Dead Man's Hand (7 page)

He loaded his Brownin
g High-Power and took aim.
His face was a mask of concentration.
He steadied the weapon with his right hand, used his left for support and then squeezed the trigger.

Chapter 6

When the phone rang, she felt a chill and checked caller ID before answering.
“
Hello?
”

“
Is Ace there yet?
”

“
No.
”
Her body trembled as it always did when they spoke. She never knew if it was from excitement or fear. Maybe both.

“
When are you expecting him?
”
His tone was brisk, like always.

“
Soon.
”
She pulled the curtain aside a few inches and watched the back yard.
“
Most of the time he parks on a side street and comes in through the back.
”

“
You know what to do?
”

“
Of course. I
’
m not an idiot. You
’
ve told me enough times.
”

“
Don
’
t get smart, Linda. You know how important this is.
”

She knew not to mess with his hair-trigger temper. But when he got this way, it only excited her more.

She spotted Ace rounding the corner of the house, using his key to unlock the back door.
“
I see him coming.
”

“
Good. Don
’
t let me down. Call me when he leaves. And like always, make it look real.
”

“
Those acting lessons are coming in handy after all.
”

She smiled, but the call was disconnected without a goodbye. She jogged down the hall, stripping off layers of clothing along the way to the back door. She took a deep breath and prepared herself. She s
at on the edge of the table,
spr
ead her legs
and hoisted her feet in the air—showing off her double-jointed, dancer flexibility—
as the door
open
ed
.

“
We have twenty minutes,
”
she w
hispered in a sexy,
raspy voice
.

Ace
and Linda Grant lay naked,
bathed in sweat on top of the bed sheets.

He
let out a breath.
“
You
’
re gonna kill me. Do you see what you do to me?
”

“
Come on, baby.
”
Linda stroked the tuft of hair on
hi
s chest.
“
Poor Linda needs to have her fun too.
”
When
his penis stir
red, she
gave it a teasing stroke
with her fingertips.

“
You
’
re a bad girl, Linda.
”
He
grabbed her hips to turn her around
,
but she pushed him away.

“
We don
’
t have time. Doug will be home soon.
”

“
Why did you marry him, anyway? Did you ever love him?
”

“
Oh, I loved him. I loved his money and the thought of owning
t
he Greek. I knew that if I danced at the club I would land him.
”

“
You do have a way of catching a man
’
s attention
.
”

She arched her
brows.
“
I caught yours.
”

“
What would I do if we hadn
’
t met at that conference?
”

“
I don
’
t know,
”
she whispered.

“
The sex has been amazing.
”
He tried to kiss her
,
but she moved away again
and headed
toward
the walk-in closet. S
he disappeared
inside. A minute later she emerged
wearing a Victoria
’
s
Secret floral silk kimono.

He
thought Linda
’
s body was still as tight and f
irm as it had been when she
’
d
first moved to Vegas to become a show dancer.

“
We need to stop meeting here,
”
he
said.
“
I
t
’
s ge
tting too risky. Especially now,
being so close.
”

“
Doug knows.
”
She cinched the belt around her waist, but left it opened a bit to reveal just enough skin.

“
What?
”
This wasn
’
t what he was expecting.

“
The other day he showed me pictures
. Of y
ou and me. Then he asked for a divorce.
”

He sat down to think.

“
A divorce, Ace
,
”
s
he reiterated.
“
That would leave me with millions.
”
She pouted h
er lips and
in a child
’
s voice
added,
“
B
ut I want a lot more.
”

“
You
’
re evil
.
”
He smiled again.

“
You know that I signed a prenuptial agreement. I had to prove I wasn
’
t marrying Doug for his money.
His family and friends never trusted me.
If we divorce, I
’
m only entitled to ten percent of Doug
’
s estate and
I
’
m
immediately taken out of his will, which
alone
is worth twelve percent non-voting stock of the casino. I
’
d be losing my part ownership and stock worth multi-millions. A
fter everything I have done for that man. Is that fair?
”

“
What did you say to him?
”

“
I had to cry, kneel and then give him the best blow job he
’
s ever had. He says he forgives me and we need to get things straightened out with a counselor, but I don
’
t quite believe him.
”

“
He bought it?
”

She chuckled.
“
I
’
m not divor
ced yet, am I? But we both know
that as stubborn as Doug is, once he makes up his mind, he won
’
t change it.
”

“
I know. The
damn fool won
’
t sell
t
he Greek! Did you search his office yet?
”

“
No, I
’
ll do it tonight while he
’
s at work.
”

She
approached him and wrapped a muscled leg around his waist.
When s
he
opened her kimono,
her nipples were hard.
“
You do have a plan, don
’
t you, Ace?
”

“
You know I do.
”

“
Good, because h
e barely speaks to me now
and he
’
s getting colder and more distant. I can
’
t do more to reach his heart than I
’
m already doing.
”

“
Shit!
”
h
e
snapped
, pushing her away
.

“
I know.
”
She approached
him
again
and started massaging his shoulders. Then she reached around
and grabbed his midsection, knea
ding it like dough.
“
I could get
those divorce papers at anytime
and then all of our plans are ruined.
”

“
Why d
idn
’
t
you
tell me this
before?
”

“
I
’
ve got it under control, but we have to mo
ve fast. Doug is coming to harm
soon, isn
’
t he?
”
Her lips curled in a smi
le that could melt a man
’
s heart
.

He
nodded.

“
Fatal harm?
”

“
Well, yes.
”

“
I thought so.
”
She
walked across the room.
“
You know I
’
m not just in his prenup. I
’
m in his will
and
at his death I get three times as much as I would after a divorce.
”

He
grinned
.
“
You are evil beyond a doubt
.
”

“
When does the
sad
event take place?
”

“
Soon, baby. Very soon.
”

He
tried
to grab her one more time
,
but again she brushed him off.
“
N
o time
, Ace
.
”

“
Right.
”

He put on his sports jacket and
took his time walking
toward
the door,
wondering
exactly how much he could trust Linda.
That
could be calculated to the dollar and penny. He liked that kind of clear understanding. How long had Linda been counting on Doug
’
s death
,
rather than
just a
divorce
?

She
was ice to the core
and
he
’
d have to watch her
. He didn
’
t want to thin
k about not having sex with her. I
t was amazing that he had not gotten bored yet.

When
I have
t
he Greek
,
I
’
ll
think about
what to do
with
Linda.

As soon as Ace was gone, Linda dialed a number. It
was answered on the first ring.

“
So?
”

She
grinned.
“
He bought it.
”

“
Is he suspicious?
”

“
Give me some credit, will you? Ace thinks
he
’
s
calling the shots.
”

“
Good. When will it happen?
”

“
Ace says soon.
”

“
Good. I gotta go and get some work done.
”

“
Me
too. I need to take a shower and wash this filth off. That man is disgusting. I have to close my eyes and think of you just to get through it.
”

“
I don
’
t know how you do it.
”

She pouted.
“
Hey, this was your plan, pimping me out. It
’
s getting to be a strain to
play the repentant unfaithful w
ife and the superfreak lover at the same time.
”