Leaving Las Vegas (Entangled Ignite) (6 page)

But things had been quiet recently. The economic downturn might have hit the rest of the country hard, but in Las Vegas everything was still glitz and glamour. Business was good, for everyone.

“She tried to abduct me.”

“But she wasn’t successful, was she? And this way you can get her tutti-frutti, sequin-covered little behind thrown in prison. Someplace with lots of guards—”

“I think they all have lots of guards.”

A snort. “That’ll teach her to throw herself at other people’s husbands.”

“I’d think it would teach her not to attempt a felony.”

His mother sniffed.

“Anyway—” He cleared his throat. “There was some confusion last night. I don’t know if she’s been arrested. I suspect not.”

Tiffanette wasn’t a genius, but she wasn’t an idiot, either. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been at the head of an army of fully outfitted men. Avoiding the police wouldn’t have been easy, but it was definitely possible.

“Where are you now?” his mother asked. “When will you be home?”

He turned back to the car. Blinked in surprise. Glory wasn’t inside the Vanquish anymore. She was on top of it. Perched carefully on the shiny black hood. Her knees were pressed tight together, her feet bare. Her presence hypnotic, drawing him in closer.

“I’m in Arizona, near the Grand Canyon. I met someone last night. We decided to go out of town for the night.” Not quite a lie. “I won’t be back for a while.”

“Is she pretty?”

Some other mothers might have been worried about their only child running off with a random stranger. Not Cherry. Luke stopped less than a foot from the car. He reached out, letting his hand hover for a moment before settling it on Glory’s knee.

“Her name’s Gloria Allen. She helped me escape from Tiffanette. She’s smart, funny, and she knows the words to every song by Bachman-Turner Overdrive.” Parts of his body reacted to Glory in a most visceral way, and he let out a ragged breath. “She’s very pretty.”

Glory was staring up at him, her eyes bright. For a moment her body tensed, then her head tipped back. Light, bubbling laughter poured out of her mouth, as if she didn’t believe a word he was saying. The leg he wasn’t touching stretched out, swinging in uneven arcs. The way she was sitting meant there was every possibility the metal fastenings on the back of her denim shorts were scratching the finish. For once he didn’t care. If she wrapped her legs around his waist, then she could make a Jackson Pollock out of his paint job.

Luke’s head pounded. His throat had gone dry. It was hard to think with Glory smiling at him like that. But he had to think. Had to strategize. Figure out who set him up and take the bastard down. All while getting Glory back home. And sitting on the side of the road chatting with his mother, giving the bad guys time to close in on them, probably wasn’t the world’s best idea.

He needed to get his affairs in order. Discovering why Tiffanette had tried to kidnap him—and what backstabbing jackass had helped her along the way—would take time. Plus, if he was going to be out of town, then he needed to delegate some responsibilities. His nostrils flared.

He hated delegating.

But out of everyone in Las Vegas, his mother was the one person he could trust. Cherry might be a ditz, but she had a knack for business. She’d successfully managed the company for the years between his father’s death and the time Luke had been old enough and educated enough to manage the company himself. She could handle things while he took off for a while. “I need you to do a few things for me. First, find Bone. He was there last night.”

“Is he an accomplice? Should I have him arrested?”

“He’s probably at a hospital. Make sure his bills are paid and he has somewhere to go when he’s discharged. And then call my office. Tell them I’ll be out of touch for a few days. You can also answer any questions about ongoing projects. It’s mostly finalizing the details for the Cleopatra’s Asp opening next month.”

“Do you want to talk to Chester? He knows more about Cleopatra’s Asp than I do.”

Chester was a fool. Luke wouldn’t trust him to care for a fish tank, let alone a string of casinos. On the other hand, criticizing his mother’s husband wouldn’t exactly earn him a Son of the Year Award. “It’s nothing you can’t handle, Mother.”

“Where are you going?”

“Right now? The Grand Canyon.”

“Sightseeing with your new lady friend?”

“With my new lady friend.” A soft smile flickered across his face. His mother might be flakier than a French croissant, but she only wanted the best for him.

“And where to after that?”

He’d looked at the map of the United States on his phone last night when he and Glory had switched seats. There were a couple of different paths to West Virginia. He’d plotted out a drive that took them through the southwest before turning north again. “Albuquerque, probably. Tulsa.”

