The Gambler (2 page)

A moment passed before she took a deep breath. If that action was meant to distract him, it succeeded admirably.

"It's all right." Her voice was almost inaudible as she tugged her father back into his chair. He landed with a scowl and a lurch. The seductress was gone for a moment, replaced by a woman Raven had yet to pigeonhole. She didn't look at him when she spoke, but gazed instead at Jude as she pushed a stray wisp of mahogany hair behind her left ear. "I'm certain Mr. Scott didn't mean to insult us."

"The hell he didn't!" grumbled Jude, refusing to be soothed or to look at the girl.

But she tried again, squeezing his arm slightly and smoothing back that gleaming wayward tress a second time.

“Ten years ago I'da beat the tar outta you for less." The old man's hands trembled as he glared at Raven. His voice was gnarled, as if anger taxed his strength.

"You're tired," Charm said. "And I'm certain Mr. Scott would like to get to bed, too." Her voice was sweet, and yet when she raised her gaze to Raven's, he could have sworn her expression was suggestive. But again she brushed her hair behind her left ear and lowered her gaze to Jude's face, finally catching his attention.

It took a moment, but finally the old man relaxed a mite and nodded. "All right," he acquiesced and turned to Raven. "It's a bet."

"Then I call," Raven declared simply.

"Four tens." Jude spread his cards deliberately between them.

Raven raised his brows and nodded in appreciation. "Quite a hand. I'd think you could have dared bet more than an evening with your daughter on those cards, but..." He lifted his gaze to the girl's face again, which looked tense. "She is a Charm, after all."

He could hear the old man's relieved exhalation as he leaned forward to scoop up the pot.

"And yet," said Raven, interrupting Jude's movement. "Four queens will still beat a Charm." He laid them down. Two pair of royal women grinned smugly at the ceiling. Raven leaned back, every muscle taut, waiting for trouble. It came without delay.

"Cheat!" Jude roared. Pitching his gaunt body upward, he clutched the table's edge with both hands. "There ain't no one that lucky."

It was pretty much the standard statement and no less than Raven had expected. He watched his rival carefully, every sense aware. "I only cheat when I have to, old man," Raven said. He liked to call out all the trouble at once. No use skirting it with pretty words. More fun this way. "And I didn't have to with you."

"Damn you!" Jude swore and bolted around the table. But the girl was on him like a tick on a hound, dragging him back.

"No! Please." She yanked at him, refusing to let go as Jude pulled her along. "He won fair and square. Remember your condition!"

"Damn my condition!"

"Please!" she said again, then lunged ahead to grab Jude's arms and speak into his face. "It's only dinner," she reminded, nimbly dancing to the side as he tried to escape her hold. "And I'll see you to your room first." The old man gradually relaxed somewhat, watching her eyes. "I'm certain Mr. Scott will understand my wish to see you safely abed, and to... freshen up a bit." She turned slightly to gaze at Raven. Her eyes were half-lidded now, her tone marinated with pleasant promise. "Won't you, sir?"

Raven watched her for a moment, letting the tension leave his body. He was quite content to abandon the excitement of impending conflict for another kind of thrill. "Of course," he said. "Take your time."

"Thank you." She smiled, and in that instant he doubted if Charm's luscious body was truly her most seductive feature. It was, very possibly, her smile. A careless man could spend a good deal of his life doing nothing more than trying to coax forth that smile again.

Luckily, Raven Scott was
not
a careless man.

Taking her father's arm, Charm escorted him up the stairs to his room. From where he sat, Raven could see her lean over to speak softly into the old man's ear. For a moment he allowed himself to wonder how it would be to feel her breath against
his
lobe, to let it shiver down every nerve and titillate his senses.

Ahh, women's wiles. They were an intoxicant and a wonder. Raven shifted forward in his chair to collect his winnings. Behind him a saloon girl laughed seductively, spurring on his hopeful thoughts of Charm.

Burle's place still held a lively crowd, though it was late. Smoke hung suspended like a dry fog. But it was an atmosphere Raven had become comfortable with. From his breast pocket, he drew forth a cheroot to light and hold casually between his fingers.

