Page 10 of Calling His Bluff
Josephine climbed the stairs on trembling legs. The Armstrongs must have seen the story and thought that with her alone out here and defenseless, they would collect their money one way or another. She balked at the thought. She’d never been defenseless.
Except against Jack Rawlins.
-#-
By the time Jack reached the street, the man was gone. He searched the area, taking the walkway that led down to the water’s edge. The wind caught the foaming white tops of the breaking waves, sending spray into the air. He breathed inthe briny tang of the morning for a moment before turning back.
At the knock, Josephine let him in. She’d gotten dressed and he could smell freshly brewed coffee as they climbed the stairs to the apartment. “What do I owe you for fixing the locks on the doors?” she asked, all business.
“A cup of that coffee.” He nodded toward the pot on the counter and, pulling out a chair at the kitchen table, took a seat. “Then I’ll take the truth. Whichever one he was, he was gone by the time I reached the street.”
She had her back to him at the kitchen counter. “I already told you the truth.”
He chose not to comment as he watched her pour him a mug of the steaming hot brew, then turn to move toward him. As she set the mug down in front of him, he fought the urge to grab her wrist, pull her into his lap, into his arms.
Josephine turned away, leaving him even more aware of how much he wanted this woman. For keeps. That was the problem. She’d made it clear, the time they’d spent together, that marriage wasn’t a possibility. He hadn’t asked, hadn’t cared, at the time. He’d been happy to take her anyway he could get her.
But once he’d realized that it wasn’t enough, he’d taken the money they’d won and left her in that hotel room without a goodbye.
Now studying her as she poured herself a mug of coffee, he saw her hands were unsteady. He shivered, still chilled from his walk along the rocky coastline and the fear he felt coming off Josie. Cupping his hands around the mug, he swore under his breath, afraid to even ask. “It isn’t just the twins, is it? Josephine, how much trouble are you in?”
Mug in both hands, she turned to face him, leaning her back against the counter, establishing her borders. “You don’t want to get involved in this,” she said, her voice cracked just enough that he knew she was more afraid than she wanted him to know.
Seeing one of the Armstrong twins watching from across the street as he’d done last night had shaken her. But she was trying hard to convince him it hadn’t. “These men are hardened criminals. I didn’t know it at the time, but they’d only recently been released from prison. They’re dangerous, Jack. You need to stay out of this and let me handle it.”
He shook his head. “Either you can tell me what I need to know about them or I can ask them when I find them. Up to you.”
She studied the coffee in her mug for a moment as if making up her mind. She knew him, knew he wasn’t bluffing. Hewasn’t letting this go. Hell, he wasn’t letting her go—not that he might ever have her the way he wanted.
“They showed up at one of my private card games.”
He raised a brow. “They didn’t just show up. Someone told them about it.”
She looked up. “They said they knew Aunt Clara, had played at her house, that she’d mentioned me. Said she told them if they ever got the chance, they should look me up.”
Jack swore. Josephine had taken a chance on them against her better judgment because they’d said the magic words: Aunt Clara. “Would your aunt have actually said that to them?”
She shrugged. “It wasn’t the first time someone showed up at one of my games with a connection to my aunt. You know how word gets around with gamblers when it comes to finding a game.”
He did. It was how he put himself through college, how he bankrolled his private investigative business, how he liked to relax. It was something he and Josephine had in common. They both loved to gamble—even knowing the odds were against them.
Still, he couldn’t believe her aunt had sent the two men to Josephine. The old woman was eccentric, but sending two known felons? Maybe she didn’t know. Or maybe they lied. “When was this?”
“A few days after her funeral. I held the party at her house to honor her. Some of her regulars came. The twins claimed they’d played poker at her house before.” She met his gaze defiantly. “Not everyone who shows up at the card games is squeaky clean like you, Jack,” she snapped.
“They probably saw her obituary in the newspaper,” he said. “Heard about the game…”
She sighed. “Looking back, I probably should have vetted them, but they had money and I had no reason not to believe them. After that night, I left town, put it behind me, not expecting to see them again.”
“I doubt they would be here if not for that article,” he said with a curse. “How many people know about the bridal shop?”
“I didn’t tell anyone and I definitely didn’t mention it at the card game with the Armstrongs. I didn’t learn about it until the next day at the lawyer’s office.”
Jack studied her for a moment. He knew, given her private life, she didn’t make close friends she would confide in. Shemoved around. Poker players heard about her games by word of mouth. He’d lived the same life—until he decided to open his private investigative business.
“Well, they’re here and it’s clear they are after you.” When she didn’t deny that was the case, she confirmed what he’d already suspected. Josephine had been in trouble before she’d inherited Seaside Vows. “So, they just want the money they think you owe them.” Her slight hesitation told him not. “They want payback for what you did to Darwin.”
She shot him a look that confirmed it.
