Unlucky

by Jana DeLeon

  "Fine, Mr. Wilson," Glenda said. "I was wondering about your neighbor across the hall. Have you seen him lately?"

  Wilson stared at Glenda for a moment. "You want to put Berber in the hall? Well, hell, that's a stupid idea, but go ahead."

  "No, Mr. Wilson," Glenda Shouted. "Have you seen your neighbor across the hall?"

  Wilson looked across the hall at the apartment door and scratched his head. "You mean the cripple? I don't know. Maybe yesterday, day before. That man who tends to him said he was having surgery. I guess he's not out of the hospital yet."

  Glenda stared at Mr. Wilson, obviously a bit surprised. "How long has the man lived there, Mr. Wilson?"

  The old man stared at her like she'd lost her mind. "Well, how the hell should I know? You own the building." He slammed the door and they could hear him muttering on the other side of the door.

  "How reliable is he?" Jake asked.

  Glenda considered this for a moment. "Fairly reliable when it comes to certain things. For instance, if he says a cripple lives in the other apartment, then I'm positive he's seen one there. And since that apartment has been empty since before Mr. Wilson moved in, I'd say it's a good bet that he's seen your guy - assuming it was your guy being held there." She shrugged. "Of course, my cat has been dead for over a year."

  Mallory looked over at Jake. "If they had him drugged, a wheelchair would be the easiest way to move him. And in a place like this, no one would even think twice about it."

  "True," Jake agreed. "I think we've covered everything we can here. I need to make a dash to New Orleans and get this to the lab. They should be able to put a rush on it. Maybe get me some results by tomorrow."

  He turned to Glenda and stuck out his hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you. I appreciate all your help."

  Glenda took his hand and shook it. "It was a pleasure this time."

  Mallory let out a laugh. "When this is all over, Glenda, we're going to sit down and talk over a bottle of scotch - just you, me and Reginald."

  Glenda smiled. "Now, that is definitely a plan I can get behind."

  The trip to New Orleans took a couple of hours, and it was late before they arrived back at Mallory's cabin. Jake's spirits were running high, and Mallory knew he was hoping for the best concerning his partner. But although she'd been happy with the discovery and the possibility that Mark might still be alive, the drive home had given her too much time to think.

  About the voodoo doll.

  She knew Jake had other plans once they were behind closed doors, but she couldn't let those plans go forward without telling him. It wouldn't be right.

  They pulled up in front of her cabin, and she jumped out of the car and hurried to unlock the door, not wanting to look Jake directly in the eyes, afraid she'd lose control if she made contact with him. She looked back as he climbed out of the car, his dark hair glistening in the moonlight. God, he was good-looking.

  And he'll leave town as soon as he catches his bad guy.

  She watched him walk across the lawn, admiring the way his T-shirt clearly defined the tone of his upper body. She'd even bet he had the legs to match. Thank God he hadn't worn shorts. If he had legs to match those arms there would be no holding her back regardless of the cost later on. Legs were no small matter.

  Smiling, he held open the door for her to enter the cabin, then stepped inside behind her and took a seat in the recliner. "Heck of a day," he said.

  Mallory nodded, and decided to wait a while before spilling the beans. After all, this was the first good mood he'd been in since she'd met him. "I forgot to ask earlier if any of the marked cards turned up today?"

  "No, so obviously Silas was cheating yesterday." He looked over at her, a puzzled expression on his face. "But I don't get why he backed off. If it worked for him before, why didn't he continue today?"

  "Do you think he noticed the mark on the cards?"

  "Maybe." He shrugged. "I don't know."

  He leaned back in the recliner and blew out a breath. "This entire tournament has tossed me more curves than I ever imagined or was prepared to deal with." He gave her a smile. "I appreciate all your help this evening. You've gone above and beyond in more ways than one."

  You should tell him about the doll now.

  "No problem," she said.

  If you tell him about the doll now, it will just be one more curve he's not prepared to deal with.

