Page 9 of Calling His Bluff
Swearing under his breath, he dragged his gaze back to the street. “Have you seen that man before?”
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CHAPTER 5
Josephine sighed and leaned in to look through the narrow space he had opened between the curtains. If this was just a trick to get close to her… She smelled his woodsy male scent mixed with the salty brine of the Pacific Coast as her shoulder brushed against his.
Electricity sparked, red hot, making her shudder at its intensity. She’d been telling herself since their last encounter that it had burned out. Wrong, so wrong. If anything, being this close had her whole body vibrating as if her desire for him had multiplied in his absence.
Jack shifted on his feet, giving her space, as if he felt the increased voltage of their chemistry. “Well?” he said hoarsely, drawing her attention back to the window.
The rain had stopped, but a fog-like mist seemed to move on a slight breeze. She focused on the figure he’d pointed out to her. It was only across the street but from the second-story apartment window, she couldn’t be sure at first.
Then the man looked up as if he could feel her gaze on him. Suddenly it felt as if he were looking right at her. She stepped back, startled and off balance, bumping into the wooden headboard. She clutched at the towel determined not to drop it as she sat down hard on the bed.
“You recognize him.”
She swallowed back the bile that had risen in her throat at the sight of the man watching her apartment, she debated how much to tell Jack.
“Don’t lie. You recognize him.” All she could do was nod, which seemed to please Jack. “Who is he?”
“I need to get dressed.” Josephine rose but only took a couple of steps before he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.
“Who is he and how dangerous?”
There was no reason to lie, but she knew her Aunt Clara would have. “We never talk about the gamblers who cometo our poker parties,” her aunt had warned. “We especially never tell anyone their names. They have to feel safe.”
They have to feel safe? she thought—the exact opposite of how she felt right now.
“Josephine, that isn’t the first time I’ve seen him watching you. Talk to me.”
She caught her lower lip in her teeth. Hadn’t she feared this would happen one day? And now somehow, it had. “I think it’s Wayne Armstrong. But it could be his brother Darwin. Hard to see if he’s the one with the scar at this distance.” At Jack’s confused look, she added, “The Armstrongs are identical twins.”
“There are two of them?” He removed his hand from her arm. “Why are they watching you?”
“That’s the thing,” she said. “They aren’t identical anymore. Darwin now has a facial scar.” She looked away.
“You. Did. It?”
“They turned out to be poor losers. After one of my poker parties, they accused me of cheating.” She saw his look and swore. “I. Did. Not. Cheat. They want the money they lost. About six grand.” She didn’t even mention they also wantedmore than an apology for injuring Darwin’s face when he tried to rough her up and she fought back.
Jack shook his head, as if having put the pieces together himself.
“I have no idea what they are doing out here on the West Coast,” she said as her mind echoed. Seriously, how did they find you? Jack had said word was out, but—“I don’t understand how they could have found me.”
“I can solve that mystery anyway,” Jack said. “An article ran in your great aunt’s local newspaper following her death about you inheriting a bridal shop in Wild Rose Point and how Clara, a confirmed old maid, won the bridal shop in a poker game and left it in her will to her niece, Josephine Bodine. The story went viral.”
Josephine stared at him. “Everyone knows?”
His eyes narrowed. “Josie, tell me there aren’t more once-identical twins gunning for you.”
She couldn’t speak, could hardly breathe. “I need to get dressed.”
“First, come down the stairs after me and deadbolt the door to the street,” Jack said. “Then you can get dressed. Don’t goanywhere until I get back.” With that Jack rushed out and down the stairs. She heard the door slam behind him.
Normally she would have argued about being ordered around by her ex-lover. Not that he’d given her a chance. But as she hurried down the steps, still wrapped in a towel, her heart was making the same slamming sound against her ribs as the door he’d just exited. The Armstrong twins were in Wild Rose Point.
Who else had seen or heard about the article and knew she was here?
