Leaving Las Vegas (Entangled Ignite) (4 page)

“I think we’re okay,” she finally said.

Luke said nothing.

She licked her lips. There were a bunch of things to decide, but for the moment she couldn’t think of anything. After a few moments, she opened her mouth again. “We’ve been driving all over. How do we get completely out of town?”

This time Luke answered. “The airport’s north of here.”

“Airports are nice places if you want to catch a cab or a plane.” She flashed a glance at him.

“A plane ride would be faster. Simpler.” His eyes narrowed. “Or are you afraid to fly?”

“I’m not afraid of anything,” she lied.

“How did you get here in the first place?”

“Bus.”

“And headed back in my Aston Martin. Nice.”

The plan had been for Glory catch a bus to get back home, or if she’d won more than the $860,000, she’d rent a car. It hadn’t been so much a plan as a vague set of ideas come up with by a handful of desperate people. They’d gathered the money, pestered Hallie until she found the contact information for the poker game, and sent Glory halfway across the country on a quest that was almost guaranteed to fail.

After she’d left, they’d probably started coming up with alternative plans to buy Dandelion House.

Dandelion House was the real reason she’d come to Vegas. The old Victorian was the latest property up for sale on the shores of Black Lake. The one remaining empty house not overtaken by an out-of-town developer. If the town didn’t buy the place in the next few days, it would be sold to an overbred out-of-towner with plans to tear the entire place down and replace it with a god-awful resort, privatizing the town beach in the process.

And Beaux, West Virginia, would be lost forever. Another piece of small-town Americana swallowed up by Big Business.

“It’s still not enough,” she murmured to herself.

“You got my Vanquish for free and you’re complaining?”

“Never mind.” Glory kept driving straight ahead, passing a freeway sign. Flagstaff.
Huh
. She’d never been.

Luke leaned back in his seat, letting out a long gust of air. In the car’s quiet interior, his presence seemed to expand. They weren’t touching, weren’t looking at each other, and certainly weren’t talking, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t aware of every breath he took.

If only she were someone else. Better, if only
he
were someone else.

The man was too big for the little car, too grand for Beaux.

If only they had more time.

The smart thing to do would be to stop the car and let him out. Instead, she kept moving forward. Always forward. That was her motto, the lesson she’d tried to teach her sisters. Always move forward. Never look back.

Maybe she should have taught them something else.

Knitting was a productive hobby.

The cell phone on the dashboard went off. “Seventy-six Trombones.” Benji again. The music was overpowering. The noise grated on her nerves. It was getting harder and harder to ignore, but that didn’t mean she was going to answer. No, sir. No way. Not a chance in—

“Hello?” Luke’s voice was clipped, clear. There was a short pause, the voice on the other end of the line sharp and tinny. “Gloria Allen? Yes, I do believe she’s here. One moment, please—”

“Give me that.” Glory grabbed the phone, not caring if her elbow connected with Luke’s side in the process. The man shouldn’t even be there. “Benji, this better be good news. If you say one word about fire damage at my house, I will make you regret the day that your mama pushed you squealing into this world. You got that?”

A short pause. Then a female voice. “Hello, Glory.”

“Ack!” The phone flew out of her hands. Ashley. She’d just yelled at
Ashley
. Her older sister. She was going to hell, and she deserved it. Ashley was her best friend. And when it came to town business, she couldn’t be more serious. A shining star of civic responsibility. And the one who’d sent Glory all the way to Las Vegas to win the $860,000 to save their hometown.

A quick fumble, and Glory picked the phone back up. “Hey, big sister. I didn’t know it was you calling. Figured it was Benji.”

“You made that clear. I borrowed his phone.” A sigh. “I thought you were okay with Benji staying at your place until you got home.”

“Why would I mind an arsonist setting up shop in my house?” Glory’s cheeks grew hot. Heck, she couldn’t even tell a fib to Ashley without getting all bent out of shape. Irritation took over. “I’m fine with Benji staying there until I get back. As long as there’s someplace for me to get back to.”

In the seat next to her, Luke sat there, frowning. He probably thought she was some sort of hillbilly trash. Maybe she was, but her daddy had been the town’s only preacher and her mama had been a DuSang. That meant something. It had to. It meant that she could rise above.

“Do you have the money?” Ashley asked.

