Just the little tell that her mind had been in the same gutter with his gave him the push to lead them up the short walkway to the door. The quicker they got this over with, the quicker he could get her alone and see what she was wearing under that skirt.
He rapped on the door sharply and it swung open a few seconds later.
One of the housekeepers he’d seen at the gala stood with her purse in hand and offered them a polite smile. "Good evening, Mr. Callahan. Mr. Hannigan is upstairs in the game room. I can show you-”
"No, no. You're clearly on your way out. We can show ourselves up."
She glanced at her watch and nodded. "I appreciate it. I have to pick my son up from soccer practice."
He tugged Sadie to the side and waved to the open door. "Please, go ahead. Have a great night."
She scurried out and down the walkway, and he closed the door behind her.
So far, it seemed like everything was going according to Hannigan's usual schedule. The house was now almost certainly devoid of servants. All he needed to do now was get Sadie entrenched in the game and then he could put back the jewelry Sadie had taken.
"You think he's got enough space, though," Sadie murmured, voice dripping with sarcasm. "First time I was here I got so lost, I was about to start scouting locations to pitch a tent and forage for food."
Jake chuckled and led her toward the grand staircase to the left.
"It's a lot of space for one man," he agreed, "but I think he needs the room for his massive head."
Her laughter spread over him like a blanket and he clutched her arm tighter. They were both doing a fair job of making light of this whole thing, but the fact was that this was a pretty big night for the both of them. He was getting to the final chapter in a years’-long tome that could end in him getting his life back. If things went right, he was only one more step away from avenging his father. Maybe then, he'd be able to sleep a full night. It would be the first in almost a decade, and it sparkled like a diamond, almost in reach.
As for Sadie, this was clearly the score she needed to get back on track. He and his family had lived through lean times when his dad passed, but he'd never been truly poor. He tried to imagine the fear and stress of not knowing how to pay for the health care of someone he loved.
No matter what happened tonight, even if Sadie's skills failed her and she didn't make the money she needed, he would find a way to get her to take it from him. It was the least he could do.
"Show time," she muttered through the side of her mouth as they reached the top of the stairs and turned down the hall toward the poker room.
He cleared his mind of everything but the task at hand and ran over the plan one last time. Get in, lounge around, chat and get the drinks flowing. Sadie was going to be pushing various cocktails she'd tried in her travels, and acting as bartender whenever she got the opportunity. It would take a strong man to deny a woman who looked like that when she offered him a beverage...or anything else, for that matter.
Once the game got under way and the conversation and liquor started flowing, she was going to lose a few spectacularly large pots before slowly but surely start getting her mojo back. Right in the midst of the merriment, she was going to ask him to get her purse from the car. He’d slip away and do his part. Then, he'd return to the game, they'd stick in for another hour or two and then beg off.
Maybe if things weren't going well with the card game for her, he could get into a hand and lose to her on purpose. She might argue with him about it later and try to give the money back, but he'd deal with that when the time came. What was the saying? Better to ask forgiveness than permission?
"Countess, you look gorgeous tonight." They hadn't even stepped through the poker room door before Alistair was striding toward them, eyeing Sadie up and down, his gaze lingering long enough on her breasts that Jake's fists went tense. He took a steadying breath and forced a tight smile.
"Callahan," Alistair said with a nod. "Glad to see you came back for more. We were worried you'd had enough." He looked to the other men at the table for his laugh and they obliged him quickly.
Jake smiled and shrugged. "Not yet. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I feel like that’s about to change. I brought a good luck charm."
He quickly introduced "The Countess" to the other men around the table, and then drew out a chair for her to sit in.
“I was disappointed that you disappeared so quickly the night of the gala, Countess. I would love to have spent more time with you. I hope I didn’t leave you feeling neglected?”
“Not at all,” Sadie said with a winning smile. “I wasn’t feeling myself. Jet lag, I’m afraid. But I do so appreciate being invited back to your beautiful home to play cards.”
“I was surprised to hear you played,” Alistair admitted. “I didn’t know Hold ‘Em was big in Bavaria.”
“Not very, but it’s huge in Vegas. And I love Vegas.”
She and Hannigan shared a commiserating smile as she took her seat.
“Can I freshen anyone’s drink while I’m still up?” Jake asked. Several of the men, including Alistair, held out their glasses.
As he poured from a crystal decanter, Sadie worked her magic, charming every last one of the bastards with her bubbling personality and effervescent charisma. By the time the chatter slowed and the cards were flying again, Jake was pretty sure any one of them would have left their wives for her if she only asked them to.
On one hand, it was a great start. But on the other? He was practically quaking with jealousy. A few of the guys were harmless enough, but Alistair and a man who he’d introduced as his lawyer were both leering at her in a way that made Jake’s skin crawl.
He managed to keep it on lockdown, though, and soon they were in a comfortable rhythm. Playing a hand or two, which Sadie inevitably lost, before one of them would get up and make more drinks.
She’d just lost her fourth decent-sized hand, pushing an eight thousand dollar pot over to Hannigan, when the deal came back around to her again.