Glory shifted and he froze. Suddenly her knees were no longer primly together. In fact, they were spread wide. He could see all the way up the short legs of her shorts. “I need to go,” he said in a rush.

He jammed his thumb at the phone’s off button and slipped it into his pocket. He stepped forward until he was standing in front of Glory. The car’s bumper was hard against his legs. Her thigh was warm where it brushed against his. He bent down, supporting himself with one hand splayed flat against the windshield. No makeup, no time for a shower, but that didn’t stop her body from exuding a soft perfume. Cinnamon and roses.

“Your mother sounds nice,” she said.

“Delightful.”

“She was worried about you. Anyone else worried about you?” Her voice wavered slightly. “Your wife? Girlfriend?”

He bent down so close that their noses were bumping into each other. It was his turn to tease, and from the way her body tensed underneath his, her back arching ever so slightly to move her hips upward, she was just as appreciative as he’d been.

“I don’t have a wife. Or a girlfriend.” He wondered how long it would take one of them to break, and who’d break first. If she moved any closer then he’d break his word, taking her mouth with his in one powerful motion. “I do have a fantasy, though. A hot woman on a cool car.”

She swallowed, hard. “No kissing, Luke. Remember?”

“Not until you ask.”

…

Glory frowned. Luke Morrison was hardheaded, annoying, and arrogant. Resting his hand on her leg. Touching her in the car— Oh, God. The memory made her shudder in a delicious way. The weight of his hand on her body had been dangerous. Tempting. If he’d gone an inch farther she would have pushed him away, but instead he’d teased her, torturing her with his strong hands and soft touches.

She had to focus on the endgame. Hanky-panky with a gorgeous rich guy was awfully tempting, but she needed to get back to Beaux. And soon, before Tiffanette and her henchmen found them again. She forced herself to breathe. “I need to go home.”

“Home,” Luke repeated. “If home is so important, why did you leave? Why did you come to Las Vegas?” His gaze narrowed. “Why do you need a million dollars?”

“I don’t need a million dollars.” Glory sucked in a breath, blood rushing to her cheeks. Last night had been too full with running from gunslingers and singing along to Jefferson Airplane and the Doobie Brothers to confess why she’d needed the money. If she were to be honest, though, she’d avoided the subject. Luke hadn’t asked, and she hadn’t offered.

Now he was asking.

“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t win. It’s not my money.”

“What you need the money for…” His voice had gone guttural, full of unvoiced emotion. And his gaze had gone soft. Tender. Caring. “It’s not just a fancy car or new clothes.”

“No,” she agreed. The town of Beaux was more important to her than any material possessions. The land she knew like the back of her hand. The people she loved with all her heart.

She opened her mouth to tell him about Beaux, about the threat to Dandelion House and Black Lake and her community’s way of life, but his gaze slid from hers. She realized his phone was ringing again.

Luke let out a sharp breath, gave her one of those I’m-so-sorry-but-I-have-to-get-this looks, then pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered it. After listening for moment, he said sharply, “Erick. Sounds like you talked to my mother.”

Erick. Glory recalled Luke mentioning the name before. The guy worked for him.

“She can handle the opening of Cleopatra’s Asp,” Luke said, his voice taking on that tone of control he’d had back at the poker game.

A minute earlier they’d been talking. Making a real connection. Or as much of a connection as two people who’d just met could make. Now he was all business. His eyes hard and calculating.

Maybe not all business. She noticed his gaze drop slightly, coming to rest on the slight indentation where her breasts met her T-shirt. The air was hot, humid. A single drop of sweat was gathering at the vee where her breasts met.

“Everything will be fine,” Luke continued, his voice still all distant. “The building permits for the parking structure will come in time.”

Building permits. Wait—was he a contractor? No, that couldn’t be right… Luke wasn’t the type of man to take orders from anyone. And he was too rich.

“I know what the neighborhood association says.” Luke kept talking, his voice cold. “They’ve been making the same damn complaints for the last year. ‘A parking structure will obstruct the view.’ ‘It won’t be in keeping with local architecture.’ ‘It will block the path of egress to the park.’ ‘It will change the character of the neighborhood.’” A sharp laugh. “You’ve walked around that neighborhood. It’s got some cute bungalows, a nice coffee shop, even a movie theater. What it doesn’t have is character.”

