“Why? Pop has nothing to do with this.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and yet, the absolute certainty that he could do what he said coiled around her, leaving her trembling and shaken. Anger stirred as her hopes of ever finding Anna crumbled into dust.
“Come now. Must I spell out all the wretched details for you? Very well. If you don’t agree to marry me five days from now, you and your stepfather will be tried, convicted and sent to prison for as long as the law will allow. Is that clear enough for you?”
He couldn’t be serious. A scornful snort escaped her. He was insane if he thought she’d agree to his unreasonable demand. Yet, the echo of his last words left little doubt he’d meant what he said. Tony held all the cards, and he’d drawn an unbeatable hand…or he was extremely skilled at bluffing. Either way, she needed time to figure out how to keep Pop safe, and if pretending to surrender bought her that time, she’d wave the white flag gladly.
* * * *
Kellie stomped back and forth in the spacious Dominion Hotel suite, her teeth clenched so tightly her jaw hurt. The skirt of her ankle-length wedding gown twisted around her legs and made it challenging to walk in her four-inch Jimmy Choo heels. She kicked them off, made one more pass in front of the door and stopped abruptly.
The one bedroom suite Tony had assigned her was lavishly furnished but smelled of stale cigarette smoke and sweat. The combination was nauseating. Squeezing the bridge of her nose, she groaned as she counted slowly to ten. If she didn’t get some fresh air soon, the nasty headache lurking just around the corner would roar in like an F-22 fighter jet and top off her day—as if it wasn’t already as bad as it could get.
I’ll go through with this sham of a wedding if I have to, but if Tony thinks this will be a marriage made in heaven, he couldn’t be more wrong. He’ll need to wise up fast if he wants to hang on to his man parts.
Two more barefoot loops on the plush almond-colored carpet and she stopped again, staring at the door. It’d been five days since she’d agreed to his least objectionable option—though it was still hard to imagine a scenario where marrying him could possibly be anything but disgusting. Five days without sleep and she was no closer to figuring a way out than when he’d voiced his vile proposition.
The answer, of course, was to find that one shred of proof linking Tony to her sister’s disappearance, get her stepdad out of town and go to the cops. Making sure Pop was safe always tripped her up, complicated by the fact she hadn’t told him about any of this. Not her plan to find Anna. Nor her impending wedding. He would have been furious with her for taking such a risk in the first place, and he would never have stood aside and let Tony blackmail her into a phony wedding. No…Pop would have defended her, and she couldn’t let him do that—not against a man like Tony.
Once Pop was safe, Kellie would have to lay low until Tony was arrested, convicted and locked away for the rest of his life. It was a small price to pay, but time was running out. She had forty-five minutes to locate evidence that might lead her to Anna and halt the travesty that loomed ahead of her like a black cloud. She had nothing to lose.
Clenching her teeth, she straightened and stepped toward the room’s exit. The knob turned silently beneath her hand, and she cracked the door open before remembering her shoes. The champagne-colored creations, which matched the bodice of her gown, still littered the floor in the center of the tight serpentine she’d been pacing. Slipping into them quickly, she returned to the door and started to pull it open.
An involuntary shudder raced down her spine as a familiar voice came from the hallway to the right, followed by one she didn’t recognize. Tony was speaking to someone in hushed tones. Instinctively, she nudged the door into the jamb until there was barely an opening and pressed her ear to the crack.
“But,marriage, Tony? What does this bimbo have that the others don’t?”
What a jerk.Where did he get off calling her a bimbo? Although, she’d have to agree, wholeheartedly, that Tony liked his women loose and brainless. If the weddingdidtake place today, he was in for a shocker…on both counts.
Evidently, he hadn’t anticipated her listening at the door—or maybe he was so sure of himself he simply didn’t care. Their footsteps stopped in front of the room next to hers. “Relax, Uncle Rico. And, please, a little respect for my bride-to-be. Kellie is an attractive, intelligent woman. Her eyes and lips have bewitched me, I’m afraid.”
Kellie tried to stifle a crude obscenity. Who was Tony kidding?
Coarse laughter came from Uncle Rico. “Oh, that’s rich. You’ve been bewitched by many women, but this is the first one you’ve planned to marry. It’s not like you to mix business with pleasure. Forgiving a cheat, even a beautiful one, can have far-reaching implications. Today, this one woman. Tomorrow, every gambler in the casino thinks you’ve gone soft.”
“Doyouthink I’ve gone soft, Uncle Rico?” Tony’s voice was quiet and smooth, but the steel-edged timbre of his query reminded Kellie of a tiger crouching to spring.
“Of course not. I know you too well. I raised you, after all. There’s more to this story than you’re confiding, so have pity on an old man and fill me in.” The two of them chuckled together as though sharing an inside joke. “I understand obsession with a hot piece of ass, Tony, but why marriage? Why not have your fill of this girl and then dump her, or turn her over to the Gaming Commission?”
“Because I’m a lot like you, Uncle. I like toownthings. As my wife, everything she possesses will be mine for the taking. Everything.” His words morphed into a growl before he laughed. “Besides, she’s worth more as my wife.”
The conversation paused while the dread in Kellie’s stomach grew. She pulled the door open farther, afraid she might miss their next words.
“Now you’re talking. How much more?”
“Five mil…in the event of her accidental death.”
Kellie fell back from the door as though she’d taken a punch, throwing her hand over her mouth to quiet the gasp that hissed in the sudden silence. The next second the drone of voices began again and she rushed to resume her position.
“Not a bad profit,” said Uncle Rico.
“And if the old man causes any trouble, I’ll take care of him too. In any case, there’ll be enough speculation on the Strip that everyone will know it’s not healthy to cheat the house at the Dominion.”
“What’s the timing of this accident?” Uncle Rico’s voice receded as though he’d stepped inside his room.
“As soon as I get what I want from her, the honeymoon’s over.” Tony laughed gloatingly, obviously pleased with his double entendre.
Uncle Rico’s reply was muffled, but his laughter joined Tony’s.
“The ceremony starts at five sharp. Don’t be late.” Tony was still talking when Kellie closed the door silently and leaned against the cool wooden panels, the heavily varnished wood smooth beneath her fingers.