It had been a long while since he'd allowed himself the company of a woman. Impatience burned him, but he hid the fire, making certain it didn't show in his expression. It was a discipline of sorts and usually easily done. But not tonight. Though Charm had tried to hide her feelings from her father, her interest in Raven had been obvious from the start.

Raven indulgently blew out a fat, symmetrical smoke ring. He imagined the girl warm and willing beneath his hands, her sultry eyes heavy-lidded and her strawberry lips parted, waiting for...

"Hey, Burle. Them Fergusson folks," called a voice from the doorway. "Was they all paid up?"

"Fergussons?" Burle's voice was deep and distinctive. "No. But the old man's still playing his luck."

"That right?" asked the first. "Guess my eyes is getting worser than I thought, cuz I coulda swore it was him and his girl a runnin' past when I come in."

"Hurry!" Charm pleaded, trying to drag her father to safety. But already two dark forms were sprinting down the muddy street after them.

"Go on alone," rasped Jude.

"No!" Fighting down the encroaching panic, she remained by his side. "Come on. We'll hide. Just a little farther."

But even a little way was too far for Jude. In a moment they were caught dead to rights with Burle's huge frame planted, legs widespread, before them.

"Seems we got us a bit of a rub, folks." His tone was not what Charm would call friendly—but she'd heard worse.

"Mr. Burle, sir." She gasped, managing to employ her very best expression of helplessness as she clasped her reticule close to her chest. "I'm so glad you're here. My father is terribly ill. We had stepped out for a breath of air when he nearly collapsed." Jude wheezed in accordance to her words. Charm tightened her grip, hoping he was faking. "He needs a doctor real quick."

Burle opened his mouth, but if there was one thing Charm had learned it was to talk fast and look sweet... until things got
really
serious. At which time her tactics would change dramatically. "Please help us, sir."

The big man shuffled his feet, looking bewildered. "Well I..."

"I seen 'em running down the street not two minutes ago," interrupted Burle's lanky henchman. "He didn't look real sickly then. And looky here." The man stepped forward, bending so that his balding pate shone in the moonlight as he retrieved the bag Jude had dropped. "Seems strange, don't it, that they tote their luggage about with 'em on their little constitutional?"

Silence blanketed the street as Charm held her breath.

"I'll have my money now." The proprietor's demand came after a brief eternity. "For two nights and four meals."

"But Mr. Burle," began Charm, blinking quickly and wondering if she should have worn something more revealing than her modest traveling suit. "Jude's had a real hard day. He needs—"

"I don't give a tinker's damn what he needs, miss!" interrupted Burle brusquely. Unfriendly wouldn't quite describe his tone now.

"He just needs to..." she began again nevertheless.

"Fred, get Deputy Hackett."

"Deputy!" Charm gasped. "Mr. Burle, I assure you..." But Fred had already turned away. "Listen," she said, glancing quickly from Fred's retreating back to Burle's stoic expression. "Jude just needed a little air. We were planning on going straight back to settle up our bill."

“Tell Hackett to hurry on down here," added Burle evenly, not turning his gaze from his newly departed guests.

Charm swallowed hard. "All right," she said. "We're a bit short on cash. But there's no need to involve the law. We've got us a stake left. Tomorrow night Jude'll win for sure. He's a very good poker player. It was just that that blackhearted devil's spawn cheated and—"

"And tell him to bring his gun, case this turns nasty," said Burle to his unseen sidekick.

Charm's jaw dropped a notch, but the thought of repercussions for their planned escape made her words spurt forth with renewed vigor. "I'll find a way to pay."

Even in the darkness she could see Burle's expression change from animosity to cautious skepticism.

"Next week at the latest," she promised quickly. But already Fred was returning with another man at his side. One glance at Jude warned Charm that running would be a bad bet. Still, she had to get away from these men, hide some place where she could breathe.

"Got yourself some trouble here, Burle?" The deputy was a short man, but solid, with a no-nonsense attitude.

"Yeah. Seems like maybe these folks was tryin' to run out of town without paying up."

"No. I assure you, we meant to pay," Charm vowed earnestly.

"I seen 'em runnin' hell-bent fer leather," interjected Fred, waving a skinny arm to indicate the general direction of their getaway. "Straight down the middle of this here street."

