Hooper, Kay - [Hagen 09] (19 page)

Jennifer sat staring down at her hands. She was only
dimly aware of Skye moving, and looked up to find him sitting on a
footstool at her knees and watching her gravely. How odd, she
thought, to look at that face and know this wasn't Dane. And even
more odd to realize that she would always know which of the
identical men was Dane. Always. Just as she had instinctively
known there was something different when this brother had appeared in
her room tonight.

And she understood the differences between the
brothers. Loving Dane, she discovered that she Intuitively
understood Skye as well with a knowledge that didn't require time.
This man, of course, shared the natural physical strength that was
Dane's, the innate charm and lazy grace. But where Dane was tranquil
and controlled, Skye was restless and reckless. It was in his
eyes, in the movements that were quicker than his brother's. She
thought that Dane's mastery of poker had helped build his control,
while Skye's "hunting in the dark" had earned him sharper
reflexes.

Dane was the lion, graceful in the sun; Skye was the
tiger prowling at night.

"Why did you tell me?" she asked Skye.

"So you'd understand what you need to," he
told her quietly. "Dane loves you. He loves you so much that
he's willing to break all his rules for you. Rules he's managed not
to break even during ten years of playing the part of an unscrupulous
man. If he has to cheat to win your home back for you, then he will.
If he has to risk everything he has, then he will. That's what you
have to understand about Dane, Jennifer. When it comes to the
happiness of someone he loves, there are no limits."

She was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "He
thinks I won't be able to accept a future with him, doesn't he?"

Skye nodded. "Because his life won't be an easy one
to share. This masquerade of ours works. As long as it continues to
work, we're too damned effective as agents to turn our backs and walk
away. And that means our lives are complicated. Sometimes dangerous.
But, to us, the risk has always been outweighed by the good of what
we were able to accomplish."

"A risk I have to accept," she murmured.

"If you love him, yes. He is what he is, Jennifer,
what these last years have made him. We both are." He paused,
then said, "He'll lose a little bit of himself in that room
tonight. Breaking the rules does that, especially to a man like
Dane. But the loss is worth it to him, because he loves you."

Jennifer drew a shaky breath. "Aren't you afraid
I'll say I love him out of gratitude, now that I know all this?"

"No." His response was instant, certain.
"You'd never offer any man a false love, because you're as
honest as Dane is."

After a moment, Skye rose and took her hand gently,
pulling her to her feet. "Come on. I have to take you home. The
game may go on for hours yet – and tomorrow's going to be
very busy."

"What will happen?" she asked almost absently.

"Later in the morning, a roving squad of federal
marshals is going to find that press out in the swamp. Garrett Kelly
and his partner will be arrested on the charge of counterfeiting.
He'll never connect Dane to the charges. The marshals will make it
plain they received a tip weeks ago, and have been searching for
the press."

"So his cover – and yours – will remain
intact?"

"Yes."

"Where will you go from here?"

He looked down at her gravely. "I don't know. That
depends on Dane. And on you."

Jennifer stared up at him for a long moment. "I
want to go back to the parlor," she said. "I have to see
what's going on in there."

Skye frowned. "Jennifer – "

"I have to know. Did you expect me just to tamely
leave, not knowing?"

He hesitated, then swore softly.

"There's another door in that room," she told
him. "It was open, and it leads to a service corridor. We can
watch from there, and they won't see us."

After a moment, Skye said, "I want you to
understand something. Dane doesn't like what he's doing in
there. If it had been Dane playing against your father in the last
poker game, you would never have lost your home. Dane wouldn't have
accepted it as a stake. In twenty years of playing poker, he's never
taken everything an opponent had. Even when he could have. Even
when it was in his own best interest to do so." Flatly, Skye
added, "Even when that opponent was a son of a bitch, and
deserved it if anyone did."

"Another rule he's breaking?" she asked
softly.

Skye's smile was crooked, but not quite Dane's, his
charm a harder, rougher thing. "He loves you."

"And I love him," she said in a steady voice.

"All right," Skye said finally. "Then
let's go watch a master at work."

