I turned to look at him, laughing a little.
“That’s not how this works,VacationVinnie,”Itold him, taking aim at his tropical shirt. “I’mpretty sure the loser buys—which means you.”
I gave him my best confident smirk, and he smiled back at me.
God, that smile.
“Deal,” he said and then leaned in closer. “Justso you know,Vinnieis my cousin.Myname isArcher.Niceto meet you,Ace.”
He held out his hand.Thegesture was simple enough, but all of a sudden, my hands started to sweat.Afterwiping them quickly and subtly on my jeans,Iput my hand in his.Thetouch of his skin against mine sent a mild shock through my system.Hiscalloused hand brushed against mine, and his thumb slid across my skin.Lord,Iimagined those hands could do wonderful things to a woman.
“There’s a bar right around the corner here in the casino,”Archersaid to my friends and me. “How‘bout it?”
“You buyin’ for all of us,CoconutCowboy?”Karynasked with a gleam in her eye.
“I think between the three of us, we can take care of that,” one of the other men standing next toArchersaid. “I’mManny,Archer’sroommate, and this is our good friendNick, who’s in town visiting.”
We all introduced ourselves and made our way to the bar.
As we walked the short distance there,Archerplaced his hand on the small of my back, andIknew this man was going to be trouble.
I just didn’t know how much.
3
ARCHER
PRESENT DAY
“Can you show me the security system for your house and the camera setup when we get there?”Aceasked me, sighing loudly as though it was a forgone conclusion thatIwould tell her no. “Look,I’vecovered enough news stories about home break-ins, business robberies, and everything in between.I’dlike to thinkI’vepicked up a few things about what makes a good security setup and what doesn’t.”
Vince was now driving us back to my place.AceandIwere in the back seat again, this time with her dog in her lap.Thathad been a fun adventure.
We had arrived at her apartment after doing a thorough perimeter check, andDiegowatched everything from the car in case we were followed.Thefour of us—Vince,Jack,Ace, andI—entered her apartment, where we were promptly greeted by her barking dog.Itliterally never stopped barking for twenty-two minutes—yes,Icounted—while we were there to scan the place and pack up her things.
WhileAcepacked up,Vincequickly installed a small hidden camera facing the door to her apartment in case someone tried to break in.Jackinstalled a second one facing her balcony door, all while his dogDashsat next to him warily watchingAce’sdog bark incessantly at them.
Two suitcases, a bag full of dog supplies, and a bin full of “work stuff,” and we were finally on our way back to my place.
I gave in to her questions about security—if it would make her amenable to the plan,Iwould do it.
“Jack,Vince, andIlive on an old horse farm.Weoriginally bought eight acres total and split it up into three properties, but a few months ago, we decided to buy another neighboring eight acres for added privacy.”
“Oh wow, that’s nice,”Aceinterrupted. “You’reclose but still have plenty of seclusion, it sounds like.”
I nodded and gave her more details. “Jacktook the originalCraftsmanhome and fixed it all up.VinceandIbuilt our homes from the ground up, though his isn’t finished yet.”
“Four more weeks,”Vincecut in. “Hopingto get all moved in beforeThanksgiving‘causeCatwants to host.”
“Cat is his new wife,”Itold her.
“Congratulations,”Acesaid toVinceand then turned to me. “Whenyou say built from the ground up, do you mean you actually built it yourself?”
“No,”Isnorted back at her. “Ihired someone.”Itwould have been amazing to do that, butIhad neither the skills nor the time to achieve that.
“We have cameras all around our properties along the perimeter as well as the main entrance.Thatway, if someone comes onto the property, we get an alert,”Iexplained asIpulled up the security app on my phone to show her. “Thereare also cameras around each of our houses with a line of sight at all doors and egresses.Thatis why you’re staying with me—at least for tonight.Ifyou don’t like this arrangement, we can discuss alternative options tomorrow.”
“Are there alternative options available—and at the ready in case we need to change quickly?” she asked me, andIfoundIadmired her ability to look at this rationally while also planning ahead.
