Leaving Las Vegas (Entangled Ignite) (8 page)

And she was kissing him. Not just touching her lips to his, but thoroughly kissing him. She reached up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and held on to him, so tightly he thought she might never let go.

“Luke.” She moaned his name against the edge of his mouth. “Luke.” A faint whisper, like a prayer, and suddenly his entire body was taut with hungry anticipation.

He needed more.

He needed her. No. He forced himself to take a step backward, trying to quell his raging libido. He
needed
to find the person who was after him. He
needed
to keep Glory safe, to make sure she got home.

He
wanted
her naked underneath him, screaming his name as he brought her to the point of pleasure over and over again.

But what he wanted didn’t enter into the equation. Glory came first.

“Let’s go,” he said when he finally pulled away. “We need to get back on the road. I need to buy a burner phone and make some calls. Figure out who set this whole thing up.”

“No.” Glory shook her head.

The single word made Luke frown. Stubborn woman. Why did she have to be so damn contrary?

“We came all the way out here,” she said. “I want to see it.”

Right, the Grand Canyon. “You don’t have to do this, Glory. Not if you’re afraid.”

“Haven’t you heard? I’m not afraid of anything.” Step by step. Inch by painful inch. Glory worked her way toward the edge of the Grand Canyon. Her feet dragged on the trail, causing clouds of red dust to rise and float around her ankles. It seemed to take hours. Tension rose in him, concern about finding the mastermind of Tiffanette’s scheme edging into his consciousness, but finally Glory was standing by the park barrier. Every muscle, every bone, locked in place as fear—of heights or the great unknown—gripped her.

“It’s definitely not West Virginia,” she said after a few long moments of contemplation. “But it is beautiful. Maybe even wondrous.”

“Absolutely wondrous,” he echoed quietly, his eyes glued to her curvy frame, the way her denim shorts cupped her apple-shaped behind before meeting long, silky legs. For a woman who barely came up to his shoulders, her legs seemed to go on for miles. Even more captivating was her spirit, the way she’d faced her fear and conquered it. His mouth was dry and his heart humming. His physical reaction to her presence made him wish there were fewer people around. He’d never get tired of watching her.

Luke forced himself to take a deep breath. Never was an awfully long time. They’d known each other less than twenty-four hours. And—no matter how she might melt in his arms—she definitely didn’t like him. As far as she was concerned, he was just another bloodsucking developer who didn’t understand what it was like to be part of a community. And she’d be right.

He had no clue.

Chapter Eight

Glory worried. Luke hadn’t said more than two or three words as they drove from the Grand Canyon along several remote highways until they finally reconnected to I-40, headed east. Now he wanted to buy a burner phone.

Had she insulted him? Pushed too far when she told him about her hatred for developers? Was it something else she’d said? Or was it the kiss at the Grand Canyon? He’d been quiet for so long, maybe he regretted kissing her.

Glory hadn’t asked. Instead, she’d responded with her own patented brand of silence. But that wasn’t getting her anywhere. She tapped her fingers idly against the car’s interior molding. Why was Luke so eager to buy a phone? So damn eager to talk to anyone but her—

Her hand stilled. “Why do you need to buy a burner phone?”

No answer.

“I have a phone. What’s wrong with my phone?”

“GPS.”

Did that count as one word, or three? And what did he mean by that, anyway? “I don’t think my phone has GPS. It doesn’t have maps. Or directions. If I want to find the nearest pie shop, I have to call 411.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed.

“Anyway, I was careful at the poker game. I didn’t tell anyone my last name or where I’m from, so they have no clue what my phone number is. If you need to make calls, you can use my cell.”

Luke’s jaw clenched. Then he nodded.

Oh, wow. His Lordship had granted permission.

Glory dug around in her purse and pulled out the phone. Dead. And the charger for Luke’s phone was a white cord with a company-specific connection. Glory’s nostrils flared when she saw it. “That’s not going to work. Piece of high-tech silliness.”

“Who still uses a flip phone?”

“There’s not much of a signal in Beaux. No data plans means no reason to upgrade. It might not have GPS or Internet access, but there’s a speakerphone, voice mail, and a nifty calendar function.”

“Backward little town,” he mumbled under his breath.

A condemnation that would have pissed her off a few hours earlier, but at least now he was talking. Had he really given her the silent treatment because of the kiss at the Grand Canyon? Sure, she’d broken her own rule by kissing him, but…
damn
.

Her mouth went dry. Her heart fluttered in her chest.

The man had her more hot and bothered than the weather.