“Put up your blinds, gentlemen,” she said with a grin.
As she shuffled, Jake watched from the corner of his eye. He had enough confidence in her that he didn’t expect to see any suspicious moves, but it was hard not to watch her. She handled the cards beautifully, riffling them into a high and even bridge before tossing them in the air one by one to land neatly in front of each player.
As he’d expected, she won that hand. Hannigan wasn’t in it, so he cheered her on and congratulated her when she raked in the pot. She won three more, even when the deal was no longer hers, and began to slowly and quietly amass a growing pile of chips.
“Jake, would you be so kind as to retrieve my purse?” Sadie asked, her gaze locking with his for a brief moment. “I’d like to powder my nose and seem to have forgotten it in the car.”
He’d known it was coming, but his gut clenched at her words and for some inane reason, it was on the tip of his tongue to ask her to join him. Or tell her that he recalled seeing it in the foyer of her house when he’d picked her up. Something about leaving her here in the lion’s den, even for a few minutes, didn’t sit well with him.
She noted his hesitance and shot him a pointed look. He was being silly. Things were going exactly according to plan. Everyone was mellow, the men were tipsy and it seemed like the perfect time to step away and take care of business.
In fact, things were going so well, if they stayed on pace, it wouldn’t be long before he could get Sadie out of there and back into his arms.
Yep, another hour, maybe less, and they’d be home free…
***
“Kings full?” Hannigan shook his head and tossed his hand in the muck. “Take it down. You’re on fire tonight, Countess.”
Although his words sounded jovial enough, his smile was a little tighter than before and Sadie made a mental note to fold the next few hands.
“The card gods are smiling on me today.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “Now, I’m about to
make my infamously delicious Rusty Nail. Would anyone like one?”
At the chorus of affirmatives, she made her way over to the wet bar and began lining up fresh glasses, blocking out the male chatter behind her.
Last she’d taken a quick mental count, she’d estimated about forty thousand dollars in chips sitting in front of her. She could barely contain her relief. That would pay the rent for a year and leave her enough cash leftover to keep a good chunk in the bank in case Clarissa’s health took a turn. Maybe they could take some cooking classes together or she could enroll her sister in some college courses in the fall. The future was wide open, and the ember of hope that had been burning in her heart bloomed to a full-fledged flame.
They were actually going to be okay. Great, even, and who knew? This time next year, she could have a whole new life. Clarissa back at home and cancer-free. A career that she didn’t have to hide from the world.
And maybe even someone to share her happiness with…
She shoved that thought away as she measured out some Drambuie into each glass. Even if things went off without a hitch, Jake’s work wasn’t done. His PI still hadn’t found anything solid in the files Jake had copied, and so far, he’d only intercepted a handful of emails that even merited looking into. It could be weeks before Hannigan tripped up and handed them something incriminating enough to end this, and that was if Mike didn’t get enough on his end for a warrant that would bring Jake’s plans to a screeching halt.
He had one goal in life, and he hadn’t accomplished it yet. Odds were, after tonight, he’d be back at it with the same single-minded determination that he’d had for the past seven years. She had to start preparing mentally, or his pulling away was going to knock her flat on her ass just when she was starting to feel like happiness was on the horizon.
“Hey there.”
Alistair’s voice sounded in her ear and she froze as an icy trickle of dread ran through her.
“Hello,” she murmured, shooting him a quick smile over her shoulder before turning back to face the bar. “Did you come to lend a hand? I’m almost done, so if you wait one second you can take over these three and I’ll get the rest.”
She was rambling. She knew it, but he was so close that his hot, whiskey-meets-garlic breath washed over her neck and she could barely suppress her revulsion. She needed to focus on the positive. If Alistair was here and engaged with her that meant that the coast was clear for Jake to take care of business.
“I can be your errand boy, if you like,” Hannigan agreed. “As long as I get to stay and watch you work.”
She plucked the top off the ice bucket and scooped a few cubes into each glass. “I appreciate it.”
"You know, you really do look fantastic in that skirt."
"Thank you," she said, swallowing hard. The other men were talking sports in the background and were clearly unaware of the exchange between the two of them. She wet her dry lips and tried to think of something else to busy her hands with. She didn’t want to turn around, but Alistair didn't give her an option. He gripped her hip and spun her to face him.
"I know you came here with Callahan, but I see the way you look at me,” his voice was a near whisper as he leaned into her. “He and I, we're acquaintances, not friends. If you left here tonight with him and then came back later..."
"Oh, I'm not certain-”
She broke off with a gasp, because suddenly his face went red and his hands were everywhere. One on her ass, yanking her close until she could feel his erection grinding into her, the other anchoring her by the back of the head as his face dipped low, thin, dry lips coming down toward hers.
"What is that?" he asked, his bleary blue eyes growing sharper by the second.
Her stomach flipped over as she realized that he’d felt it. The card she’d slipped beneath the waistband of her Catwoman underwear.
She pushed at his chest and took a step back, but it was too late. He was grappling under the hem of her shirt, pawing at her skirt.