  "Maybe the alarm situation at the hotel made him nervous," she suggested. "Maybe he wants to buy a new deck just to be sure."

  Maybe you're a chicken-shit and you're not telling the truth because you don't want him angry at you.

  "Maybe. But still, it didn't even feel the same as before. Yesterday, he was confident, almost cocky. Today. . ."

  "What?"

  "Today, he almost looked puzzled. But that doesn't make any sense. If he was cheating yesterday and not today, then why any confusion at all?"

  Mallory rose from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Now was the time. She had to tell him the truth. "You want a beer?" she asked as she opened the refrigerator and stuck her head inside, stalling.

  "No," his answer came from directly behind her, and she jumped upright. Before she could turn, he'd wrapped his arms around her shoulders and lifted her hair from the nape of her neck. She could feel his breath, hot and sexy, even before his lips pressed against the sensitive flesh on her neck. "But there is something I do want."

  You can't do this without telling him.

  "If you keep doing that, you can have anything you want," she murmured.

  Traitor.

  "Anything?" He ran one hand down over the front of her shirt, lingering over her breast. "That's a mighty bold offer."

  She turned slowly around, wrapping her arms around his waist and dropping both hands to squeeze his butt. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly a shrinking violet."

  You're a lying fool.

  But at the moment, it simply didn't matter. At the moment, all that mattered was Jake's hands on her, all over her, and returning the favor. Definitely returning the favor.

  Somehow they made it back into the living room. It was only a couple of steps away, but when it felt as if your entire body was tangled with another, those three steps were an eternity. As Jake backed into the roll-out bed, Mallory smiled at him and took advantage of his position and pushed him back. He fell onto the bed, a look of surprise crossing his face.

  Mallory laughed and tugged her T-shirt over her head, changing his surprised look to a much, much more intense one. As she shrugged out of her jeans with equal enthusiasm, he gave her a smile. "I knew you didn't wear underwear."

  "I do on Sundays," she said, and leaned over to unbutton his jeans. "Are you going to just stare at me? Because I had a lot more activity in mind."

  Jake kicked off his shoes and shed his jeans and under wear in a flash, taking a few precious seconds to take care of the contraceptive end of the fun and games.

  "I'd be happy to help you with that," Mallory teased as he rolled on the thin skin.

  "If you touch me now, it's over," Jake said, and grinned.

  Mallory laughed and Jake reached up to pull her on top of him. Mallory fell onto Jake in a tangle of arms and legs and hoped like hell the bed would hold. She had intended to be on top, take charge, but Jake apparently had other ideas.

  He pulled her down for a crushing kiss, then flipped her over, pinning her beneath him. His breath was short and ragged, and she could feel his heart pounding against her chest - her own heart pounding in her throat. "I want to kiss every square inch of you," he whispered, "but it's going to have to wait. I hope that's okay."

  Okay? It was more than okay-it was required. Her skin didn't need kissing, it was already on fire. There was only one thing that would put out the flames they'd started and that was Jake inside of her. "I want you in me now."

  He hesitated only for a moment then fulfilled her request, entering her with a swift, hard stroke. Her body had been ready for
him, had probably been readying itself for days, and it drank him in deep inside her, making them both gasp. "Don't stop," she said, and dug her nails into his shoulders.

  He rose above her and plunged again, over and over until they reached the brink. "I can't-" he started to say.

  "Then don't." She raised her hips to meet him, greedily wanting every inch of him deep inside of her when she came. He pushed one final time and she felt his release. She struggled to hold back just one second more but the climax ripped through her like a bullet, shooting pleasure through her from head to toe.

  It was several seconds before she could even take in a breath and even then it was restricted by the weight of Jake on top of her. As she sucked in a breath, he rose up on one elbow and smiled at her. "Would you like for me to move so you can breathe again?"

  Mallory nodded and took a deep breath as he eased himself to her side. "It wasn't your weight or anything," she started to ramble, "because you're not heavy or anything. I just-"

  "Ssssh." Jake placed on finger on her lips. "I'm having a little trouble getting my breath back, too."

