Stacking the Deck (A Betting on Romance Novel Book 2)

by Cheri Allan

  Carter cut through the sea of murmuring, gawking bystanders as they took pictures of the commotion with their cell phones. He strode toward Liz, his sole thought that he was to blame for this. He shouldn’t have left her. He should have at least gotten her home. Now she was standing there like a deer caught in the headlights, and it was all because he’d impulsively stalked out and gotten half-way home before he was calm enough to recognize he’d overreacted.

  “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to stay where you—”

  “Jeff!” Carter bellowed over the shoulder of the young officer holding him at bay. “Jeff! What the hell’s going on?”

  Jeff Dayton closed the rear door of the squad car and strode over. “Later, Carter. We’re in the middle of an arrest.”

  “You’re arresting Liz? For what?”

  “I didn’t do anything! I swear!” Liz asserted to the nearest officer. She was shaking, he noted, and her face was unusually pale with two high spots of color on her cheeks. “Dan was walking me out. I don’t even know what was in that baggy. It wasn’t drugs was it? Was it drugs?”

  “Liz, stop talking,” Carter advised as calmly as he could over the excited chatter of the crowd.

  “Sir,” the kid cop warned him.

  “What?” Liz asked, craning her neck to see Carter.

  More people had crowded out of the hall to see what was going on, including an agitated blonde in a red dress.

  “Dan!” Valerie yelled, screeching over the crowd and practically body-slamming Jeff Dayton in her attempt to scream at her ex-husband. “Dan!” she yelled, pounding on the squad car window. “How could you? How could you be so stupid?!”

  “Ma’am!” Jeff barked. “Hands off the squad car!”

  Valerie glared at Jeff and returned to bellowing through the window.

  “Stop talking until we get this all straightened out,” Carter repeated over the din.

  Liz blinked. “Am I in trouble?” she asked, her voice uneven. “I didn’t do—”

  “Ma’am, in the car, please,” the young officer said.

  Carter’s fists clenched at his sides as he watched Liz slide into the second squad car. Her eyes sought his helplessly.

  “We’ll work it out there. I’ll meet you at the station,” he promised as the officer closed the door.

  “Do you know who that woman is?” someone asked at his elbow.

  Carter watched the cruiser with Liz pull away. “Yeah. Liz Beacon.”

  “Is that short for Elizabeth?”

  Carter turned, only dimly aware of the man beside him, notepad in hand. “Screw yourself, Flanders. She didn’t do anything.”

  The newspaperman smiled. “Just looking for a caption for my photo,” he grinned. “Thanks.”

  Carter strode toward his motorcycle and threw his leg over. So much for showing Liz how much fun she’d have tonight. He gunned the engine and squealed out of the parking lot.

  Minutes later, he was throwing the door to the police station wide. “I need to speak to Jeff Dayton,” he informed the deputy on duty as calmly as he could manage.

  “I’m sorry, sir. Officer Dayton is not available right now.”

  “I need to speak with him before he speaks to Elizabeth Beacon.”

  “Are you her lawyer?”

  Carter shoved a hand through his hair. Banging this kid’s head into the wall, as much as it was tempting, would probably not help the situation. “No. But if you could please tell him Carter McIntyre is here and that I have information he might find useful, I’d appreciate that.”

  The young officer nodded and left him alone. Moments later, Jeff appeared. “Carter, this had better be good. I’ve got—”

  “Oh, cut the crap! You know Liz isn’t involved in any of this.”

  “Sir,” Jeff interrupted, “this is an active investigation. If you have any information you’d like to share, I’m happy to hear it, otherwise—”

  “In private,” Carter agreed.

  Jeff wordlessly opened the security door and let Carter through. “I’ll just be a minute,” he said to the other officer before leading to an empty room down the hall. He shut the door behind them, turned on Carter. “Christ, Carter! I don’t care if I did date your sister back in high school, you can’t just waltz in and—”

  “Liz didn’t do anything wrong,” Carter interrupted, “you and I both know that. She’s as squeaky clean as they come. Plus, she’s only just gotten back to Sugar Falls. She’s been gone for years. She’s not a user and she’s certainly not a dealer.”