"Countess Van Bergen," he growled as he held up the ace of spades between two fingers. "Of Bavaria. A fucking cheating slut, yes?" His eyes were like two slits now, snakelike and dead, but his smile was what chilled her to the core.
Her whole body started to tremble as he roughly grabbed her upper arm and squeezed.
“And I imagine you’re nobody’s Countess, right? You played me well, slut. Can’t call the cops, but it seems like some payback is in order here.” He ran a finger over the neckline of her blouse, and she knew the time had come to make a move, but before she could decide whether to gouge his eyes or try for his balls, a low voice sounded from across the room.
"Let her go, Hannigan."
Jake.
As quietly as he’d spoken, his words carried like a gunshot, and the room went silent as the men at the table finally realized something was amiss.
Relief warred with terror as she turned toward the doorway to see Jake standing there with her purse in hand, his face a mask of barely controlled fury.
Jesus Christ, he was going to blow it.
"Let her go?” Alistair spat, the grip on her arm only getting tighter. “She was cheating us.” He held up the card for Jake to see, but Jake didn’t so much as blink.
Blood pounded in her ears as her mind raced, searching desperately for some solution that would jar him back to reality…remind him of the plan.
“Take your money back. You can even keep my stake. I’ll go quietly and you can-”
But she was too late. Alistair’s face had gone momentarily slack with shock as he stared at Jake.
"You’re in on this? You and your fucking whore." He tossed the card on the floor and grabbed her by the hair, wrenching her head back to hiss into her face, spittle flying as he did. "Nobody steals from Alistair Hannigan."
One second, she was imprisoned and wincing with pain, the next she was free, staring in shock as Alistair went down like he'd been shot between the eyes by an unseen sniper.
There was no gunman, though.
Just Jake, standing over the other man, fist cocked, eyes blazing silver fury.
"We’ve got to go," she whispered, crossing her arms over her stomach to quell the rising nausea. He was quaking with rage, and while she was relieved to be freed, she could tell that the ramifications hadn't dawned on him yet.
It was over. If his plan to collect intel through Hannigan’s computer failed, he would have nothing. She had just cost him the phony investment deal and any future chance of getting the inside track again.
He’d made Hannigan his enemy tonight after working for years to become his friend, and it was her fault.
Saliva pooled in her mouth as her stomach lurched. He would hate her for this, and she didn’t blame him.
The four men at the table had pushed their chairs back and were heading into the fray when she stepped over Alistair’s prone figure and grabbed Jake's arm.
"We've got to get out of here." She tugged, but he was like a brick wall, tense and straining the opposite way, obviously still debating whether he was done with Alistair, who peered up at him blearily, barely conscious. "It's not worth it. I'm fine, let's go."
"I'll have my ear to the ground, and if I hear that you ever put your hand on a woman like that again, I'll find you, you squirrely son of a bitch," he snarled.
Then he let her lead him away. The fact that they didn’t even make an attempt to collect any of their money was obviously enough of an incentive that the other men let them leave unimpeded. By the time they got into Jake’s car, she was trembling from head to toe, the dump of adrenaline finally fading, leaving behind shock and fear.
"I’m sorry. I- I don't know what happened. I didn't even realize he'd come up behind me." She turned in the seat and stared at his unyielding profile. He hadn't said a word since they'd left the poker room and she couldn't take the stony silence anymore. "Jake, I'm so sorry."
"Stop, all right?" His tone was curt, but not cruel as he pulled the car onto the street. "It wa
sn't your fault. He's a cock-sucking snake. An immoral, woman-hating bastard. I shouldn't have let you get involved in this from the start. That was my mistake, not yours."
"I all but blackmailed you into letting me come with you,” she murmured miserably. “Then, I wasn’t able to keep the card hidden. How could that possibly be your fault?"
"I've always done this alone.” His knuckles went bone-white as he gripped wheel tighter. “It's taken me years to get this close, and I was stupid to bring someone else into the mix. This was all a huge mistake."
And there it was.
She sucked in a breath at the ice pick-stab of pain to her heart. She couldn't blame him one bit, considering the outcome, but it still killed her to know he probably wished he’d never laid eyes on her.
She squeezed her eyes closed to blink back the sudden rush of tears. Another half hour before they got to her apartment. How many hurtful things could he say in that amount of time?
Sooo many.
And she deserved every one of them…
Chapter Twelve
What a selfish prick.
He'd been so focused on his all-consuming revenge scheme that he had put her in harm’s way and had gotten her manhandled and threatened with rape, or something close to it.
Fresh rage poured through him, heating his blood anew and he resisted the urge to look at her. She would see his feelings. They were written all over his face, and she had enough to deal with right now. This ill-conceived plan had not only cost her emotionally, but the money she'd been counting on for Clarissa was gone, left on the table back at Alistair’s. Weeks of work on her part that had kept her from doing other jobs to make ends meet, and nothing to show for it.
"About the money," he said, breaking the silence between them.
"I know. I cost you twenty thousand dollars back there," she murmured miserably.
He glanced her way and was shocked by the broken expression on her face. "I don’t mean the money I left behind. I meant your money."
"Considering what else was lost tonight, that was the least of it."
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