High Stakes Crime: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Shelby Nichols Adventure Book 15)

by Colleen Helme

  He could hardly believe that Sonny had used such drastic measures to win. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Yeah… and even better, Uncle Joey’s not planning to go back to Las Vegas for a long time.”

  Chris huffed. “Sounds good to me, and if he ever does, do me a favor and tell him you’re not going. Okay?” He didn’t like that so many people had witnessed my special talent in action, including Gage Rathmore.

  “You know what? I’ll do it, but only if you promise me something in return.”

  “What’s that?” His brows dipped together. What did I have up my sleeve?

  Since I had no idea, I shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but it’ll be something good.”

  He chuckled. “Oh yeah? Better than this?” He kissed my neck, then moved his lips down my throat. Before I knew what was happening, he began to massage my legs and then my feet.

  I let out a groan. “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but… I think you may be onto something.”

  Soon he had me purring happily in his arms. When his lips finally met mine, I was ready for much more. “Oh baby, oh baby.”

  I pulled into Thrasher, a few minutes late, and caught sight of a brand-new black Jeep Wrangler waiting in front of the elevators. Ramos stood at the back loading it up, but the person standing beside him surprised me. What was Uncle Joey doing wearing a flannel shirt and khaki pants with hiking boots?

  I quickly parked my car and hurried over. “Are you coming too?”

  Uncle Joey sent me a smile. “I decided I couldn’t let you guys have all the fun. Besides, I got this beauty yesterday, and I wanted to try her out.” He patted the Jeep like it was a puppy. “It’s a Jeep Wrangler 4xe.”

  “Oh. Cool.”

  Since it was obvious I had no clue how awesome it was, he continued. “It’s a hybrid and fully loaded, perfect for off-roading.”

  My brows rose. “So we’re going off-roading?”

  Uncle Joey sighed. “Not necessarily, but we can if we need to. Be prepared, I always say.”

  I’d never heard him say that, but this was a whole new side of Uncle Joey that I’d never seen before, so what did I know? “Okay. Nice.”

  Ramos came to my side, thinking he’d better rescue me. “Do you have your pack?”

  “Oh yeah. In my trunk.” We stepped back to my car and I popped it open. Ramos grabbed my pack, while I picked up my hat and jacket, and followed him to the back of the Jeep next to Uncle Joey. Ramos fit my pack next to theirs with plenty of room to spare.

  “There’s a lot of room back here,” I said, trying to make up for my earlier response. “It’s really nice.”

  Uncle Joey nodded. “Yeah, the drive up should be pretty smooth, and you won’t even feel the bumpy, dirt roads.”

  Another car pulled up, and Billie waved at us. She parked next to my car and hurried to my side. I picked up her surprise to see Uncle Joey since she hadn’t known he was coming.

  “You want to put your stuff in the back?” I asked her. “We can all drive up together.”

  I picked up a spike of displeasure from Uncle Joey. He didn’t want her in his car asking questions all the way up the mountain. I shouldn’t have invited her.

  Oops. I glanced at Billie. She’d easily read the look of disapproval on Uncle Joey’s face. It was almost enough of a challenge to make her agree. Too bad she couldn’t take me up on my offer.

  Billie folded her arms, but managed a friendly smile. “Actually, I was thinking of driving up myself. Michael’s only giving me a couple of days for the story, so I’ll probably need to come back tomorrow night.”

  Everyone relaxed, and I nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “Yeah… so I’ll just follow you up.” She was hoping that I’d drive up with her, but she didn’t want to ask since Manetto was glaring at her.

  “Why don’t I drive up with you?”

  She perked up. “That would be great.”

  After making sure I had everything I needed for the ride up, I jumped in Billie’s car, and we followed the Jeep out of the parking garage.

  “Did you know Manetto was coming?” she asked.

  “No. I’m just as surprised as you are. But I think it had something to do with his new car. I’m pretty sure he got it yesterday, just for this little trip.”

  She shook her head. “How would it be to have that much money?”

  “I know, right?”