Her mouth went dry. Luke sounded just like the man trying to buy Dandelion House. The developer who wanted to steal Black Lake and ruin her hometown. The guy who never even considered their small community and all the people whose lives would be irrevocably changed when his plans went into effect.

“The casino will bring jobs to the neighborhood. It will give affluent people a place to eat on date night. They’ll need to gas up their cars, stop for coffee after a long night out. It will give their entire economy a boost.” Luke leaned forward, the heat from his body suddenly oppressive and suffocating against her skin. “My development is the best thing that neighborhood has ever known.”

Oh, God
. Luke was a
developer
.

A full-on, red-blooded killer of community. Destroyer of neighborhoods. Eliminator of lifestyles carefully built up and sustained by human connection.

He was the kind of person she hated most in all the world.

She wanted to get away, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t even breathe. All she could do was listen.

“The city council agreed with me. I made sure of that. You’ll get the construction permits today…and if the permits don’t get there, then call my mother. She plays bridge with the mayor’s wife—and half a dozen people from the city planning department.”

Luke ended the conversation with a firm jab of his finger on the phone’s screen. He slipped the phone into his back pocket, looked at her and grinned. “You were about to tell me something. Why you want the money?”

The man didn’t have a clue. Couldn’t he see how upset she was? Her poker face—the carefully cultivated mask she used while bluffing at the card table or feigning interest in one of Mr. Mackelroy’s big fish stories—was gone. She was done bluffing her way through life. She was angry. Pissed as hell that Luke could treat people so callously. She’d let the man put his hand up her shirt!

“Shouldn’t you be getting home?” The sound of her voice was too loud, strange to her own ears. “Big man like you. Bullying coworkers, pressuring politicians, building things that people don’t want—don’t need.”

“I wasn’t bullying Erick.” Luke pulled back, awkwardly.

The moment of tenderness, of connection between them, had gone—vanishing like so much faerie dust—and he hadn’t even noticed.

“The man’s my friend,” he continued. “Besides, he expects me to talk like that. I’m the boss. It’s my job.”

“Right, because he’s just an employee…not a human being.” People like Luke were all the same. They saw numbers and figures, not human beings. She pushed him away, the force of her hands sending him back a few paces. He was so damn handsome, so charming. She’d been falling under his spell ever since she’d woken with his breath on her lips. Only it turned out he wasn’t just some spoiled kid out for a thrill. He was just another rich man ignoring the needs of the community. Just like the developer trying to build on top of Beaux.

Maybe she was wrong. She’d only heard one side of the conversation. She had her suspicions, but she needed confirmation. “What kind of business do you run?”

“I own casinos.” Luke let out a low laugh. “At least that’s how I started, with my father’s casinos. I’m also a developer—I build things. Like casinos.”

“A developer.” The truth was like a punch to the gut. Her stomach churned angrily, bile rising in the back of her throat. A few minutes earlier she’d been eager to feel his hands on her hips and his mouth against hers. Eager enough that she might just have asked for that kiss, or gone further…maybe even fulfilling his fantasy of “a hot woman on a cool car.” Now she just wanted to get away.

The rumble of a car engine in the distance, the sound loud, aggressive, made Glory glance up. Through spaces between the trees, she could see a black SUV in the distance. Hair stood up on the back of her neck.

Luke turned, following her gaze. “That’s our wake-up call, babe. It’s time to go. Before the shooting starts again.”

Chapter Six

Luke stood for everything Glory hated. It was going to take her a while to process that information, but the sight of the SUV had her moving quickly. She dashed for the passenger’s side as Luke headed for the opposite side of the car, swearing. They had to get the hell out of there before Tiffanette’s guys saw them.

“How did they find us?” she snapped out, fumbling with the door handle.

“Like I said, they might be cruising the highways. Or they could have tracked us through my cell phone. Maybe traced the signal. The battery was dead last night, but I plugged it in a few minutes ago. Other than that, no clue,” Luke said, his voice a low growl. “Just in case…” He threw the phone to the ground in front of the car’s wheel.