  “John Beacon is her brother.”

  Carter blew out an impatient breath. “That’s not her fault.”

  “And you were once friends with John. Are you still?”

  Carter narrowed his eyes. “Are you asking that as Jeff Dayton or Officer Dayton?”

  “I’m on duty.”

  “The answer is no—Jeff. I have nothing to hide. I hadn’t seen John for ages until he showed up at Liz’s parent’s house this week.”

  “Where’s he living now?”

  “No clue.”

  “Then it looks like we’re done here.” Jeff turned toward the door.

  “Wait! Is that who you think supplied Dan? If that’s true, Liz doesn’t have a clue, either. I guarantee it.”

  “I can’t comment—”

  “Enough! Stop being a cop for a second, will you? Liz was caught in the middle here. I guarantee she knows nothing.”

  “Do you know something?”

  “Other than that Dan O’Connell is a dipshit?” He let out a frustrated breath.

  Jeff let out a frustrated breath of his own. “Then you have nothing that can help me.”

  “Okay, maybe. Don’t ask me how I know, but I think I may have an idea who’s dealing in town. Or at least someone who’d likely know. Just leave Liz alone.”

  Jeff rolled his eyes. “Don’t ask me how I know? Did you really just say that to me? A uniformed officer? Christ, I cannot believe small towns.” He raised a hand. “No! For the love of God, stop talking. Before I have to arrest you, too. I’m busy enough tonight.”

  Jeff ran a hand through his short-cropped hair. “If what you say is true, if Liz Beacon has nothing to hide, then she’ll be free to go. We’ll just want to ask her a few questions. In the mean time… go get a cup of coffee or something before I change my mind and tell the newbie out front to strip search you.”

  Carter nodded. “Thanks, man.”

  Carter stepped back into the hall a few minutes later—at the same time Dan O’Connell was being escorted to a nearby room. Their eyes locked.

  Dan looked pale, old beyond his years. And scared.

  And, in that moment, after years of hating the guy, Carter only felt sorry for him.

  It could have just as easily been him.

  Not that he was into any of that now, he reminded himself, but he hadn’t always been a saint. It took dropping out of college, partying too hard and totaling his car to figure out he was on a fast road to nowhere.

  That and Gramps’ little pep talk. The old guy always did have a way with words. And, after his stint working as a guard at the state penitentiary back in the day, he’d painted a picture of life in prison Carter hadn’t had any interest in experiencing first-hand.

  Carter returned to the waiting area and pumped some coins into the coffee vending machine. His gut told him John was certainly capable of dealing. But if Liz’s brother wanted to hang himself, Carter didn’t intend to be the one to supply the noose.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  ____________________

  “‘FORMER VALEDICTORIAN Lunges for Lingerie During All-Star Alum’s Drug Bust?’" Liz lowered the morning paper. “Your local news guy has a sick sense of humor.”

  Trish had the gall to laugh as she picked up the paper. “I think it’s kind of witty. Besides, what are you complaining about? The dress looks fabulous in that photo. Glad you took my advice about the bra.”

  Liz snatched the paper back. “Ack!
You can tell I’m not wearing a bra?”

  “Other than the fact that it’s dangling from that cop’s fingertips? Look at his face! I swear he was laughing. Did they arrest you?”

  “For being naïve? No. I answered some questions, but I wasn’t the one with the heroin, so they let me go.”

  “Valerie Stinson was feeling quite the Chatty Cathy last night wasn’t she? They’ve got no less than three quotes from her about the drug ring they were trying to crack and how you might be involved. She’s quite shocked by the way. And you the head of your class! Tsk. Tsk.”

  “Sure she was.” Liz rolled her eyes. “Though I shouldn’t laugh. I find it just as shocking Dan was arrested. I mean, this is Sugar Falls. This stuff doesn’t happen here.”

  “Some things you can’t escape.” Trish took back the newspaper. “Ugh. Now you’re making me depressed, and I was feeling so happy earlier.”