  “So, how was your weekend? Drew told me you were headed to Las Vegas to play in a poker tournament. How did that go?”

  I told her what I could about the tournament, leaving out most of the good stuff. When she heard that I won, she gasped in surprise. “You won all that money? You’re a millionaire?”

  I shook my head, hating to have to explain. “No. I won the tournament, but Uncle Joey got the money. He had to pay a huge fee to enter, and he hired me to play for him.”

  She sent me a shocked glance. What the hell? Manetto was my uncle?

  Crap! “Uh… sometimes I call him my uncle because he’s like an uncle… but you know he’s not my uncle, right?”

  She let out a breath. “Oh… sure.” Noticing my distress, she quickly continued. “It’s okay, Shelby. I’ve known for quite a while that you’re in real deep with him. I don’t need to know the particulars if it puts you in danger, but I’ll always be willing to help you out if you need it.”

  She thought that working for a mob boss was more dangerous than I wanted to admit, but I seemed to be doing okay for now. “He’s not such a bad sort, is he? At least not with you. And Ramos… well… he’s kind of scary, but somehow, you’ve managed to tame them both.” She shook her head, wondering how I’d done it. Now that would be quite the story.

  She grinned at me. “Someday, promise you’ll tell me the whole story, okay? Even if I have to wait until we’re both old and gray.”

  My brows rose, and I let out a sigh. “Sure. Someday, I’d be happy to.”

  Delighted, she chuckled. “So did he give you anything for winning the tournament?” She was thinking I should have gotten a couple million at the least. In that respect, maybe working for a mob boss wasn’t so bad.

  “I sort of asked him to back these guys instead of paying me. Now I’m thinking that was a stupid thing to do.” That wasn’t exactly the truth, but it sounded a lot better than squandering my own money.

  She silently agreed, but tried to be positive for my sake. “Oh… well. It might not be so bad, especially if you find the mine with all that gold.” She thought taking the sure bet would have been a lot smarter, but she didn’t know if I could actually bargain with Manetto anyway. “So… since it’s your investment, you’d at least get a cut of the mine, right?”

  “Yes. At least I did that right.”

  “Good for you.” She felt kind of bad that the odds of actually finding the gold mine were so low, but she didn’t want to burst my bubble, especially if it was a dream I’d had for years. Hopefully, I wouldn’t be too depressed if we failed.

  “So, how was your weekend?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.

  We spent the rest of the drive in pleasant conversation, and Billie steered away from asking too many questions about Uncle Joey, which I appreciated.

  After passing through the last little town, we headed up a narrow highway into the mountain range. We followed Uncle Joey onto the turn off for Stewart’s cabin. It was a dirt road, and the jeep left a trail of dust in its wake, so we ended up following at a distance to keep from choking.

  Three miles down the dirt road, we came to another turn-off which continued another quarter mile until we came to an old cabin, set in a meadow, surrounded by a group of aspen trees. A Land Rover was parked in front, so that meant Stewart and Ian must already be there.

  The cabin was bigger than I’d imagined, although not as big as a house. It was large and square, with a pitched roof and a rock chimney on an outside wall. It looked sturdy enough, but patches of shingles were falling off the roof, and the w
ooden beams above the porch sagged a bit.

  At our arrival, the front door opened, and Stewart stepped out. He wasn’t surprised to see Uncle Joey, so that was good. Eager to get started, he hurried down the steps to greet us and gestured toward the cabin. “Come on in and let’s get organized.”

  The small living room got even smaller with all of us crowded inside. Most of the dust had been cleared away, but there was still a musty smell to it. “I got the place cleaned up a bit and brought in a couch and some chairs. Why don’t you all have a seat?”

  A wooden chair, along with a rocking chair, took up the space beside the couch. Billie took the rocking chair, Uncle Joey took a wooden chair, which left Ramos and me to sit on the couch behind a worn coffee table.

  Ian entered from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. He was thinking that Manetto’s last minute decision to join us had thrown a wrench in the works, but luckily, he’d managed to get all the extra equipment he’d need. “Hello everyone, it’s good to see you. We’ve been working on all the preparations, and we’re just about ready to go.”