Glory’s hands shook as she opened the passenger-side door. Quickly, she climbed into the passenger seat. One deep breath after another, struggling to control the panic rising in front of her. The night before had been wild. Wacky. But with daylight streaming through the windshield, she couldn’t imagine facing real gunfire again.

Ever.

No, thank you.

She wasn’t that kind of woman. The foolhardy gambler who put everything on the table. She was a small-town girl, from the tips of her battered tennis shoes to the top of her naturally curly hair. She owned a twenty-seat diner where she knew everyone’s order. Davie Summers was a roast beef sandwich. Mr. Carlisle—who’d owned the five-and-dime since before anyone could remember—got two eggs, bacon, and a side of rye toast, no matter what time of day he came in.

Luke started the car, throwing it into reverse. Through the open window she could hear the crunch of his cell phone getting smashed into a billion tiny pieces. He shifted into first, and the only noise was the rev of the engine and the pounding in her ears as he got back on the frontage road, ready to hook a left to get on State Route 64, headed to the Grand Canyon.

She sure as heck hoped the guys in the SUV hadn’t noticed them parked on the side of the road. “I thought we’d lost them last night.” She shifted in the passenger seat to look behind them as Luke drove under the overpass. The SUV had already passed over them, but who knew how many were out there?

She swore under her breath. “This is crazy, and I know from crazy. Just ask Cara May down at the general store. She’ll tell you all the Allens are madder than a hornet’s nest in July.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Luke’s voice was perfectly controlled. The jerk.

“Oh, it’s true.”

Maybe she wasn’t the crazy one. Just listening to him, she’d never guess that they were being chased by goons with guns. She continued. “My daddy wasn’t so bad. The man was a preacher. Mama though…her family…the DuSangs are famous all over the state. They’re fine, upstanding members of the community, except for when they occasionally go off their rockers and cause destruction of an absurd nature.”

“How absurd?”

“Practically apocalyptic.”

Behind them, she noticed another black SUV. This one had gotten off on the same exit they had, and was gaining, rapidly. Damn. They hadn’t lost the goons. “Can’t this thing go any faster? I thought you said it could move.”

“I go any faster and it’ll get dangerous.”

“Uh-huh.” Glory kept one eye trained on the side-view mirror, holding her breath in case something happened. “I still think we should go faster. There’s one behind us already.”

Luke slammed on the brakes, then flipped a quick U-turn. “I’m heading back to the town we passed last night. I’ll try to lose them there.”

“Hurry!”

“You weren’t this nervous last night.”

“Last night?” Right. This wasn’t their first car chase in twenty-four hours. “Last night adrenaline was racing. I—” She felt nervous, as though she was going to hyperventilate. Yesterday she’d been someone else, a reckless gambler willing to do anything, say anything, but now common sense was reasserting itself. “I own a diner, for goodness’ sake! I’m not Thelma. Or Louise!”

“They went to the Grand Canyon, too.”

“Yeah, and look how that ended.” Her head was throbbing. “We’re going to die!”

“Take a deep breath,” Luke ordered. “Focus on the here and now. Tell me more about your family—your parents, what are they like?”

She got what he was trying to do. Distract her from the dire situation racing after them. It was gesture she could appreciate.

Luke had already hit the gas. They whipped past the SUV, the driver staring stupidly at them. The bigger vehicle didn’t handle nearly as well as the Vanquish. It would take the bad guys a few moments to catch up. A few moments. That wasn’t long.

“Dead.” Glory’s hands twisted nervously. She tugged at the edge of her shirt. “My parents both died. Cara May says—”

“Cara May sure has a lot to say, for someone who works at the general store.”

“She’s the town gossip. Always knows what’s up.” Glory twisted in her seat to get a better view. There was a flash of black metal behind them. The SUV? Or some rancher’s truck? Either way, things were getting a little too close for comfort.

She cleared her throat and continued. “After my mother died, Cara May brought casserole by the house twice a week. For six years. All the women in town had a rotation, but Cara May always brought dessert, too. Homemade cookies or pudding cups from the store.”

“Sounds nice,” Luke said, flashing a quick glance in the rearview mirror and stepping on the gas. “Tell me more.”