It didn’t help that she was so aware of every move he made. Goose bumps standing up on her arm every time he reached over to grab some trail mix they’d picked up at the Grand Canyon visitor’s center. Tingles shooting up her arm when he passed her a drink to hold.

The damn car had everything. Except cup holders.

Glory forced herself to take a breath. The car wasn’t the problem. Luke was the problem. “Do you really think you can solve this with a few phone calls? Figure out where Tiffanette is—and who’s helping her?”

“I’ve learned a lot over the years. Some of it in college—earning a pair of fancy degrees—and most of it earned the hard way building a casino empire in Las Vegas,” he said. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s that someone always knows something…and information can always be bought for the right price. All it takes is the right call, made to the right person.”

She humphed. The
wealthy
lived in a different world. Freaking aliens. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to Las Vegas? Do your investigating there?”

“No.”

Glory waited. Nothing happened. “Why not? Don’t you have things to do? Meetings to attend?” Flunkies to intimidate. Neighborhoods to terrorize.

“The mark of a good businessman is that he can—from time to time—delegate responsibilities.”

Wow. Over a dozen words all strung together, recited in a dry tone.

Glory couldn’t tell whether Luke was being serious or joking. “Sounds like something you memorized from a book.”

“It’s something Adam Dearborn says.”

“Am I supposed to know who that is?”

Luke kept his eyes on the road. His hands were in proper position at ten and two. “Dearborn’s a management consultant. Worked on that big Dresden Implements deal a while back. He can take a company from Chapter 11 to solvency in less than a quarter. I hired him a couple of years ago to streamline our chain of command. He’s a friend of mine.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Excuse me?”

“What you described? That’s not friendship.”

“Of course he’s a friend.”

“Nuh-uh.” Glory figured Luke was a good businessman—to be a success in Las Vegas, he was probably better than good—but she’d spent her entire life dealing with people. Small town. Salt of the earth.
Real
people. “I’ve got loads of friends. Everyone in town. If I’m talking about them, I start with their name. Maybe I say they’re a major pain in the ass, but—God help me—I love ’em anyway. Then I say they’re my friend. I don’t give out their résumé.”

“Dearborn is a good friend,” Luke insisted. “I saw him just last month at a benefit.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“Of course. We discussed the proposed changes in corporate tax law.”

Glory rolled her eyes. “No—I mean—did you really
talk
to him? Did you ask how he’s feeling? Get a few drinks and talk about sports? Hell, what about sex?”

The Vanquish swerved.
Hah
. Mr. Capable Driver stalled by a single question.

Luke waited until he had righted the car before putting his foot more firmly on the gas. All those horses sending them galloping down the road. “Excuse me?”

What was she doing? She didn’t want to know about Luke’s sex life. She definitely didn’t want to know about Luke and other women. She didn’t even want to
think
about Luke and other women. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to concentrate on the conversation at hand. “Friends do stuff together. Not like attending benefits, but regular stuff. Like grabbing a burger. Drinking a few beers. Watching the game. They talk about
stuff
.”

“That’s what you talk about with your friends? Sex?”

A person had to have sex before she could talk about it, and Glory hadn’t had sex since breaking off her engagement. And that had been a long, long time ago. Hallie was the sister who was always getting some action. She let it slide. “And other stuff. Don’t you have someone like that?”

“Sure.” Luke’s brow was furrowed. His jaw tight. The look on his face was one of utter incomprehension. As though she was speaking Greek instead of imparting a few honest truths. “The last person I talked about
stuff
with was Erick.”

“He’s an employee,” Glory noted helpfully. She forced her hands down flat against her knees to keep from reaching out to him, smoothing the creases in his brow. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She wanted to reach out and take his hand, to tell him that it was okay. There was still time left for him to make the friends he needed, the friends he deserved. She slowed down, struggling to explain basic tenets she’d learned on the Beaux Elementary School playground. “Friendship is a couple of people hanging out,
without an agenda
.”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel. His nostrils flared. “You’re the one with an agenda.”

Maybe that hadn’t been so helpful. “Excuse me?”

“You came to Las Vegas looking to cheat at poker. That makes you a thief. Just like Tiffanette.”

The look on his face was calculating and fierce. This was the businessman who’d walked into the poker game the previous night. The man who could destroy a neighborhood—or a town—without giving a second thought to the people who lived there.

Just like the developer who wanted to destroy Beaux.

“Maybe you’re in cahoots with her,” he continued, staring straight ahead. “And this is all just an elaborate setup to get me out in the open. Away from Las Vegas.”

