“Say it!” he interrupted, his voice booming loudly and reverberating off the walls of the small office. He hadn’t meant to yell, but if that was the only way to get through to her, so be it. “If this whole thing is just a charade you went along with to get your prized freedom and protect your sister, then say it. I want to hear the words before you walk out on me again.”
He expected her to get angry, to start yelling back at him. He wanted emotion out of her—any emotion. Instead, the expression on her face shifted in a way he almost couldn’t see. She was struggling with something. Her feelings? Her loyalty to her family? Annie almost looked defeated, and he’d never seen that in her before. She was first and foremost a fighter.
Her eyes became glassy. She opened her mouth to speak two or three times before she finally found the words. “I...don’t love you. I just said that because I thought I could talk you out of chasing Tessa.”
Her statement rang with about as much truth as a politician’s campaign speech. “I don’t believe you.” Nate stretched out a hand to her again, but she jerked back out of his reach.
She shook her head, blinking away tears she was too stubborn to shed. “It doesn’t matter if you believe me. It doesn’t matter if you love me. It’s over, Nate. Goodbye.”
* * *
Jerry better lock his bedroom door, or Annie would smother the old bastard in his sleep.
There were no words to describe how horrible it was to look into Nate’s eyes and destroy their chance at happiness. Annie had managed to hold her tears back until the doors of the elevator closed, but she sobbed with abandon until she reached the casino floor.
Five seconds.
That’s all it would’ve taken to tell him the truth, consequences be damned. To out Jerry for the rat he was. Instead, she’d done what she had to do to save her sister’s life. At first, she hadn’t been sure she could do it. When she said she didn’t love him, he didn’t believe her. He saw through her bluff and wanted her, anyway. The redemption and love she’d found with him were everything she’d never known she needed. And she’d been forced to throw it all away.
Now she had nothing. Yes, she might walk away with the championship tomorrow, but there was no glory when she didn’t earn it.
Defeated, she flopped down in front of a slot machine and stared blankly at the flashing lights of the screen that beckoned her to play. She wasn’t interested. She preferred games of skill over games of chance. She liked having some control over her fate.
Her finger ran softly over the blinking buttons as she chuckled bitterly. Maybe she should give up poker for slots. She’d relinquished control in all the other areas of her life. Why not this, too?
“Ms. Baracas?”
Annie turned, surprised at being addressed by her maiden name for the first time in a week. Everyone in the hotel had been calling her Mrs. Reed. Apparently bad news traveled faster than the good.
It was a bellhop, dressed in the navy-and-gold uniform of the hotel. His name tag said his name was Ryan. “Mr. Reed requested that I bring you this.” He held out one of the disposable room key cards. “Your new room is suite eleven fifty-three, up the west elevators near the keno lounge.” With a quick, polite nod, he turned and vanished into the crowd.
Annie frowned and rotated the plastic key in her fingers. She should’ve known that Nate would think of everything. He always did. Even as upset as he’d appeared to be, he had managed to take care of all the loose ends. Her pride stung a bit for it. A part of her was hoping he’d be too distraught by her leaving, but what did she expect? He’d managed to build a great hotel after she left the first time. Why would this be any different?
She was angry at him, although she had no right to be. She’d been the one to walk away. But it still hurt.
Annie stood up and headed toward her new room. She moved quickly, not wanting to run into anyone she knew right now. As it was, it felt as if every employee in blue was eyeballing her with contempt. Maybe it was just the guilt making her paranoid. She doubted a company-wide memo had been distributed in the last fifteen minutes.
As she reached the elevators, she was dismayed to find Jerry there, waiting for her. “I don’t want to speak to you right now.” Turning from him, she forcefully pressed the up button and crossed her arms over her chest.
He ignored her irritation and patted her on the shoulder in a paternal way that was completely alien to her. It was probably meant to be soothing and encouraging, but it wasn’t. A real father wouldn’t force her to do the things she’d done today.
