Dead Man's Hand: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 1)

by Giulia Lagomarsino

  “I can bring that in later. I have to head back for her suitcases anyway.”

  Ciara blew out a long breath. “So, what do I do now?”

  The cop looked at her sympathetically. “Well, there are some women’s shelters in Denver. I can take you there, put you in touch with some people that can help you get back on your feet.”

  She pursed her lips and nodded slightly. “What about the hospital bill? I have no way to pay for it.”

  “The hospital will work something out with you,” the doctor assured her. “Now, let’s get you in a cast.”

  I stood, having nothing else to do now that I knew nothing more than before I brought her here. “Well, I’ll go get your things and bring them back.”

  Ciara barely looked at me, her eyes downcast as she stared at the floor, probably wondering where she went from here. I knew that lost feeling, but it wasn’t my business. I didn’t need the hassle of a woman following me around. I had my own life to get sorted. When she didn’t say anything, I walked out of the hospital and headed for my truck.

  I made my way back home, glad that sometime in the last eight hours, a plow had gone up the mountain and salted the roads. They weren’t much better, but at least it wasn’t quite as slick. I grabbed her stuff at the cabin, making sure nothing was left behind and headed for the truck. As I drove back into town, I thought about those hidden documents in her suitcase, wondering if I should tell her about them. It might help her. Then again, it might put her in more danger.

  With her attitude, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had gotten involved with some bad people in Vegas. If she knew about what was in that envelope, she might go looking for answers, and then she’d end up dead. On the other hand, not knowing could also land her in hot water. It was better that she knew who might be coming after her.

  But then I thought about the second fake ID I found in that envelope. Why would she have two fake IDs? I shook my head. Something wasn’t adding up, and I didn’t want to be part of it in any way. I had a feeling that the more I dug, the more I wouldn’t like what I found. And I’d had enough bad shit happen over the years. I didn’t need more.

  I pulled into the hospital parking lot and walked in with her suitcases and purse. When I walked into her room, she smiled slightly.

  “You just missed the cop. He thought he’d hang around just in case he could get some more information out of me.”

  “Like what?” I narrowed my eyes, wondering if maybe she told him that I asked her who sent her as I held a gun on her.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I think he thought I was lying about the whole memory thing.”

  “If you are, you’re doing it very well.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate the compliment.” She glanced down at the bags and her smile fell slightly. “Thanks for bringing those for me.”

  I nodded, not saying anything else. It annoyed me that I was even still here. I should be back at the cabin, getting shit done around the house, not sitting here talking with this woman.

  “Well, you have your stuff. Good luck.”

  I turned and walked away, but as the door shut, I glanced back through the window. I watched as sadness crept over her face, her tough exterior deteriorating slightly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek against them as she stared out the window.

  I walked away. What happened to her was none of my business. She had options, people that could help her. I wasn’t responsible for her. Hell, she was lucky that I went after her that night and saved her ass. I should have just let her die. It wouldn’t have bothered me at all. I had enough blood on my hands that one more person wouldn’t affect me either way.

  I walked out of the hospital and got back in my truck. As I sat down, I briefly thought about going back inside, just to make sure she was okay, but instead, I turned the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. I turned on the radio to drown out my thoughts. Another snow storm was coming. Big fucking surprise. I had plenty of food, but I’d have to make sure that I had enough wood brought in and stacked up against the house. Winters out here were brutal.

  Ciara’s face flashed in my mind. I imagined her walking into that women’s shelter, with her luggage and nothing else to her name. She’d sleep on one of those hard metal beds with a lumpy mattress, and eat whatever soup and bread they’d serve for the day. I’d been in a few shelters before, never to stay the night. It wasn’t comfortable or any way to start a new life. But it would get her by for the time being.

  And what if she doesn’t remember who she is? Where does she go from there?

  I chastised myself for even thinking about her. She didn’t matter to me. She was just a woman that happened to cross paths with me. And by what I found, she had gotten herself into trouble, and that was the last thing I needed. I took the road heading back up into the mountains and turned up the radio. I did my best to drown out any thoughts of her, of how pathetic she looked sitting on that bed, knowing she had nowhere to go. I pulled over where her car went off the road and stared at the wreckage her car caused as it tumbled down the hill. I remembered the look on her face as she realized I wasn’t going to be able to pull her out of the car.

  I had done my part. I saved her life. I got her out of that car and to the hospital before she died. That was all that was required of me. I continued the drive home, but there wasn’t a single thing I could do around the cabin that kept me from thinking of her, from wondering who she really was and what she was up to. By the time I headed to bed, all I could see was her lying in that damn hospital bed. And when three o’clock in the morning rolled around and I still hadn’t fallen asleep, I knew it was pointless. I wouldn’t be able to just forget about her. I needed to know her secrets, and know why she was on the road so close to me. I had to know who she was running from, and if they would be back for her. The way she was going, she wouldn’t last five minutes on the streets.