  “Good. Let’s take a look at your plans. I’d like to see where you want to start,” Uncle Joey said.

  Stewart unfolded a large map and laid it on the coffee table. He outlined his efforts so far, and pointed out where he’d like to go next. “We’ve been using this as a base camp all summer, so that’s where we’ll be.” He pointed to an area outlined in red. It was close to the ravine he’d thought about the last time we’d been together, and I knew that was the place he wanted to look first.

  “It’s about four or five miles from here, which puts it in the range we’re focusing on. I’m almost certain the mine will be in this vicinity, so we’ll start there.”

  He pointed to the surrounding area, leaving out the ravine. He wanted to check that out without the rest of us. “If we leave soon, we can get camp set up before dark, and begin our search first thing in the morning.”

  Stewart straightened and began folding the map. “Ian has backpacks for all of you, along with the supplies we need, but we’ll have to divide them up to carry between us. Why don’t you bring your things in and we’ll get started divvying them up.”

  Being a novice to backpacking, I had no idea what we had to take with us. Besides the tents, Ian had bought sleeping bags and inflatable pads to go under them. He’d also purchased the special sleeping hammock that Ramos had asked for.

  After loading up my backpack, Ramos offered to carry the tent I would share with Billie. Ian took the tent meant for Uncle Joey, which I thought was smart of him, and Stewart took the one he and Ian planned to share.

  Besides our snacks, the food we took was dehydrated, so it wasn’t as heavy. Still, along with my personal items, my pack had to weigh at least forty pounds. Ramos said it was closer to thirty-five, but I didn’t believe him, especially after climbing to the crest of the first hill.

  Ian had offered us some special trekking poles, which I happily accepted. Still, I was huffing and out of breath in no time. Luckily, my hiking shoes were broken in, but my hips and legs were already aching from the weight.

  There wasn’t much of a trail, but, since Stewart and Ian had gone that way all summer long, at least they knew where we were going. The rest of us followed behind them in single file, and I did my best to keep up, not wanting to slow everyone down.

  As we continued to climb higher into the mountain range, pine trees and quaking aspen groves surrounded us. The aspen leaves had changed to a beautiful golden-yellow color, and they drifted to the ground like feathers. The fresh scent of pine and dirt, along with the sounds of birds and squirrels undercut the silence. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees, fought the noise of my heavy footsteps and harsh breathing.

  When Stewart had told us our campsite was only four or five miles from the cabin, he’d failed to mention that most of those miles were uphill. I did my best to keep up, but I had to rest more often than the others, and I soon lagged behind.

  Even Uncle Joey kept up better than I did, and it was starting to get on my nerves. I thought I was in better shape than this. Billie practically sprinted up the next hill, and I could barely keep one foot in front of the other.

  After nearly three hours, I found it hard to take another step. Stewart kept saying it wasn’t much further, but I was beginning to doubt that he knew what he was talking about. Needing another break, I sat down on a rock. If they were in such a hurry, they could just set up camp without me.

  They’d all disappeared over the ridge, leaving me behind, but I just couldn’t go any further. Finally, my breathing and heart rate slowed, and I listened to the quiet. Wind rushed through the tops of the trees, making them sway and creak. A breeze came from behind, playing with my hair.

  Somewhere, a bird called, cutting into the silence. The wind picked up again, only this time it seemed colder. I realized I was damp with sweat, so that explained it. Still, I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my arms.

  I rose to my feet and staggered. My muscles protested, and I stifled a groan. I’d been sitting there too long, and now I was stiff and cold. Not liking the idea of getting lost, I knew I’d have to hurry to catch up. After taking a few agonizing steps up the mountain, a shadow fell across me. I sucked in a breath and glanced up to find Ramos coming my way.

  “You came back.”

  He smiled. “Of course. Here. Give me your pack.”

  “Where’s yours?”

  “Our camp’s just over the ridge. We’re not far.”

