Sucker Bet (Vegas Vampires #4)(37)
Author: Erin McCarthy

"That is the million-dollar question. Don’t worry, I have every intention of solving that little puzzle along with a few others. We’ll catch our killer. He’s on the loop. We just have to find him." He turned to her. "And thanks to you, we’ll get there quicker. Thanks for forwarding all the names and your thoughts."

She bit her lip. "You’re welcome. It’s the very least I can do. And you know, Nate, I just find it very odd that Slash was at both locations—or at least mentioned both locations—where a body was discovered. I’ve got a bad feeling about him."

"Me, too."

They sat in silence for a minute, Nate wondering if it was wrong to see Gwenna again. He wanted to. Felt an intense, edgy desire to make sure she didn’t leave without confirmation there would be a next time for them. Not as detective, citizen, but as a man and a woman. He was falling for her like a ton of f**king bricks. Maybe it was the timing, maybe it was the way she looked at him with those big blue eyes and oozed compassion, or maybe it was the fact that the sex was all-consuming, irresistible, but Nate knew he was going, going, gone.

But whether that was a good idea or not was a huge-ass mystery.

"I should let you go."

"Yeah, I guess I should." She sighed and made no motion to get up. "You know, I really like your house and yard. It’s just right, isn’t it?"

It was two bedrooms, one bath, and a tiny rectangle of a backyard. It was just right for him. Any more and he wouldn’t be able to keep up with cleaning and maintenance. "It works for me."

"When I was married to Roberto, we had this big fancy villa in Italy and another house in London. They were pretentious, uncomfortable. I like this much better."

"Thanks." He thought it was bizarre that she came from the same world his mother had scratched and clawed to get into, and yet Gwenna seemed to want out. "The ex leaving you alone these last few days?"

She shrugged. "No. He’ll be at this party tonight. He’s rather put out that I refused to go with him."

"Maybe you should take legal action. Get a restraining order." Or maybe Nate should have a little man-to-man chat with him.

Gwenna stood up. "Oh, that’s not necessary. I told you Roberto would never hurt me, and no sense in getting his back up. It is what it is."

"Can I see you again?" he blurted out, suddenly afraid this was it. She was walking out. "Tomorrow night, like we planned?"

But she smiled at him. "That would be brilliant. And I’ll see you at the funeral. I wouldn’t let you go through that alone, you know."

That kicked him where it counted. He started to stand up, but she stopped him by bending over and grabbing the end of his tie in her fist. "I’m rather fond of you," she said, before giving him a warm, lingering kiss.

Damn, was the feeling mutual.

It took all of three minutes for Roberto to spot her when she walked into the Inauguration Ball. Gwenna barely had a chance to buss her brother on the cheek and offer her official congratulations in public for his winning the election, when Roberto descended on her. He was furious and she knew it. He had expected her to be waiting for him at 6 p.m. sharp, wearing a blue dress.

It was nine thirty, she had managed to evade his escort, and she was dressed in black. And damned if she didn’t feel a little gleeful about the whole thing.

"A word, if you please," he whispered after he gave her a polite, public greeting for anyone watching. "Let’s head to the bar."

"No, thank you." She smiled vaguely at a middle-aged man she recognized from somewhere. Preservation of the Undead Council? She wasn’t sure. Sad to say, but she didn’t keep up on politics. "I don’t need a drink."

Roberto made a sound of impatience. "Don’t be impertinent."

"Who, me?" She met his gaze full on and gave him a large smile. "I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing."

"Why didn’t you tell me Brittany had her baby?"

So that was what bug had got up his butt. "It wasn’t my place to do so."

"She’s my daughter. That baby is my grandchild."

"Poor thing."

Whoops. Had she said that out loud?

Roberto turned a nasty shade of red. "You’re completely out of control."

"It’s not your job to rein me in." But Roberto had redirected his attention toward the door.

"Of all the f**king nerve," he said, the irritation he had displayed toward her gone, replaced by cold, calculated hatred.

His words made her shiver. She was used to his impatience, his bossiness, his annoyance with her. But this expression on his face was different—harder, a true anger, and it was a little scary.

Roberto said, "I’ll kill him."

"Who?" She turned toward the door, alarmed at his shift, wary of that disdain in his voice.

"Ringo Columbia. He made sloppy work of the last job I gave him, stole a couple grand in heroin from me, and now has the audacity to show up here? Security needs to escort him outside. And then I’ll kill him."

It was a sign of how utterly furious Roberto was that he had just admitted out loud to her that he’d had heroin in his possession. Roberto was always vague about his business dealings and preferred to tell her when they were married that he was involved in trade, nothing more. What shamed her now was that she’d known intellectually he was a bootlegger, but had chosen to pretend it wasn’t true. Now he had obviously moved on to drug dealing, which made Gwenna wonder if Ethan knew. Politics and illegal business practices weren’t a good combination.

Security was already talking to Ringo, who looked strung out and half-asleep. There was a woman holding his hand, and it was most definitely not his wife, Kelsey. This woman was tall, intriguing, exotic as hell. The kind of woman who walks into the room wearing designer clothes and an aloof expression, while all the men drool, and all the women seethe and instantly despise her. Gwenna confessed she was a little irritated herself by that display of confidence, the way the woman just scanned the room calmly, unperturbed by the bodyguards swarming them.

"Who is that with Ringo?" Something about the couple made Gwenna’s skin crawl, and it was a disturbing sign of just how much when she found herself reaching out and gripping Roberto’s sleeve for some kind of bizarre protection.

He put his hand on the small of her back, and moved in front of her. "Go find your sister-in-law. I think it might be wise for you and she to retire to the ladies’ room for a few minutes."

"Why?"

"That’s Sasha Chechikov. Gregor’s wife."

"The guy who lost the election to Ethan?"