“I have—” The money was in the bag at Luke’s feet. It wasn’t quite $860,000, but it might be enough to bargain with. More than half a million. Cash. But it wasn’t exactly hers. The car kind of was, but the car wasn’t eight hundred grand in cash. “It was a dumb plan, Ashley. You need to start thinking of a backup.”

“You lost?” Ashley’s displeasure was clear. “Glory, you know what the money means to us.” There was banging of pots and pans together on the end of the line. “Did you try cheating?”

“Daddy always said cheating was bad for the soul.”

Luke’s eyes twinkled. His lips twitched up in a wry smile, as though he was trying to keep from laughing. That didn’t have anything to do with her. Nope. Not at all. Not a damn thing. A deep breath.

“Go back. Play some more. Win,” Ashley ordered.

“I can’t.” The money would save her town, save her sister, but for Glory it was nothing but trouble. “I just want to go home—”

“Come on, Glory. It’s not that you can’t win. Are you afraid? Is that it? Sometimes you have to risk everything for what you believe in…” Ashley paused. “You love Beaux, right? Sometimes you have to gamble everything for love.”

“Nice. You get that off a fortune cookie?” Glory’s mind scrambled. She still had the car, Luke’s precious Aston Martin. Maybe he’d trade it for the bag of cash on his lap. He sure seemed to like the hunk of metal enough.

A laugh. “Speaking of love, who’s the stud answering your phone?”

“Stud?” A quick cough. Hopefully Luke hadn’t heard what Ashley was saying. Glory cleared her throat.

“That guy. He sounds hot.”

“How would you know?” she snorted. Ashley’s exploits had never been sexual. In high school she’d dated boys she met at church socials and tried to set a good example for her sisters. Dinner, dancing, and she was always home by midnight.

Now she was the mayor, living in the old DuSang house on Main Street. The last of a great dynasty. Ashley spent her free nights at the movies and her free days fishing. Friday nights were for city council meetings and Saturday was the weekly pool competition down at the bar. Then there was poker with the church ladies. All of which left her too busy to go on a real date.

“He’s tall, dark, and drop-dead gorgeous. Broad shoulders, narrow waist. Great ass.” The description was rough, crude, but admitting what she’d been thinking all night had her breath coming faster and her blood running hot under her skin. Better, it made the man sitting beside her sit up and pay attention. “Good hands.”

Great hands, long and capable fingers. The thought of his hands moving over her was enough to make her gasp for air. Definitely not what she should be thinking about while she was driving.

She pulled to the side of the long highway and parked, allowing herself a deep breath. It was time for a break. She kept the phone glued to her ear as she turned to look at Luke.

Who looked straight back at her, a smug expression on his face.

“Definitely not my type.” She smirked at him. “Maybe good enough for a one-night stand, but I like a man I can depend on. Someone who’ll take me out for dinner and stick around to take a look at my leaking kitchen sink the morning after.”

Not a stranger from out of town who’d been born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Her entire life she’d been surrounded by the people of Beaux. They’d loved her, cared for her, and helped raised her after her parents’ deaths. Her grandmother DuSang had been a loving woman, doting in her own way, but she’d also been tired. Tired from the deaths of her husband, her daughter, and her son-in-law. Wiped out by the loss of her fortune.

Glory could still remember huddling on the back stairs of her grandmother’s house with Ashley and Hallie. Holding one hand over Hallie’s mouth to keep the younger girl quiet while she and Ashley listened to Hank’s father explain the options. Boarding school or—worse—foster care.

It had been their neighbor Cara May who’d stopped her grandmother from making any rash decisions. Cara May who’d found the sisters huddling together on the stairs and taken them up to bed. Who’d organized the town to help their grandmother raise three wild children, and who’d kept them in Beaux.

Her sister’s sharp laughter brought her back down to earth.

“Does he have money?” Ashley said. “Maybe I could marry him. Down by the lake. White dress, pit-smoked pork. Benji could set off some fireworks.”

“Don’t go throwing yourself in front of the bus just yet, sweet thing. If we’re marrying anyone off for money, it’s Hallie. She gets one more trespassing charge—trying to save the whales or something—and she won’t be able to make bail. Besides, I doubt this guy’s the kind of guy who’d succumb to a gold digger. And I’m not interested.”

