery.”

  “I know what I’m doing.” The dealer called out the number and slid her chips away. “See, you’re jinxing me.”

  “Have you paid off all your debt yet?”

  “Yes, Father.” She couldn’t think with him so close to her, but she didn’t really want him to leave. “I am debt free with a little bit left over.”

  “To start a new business, remember? That’s what you wanted and you’re going to lose it all.”

  She grabbed one hundred dollars’ worth of chips and reached for black twenty-seven, but Carter grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her arm back. She looked up at him and felt a rush of heat hit her at the angry look on his face. Even his impatience was attractive.

  “Carter, please.”

  “No.” Carter looked into her eyes. “What’s this about, Avery? It’s not like you.”

  “You don’t know me,” she said.

  “Then tell me.”

  All bets were final and Avery put her chips back down. “If black twenty-seven hits, I’m gonna slap you.”

  “What makes you think I wouldn’t like that?”

  Avery sent him a wicked grin. “You’ve already used that one on me.”

  “Did I?” He shrugged. “I’m hoping the more I say it, the better my chances you’ll actually do it.”

  “I’m not falling for your charm tonight. I’m here on a mission.”

  “To lose everything you have left?”

  “It’s my purpose,” she answered. “I paid off all the debt from the shop, all my bills, everything, and I just sat there wondering what I should do next.”

  “Waiting for a sign from God.” Carter wasn’t that religious. He preferred to use his mind to figure things out than wait for a sign from above.

  She wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with her or making fun of her. She was a little drunk and everything around her was moving a little faster than her brain worked. The direction her life was taking was spinning her in circles and she needed to stop thinking so hard. Just feel and it would come to her. That was when Vegas came to her. No rhyme or reason, but she was going to follow it and so far it was working out.

  “Yes,” she said. “A sign from God.”

  “God told you to come to Las Vegas?” Carter asked. “I can’t imagine it’s one of his favorite cities.”

  “Twenty-first-century Sodom and Gomorrah!” Avery yelled.

  Carter put his finger to his mouth. “You’re being too loud.”

  “Is it possible to be ‘too’ anything in this city?” She lifted her index finger, gesturing for him to come closer. She wanted to smell his strong clean scent after a day full of cheap cologne and cigarette smoke. “That’s what my father calls Vegas. Sodom and Gomorrah because…”

  “I know the story,” he answered. “Now, let’s go before you turn to salt.”

  “Why are you here?” she asked.

  “I guess it’s my purpose, too.”

  “What?”

  “You, Avery.”

  Her lips parted as his words sank in and anger and sadness came over her face, confusing him.

  “I don’t want your pity,” she said. “I know I’ve become pitiful, losing everything I’ve worked for, sacrificing my will to a man who doesn’t give a—”

  When his lips came down on hers, Avery almost fell off the chair. He grabbed her by the arms, pulling her closer, and she lit up like a stick of dynamite. Her hands slowly slid up his arms and behind his neck as the ache in her belly exploded.

  “Does that feel like pity to you?” he asked, feeling his chest rise and fall from his heavy breathing. Just a taste.

  Avery looked away. Who did she think she was, telling herself she could flirt with this man and not compromise her principles? She had already compromised everything else and there was no way she would get out of his grasp with any sense of honor about herself. She wanted him too much.

  “Leave me alone.” She swept her chips into her bucket, suddenly feeling so tired that she wasn’t sure she could make it to her room.

  “I can’t do that, Avery.” Carter wished he could go back to the days when women chased him. Avery changed all of that.

  This exercise in humility was new for him. Even when he wanted a woman he shouldn’t, he always got her sooner or later. More often sooner, but that wasn’t going to happen here. Avery was fighting some demons inside of her and she had the spirit and will to win and that was more character than he was used to in any woman he’d ever wanted.

  “Fine.” She stood up, backing away from him. “Then I’ll leave you alone.”

  “I don’t think you can do that anymore than I can,” he said.

  He was right, but Avery wasn’t going to give in to that now. She might have only a pinch of pride left, but she was going to stand on it. All she could do was hope Carter would become impatient and lose interest in her.

  “If you follow, I’ll call security on you and I don’t think you want to get in trouble for stalking me while you’re a suspect in my attempted murder.”

  Lot’s wife looking back turned her into a pillar of salt, right? Avery kept on walking, fearing if she looked back at Carter, she would melt completely away. A certain calm came over her as she realized the anxiety she had been feeling all day was now satiated. All this time, she was waiting for something and she’d gotten it. He kissed her.

  “What are you doing?” Haley rolled her naked body to the end of the bed where Sean was sitting.

  “I’m getting dressed.” Sean leaned down to kiss her.

  “Only two rounds?” she asked. “I expected better out of a younger man. I mean, I’ve been with older men who can—”

  “Haley!” He held up his hand to stop her. This woman didn’t think for a second before she spoke. “I don’t want to hear that.”

  “What’s the problem?” Haley was definitely going to have to break him of his fragile ego.

  “There isn’t a problem.” He pulled up his shorts. He wished she would put some clothes on. Looking at her made him want to stay.

  Haley sat up in the bed, not bothering to cover herself. She got a kick out of how her incredible body made him nervous. He was good in bed, not the best, but something to work with. She would have to teach him a few things, but he had incredible potential. There was a bad boy underneath that holier than thou wrapping and she salivated at a chance to bring that bad boy to his knees.

  “You know what I could really use right now?” she asked.

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “Some weed.” She rubbed her foot against his back. “You should have some, don’t you?”

  He looked at her like she was out of her mind.

  “Cops always have the best stuff,” she said. “That’s what I hear, at least.”

  Hearing a door slam hard, Sean jumped up from the bed. Reaching for his gun from his holster on the chair, he turned back to Haley. “Get dressed.”

  Haley wrapped the covers around her, but was too scared to move.

  Sean walked slowly toward the bedroom door, but it opened abruptly and he raised his gun only a few feet from Detective Davis’s head.

  “Put it down.” Davis hadn’t even blinked. He looked Sean up and down and then at Haley in the bed. “Isn’t this nice?”

  “What are you doing here?” Haley asked.

  “I heard you tried to escape again.” Davis helped himself to a chair just as Sean grabbed his jeans off the back.

  In his late thirties, Davis had dark Irish features with black hair and piercing blue eyes. With an extra ten pounds all focused on his stomach, he didn’t look like much of a genius but a man who was good at the one thing he did.

  “He needed stitches.”

  Haley laid back. “I’m busy right now, so if you don’t mind.”

  “I mind a lot,” he said. “And so would your father. Both your fathers.”

  Sean zipped his pants up. “Davis, no one has to hear about this.”

  “How did you get up…?”

  Sean turned around to see what distracted Davis from finishing his own sentence and saw Haley getting out of the bed stark naked.

  “Haley!” Sean positioned himself in Davis’s line of sight. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting dressed like you said.” Going to the closet, she reached inside and pulled out a terry-cloth bathrobe.

  “Don’t worry, kid.” Davis leaned back in the chair. “She’s done it before.”

  “She’s not doing it again.” Sean glared at Haley, who stuck her tongue out at him as she returned to the bed.

  “Detective,” she said. “I’m hungry. Why don’t you go down and order some dinner for me?”

  “I think I’d rather call the captain and tell him about this little sex romp.”

  “Davis,” Sean said. “This is complicated, okay?”

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Haley said. Both men looked at Haley as if she were joking but she was dead serious. “I have something you could use.”

  “Haley, don’t hold out,” Sean ordered. “This is your life we’re talking about.”

 

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