  “Hallelujah.” I shrugged out of my backpack, and Ramos caught it. Without the heavy weight, I could finally breathe again. Ramos slung it over his shoulders, like it was nothing, and motioned me forward. I picked my way up the hillside, trying not to groan too loud, since I didn’t want Ramos to think I was a wimp.

  We finally topped the ridge and looked over a small meadow. Ian and Stewart were working on their tent, and Billie was helping Uncle Joey set up another one. Joining them, Ramos relinquished my pack and picked up another small bag. “Want to help me?”

  “Sure. What are we doing?”

  “This is the tent for you and Billie. I thought you could help me set it up.” He was thinking that he’d carried it all the way up here for me, so helping was the least I could do.

  “Oh… of course. What do you need me to do?”

  “Let’s put it over there.” He pointed to an area not far from the spot where Billie and Uncle Joey worked. It was a relatively flat area, and Ramos pulled the tent and poles from the bag. After unfolding the tent, we began fitting the poles together.

  I noticed that all three tents were identical and looked like they were brand new, probably bought with our investment money. All the tent poles were on the outside, with two main poles crisscrossing over the top, and two others on the sides to strengthen them.

  It took me longer than Ramos to get the poles into the eyelets, and Ramos ended up doing most of the work to set it up. He didn’t complain, so I tried not to feel too bad. After staking the corners, we unzipped the doorway, and I peeked inside.

  “Hey. That looks pretty roomy.” It surprised me that such a small tent seemed so big.

  Ramos was thinking that, for two women, it was plenty of room, but wouldn’t I rather sleep in the hammock with him? He pictured lying next to me, holding me close with my back against his stomach. It would be nice and cozy, and he could keep me warm and safe. With his protection, I wouldn’t have to worry about spiders or bears.

  I jerked my head around to stare at him. “Hey… not fair. You’re just trying to scare me into it.”

  He shrugged. “Your choice.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Nice try. But it’s not going to happen.”

  “Oh come on… you’re not even a little tempted?” With his big, muscled arms folded together, and his lips twisted into that trademark smile of his, my insides turned to mush. I could certainly imagine how nice it would be to snuggle up with him and feel safe. H
is big body beside mine would certainly keep me warm… no… hot… so hot.

  I shook my head. What was I thinking? “Heaven help me.” Oops… did I just say that out loud? “I mean… no… not even a little.” Hearing his soft chuckle, I hurried past him and pounced on my heavy backpack. With more enthusiasm than it warranted, I focused all my attention on brushing off the dirt.

  As soon as Ramos stepped away from the door of my tent, I pushed my pack inside and got busy untying my sleeping bag. Billie joined me, and we managed to blow up our air pads and lay out our sleeping bags.

  It had taken most of the afternoon to get to this spot and set up camp, probably because of me, and the sun hung low in the sky. With the chill in the air, I found my hoodie and slipped it on.

  “That’s a good idea,” Billie said, finding her jacket. “I’m starving. What kinds of dinners do you think they brought to eat?” She was worried about the dehydrated food. “Do you think they’ll be any good?”

  “I have no idea. To be honest, I’ve never gone backpacking like this before. Have you?”

  Her brows drew together. “I thought you said you went prospecting with your grandpa.”

  “Well, yeah. I did. But we just came up here and hiked around for the day.”

  She scratched her chin. “Oh. Well, I’ve gone backpacking, but only a couple of times. To be honest, I didn’t like it much. This hasn’t been too bad, but I’m going to miss using a real bathroom.”

  “I hear ya. Let’s ask what we’re supposed to do about that, and see if we can get something to eat.”

  We joined the others and found that Ian had everything under control. He and Stewart had set up a latrine at the beginning of the summer, and they showed us where it was. They also had a bear canister they’d left up here for storing food, and we all got busy putting the packets and snacks inside.

  Before we’d left the cabin, Ian had given each of us a water purifier bottle so we didn’t have to carry water with us. He showed us to a small stream, further away, for washing up and we replenished our water supply.