Damn Fred and his blasted night vision, thought Charm. "But we had every intention of returning to—" she began.

"And they was carryin' these here bags," added Fred cleverly.

"We weren't..." argued Charm desperately, wishing she could have thirty seconds alone with Fred and a good stout tree limb, but Deputy Hackett was already waving for silence.

"It's late, folks," he said evenly, "and I ain't had my supper yet. So I'll tell you what. I'll give you a place to sleep for the night. It's free and only two of the bunks is spoken for."

"Spoken for?" The world seemed to slow as Charm focused her attention on those two words, but Hackett reached for her arm now, jumbling her thoughts.

"Deadwood ain't hardly big enough for a separate cell for the ladies, miss," he apologized. "But you don't need to fret none, cause the other two occupants is too sauced to give you no trouble."

Charm, however, could imagine a good deal of trouble. Stepping quickly back, she raised a hand between herself and the deputy.

"I won't be locked up with men!" she vowed.

"Now, miss, there's no need to carry on so," assured Hackett, advancing.

"Don't come any closer!" Charm said in breathless desperation, but in that moment another shadowy form stepped forward.

"I fear this is all my fault," said a quiet drawl from the darkness.

The deputy stopped, canting his head toward the newcomer and remaining silent for a moment. "And who might you be, mister?"

"I'm the blackhearted devil's spawn."

"What's that?" asked Hackett, but Raven was certain there was no need to explain his words to the girl. If her wide eyes were any indication of her thoughts, she knew he'd been eavesdropping for quite some time.

"What's your name, son?" asked the deputy again.

Raven shifted his weight and delayed just a moment, letting Charm stew in her juices a bit longer before deigning to pluck her from the boiling broth she'd so cleverly concocted.

"My surname's Scott," said Raven, finally pulling himself from the girl's gaze. "And I fear this is all my fault. You see, these fine people were in a rush and asked me to pay for their lodging and meals." He paused momentarily then fished out a few of the bills he'd hastily shoved into his pocket. “They did, of course, leave me adequate funds with which to do so." If one tried really hard, one could almost find a shred of truth in that statement. And Deputy Hackett, it seemed, was willing to try.

"So you're gonna pay Burle here?"

Raven met Burle's gaze steadily. "With apologies for my tardiness." After handing forth several bills, he pulled out another. "It appears now, however, that Mr. Fergusson will be needing a comfortable place to spend the night, as he's in no condition to travel." Raven shifted his attention to the girl's wide eyes. "Don't you agree, Miss Charm?"

Jude straightened with some difficulty, and for just a moment Raven thought the older man might repeat his suggestion to spend eternity someplace warm. But he kept quiet, as did his daughter for several seconds before bringing herself to concede.

"Yes." That generous monosyllable was all she offered, and though Deputy Hackett paused for a moment, he finally nodded.

"If everything's fixed up to your satisfaction, Burle, I'll be getting myself some grub and a few hours sleep."

"Sure." Burle skimmed his attention from Charm, to Raven, and back to Charm, doing nothing to hide his befuddlement. "Sure enough."

The deputy departed, Fred shuffled his oversized feet, and Burle cleared his throat. "Well, it seems there's been a misunderstanding. But with Deadwood being what it is, booming with the gold fever and such like, there's all kinds of folks hereabouts these days." He shrugged, abbreviating his apology. "Guess there ain't been no real harm done."

The Fergussons remained silent, causing Raven to wonder if they would bolt off into the darkness once Burle turned his broad back. But Jude was still breathing hard. Unless he was a damn good actor, which Raven doubted, he was in no condition to do much of anything.

"No apologies necessary, sir," said Raven, employing all his considerable charm. "As I said, it was entirely my fault. Had I—"

"I'll be seeing Jude to bed," said Charm brusquely, interrupting Raven's carefully ingratiating monologue as she moved forward to do just that. But Raven was not willing to play the game without a chance at the spoils and stepped quickly before her.

"I'm certain Mr. Burle would be happy to see your father safely to his room," suggested Raven evenly and reached to grasp Jude's arm.

"No!" Charm's response was as sharp and hard as a well-chosen rock.

"I beg your pardon?" said Raven, seeing the nervous glance she immediately shot toward the looming innkeeper.