“You’re a good girl,” he said before disappearing into the keno lounge.
Twelve
T
his was it.
Annie should be proud. This was the first time she’d ever made it to the final table of a main event. Unfortunately, what would’ve been a feather in her cap was tainted by what she was about to do today.
She sat down at the table, taking her assigned chair. As the others gathered, she pulled her compact from her purse and did a quick once-over of her makeup. The cameras and lights would be on her all day.
“You look like hell, kiddo.” The Captain took his seat at the table, decked out in his favorite Hawaiian shirt. He always wore the blue one with the pink hyacinths at the final table. “Trouble in paradise?”
Annie tried to smile and dismiss his concerns, although she had to agree. The concealer did its best to cover the dark circles, but there was no hiding the drooping of her eyelids or the sleep-deprived fog that clouded her blue gaze. “I didn’t sleep well last night. Just nervous about today, I think.”
“Just focus on your game, Annie. Deal with the rest later.”
They were wise words. She wished that she could, but “the rest” had literally made its way into her game. She looked up at the Captain, a man who was probably as close to a father figure as she’d ever have. His blue-gray eyes saw straight through her in a way few people could. There was no way he could know what was really going on, but he had no trouble reading the strain etched into every inch of her body.
It probably wasn’t hard, if she looked as bad as she felt. The granola bar and coffee she’d scarfed down were turning somersaults in her stomach. Her hands were shaking. She felt a sheen of nervous perspiration forming at her hairline and the nape of her neck. The needling sensation of anxiety was running up and down her spine. She was going to look like a nervous, sweaty, female version of Richard Nixon on national television, and that was the least of her problems.
“Thanks. Good luck, Captain.”
He winked at her and Annie turned back to staring at her hands. For once, she wished she was one of the players who hid behind sunglasses and hats. Then maybe her vulnerabilities wouldn’t show. Instead, she was on full display with her low-cut blouse and short skirt. She’d considered wearing jeans and a T-shirt today but felt the sudden change would alert the other players, and Jerry, to the fact that she was not at the top of her game this morning.
The Barracuda never showed weakness.
Annie closed her eyes to take a deep breath and center herself before the tournament started. When she did, Nate’s face, pained with her betrayal, appeared in her mind just as it had last night every time she’d tried to sleep. Her eyes had popped open to avoid the disappointed expression of the man she loved, only to find the same look on his face across the room.
Nate was watching everything from a far corner. Not her, per se, but overseeing the tournament. She’d expected he would watch from the security booth, but Jerry had been right. The bad guys were caught, the contract was secured and now the focus was on managing the VIPs and finishing up a successful tournament. What did they know?
His dark eyes ran across the room, stopping on her for just a fraction of a second. When their gazes met, there was a moment, an instant of connection. In that second, Annie saw the pain and confusion he was hiding behind his businessman facade. Then it was gone. He turned away to talk to one of his employees and Annie was once again alone in a room full of people.
The tournament started a few minutes later. The man seated to her far right was there to help her drive up the pots and win hands. Eddie had gone over all the signals with her. She didn’t know his name, but she recognized him. Like her, he’d been specially “selected” to reach the final table without drawing suspicion. He smiled at her briefly before game play began. That would be the only recognition she’d get. The room was absolutely crawling with ESPN cameras. They had to be very careful.
Being stealthy was a whole new level of stress Annie wasn’t used to when she was playing. She had to make subtle signals to the dealer and the other player so they knew what to do, all the while also focusing on winning.
The first few hours went well and without much help from the others. Two players were eliminated. She was so close to achieving her goal.
Then she spied Jerry and Nate talking to one another. Their discussion paused for a moment and both turned to watch her. Both gazes—that of the man she’d pushed away and the man who’d forced her to do it—were boring into her. The sensation was unnerving. It was as though her skin had been peeled back and she was thoroughly exposed. As though if he looked hard enough, Nate would see her for the poker cheat she’d always despised.