  “You’re happy I nearly got thrown in jail?”

  “There was never any danger of that.”

  “Of course not. I’m Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. That’s what Valerie called me last night. Can you believe that?”

  Trish laughed. “You sound disappointed.”

  Liz pondered her coffee. “Maybe I’m just disappointed—”

  “You leave town for ten years, and this is the homecoming you plan?”

  “Hi, Aunt Claire. Welcome.” Trish got up to pour another cup of coffee. “We were just celebrating Liz’s front-page splash.”

  “Is that decaf?” Claire peered through her bifocals at the carafe.

  “High test,” Trish assured her.

  “Good. Never understood the point of decaf.”

  Liz made room for her great-aunt at the table. “Is there anyone that doesn’t know about last night?”

  “I doubt it,” said Bailey, walking in with a to-go cup in her hand. “I tweeted about it as soon as I bought the paper this morning. Plus about nine of our classmates updated their statuses last night with your picture. Stuff this juicy doesn’t happen every day in Sugar Falls.”

  “Lovely.” Liz looked at Bailey. “Who let you in?”

  “Me? John. He’s out front fiddling with that lamp post at the end of the driveway that never worked.”

  “Why would he—? Forget it. Forget it! I don’t care. I’ve got enough to worry about.”

  “So where’s Carter this morning?” Aunt Claire asked, peering out the slider. “He’s not hiding just because I’m here, is he?”

  Liz narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think he’d be here?”

  “I thought you might be on good terms considering all he did last night.”

  “What do you mean, ‘all he did?’”

  Aunt Claire’s eyes widened like an owl’s. “Didn’t he tell you? Bev from the post office says he stormed over there after they dragged you off in the squad car to be sure they let you go—offered to swear to your upstanding moral character or something and wouldn’t leave until you were cleared.”

  “My upstanding moral character?”

  Bailey chugged her latte. “Oh, don’t get your panties in a bunch. They didn’t have anything on you, from what I hear, so you weren’t in any actual danger. Although, if they didn’t like the looks of you, they might have held you overnight.”

  Liz closed her eyes. Being held overnight—in jail—didn’t bear thinking about. “I saw Carter when I came out, but Officer Dayton had already offered me a ride home. I was so embarrassed; I left out the back door. I didn’t even talk to Carter.”

  “Sounds like you owe him a thank you,” Aunt Claire said.

  “A thank you? If he hadn’t ditched me, I wouldn’t have been walking out with Dan to begin with!”

  “Speaking of which, I don’t approve of you riding around with drug addicts,” Claire sniffed.

  “I didn’t know he was into drugs!”

  “I’m guessing this isn’t a good time to see how you are.” Carter stood in the doorway, looking sheepish and gorgeous all at the same time. The cad. “I knocked, but you were obviously too busy yelling about me to hear.”

  “I should install a revolving door…” muttered Liz.

  “Good morning, young man!” Aunt Claire greeted him. “Thank you for bailing out my ungrateful niece.”

  “He did not bail me out,” Liz corrected. “I was never charged.”

  “But I did leave you stranded, and for that, I’m sorry.” Carter swept a giant bouquet of gerbera daisies from behind his back. “I didn’t mean to get you arrested.”

  Liz tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at the flowers. “I was never arrested, just brought in for questioning...”

  “Still, you must have been frightened.”

  She glanced up, expecting to see his green eyes mocking her, but instead he seemed as somber as his senior photo. He handed her the flowers. “A little,” she admitted, not wanting to admit she’d been scared out of her wits.

  His fingers brushed hers, but rather than pull away, his palms wrapped around her hands, held them, all warm, rough and delicious. Liz tried not to soften, although she was doing a poor job of it. How did he know she was a sucker for daisies?

  “I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a job to get to.” Bailey said.

  “I’d better get going, too,” Trish said, dumping her coffee in the sink. “Russ isn’t used to caring for the baby on his own. Aunt Claire?”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’m leaving. No one needs to beat me over the head to take a hint.” She stood and shuffled around Carter. “Better get those flowers in some water, you two, before they wilt.”