  "Oh." She smiled with relief that she'd turned things inside out for him. It would have been supremely humiliating if she'd seen fireworks and all Jake had gotten out of it was a smoke bomb.

  "I'm sorry things went so quickly," Jake said, and gave her a lazy smile. "But I did warn you at the hotel that my self-control was probably at an all-time low."

  "Your timing was perfect. I wouldn't have been able to take another second."

  Jake grinned. "I was thinking the same thing."

  Mallory propped herself up on one elbow and looked over at Jake. "Do you realize I just slept with you and I don't even know your real name?"

  Jake stroked her cheek with his hand and leaned in to kiss her gently. "Ah, but you know things about me that are infinitely more important," he teased. "Let's face it, this was a perfect ending to a perfectly weird day."

  "Yes, I think this day was outside of the norm even for me.

  "But at least a profitable one, right?"

  Mallory felt a dull ache creep up the back of her neck. "Yeah, profitable."

  And you still haven't told him the truth.

  "All I need is another day of straight play. And with you running a little interference, we'll have this in the bag."

  More likely the box in my closet.

  Mallory clenched her hands and tried to nod. Oh, she was running interference all right. Jake just had no idea to what extent.

  Jake continued to smile. "If he reverts to cheating tomorrow, I'll be able to nail him. I just knew it was something easy to explain."

  Unable to stand the lying any longer, Mallory said, "There may be one other possible explanation."

  Jake looked her. "Yeah, like what?"

  Mallory dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. "I might have taken the voodoo doll." She waited several seconds, but there was no response. Finally, she lifted her gaze to Jake noting the flash of anger in his eyes.

  "You. Might. Have. What?"

  Mallory sat up in bed and gathered the blanket around her. "I took the doll, all right? It creeped me out, some guy having a voodoo doll made up like me, so I took it. And I'm not sorry I did." She looked Jake straight in the eyes. "I'm only sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner."

  "Good God, Mallory!" Jake jumped out of bed, pulled on his jeans, then paced the living room-two steps one direction, two steps another. "Taking that doll could blow everything. Silas is sure to look for it eventually and what do you think he's going to think when he finds it missing? Who the hell else would want to steal it but you or one of your friends?"

  "I couldn't leave it there!" Mallory argued. "I just couldn't." She let out a sigh. "I'm sorry for what I risked, but if I had it to do over again, I'd still do the same thing." She looked him straight in the eyes, her gaze unwavering, her voice steady. "Look, when you asked me before if I believed in voodoo, I told you I didn't know because I'd never actually seen any. But now I'm starting to wonder."

  "Jeez, Mallory, you know all that stuff is crap. It can't work unless you believe in it."

  She stared at him. "Like my bad luck? I spent over half of my life trying to pretend it didn't exist. I didn't believe it was possible, but it was always there. I spent the second half looking for an explanation or a miracle cure. The reality is, I know as much now as I did when I was a child. Nothing."

  "Silas was cheating yesterday, and he didn't today. It was that simple. It has nothing to do with anything out of the ordinary, much less out of this world."

  "Yeah, then why weren't you so sure of that earlier?"

  He ran one hand through his hair and stared out the window. "I am sure. I was sure. The cheating is the answer. Nothing else is possible."

  "Yeah, well this voodoo thing scares me more than I'd like to admit, and if you have a problem with that, I really don't give a shit." She rose from the bed, blanket still wrapped around her and walked into the bathroom. "This conversation is over," she said as she closed the door behind her.

  She leaned against the bathroom door, the tears already threatening to spill out. Why had she expected someone so narrow-minded to understand her? Why had she even tried to explain her fears? It only made her look weak.

  There was silence for what seemed like forever, then finally she heard the front door open and Jake's car back out of the driveway. That was it then. Everything she'd felt when they were together. Everything she'd thought he'd felt. It was a just a momentary burst of emotion that didn't linger once the heart had stopped racing and the skin had stopped burning.