Was he grumbling, or serious? “I would never— Never.” It didn’t matter if he was only grumbling. Irritated. Her entire life she’d always been the good one. Now, to hear accusations lobbed at her without a thought to her true character set her stomach churning. She’d had it. “Stop the car.” Nothing happened. “Damn it, Luke! Stop the car.”

He pulled over to the side of the road. “What?”

“I need to think.” Glory grabbed the door handle and pushed. She needed to get out of the car. Fast. Before they both said something they’d regret later.

She stumbled out of the car, landing awkwardly. The door was still open behind her. The music from the car radio floating out over the landscape. A classic country crooner—someone whose cracked voice she didn’t recognize—singing about a woman he loved more than his guitar. Up at the Grand Canyon, for one brief shining moment, Luke had seemed like a regular guy, overjoyed at the chance to look over the universe. But she knew better. There was nothing regular about him. While she’d been learning about friendship on the muddy banks of Black Lake, he’d been—what? What kind of man couldn’t understand friendship, community, all the small relationships that made life worth living?

She looked around. At this altitude, the landscape here was different than at the canyon. Not greener. Not by much. Just different. All sand and rock. Nothing like the crumbling hills of her home, with their crooked trees and lush green meadows.

Luke had never learned about friendship the hard way, fighting with another kid until you were both laid out on the ground and laughing hard enough to wake the neighbors. He’d never sneaked out with a buddy on Saturday night only to be caught by a grown-up, a bond strengthened by a shared punishment. He’d never shouted fit to burst when someone dumped water on his head, waking him up early for a round of fishing. He’d lived his entire life without people laughing at some fool thing he’d done in kindergarten…over…and over…and over again.

She shuddered at the thought. She couldn’t imagine being that lonely.

“I hurt your feelings,” she called out over the sound of the car radio. “I’m sorry.”

The engine turned off. The music was gone. A door slammed behind her. Luke getting out of the car, following her onto the side of the road. The only thing Glory could hear was the silence of the flat terrain, eerie in comparison with what she was used to—the hum of crickets and the giggles of children out hunting frogs or fireflies.

“Get back in the car.” An order, not a question.

“No,” she said.

“It’s not safe out here—”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

A hand grabbed her arm, strong fingers wrapping around her wrist and gently tugging her backward. She stumbled on unfamiliar terrain and fell awkwardly against his chest. The warmth from his body was almost unbearable after the blistering heat from his tongue. But nice. So nice.

“It’s dangerous out here,” Luke said. “You don’t just go walking off on the side of the highway.”

“I can take care of myself.” She wrenched her arm away from him.

“Even if Tiffanette shows up again?” he asked in a softer tone. “We don’t know if we’re still being followed. They won’t actually shoot me, but you’re another story. They could…”

Her stomach twisted. He’d left that last little bit unsaid, but she knew what he was saying. And even if she was in danger, he was sticking with her. She licked her dry lips, then made a sharp turn, staring up at Luke. “I said I was sorry.”

His sharp features were still dark. But after a moment, he nodded. “I accept your apology.” He let out a long breath. “And I apologize for accusing you of having a nefarious scheme.”

“Damn straight.”

“You don’t think far enough ahead to be nefarious.”

Glory narrowed her eyes. But he was grinning. That had been his attempt at a joke. “I can be nefarious when I want to. I just don’t see the point. Besides, why would anyone bother kidnapping you?” She leaned forward, poking him in the chest. Hard. “This is America. Stuck-up rich guys with heads the size of planets are a dime a dozen. Available on every street corner.”

“I’m not. I—” He leaned forward, invading her personal space. “I was serious when I told you I’m wealthy. As in,
extremely
wealthy. I know what kind of temptation that much money is. My father was killed in a botched heist. My security team has strict instructions to pay any ransom.”

“You have a security team?”

“Usually a bodyguard and a driver. More if there’s been a threat.”

“I didn’t see them at the poker game.”

“I never take them to the poker game.” He took a deep breath. “The poker game’s my release. I drive myself. I pay my own way. Just a few friends, hanging out playing cards.”

Just a few friends, hanging out playing cards.

Until it wasn’t.

“And you call those people at the poker table friends?” Her heart melted when she saw his befuddled and somewhat hurt expression. Quickly, she said, “You’re my friend. You drive me crazy, but—God help me, I—” Her heart skipped a beat. “I like you. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

A car raced by, going ten miles over the speed limit. An ordinary four-door sedan. Not a black, shiny SUV. But still, she shivered.

“Yeah.” Luke’s arms separated from her body. For a moment they just stood there on the edge of the road. Side by side. His head lifted. His spine straightened. Then he smiled. “I guess we are friends.”