* * *

The door to the service corridor was open far enough to
give them a clear view of the table and both players, yet was far
enough away and shadowed enough to prevent them from being seen. They
reached it silently, and both almost immediately realized that the
game was much nearer its conclusion than Skye had anticipated.

On the green table was a pile of money, and a neat stack
remained in front of Dane. Kelly's money formed a much smaller and
quite untidy stack. Dane's cards were facedown, his hands relaxed on
the table. Kelly clutched his with tight fingers that showed an
occasional tremor.

Jennifer watched, fascinated by Dane's utter stillness,
by the tranquility he wore like an impenetrable cloak. His eyes were
serene and without force.

Kelly shoved the remainder of his cash into the pot, and
Dane calmly matched it – and then raised the bet. Like a blind
man, Kelly reached for a small pad of paper nearby, laying his cards
down and beginning to scrawl something on the top sheet.

"Wait."

Looking at his opponent, Kelly blinked like a man in a
feverish trance. "What?"

"Before you throw another casual promise on the
table," Dane said pleasantly, "it's time to redeem these."
He picked up a stack of the small papers at his elbow. "I'm
calling in your markers. Now."

Kelly's eyes widened at the number of papers Dane held.
"I-I can't right now. A few days, and my bank can – "

Dane shook his head slightly. "Afraid not. I took
the precaution of checking with your bank today. You'll forgive me,
I'm sure; a man in my profession doesn't take stupid chances. Your
bank account is empty."

"I have other assets."

"None to speak of. And these markers say you're
indebted to me for half a million."

Kelly paled. "That's impossible!"

"Total them if you like." Dane's voice was
Indifferent. "But that's what you'll get. I never make
mistakes with numbers." He stacked the notes again and waited,
his hands folded peacefully on the table.

After staring down at his stacked cards for a moment,
Kelly said hoarsely, "I have this place. The plantation.
It's worth two or three million easy."

"It's mortgaged," Dane said flatly. "You
owe the bank half a million too."

"The market value – "

"Is depressed at the moment. You couldn't sell this
place to a dumb billionaire with a fancy for ancestors."

Kelly's desperation was an almost tactile thing, like
fog hanging in the room, gray and wet. "It's worth a million at
the very least," he insisted. "Hell, you could hock the
contents of this house for that much!"

Dane looked at him steadily for a long moment, then
reached into the pocket of his jacket and drew out a piece of paper.
"All right," he said slowly. "This is a cashier's
check for half a million. You sign the plantation over to me for
this check, and your markers."

Kelly barely hesitated. "I will."

"Then get the papers and wake up your butler and
his wife. The transfer will be legally solid, or it's no deal. I want
witnesses."

Almost lurching to his feet, Kelly went over to the
mantel and yanked on the old bell rope that was still connected to
the servants' quarters. He tugged at it twice more before Mathews
entered the room, dressed in pajamas and a robe and looking half
asleep and considerably startled.

"Sir?"

Kelly explained what he wanted in a quick, rough voice,
and within fifteen minutes a packet of papers was safely in Dane's
pocket. Mathews and his wife retired to their quarters, bewildered
but aware that Belle Retour now had a new master.

With Dane's agreement, Kelly placed the check into the
pot and drew out half a million in cash, making it easier for him to
play out the hand; Dane still had a stack of money before him, and
the betting wasn't over.

Shakily, Kelly matched the last raise, adding ten
thousand. Dane raised ten thousand, and silently turned his top
card faceup. Kelly's eyes jerked toward it: the ace of spades.
Swallowing, Kelly raised another ten thousand. Dane raised as well,
and turned up the next card: the king of spades.

Twice more, with both men raising, Dane turned his cards
faceup. Before him lay a possible royal flush. He tapped the hole
card lightly with his index finger, as he had before in this room,
and Kelly's eyes were fixed on the lazy movement.

"You've pulled that trick before," Kelly said
hoarsely.

"Yes," Dane agreed. "The question is: Is
it a trick this time? Aces are wild. It could be an ace. It could be
a ten. Or it could be a worthless card. You decide."