  Sliding down the door to the floor, she continued to hold in her tears, knowing that with every breath she grew stronger, more capable.

  She'd had a lot of things in her life worth crying over.

  Jake McMillan wasn't one of them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jake arrived at the casino the next morning full of turmoil. The night before with Mallory had been one of the best and worst nights of his life all rolled into one. Being with Mallory had been everything he'd dreamed it would be and far more, and the depth of feeling he was forming for her scared him.

  Then she'd hit him with stealing the voodoo doll, and it had been so easy to use that as his reason to leave. Not that he wasn't angry. Stealing that doll might be enough to make Silas bow out of the tournament before an exchange could be made. It wasn't going to take a genius to figure out who had stolen it, and Silas was no dummy.

  But if he really thought about it, and God knows he'd tried not to, he really couldn't blame her for not wanting Silas to have the doll. It was creepy. And if a man trained in hand-to-hand combat and weaponry that the public didn't even know about could find a doll creepy, then he imagined it scared the crap out of Mallory.

  Then he'd gone stomping out of her cabin like an injured child, which was exactly what he felt like at the moment-the child part, not the injured. Of course, it didn't take long after he'd left Mallory's cabin for her unluckiness to set in, and the emotional injury had come dangerously close to converting to a physical one. The left side of his hip was still killing him, that patch of hair on his leg would probably take forever to grow back, and he was still waiting for a visit from the hotel manager asking what the heck had happened to the stair railing, but none of that mattered at the moment.

  The reality was, Mallory hadn't wanted to make him angry, and he knew he'd hurt her with his attitude. Maybe when everything was said and done it was for the best. After all, what possible future could they have? As soon as this was over, he would head back to New Jersey where hopefully, he'd still have a career, and Mallory would pay off the IRS and stay right here in Royal Flush, probably for the rest of her life.

  The big plus was the call he'd received from the lab that morning, letting him know that not only did the DNA on the toothbrush belong to Mark, but that the brush had been used recently. Jake had never even held out hope for finding Mark alive, and now all he could thin
k about is where his partner might be. Granted, it was still a slim shot with the tournament drawing to an end and Silas preparing to leave the country, but Jake couldn't help wishing everything would turn out all right.

  The sound of the casino doors opening broke into his thoughts, and he looked up to see the players entering the room. He reached for the chips and cards, readying his table for the day's play, and glanced up periodically, checking the doorway for Mallory. As much as she needed the money, there was that tiny bit of worry in the back of his mind that she wouldn't show up to finish the tournament.

  Glancing at the doors again, he felt his breath catch in his throat as Mallory entered the casino. She was wearing the required short black skirt, but today she'd matched it with a top of pale green silk, her tanned skin seeming to glow against the lighter color of the fabric. She'd left her hair down for a change and the effect was breathtaking. Long wavy tendrils of black coursed over her shoulder, some lingering just atop her breasts, the rest cascading down her back.

  As his gaze rose to her face, she locked eyes with him, but the determined expression on her face never wavered. In that single moment, she'd let him know that Mallory Devereaux would not be swayed or taken by a single night of passion, and that knowledge both disappointed and excited him at the same time.

  She gave him the briefest of nods as she approached the table, then pulled out her pad and began taking the morning orders. Once done, she turned from the table and walked across the casino without so much as glancing at him.

  It was about ten minutes later when she returned with the drinks. The first hand was still in play, so she started on the far end, passing coffees and making sure she rubbed shoulders or arms somewhere in the mix. But when she got to Silas Hebert, she hesitated, and Jake noticed Silas was staring directly at her.

  Jake knew the smile on her face was forced, but she managed to pull it off. He saw her hands shake a tiny bit as she lifted Silas's coffee from the tray and began to place it in front of him, but before she could reach the table, Silas stuck out his hand and took the mug from her, his fingers grazing hers as he lifted the coffee.