Playing The Odds

  touching, rubbing, demanding. He could see them in his mind’s eye, smooth and white against his darker skin, the glossy feminine nails scraping over him in excitement. He moved his lips to her shoulder to nip gently, and was assaulted by her scent. It made him think of sultry summer nights, wild loving in high green grass. He ran kisses, grown more desperate, to the inside of her elbow, where her rapid pulse only intensified the fragrance. As he buried his mouth against the pale blue-veined skin, her body arched, tossed by passion.

  Serena rolled to him so that they were side by side, then locked her arms around him. She didn’t feel the tangle of sheets beneath her, the cool silk of her robe that had slipped down to her legs. All she felt was his hard, hot body against hers and the moist, tingling path his mouth streaked over her.

  As he slid down, she urged him toward all the secret places he’d discovered for both of them. No one else would ever bring her this torrid, wanton hunger. It filled her, consumed her, made her strong. With a sudden burst of energy she was on top of him, her mouth greedy, her hands quick and clever. He groaned, gripping her wet, sleek hair. The sound only made her move over him more urgently. He’s beautiful, so beautiful, was all she could think as she touched and tasted again.

  A light film of sweat glistened on his dark skin. Serena could taste the saltiness of it as she roamed over the hard, smooth chest, the lean line of ribs marred by the jagged scar, the narrow, long-boned hips.

  Then his hands gripped her, dragging her up until his mouth was fastened on hers. She drew in the mingling flavor of their tastes until her head swam with it. Her body seemed to act without her knowledge, sliding down until she took him inside of her. The sensation rocketed through her, causing her to cry out as she arched back. But he rose up with her, his hands still gripping her hair, his mouth still fused to hers. She couldn’t breathe, but even as she fought for air, her body set up its own raging rhythm.

  Her arms were locked around him, his around her. The mutual grip tightened convulsively as they reached the sharp, airless summit, then as one form, they slid back to the bed to lay gasping.

  “I can’t seem to get enough of you,” Justin managed in a whisper. “Never enough.”

  “Don’t.” Serena let her head slip limply to his shoulder. “Don’t ever get enough.”

  They lay quietly as breathing settled and trembles eased. With her palm over his heart, she could feel the pounding beat become slow, strong and steady.

  “There’s only you,” Justin said, feeling the sudden fierceness of love. “There’s only you in my life.”

  Serena lifted her head to look down at him. “‘Love that is not madness is not love.’” Smiling, she traced the line of his cheekbone. “I never understood that until now. I know I never want to be sane again.”

  He brought her finger to his lips. “So the brainy Serena MacGregor chooses insanity.”

  Wrinkling her nose, she folded her elbows over his chest. “No need to bring my brain into it.”

  “It fascinates me,” Justin told her. “And it’s one part of you I haven’t really explored. Just how smart are you?”

  She lifted a brow. “That,” she said primly, “is an abstract question.”

  “Ah, you’re going to be evasive.” Grinning, he brushed her hair away from her shoulders. “How many degrees do you have?”

  “Your first question doesn’t have anything to do with your second. How smart are you?”

  “Smart enough to know when I’m getting the runaround,” he said mildly. “No burning desire to go into law or politics like your brothers?”

  “No. My only burning desire was to learn. Then I had a burning desire to be doing. Now”—she bit his lower lip—“I have more basic burning desires.”

  “Hmm.” He allowed himself the pleasure of feasting on her mouth a moment. “Don’t you feel that running a gambling hotel is a bit of a waste of your education?”

  “Of course not. My education’s mine. I’ll always have it whatever I choose to do. What good are degrees if you’re not enjoying life?” With a sigh she lay across his chest again. “I didn’t study so that I could pile up little pieces of paper suitable for framing, but because I was curious. Why do you run hotels?”

  “Because I’m good at it.”

  Serena grinned at him. “And that’s the exact reason I nearly became a professional student. But it was becoming too repetitious and too easy. There’re challenges here every day and a constant variety of people. And,” she added smugly, “I’m good at it, too.”

  “Nero thinks you have class.”

  Now Serena’s smile was just as smug as her voice. “He’s very perceptive. Why didn’t you make him manager?”

  “He wasn’t interested.” Justin began to run a hand up and down her spine. “He likes his position as unofficial troubleshooter. I’ll be sending him to Malta next year.”

  “You’ve bought the casino, then?”

  “I will have soon enough.” Thoughtful, he studied her face. “I was considering taking on a partner.”

  He saw the smile light in her eyes just before her lips curved. “Were you? Then I suppose I should put in my bid right away.”