So she did. As Luke sent the Vanquish right and left, went up streets and back down, she complained about the diner, long hours, low profits, always racing around. But letting him know she liked being her own boss. Working in her own place with people she knew. Gossiping with old friends and serving milkshakes to schoolchildren.

“So, I was making a gingerbread castle the other day,” she said, “and this kid—”

“A gingerbread castle?” Luke said. “A house isn’t good enough?”

“A house is fine and dandy if you’re showing off for Christmas.” She licked her lips. “If you want to feed a congregation then you’re going to need something a little more architecturally significant. I always make something for the Autumn Fest. It had peppermint windows and frosting trim. Justin said it was structurally unsound.”

“Justin?”

“My breakfast cook. Anyway, he thought the Peeps weren’t strong enough to take the weight of a load-bearing wall, but Mrs. Marsters—she took over her husband’s construction company after he died—she showed me how to do crossbeams. The thing ended up weighing a million pounds.” She smiled, wide. “Tasted like cardboard, but there wasn’t a crumb left. Everyone had a piece.”

For a moment, he stopped his intense focus on the road and the rearview mirror and looked at her. “You really love them, don’t you? All those people in town.”

“I don’t— Yes. Of course I do. They’re amazing, but sometimes I wish they’d just leave me alone. Living in the same town where I grew up, stuck in a loop talking to the same 753 people. It’s not exactly what I dreamed about as a kid.”

“What did you dream about doing when you were a kid?” Luke said.

Glory realized his tone had changed. Grown softer. And he wasn’t looking behind them anymore.

“I wanted to be Indiana Jones,” she stated.

Luke turned in his seat to look at her straight on. “You wanted to raid tombs?”

“Fantastic adventures and good, honest truths. No, I wanted to travel the world, having adventures and making a difference.” Glory beamed. “I’ve taken every history class over at the junior college in Miller’s Crossing. Kings of England. The Civil War. All of it, I just wish there was more.”

“Why didn’t you go on? I’ve never heard of the University of West Virginia, but something like that must exist—”

“We have plenty of colleges, but I couldn’t go away. Someone had to look after Hallie. Ashley was taking her first run at the mayor’s office.”

“By the way, I think we lost them. I haven’t seen any SUVs for quite a while.”

For one brief moment Glory’s heart sang. She took a deep breath, concentrating on the land around them. Luke had doubled back and they were on the 64 again, headed north. She twisted in her seat and watched out the rearview mirror for a while, making sure no SUVs popped up. They’d done it. Tiffanette’s men were probably zooming down I-40, figuring they’d head straight for the nearest city.

After all, who went to the Grand Canyon with gunners on their trail? Besides Thelma and Louise?

The land was dry and foreign. Narrow trees bent in on themselves. Masses of brush piled on either side of the road. Overhead were sunshine and fluffy white clouds. “Turn on the AC. If I wanted a sauna, I’d join the gym over in Miller’s Crossing.”

“What’s Miller’s Crossing?”

“Miller’s Crossing is the next town over from Beaux. The county seat.” Glory made the sign of the cross reflexively. The rivalry between the two towns was legendary. No one knew how it had started, but every autumn Friday night when the two high school football teams met, it grew deeper. “They beat us in the state playoffs last year, but we’ll get them this time. We have Josiah Blankford coming up from the junior high. Kid’s got an arm like a machine.”

“I’ll bet on him to beat the spread.” Luke grinned.

In a moment’s silence, Glory could hear crows crying in the distance. An eerie reminder of their rural setting, so much like her small hometown and—at the same time—so different. There was more open space, and the only mountains were far off in the distance. Her throat was dry, and breathing in the arid air didn’t help. It was completely foreign, unlike the earthy Middle American farmland she was used to. No dense forests, deep rivers, or gunpowder residue from her cousin’s latest disagreement or celebration.

With Luke at her side, the memory of his phone call still burning in her mind, she’d never felt more alone.

She wanted to grab his arm, to tell him to stop the car, but there were still people with guns out to get them. “So…what’s next?”

“In less than twelve hours I’ve been held up, kidnapped, and shot at,” Luke said. “We’re less than an hour from the Grand Canyon, and we lost the bad guys. The least we can do is look at a big freaking hole in the ground.”