“Ms. Baracas?”
Annie’s focus snapped back to the dealer. She wasn’t paying attention at all. Making a quick assessment of what she’d missed, she tossed a few chips out and tried to regain her grip on the game. It didn’t work. Despite the fidgeting and jewelry twirling, she lost a big hand. Then another.
It wasn’t even lunchtime, but Annie could feel the tournament slipping away. It didn’t matter what cards she was given or what else was going on at the table. She started losing. Not on purpose. She knew Jerry wouldn’t stand for that and neither would her pride. And yet she watched her stack of chips dwindle away.
The remaining players could smell the blood in the water. She was short stacked and outnumbered. She folded her current hand to give herself time to think while the others played.
Annie was two big hands from being out of the tournament. Yes, she could still manage a dramatic comeback, but the odds were poor, even with help. The others would team up on her and drive her out of the game.
Easing back in her chair, Annie sighed. She was just prolonging her own demise and she knew it. So did Jerry.
She turned and caught his heated gaze from the left side of the table. He was alone, fuming and red faced as he watched. Apparently she was supposed to be doing better. Apparently she was going to be his big jackpot and meal ticket.
To hell with Jerry. To hell with him and this game, if dealing with the devil was her price for playing. He could hang his hopes on the other guy. It looked as though he would outplay her at this rate.
Annie scooted back up to the table with newfound enthusiasm. She was certain Jerry thought she’d been properly chastised for her performance and was ready to pick up her game. Hardly.
She took her cards. For a woman supposedly cheating, she had absolutely nothing. Not even a pair of threes or a face card. Running her fingers down the stack of her chips, she counted and raised, betting conservatively, as she would if she had a solid hand. She signaled to her partner that she had an excellent hand. He tossed in his chips while another folded. The pot grew, the flop went down. Annie still had nothing. She could see her friend and fellow player Eli out of the corner of her eye. He kept jiggling his sunglasses. That was his tell when he had good cards. Normally, she’d sit this hand out, especially with the crap she’d been dealt. Instead, she bet again. If this was the last hand of poker she ever played, she was going down in a blaze of glory.
The turn went down and as she hoped, she had the worst hand ever. She went all in. The remaining players folded. Eli called, they both revealed their hands and the river card was turned.
It was time to put an end to this.
* * *
Nate gave up watching the tournament early. Annie wasn’t playing well, and his angry glare wasn’t helping. Despite everything that had happened between them, he wanted her to succeed. So he’d gone to his office for a few hours.
On his desk, he found the courier’s package from her lawyer that he’d fished out earlier. The first time it had arrived, he’d laughed and phoned his attorney to throw a monkey wrench into her plans. Now, he held it with a sense of somberness and finality.
There had been a fleeting moment this week when he’d thought he might not need this paperwork any longer. That night at the fountains when Annie had confessed to him, he’d had a glimmer of hope. Despite everything else going on, he’d started to believe that what really mattered—the two of them and how they felt about each other—might survive the rest. He’d held that tiny flame of possibility tight against his chest even as she told him she didn’t love him and was just protecting Tessa.
But maybe he was just like a child who refused to believe the truth about Santa when he was faced with the cold, hard facts. He clung to the fantasy because he was certain Annie was lying. But why? There was no logic to her actions that he could find.
It might have just come down to being unable to stay with the man convicting her sister, no matter how much she cared. No matter how much he cared, although he’d never voiced his feelings to her the way he should’ve.
Nate flipped the cover page over to view the divorce paperwork. The settlement was simple—no assets to divide, no custody battles. They were each walking away with what they’d come into the marriage with, despite having no prenuptial agreement in place. Annie was technically entitled to half of what he had. She could take half of the hotel, force him to sell his home and raid his savings and retirement funds. It could be a huge hit to his finances. And yet, despite his stalling and aggravating her, all she’d wanted was her freedom.
So he’d give it to her.