  He cupped his hand around the back of her neck. “The sooner the better,” he murmured as he brought her lips to his.

  When the phone rang, he swore ripely. Serena laughed and nuzzled against his throat as he reached for it.

  “Blade.” Listening to Kate’s quiet, shaking voice, he fought to keep the tension out of his body. Serena would feel it. “All right, Kate, I’ll be down.” After hanging up he kissed the crown of Serena’s head. “Something’s come up downstairs.”

  She gave a resigned sigh. “That’s the trouble with living where you work.” Rolling over, she stretched. “Well, I really should go down myself.”

  “You haven’t had a day off in over a week.” Dressing, Justin wondered if he was wiser to leave her there or to keep her with him downstairs. He decided she’d be better off in the penthouse. “Relax for a while, I’ll be back up soon. Why don’t you order some lunch?”

  The thought of having him to herself all afternoon was too appealing. Serena closed her mind to the paperwork on her desk. “All right—an hour?”

  “Yes, fine.” Preoccupied, he headed for the elevator.

  Kate was waiting for him when he stepped off. Silently, she handed Justin a plain white envelope.

  “Steve found it lying on the front desk. As soon as I saw it …” She trailed off, then got control of herself. “It’s just like the one you got in Vegas, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Justin answered flatly as he studied the carefully executed block letters that spelled out his name. He had a quick, savage urge to simply rip it into pieces, but he took a letter opener from his desk and carefully slit one edge. Sliding the note out, he unfolded it.

  It’s not over yet. You have a price to pay.

  “Call security,” he told Kate as he read the words a second time. Then he let out his breath on one violent oath. “And the police.”

  Chapter 11

  Serena pulled a black angora sweater over her head. It would feel good to be lazy for a day, she decided, to lounge around the suite in comfortable clothes and do absolutely nothing. She and Justin hadn’t spent a full day together since St. Thomas.

  That made her think of the earrings Justin had given her. She’d wear them tonight, Serena mused as she opened the top drawer of the dresser to draw out the box. They’re exquisite, she thought as she looked at them again. All the more exquisite because he had bought them for her then, before they had been lovers.

  What a strange man he is, she reflected. So cool in some ways, so introspective, yet he was capable of such incredibly sweet gestures. The violets in her room the first day—champagne for breakfast. And underneath it all there was that latent, controlled streak of violence. All those aspects of him excited her.

  How smart are you? Serena laughed as she remembered Justin’s question. Smart enough to know I
’m a very lucky woman, she answered silently. Reaching into the drawer again, she drew out a two-headed quarter she’d picked up while Justin had been in Vegas. With a grin Serena examined it, then slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. And smart enough to keep an ace up my sleeve, she added with a gleam of mischief in her eye.

  As she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, Serena’s grin turned to a look of astonishment. Her hair had dried in a tangled and unruly mop around her face. What a mess, she thought as she picked up her brush. Well, she’d do something about it before she called room service. It would serve Justin right if he had to wait for his lunch, she added as she tugged painfully at the knots in her hair. Bending from the waist, she let her hair fall forward, then gritted her teeth and brushed the underside.

  “Ouch! Just a minute,” she called out at the quick, quiet knock on the door. Either Caine or Alan had struck out with Lena Maxwell, she thought with a smirk as she headed for the door, still brushing her hair. “Don’t expect me to fix you up with—oh.”

  “Housekeeping.” A slim boy of about twenty gave her a shy smile.

  Justin must have decided to have them clean before lunch, she concluded. Typical. He might have called to let her know.

  “I can come back later if—”

  “Oh, no, I’m sorry. I was thinking of something else.” Serena gave him a smile as she opened the door wide enough for him to roll the maid’s cart inside. “You’re new, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am, this is my first day.”

  That explains the nervous swallowing, she decided, and made her smile warmer. “Just relax and take your time,” she advised him. “I’ll stay out of your way.” Gesturing with her brush, she turned away. “Why don’t you start in the kitchen while I—”

  Something clamped over her mouth and nose. Too stunned to be frightened, Serena grabbed at the hand as she drew her breath to shout. She inhaled something strong and cloyingly sweet that made her head spin. Recognizing the scent, she began to struggle more frantically, fighting the mists that were whirling in front of her eyes.

  Oh, God, no. Her arms dropped heavily to her sides, the brush slipped from her limp fingers. Justin …

  * * *

  “The desk clerk found it on the counter,” Justin told Lieutenant Renicki. “Apparently, no one saw who put it there. It was during checkout time, and the desk staff was busy.”