  “Goddamnit!” I swore, slamming my coffee cup in the sink. Resting my hands against the edge, it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to walk away. I put my boots on and grabbed my coat as soon as the first light of dawn broke. Whether I wanted her in my house or not, she was coming back here. I had no idea what I would do with her or what I would do if she never regained her memory. But we were linked somehow, and the best way to figure that out was with her by my side.

  10

  Ciara

  I was bandaged up, casted, and filled with antibiotics, but I didn’t feel any better. I felt low. I put up a good front with Antonio. His fighting spirit drew something out in me, making me feel stronger. But sitting here, waiting for the cop to come back and take me to the women’s shelter, I felt so alone. What would happen to me from here on out? What was a women’s shelter like? I had no clue. And who were these people they were going to set me up with? What kind of job would I do? I didn’t know what kind of work experience I had. And what about my driver’s license? Would I have to take the test over again since I had no memory?

  I rubbed at my forehead, feeling the pounding headache still hammering away in my head. I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep. I hoped they would decide to keep me one more night. Maybe they would discover something in my head that was preventing me from knowing who I was or something. But as the sun rose in the morning and the nurse walked in with her happy face that made me want to punch her, I knew I was leaving today. They discharged me, sending me on my way with a number to contact the billing department. I didn’t even want to know how much it would cost to cover the tests they ran on me.

  Staring down at the clunky cast on my arm, I felt anger build inside me. I wasn’t going to whine about this or be some wilting flower. I could handle this just fine. So I had a gimp arm and my leg still throbbed. Plenty of people probably had worse problems.

  “Ready to go?” the cop asked cheerily as he approached.

  I looked up at him and nodded, sighing when I tried to pick up my bags. He didn’t even attempt to help, not the way Antonio had.


  “Thanks for the help, asshole,” I muttered as he walked toward the door. Struggling to tuck one suitcase under my arm while I reached for the handle of the other one, I felt the one under my arm slipping, but it didn’t clatter to the floor like I expected.

  My eyes shot up, expecting to see the cop, but instead, Antonio stood in front of me. He seemed…confused, or unsure of what he was doing. He grabbed the bag from me and then picked up the second.

  “Come on.”

  He turned and headed for the door as I stood there gaping. Snapping into gear, I hurried after him, shoving the purse over my shoulder. The cop held up his hand as we approached.

  “Whoa, where are you going?”

  “Home,” was the only response Antonio gave.

  “Ma’am, are you sure about this?”

  “Hell yes,” I said, following Antonio, who had only momentarily stopped to wait for me.

  “But what about the shelter?” the cop called.

  “Tell them to fuck off,” I shouted over my shoulder.

  I could have gone with the cop. I knew I would have been fine. I would have fumbled through with my broken wrist and made the best of the situation, but going with Antonio was the wiser choice. He liked to appear all cold and stony, but I liked that about him. It was like I fed off his strength. So, every time he threw a cold stare my way, I stared him down and dared him to give me his worst.

  I followed Antonio to the truck, watching as he put my suitcases in the back and then stopped to look at me, his eyes roaming over my body.

  “What?”

  “You need a new coat.”

  He got in the truck without another word, so I quickly followed, wondering why he even came back for me. But before I could ask, he was pulling into some kind of outdoor store.

  “Let’s go.”

  I was beginning to understand that this man gave commands. He didn’t ask questions or expect me to converse. He just told me what we were doing and that was the end of it. So, I got out and followed him inside as he walked briskly back to the women’s section. He shuffled through the coats on display until he found a bright orange one. I grimaced at it, not liking the color.

  “Can’t we just get something black?” His eyes snapped up to mine. “Not that I’m not grateful,” I said quickly. “It’s just so flashy.”

  “That’s the point. I live in the mountains. I need to be able to see you if you go outside.”

  Oh. That made sense. After grabbing a very warm hat and apparently, the warmest gloves a person could own, he dragged me over to the shoe department and picked out a pair of winter boots for me. After trying them on, having him lace them up, and then check the toe like I was a toddler, he deemed them worthy. I felt like every time I tried to say something, he just moved on to the next thing, which was long underwear. He tossed a couple pairs into the cart that somehow appeared out of nowhere. Seriously, one minute we were walking, and the next, he had a shopping cart.

  My leg was beginning to throb from walking so much, and my headache was pounding even harder than before. Luckily, he only tossed a few more things in the cart before we headed to check out. Again, he carried everything out to the truck, tossing it in the back before getting in.

  “Where was your prescription sent?” he asked.

  “Um…” I pulled out the paperwork, but he snatched it out of my hands and read it over. I rolled my eyes, wondering why I liked his commanding way so much. But there was only so much I could take. If things were always going to go his way, we were going to have a real problem. I didn’t mind that he was dark and broody, or that his eyes were cold and calculating at any given moment. But I wouldn’t be able to tolerate being told what to do every minute of the day. That had to go.

  “When we get back to your cabin, you’ll have to tell me what I can do to pay you back.”