Nate slipped the paperwork from the envelope and read over the divorce decree. It was amazing to him how one little slip of paper could dissolve not only a marriage, but all the promise and potential it had. Although he’d told her he’d refused to sign to force her here and make her suffer, he knew now that he hadn’t been ready to give up on them yet. And he didn’t want to give up now. He loved Annie. He always had—he was just too stubborn to admit it to himself before now.
But Nate knew it was time to let it go. Annie had made it perfectly clear that she was done. If he’d fallen for her again, that was his problem, not hers.
Pulling a pen from his coat pocket, Nate smoothed out the paperwork on the desk and signed his name on the dotted line. That done, he slipped the platinum wedding band from his finger and took a deep breath. It was as if a burden was taken off his shoulders. He’d carried this marriage on his own for far too long.
He slipped the papers back into the envelope and radioed someone to take it to Annie’s suite. He didn’t want the papers sitting near him any longer than they needed to be. He might be tempted to tear them up or run them through his shredder.
For a moment, Nate considered calling Gabe and seeing if he was up for a night on the town when the tournament was done. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out. His own hotel had a club frequented by the Hollywood elite where he could commandeer the VIP suite, gather a crowd of people and lose himself in the hedonism of the town he’d lived in his entire life. A couple drinks and a couple willing ladies might be just what he needed to put this mess behind him.
He eyed his cell phone and then with a sigh, Nate let reality creep back in. That was the last thing he needed. Instead, he pulled out some business papers and returned to the work of running his casino.
* * *
It was over. Finally.
She hadn’t won, but that was fine with her because she didn’t want to give Jerry the satisfaction of taking the tournament. Until today, she’d done well enough without his help, although now he was going to walk away with two-thirds of her winnings. It was a small price to pay if Tessa was safe. Perhaps he wouldn’t bother either of them again if he thought Annie didn’t have the chops to make it to the final table in another tournament.
She’d completed a couple interviews and gone through the motions of wrapping up her tournament. It was the typical process, but this time she couldn’t bear it. The lights and the cameras and the questions were just too much for her to take. One reporter had even had the audacity to ask her about her marriage to Nate and if it had contributed to her choking today. It took everything she had to maintain composure and not take out her aggravation on the blonde.
She just wanted to get back to Miami. She had no idea what she would do once she got there, but anywhere was better than here.
She wasn’t a fool, though. As badly as she wanted away, Annie asked casino security to escort her to her room and waited for someone to be available. She’d made that mistake once, but even Jerry wasn’t dumb enough to pull a stunt with one of Gabe’s guys with her. The guard saw her safely inside and waited until she’d securely bolted the lock and thanked him through the door.
Once inside, Annie headed straight to her bedroom to pack. If she was quick, she could catch a late-afternoon flight and get out of town before Nate or Jerry could come looking for her. Right now, she couldn’t deal with either of them. Her only hope was that Tessa was smart enough to do the same once she made bail.
Annie grabbed her bag from the closet and swung it up onto the bed. It wasn’t until then that she noticed the tan envelope lying on the comforter. Her name was written on it in Nate’s neat penmanship.
She held the envelope in her hand for a moment before she could work up the nerve to open it. When her nail slipped under the flap, it popped open to reveal the familiar papers stapled to the blue binding of legal documents. Her gaze ran over the first few words of the page, her heart sinking deeper into her chest with each letter.
Decree of Divorce.
She jumped to the bottom of the page, where she found Nate’s signature awaiting her own.
She’d expected to feel happy or at least relieved. This was what she’d wanted. What she’d practically sold her soul for. And yet tears immediately began welling in her eyes at the sight of his scrawled name.
Annie flopped onto the bed and let the papers slip from her fingers to the floor. This was what she’d thought she’d wanted for the past three years, but for once, achieving her goals didn’t give her the adrenaline high she lived for. She felt awful. Her stomach ached with dread, her chest was tight with a pain she hadn’t felt since...since she’d made herself walk away three years ago.