  Liz nodded. “Yes. Of course. Right away. Thanks for coming.”

  No sooner had the door closed behind her relatives than Carter stepped closer, his fingers still holding hers. “I’m really sorry.”

  “For ditching me or the drug bust?”

  He winced as she regained her senses and yanked her fingers away. She starting opening cupboards in search of a vase.

  “I suppose you have a right to be miffed,” he said.

  “I’m not miffed, I’m mortified! They have a picture of my bra on the front page of the paper!”

  “That’s actually partly your fault. I would have been happy to keep it in my pocket.”

  She stared, bug-eyed, at him for a moment then shook her head at the absurdity of it all. “Touché.”

  “Come on. You have to admit. It is kind of funny.”

  “You’re not the one with your underwear on the front page.”

  “Would it make you feel better if I were?”

  Liz found a vase and began to fill it with water. Her lips twitched. “Maybe.”

  “Think of it as the education you never got in school.”

  “I think I’ve done just fine without knowing what it feels like to be almost arrested.”

  He stepped closer. “Who cares if people saw your underwear? You were complaining last night that everyone still thinks of you as Brainy Beacon. This is your chance to redefine yourself. You don’t always want to be on the outside of life looking in, do you?”

  She frowned, stuffing the flowers into the vase. “Who says I’m on the outside of life?”

  “Come on. You’ve never been almost arrested. You’ve never ridden a motorcycle. Never gone without a bra in public. How many other things are on the Liz Beacon ‘never’ list?”

  “Are you saying I’m boring?”

  “No, but why do you shy away from... living? Even when you were a teenager, you played it straight and narrow. I never saw you cruising around town, drinking at the quarry or skinny dipping at Miller Brook. How come?”

  “Maybe I saw what unhappiness saying ‘yes’ to those kinds of things could bring to a person—a family—and I didn’t want any part of it. You’re right. I never did do drugs or drink or any of that other stuff most teenagers do. I went to college. I made something of myself. I wasn’t about to be some loser who—”

  “Is that what you think I am?” His words cut through h
er rant, and suddenly she realized how she’d sounded.

  “No. Of course not. I was only saying—”

  “Don’t bother. I think I know what you were saying.” Liz’s chest grew tight with regret as his playful expression faded. He stepped away as if to leave.

  “Carter, wait!” Liz threw her back against the kitchen door, blocking his chest with her palms. “I wasn’t talking about you, I was talking about other people… people like my brother.”

  His eyes pierced hers, dark, haunted. Hurt. “And how am I different than him? You know my past isn’t squeaky clean. I never finished college, Liz. Never ‘made something of myself.’ I think you’ve made it perfectly clear what you think of me.”

  “I don’t think you have any idea at all.”

  “Name one thing that differentiates me from someone like your brother,” he demanded.

  She stared at his mouth, at the firm, set line as serious and defiant as his senior picture. “For one thing, I never wanted to kiss him.”

  Her eyes flew up as she uttered the words, as the shock of her own frankness drew an answering look of surprise—and awareness—on Carter’s face.

  For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, the air trapped in her lungs, her mind a riot of thoughts, feelings. But then she realized she felt more than the urge to kiss him. How could she tell him she’d always admired his dogged optimism and carefree attitude—despite his tragic childhood? He’d lost his parents at a young age, gone into business with his uncle when college hadn’t been the right fit. He was self-assured, sexy and unrepentantly stubborn—everything Liz had always wished she were and wasn’t. Plus, she’d had a killer crush on him since before she had braces.

  “I should hope not,” he finally said.

  “I’ve never thought of you as a loser,” she whispered.

  His mouth tilted at one corner. “I’ve never thought of you as boring.”

  Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips as the air sparked between him. “Thanks for the flowers.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She stared at his mouth. It was softening now, the corners lightly curving. “I imagine you have to get to work,” she said to his lips.

  “It’s Saturday. It’s raining. I don’t have to be anywhere.”