Silently, Kelly raised.

Dane matched his bet. And raised again.

Kelly went still suddenly, his eyes skittering from the
money he had left to Dane's remaining stake. And he realized then
that it was over, that he had fallen blindly into a trap he couldn't
escape. He had a hundred thousand left to bet. Dane had twice
that much. There was no way for Kelly to win.

"Stop while you've still got something left,"
Dane said softly.

Kelly's shoulders slumped, then straightened slowly. And
all three of those watching Kelly could almost see in his eyes the
forced memory of that printing press hidden in the swamp. "I
fold," he said heavily.

No sign of triumph crossed Dane's face, and his voice
was as calm as ever. "Wise of you."

Nodding toward Dane's hole card, Kelly said, "I
have to know."

"It doesn't make a difference. I would have kept
raising, and you couldn't have won."

"I have to know."

After a moment, Dane flipped over the card. It was the
ace of hearts: a royal flush. Quietly, he said. "A trick only
works once."

Kelly's mouth twisted slightly. "I'll remember
that." He sighed, then got to his feet. "All that cash is
bulky. I'll go get something for you to put it in. And . . . and I'll
be out of here within a week."

"Fine." Dane remained motionless for a few
moments after Kelly left, then one hand lifted to the nape of his
neck and his eyes closed briefly.

Jennifer felt herself being drawn back away from the
door, and she allowed Skye to lead her quickly from the house.
Outside, dawn was just breaking. They got into Skye's car, and the
quiet engine hardly disturbed the silence.

Halfway back to her house, Jennifer said suddenly, "Did
you think Dane was bluffing?"

"I've never been able to tell," Skye replied.

She looked at him wonderingly. "Not even you?"

"Not even me."

The car pulled into her driveway a few moments later,
and Jennifer hesitated before getting out. "The security guard,"
she said absently. "Why wasn't he around tonight?"

Skye smiled faintly. "He likes to take a nap every
night upstairs, while his boss is occupied with poker. Last night,
there was a little something in his coffee to make sure he slept
soundly."

"That's what you checked on when you left me
outside?"

"Yes."

She nodded, then said more intently, "I want to
tell Dane about meeting you. All right?"

"I was hoping you would." He laughed softly.

Jennifer smiled at him, then got out of the car and
closed the door. She didn't wait to watch him leave, but went
immediately into the house. But she didn't remain there long. Less
than fifteen minutes later, she was in her car and heading toward
Lake Charles.

It was almost ten o'clock when Dane opened the door of
his suite at the hotel, and he had never felt so weary. After leaving
Belle Retour, he had driven into Lake Charles and waited at the bank
holding the mortgage on the plantation. He wanted it settled, wanted
Jennifer to have her home back again. He had waited until the
bank opened, drinking cardboard-flavored coffee from a convenience
store and pacing beside his car.

His business with the bank had taken more time and
interminable paperwork, but since he had taken the precaution earlier
to transfer his own funds to this particular bank solidly to
establish his credentials, there was less trouble than might have
been expected.

Now, all he wanted was to take a hot shower and change,
and then go to Jennifer. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and
fall into a bed with her, and not get up for a week. Or two.

He hadn't gotten the chance to speak to Skye this
morning, but he knew his brother would be alerting the proper
officials and coordinating the arrest of Garrett Kelly. From behind
the scenes, of course; Skye would make certain Kelly never caught a
glimpse of him.

"Good morning."

About to lay the packet of papers on a table near the
door, Dane swung around in surprise. "Jenny!"

She was standing near the couch, watching him with grave
eyes, so beautiful it almost stopped his heart. "I bribed a maid
to get in here."

He moved toward her slowly, unable to take his eyes off
her. She looked so delicate, yet so womanly in a simple silk dress
clinging to every curve, that he found it easy to forget the grim
night behind him – and other grim nights – when he was
with her. His chest felt tight suddenly, and he knew he was afraid.
Afraid of losing her. Afraid that the secrets and demands of his life
would be more than she could accept.