  He slowly turned to me, his eyes narrowing slightly.

  “For all the crap you just bought me.”

  “I have enough money.”

  “Well…that’s nice to know, but I wasn’t really asking about your financial situation. I pay my own way.”

  “Yeah? And how would you know that?”

  I was about to give him some snappy remark when I realized that I didn’t actually know. “Well, I don’t, but as of now, that’s the way this is going to be.”

  “Or what?”

  “Or I’ll just go back to the shelter. I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

  “Really?” he snorted. “If I hadn’t come back for you, you’d have been—”

  “I’d have found a way to make it,” I snapped.

  His cold eyes slowly looked me up and down before returning to the road. I knew he didn’t like my defiance, but that was just too damn bad. One way or another, we were going to have to find a way to get along, or I would leave. I stared out the window until we came to a stop in front of a drug store.

  Climbing out, I did the best I could to hobble along behind him. He walked fast, way faster than I could keep up with, heading straight to the back where the pharmacy was.

  “Can I help you?” the woman behind the counter asked.

  “Prescription for Ciara Donnelly.”

  “Do you have an ID on you?”

  I pulled it out and handed it over, then people-watched as she grabbed my prescription. After paying, I thought we would leave, but instead, he grabbed a basket and started leading me around the store.

  “What are we getting?” I asked.

  “Medicine for your head.”

  “My—”

  How did he know I had a headache?

  “You keep rubbing your head,” he said absently as he looked over the options. “And you’re not going to want to take the pain medicine they prescribed for long.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it knocks you out.”

  I nodded, again just standing there as he took over and did everything for me. After he got what he wanted, he led me down another aisle…the feminine products aisle.

  I quirked an eyebrow at him. “Are you going to pick out my tampons too?”

  “Get what you need now. I don’t come into town often.”

  “How often?”

  From the look he shot me, I just needed to pick up a couple months of supplies. He looked like he would murder me if he had to answer another question. I grinned to myself as I grabbed several boxes and some pads to go with them. Hopefully that was the last of it. I was ready to get back to the cabin.

  Thankfully, he made his way to the register, and to my relief, the cashier looked terrified of Antonio. So, it wasn’t just me. He scared people with just a look. I was beginning to think I was going crazy, but now that I looked around, I saw most of the people in town were giving him a wide berth.

  The drive back to his cabin was long, and even though I knew he hated to talk, I couldn’t stand the silence. My whole head was filled with silence, filled with blank spaces of things I didn’t know.

  “Why did you come back for me?”

  His fists tightened around the steering wheel for a moment. “Would you prefer that I left you to go to the women’s shelter?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t mind your company, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute. “There’s another storm coming in.”

  I looked out the front windshield, watching the overcast sky for a moment. That was it. There was no answer. There was no explanation of why he changed his mind. But I knew a storm was coming in. Well, at least that was something.

  Irritated that he wouldn’t answer my question, I got out and slammed the truck door harder than I meant to. In a flash, he was in front of me, his body caging mine in against the truck. His hands were braced against the truck on either side of my head. Cold eyes stared at me, and I once again found myself getting lost in their beauty.

  “You have a problem?” he growled.

  I glared back at him, refusing to be cowed by his hard stare. “
Is it really that difficult for you to answer my question?”

  “If I wanted to tell you, I would.”

  “So, I’m just supposed to believe that you came all the way back for me…for a woman that’s just a pain in the ass, that couldn’t do a damn thing to help you out right now. You can’t answer one simple question?”

  His eyes darkened slightly and his body shifted toward mine, but not in a sexual way. In a predatory way. I felt like I was the rabbit and he was going in for the winter kill.

  “Let’s get one thing straight right now. I never explain myself to anyone.”

  The low rumble of his voice sent a shock of anticipation down my spine. I had the sudden urge to lean into him, to kiss him, but he would probably get angry with me for that.

  “Understood?”

  “Is there another choice?” I spat.

  His eyes narrowed slightly, then he pushed off the truck and flung open the back to grab bags. I stood there for a moment, my heart racing a little faster in my chest now that he was gone. Limping behind him, I followed him into the house and ignored the way his body moved, and the way it affected me.

  11

  Antonio

  I hated explaining myself. I’ve never in my life had to explain something to someone under me. In the Family, I only had two people in front of me, my father and my brother. After I killed Alessandro, and my father was too sick to run the family, I basically took over. Nobody questioned my orders or asked asinine questions. They said ‘yes, sir’ and did their fucking jobs.

  But Ciara wasn’t one of my soldiers. She was just a woman that I should have left at the hospital. When she asked why I came back for her, I didn’t have an answer to give her. I didn’t know why I had turned around. It couldn’t be her innocence, because I was pretty sure she was far from innocent based on what I found in her suitcase. It could have been that fierce look in her eyes that I knew all too well. But still, none of that accounted for my irrational decision to bring her to live with me, or the shopping spree I went on afterward to make sure she had what she needed to survive the winter.