  “Yes. Well, he’s not a fool.” The police lieutenant picked up the plain sheet of stationery by the corner and slipped it into a plastic bag. “I’ll have to turn this over to the Bureau, I imagine, but for now I’ll leave a few plainclothesmen in the hotel.”

  “I’ve my own security stationed in all the public rooms.”

  Lieutenant Renicki lifted both of his bushy, graying brows in acknowledgment. Doesn’t like dealing with me, he decided. Oh, he’s a cool one. He watched Justin light a cigar with rock-steady hands. Not much gets under that one’s skin.

  “Got any enemies, Mr. Blade?”

  Justin shot him a mild look. “Apparently.”

  “Anyone specific you want to tell me about?”

  “No.”

  “Is this the first threat you’ve received since you got back from Nevada?”

  “Yes.”

  Lieutenant Renicki suppressed a sigh. Characters like Blade made him feel like a dentist yanking at a reluctant tooth. “Hired or fired anyone recently?”

  For an answer, Justin pushed his intercom. “Kate, check with personnel. See who we’ve put on or let go in the last two months. Then get a printout from the rest of the hotels.”

  “Great things, computers,” the lieutenant said when Justin hung up. “I got a teenager practically married to one.” Getting no response, he shrugged his rounded shoulders. “I’m going to check your security myself. If he’s going to plant a bomb, he has to get in first.”

  “He can get in,” Justin reminded him, “by signing a name at the registration desk.”

  “True enough.” Lieutenant Renicki watched the cigar smoke drift. “You can close down.”

  The only change in Justin’s expression was a fractional narrowing of his eyes. “No.”

  “Didn’t think so.” Lieutenant Renicki hauled himself out of the chair. “My men will be discreet, Mr. Blade, but we’ll make a routine search. I’ll check back with you after I’ve interviewed the desk clerks.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant.” Justin waited until the door closed behind him, then crushed out his cigar with a force that snapped it in two. If he’d felt a stalking sensation before, now he felt breathing down his neck. He was here now—if not in the hotel, then somewhere close. Waiting. Serena was going back to Hyannis Port if Justin had to tie her up and dump her on a plane.

  He sat very still for a moment until he was calm again. He wouldn’t get through to Serena by shouting or threatening. The only way would be to make her see that her presence there made it impossible for him to be completely rational. If she were gone, he could think clearly enough and perhaps reason out who and why. Justin lifted the intercom again.

  “Kate, I’ll be upstairs. Pass my calls through to me up there.” Rising, he went to the elevator. Maybe on the way up he would think of the best way to tell Serena he was kicking her—and her brothers—out of his hotel.

  As he stepped into the living room, Justin glanced toward the picture window, half expecting to see her sitting there, already nibbling at lunch. He was only vaguely surprised to see the table empty—he’d taken a bit more than the hour he’d allotted. Thinking perhaps she’d fallen back to sleep, Justin walked into the bedroom. The rumpled bed didn’t bring on a twinge of desire this time but a feeling of unease. Calling her name, Justin walked toward the bathroom.

  The faintest wisp of her scent clung to the air. Because the room was empty, it only made Justin’s unease sharpen. Don’t be an idiot, he told himself. She isn’t tied to this suite. She could have gone out for a hundred reasons. But she was expecting me. She would have phoned down. How did he know? As he walked back out into the living room, Justin reminded himself that they hadn’t been together long enough to be sure of the other’s habits. She could have run down to the boutique for a dress.

  Bending, Justin picked up the small, enamel-handled brush from the rug. For a moment his mind went blank, and he could do no more than stare at it. He shook himself clear. He was being an alarmist—she’d come walking back in any moment. It was like her to leave her things all over the suite. To be untidy, he mused mercilessly. Not careless. Picking up the phone, Justin punched a number.

  “Page Serena MacGregor.”

  He held the brush as he waited. Her beaded jacket hung over the back of the sofa. He could remember slipping it from her shoulders the night before. Sometime during the morning she had picked it up and tossed it there. Then why would she have left her brush on the floor?

  “Ms. MacGregor doesn’t answer the page, sir.”

  Justin felt the knot in his stomach tighten. He gripped the handle of the brush until it threatened to snap. “Page Alan or Caine MacGregor.” Glancing at his watch, Justin saw that it was thirty minutes past the time he had told Serena to expect him.

  “Caine MacGregor.”

  “It’s Justin. Is Serena with you?”

  “No, Alan and I were—”

  “Have you seen her?”

  “Not since this morning.” It was the first time in the ten years he had known Justin, Caine realized, that he’d heard a hint of panic in that controlled voice. Something like ice rippled down his back. “Why?”

  Justin found his throat closed and stared down at the brush in his hand. “She’s gone.”