Glory had met Luke only a few hours earlier. She knew what he drank, how he laughed, and that he was calm in a crisis. She knew he’d be able to spot a gold digger a mile away. This was the closest she’d gotten to a man in years. Ever since she and her fiancé had ended the engagement a month before their wedding.

It had been for the best. Hank was a good lawyer and a great volunteer fire chief, but he wasn’t the most exciting man in West Virginia. Not by a long shot. The worst part was she’d been unhappy even before the breakup. She’d known, deep in her heart, that they could never end up together. Hank needed someone sweet and obliging. Someone who didn’t mind when he stayed out too late with the boys. She deserved someone who could make her heart sparkle and leap, the same way Benji’s fireworks sparkled and danced in the sky overhead.

“You’ve been in Las Vegas for less than a day. How did you end up with a guy in your car?” Ashley asked.

“He’s my hostage.”

Three words. Quick. A throwaway meant to earn a laugh. But Ashley didn’t say anything. There was just silence on the other end of the line.

“He’s not really,” Glory hurried to clarify. “I would never take a hostage. Hallie takes hostages. I swear on all that’s holy.”

Still silence. Damn it.

“I’m just giving him a ride.” She shoved the phone into Luke’s hand. “Tell my sister you’re with me willingly.” She pushed herself back against the car door. As far away from Luke as possible.

Ashley didn’t trust her. Exhaustion took over and she closed her eyes, forcing back tears.

Luke’s voice was low, easy, as he talked to Ashley. She must have said something funny because suddenly he was laughing.
Jerk
. Glory should grab the phone and beg her sister to wire her the money for a return ticket home. But then she’d have to tell Ashley the truth. There would be no $800,000. No saving grace. The future of Black Lake—and Beaux with it—would be gone by the end of the week.

Her breath was coming too fast. The people of Beaux had been so damn good to her. But she’d let them down.

“Don’t worry,” Luke was saying, “I’ll take good care of her.” A few pleasantries, then he was done. He flipped the phone closed. It made a soft thud when it hit the inside of her purse. “I like your sister. Ashley sounds like a smart woman. Confident, sweet—”

Her eyes flickered open. “Let me guess. The next thing that you’re going to say is beautiful. Damn it. I’m sick of being the good one.”

That got a blink of surprise from Luke. He leaned forward, suddenly interested. “You’re the
good
one? Compared to who? Boudicca?”

The incredulity in his voice was thick, palpable, but she should have expected it. Her actions over the past day hadn’t been all sweetness and light.

“Compared to my sisters,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow.

“You think I’m joking? I’m plain, boring. No one. They walk down the street and people turn to look. They ignite lust, jealousy, anger, and love. I’m a cupcake.”

One of his eyebrows was raised, questioningly. He clearly didn’t believe her.

Glory plowed forward, ignoring him. “Ashley’s beautiful, Hallie’s sexy. It doesn’t matter how far away I get, I’m just the normal one. Forgotten. Ignored—unless someone needs something. Money, a fall guy, or Hallie’s phone number.”

“I’d never call you normal. Besides, you didn’t let me finish.” Luke paused, as if searching for the right thing to say. “Naive.”

The skin around his eyes crinkled slightly when he smiled. Glory hadn’t noticed that before. It was sexy as hell. Almost as sexy as the look he was giving her, as if she were a double-fudge sundae and he had a spoon. Maybe he could stay all the way to Albuquerque.

“Your sister sounds naive.”

A sharp laugh. The man was smarter than he looked. “That’s Ashley, always living in her own fantasy world.”

“I like women. Real women, with natural curves and their eyes wide open.” Luke’s voice was a deep rumble. “A woman who knows what she wants and goes after it. That’s pretty damn sexy.”

He leaned forward, reaching out with long fingers to pluck a piece of plaster from her hair. His hand stilled. His lips pursed. His eyes darkened slightly, turning a deep moss green. Was it just another trick of the light? Or lust?

Suddenly his hands were on her shoulders, then around the back of her neck. He drew her toward him. Then he kissed her, softly. On the lips.

She moved forward, leaning into him as though her body had a mind of its own. She clenched her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms, to regain some semblance of control. But she didn’t stop the kiss. His lips pressed against hers in a way that should have just been nice. Comfortable. The kiss shouldn’t have set off a series of explosions throughout her body.