  Caine felt the receiver grow wet under his palm. “Where are you?”

  “Upstairs.”

  “We’ll be right there.”

  Within minutes, Justin opened the door to admit Serena’s brothers. “She might’ve gone out for something,” Caine said immediately. “Did you check to see if she took her car out?”

 
“No.” Justin cursed himself and picked up the phone again. “This is Blade. Has Ms. MacGregor taken her car out?” He waited, angry, impatient, while Caine prowled the room and Alan watched him. Justin listened to the answer from the garage, then hung up without speaking. “Her car’s still there.”

  “She might have gone for a walk on the beach,” Alan suggested.

  “She was expecting me here a half hour ago,” Justin said flatly. “She was supposed to order some lunch, but I’ve checked; she never called down. I found this near the front door.”

  Alan took the brush from Justin’s hand. He remembered giving the antique vanity set to Serena for her sixteenth birthday. It was one of the few things she owned that she took meticulous care of.

  “Had you been arguing?”

  Justin whirled on Caine as his control slipped another notch.

  “Justin,” Caine said quickly. “Rena has a wicked temper. If she were angry, she could have stormed out without a word to anyone. She’d stomp around on the beach until she’d cooled off.”

  “No, we hadn’t been arguing,” Justin said tightly. “We’d been making love.” He stuck his hands in his pockets because he wanted to ball them into fists. “I got a call from downstairs. An envelope had been left for me at the front desk. It was another threat.”

  Alan set Serena’s brush down carefully on the table. “Justin.” He waited until the angry green eyes met his. “Call the police.”

  Like an exclamation point at the end of his words, the phone rang. Justin grabbed for it. “Serena,” he began.

  “Looking for her already?” The voice was muffled and sexless. “I’ve got your squaw, Blade.” The connection broke with a soft click.

  Justin stood still as stone for a full ten seconds. He tasted copper in his mouth and recognized it as fear. “He’s got her,” he heard someone say, then realized the voice was his own. On a blind wave of fury he ripped the phone out of the wall and threw it across the room. “The son of a bitch has her.”

  * * *

  Lieutenant Renicki glanced around the living room of Justin’s suite and decided it was warmer than he would have expected. The man he had met downstairs seemed suited to cold colors and straight lines. His eyes rested on the phone that lay drunkenly against the east wall. Well, still waters run deep, he supposed.

  The tall blond man staring out of the window was Caine MacGregor, the hotshot young lawyer who was currently serving as state’s attorney in Massachusetts. The dark man sitting in the chair staring at the hairbrush in his hands was Alan MacGregor, U.S. senator, a bit of a left-winger with a glib tongue. The lieutenant looked at Justin again.

  “Suppose you run through it once more.”

  Justin’s eyes leveled on Lieutenant Renicki’s, full of fury and icy control. “I went downstairs to check out the envelope that had been left for me at the front desk. I left Serena here; it was just past noon. We made arrangements to have lunch here in the suite an hour later. I was late, and when I came back, she wasn’t here. I was concerned, then when I found her hairbrush lying on the floor by the front door, I had her paged. When she didn’t answer, I paged her brothers. Fifteen minutes ago I received a call.”

  “Yes, apparently from a kidnapper,” Renicki put in, not certain if he was pleased or annoyed with Justin’s cool recital. “You haven’t told me precisely what he said.”

  Justin gave the lieutenant a long, intense look. “He told me he had my squaw.”

  Ready to explode, Caine whirled away from the window. “Damn it, this isn’t getting us anywhere! Why aren’t you looking for her?”

  Lieutenant Renicki watched him with tired, patient eyes. “We’re doing just that, Mr. MacGregor.”

  “He’ll call again,” Alan said quietly. He looked up from the hairbrush to meet the lieutenant’s gaze. “He must know that between Justin and our family we can raise any amount of money to get Rena back.” He let his eyes drift to Justin’s and hold. “If his motive is money.”

  “We’ll have to work on that premise for now, Senator,” Lieutenant Renicki stated in a no-nonsense voice. “We’ll be putting a tap on your phone, with your permission, Mr. Blade.”

  “Do whatever it takes.”

  Caine looked at Justin then, looked at him for the first time since the phone call. “Where’s the brandy?”

  “What?”

  “You need a drink.” When Justin merely shook his head, Caine let out a quiet oath. “Well, I’m going to have one—before I call Mom and Dad.”

  Justin felt a fresh twinge inside his stomach and gestured. “In that cabinet.”

  From opposite ends of the suite the phone rang. Without waiting for Lieutenant Renicki’s yes or no, Justin went into the kitchen to answer. He