Willow Smoke (81 page)

Wishing
she
could
rub
her
throbbing
temples,
Daisy
nodded.
He
was
blackmailing
her.

“And
if
you
think
you
don’t
need
the
protection,
think
again,
bitch.
If
I
can
get
back
here
this
easily,
any
scumbag
can.”

Daisy
closed
her
eyes
and
almost
laughed.
The
man
was
ludicrous,
but
he
was
dangerous.
What
choice
did
she
have?
At
least
he
wouldn’t
be
beating
on
her
sister. And it wasn’t as if she couldn’t
afford
it, at least for the time being. As
long
as her partnership with Nick
lasted. Of
course,
if
she
didn’t
have
the
partnership,
she
wouldn’t
have
the
horses,
and
Reggie
wouldn’t
have
the
leverage.
But
he’d
still
have
her
sister.

Opening
her
eyes,
Daisy
saw
a
burly
security
man
marching
toward
them.
“Excuse
me,
ma’am,
is
this
man
bothering
you?”

Daisy
hesitated.
She
saw
Reggie’s
eyes
narrow
in
warning
and
she
shook
her
head.
“No,
it’s
all
right.
He’s
not
bothering
me.”

“I’m
glad
to
hear
that,
he’s
in
enough
trouble.”
The track security officer turned to
Reggie.
“You’re
no
longer
welcome
here,
Mr. Lassiter. I
was just informed to
escort you off
the premises.”

“On
whose
orders?
I’ve
got
clearance.”
Reggie
backed
away
and
the
security
officer
placed
a
hand
on
Reggie’s
shoulder.

“Let’s not make a scene,
Mr. Lassiter.
I’m
just
following
orders.
Your
clearance
has
been
revoked.”

“Who
says?”
Reggie
clinched
his
fists.

“I
say.
And
my
two
colleagues
coming
up
from
behind
you
agree
with
me.”
Reggie
turned
his
head
sharply
and
groaned.

“Now,
let’s
go
along
quietly.
We
don’t
want
to
scare
the
young
lady
or
the
horses.
Both
can
be
temperamental,
you
know.”

Daisy
decided
not
to
take
umbrage
at
the
man’s
poor
sense
of
humor.
She
liked
the
idea
of
Reggie
being
escorted
off
the
grounds,
though
she
knew
that
wouldn’t
reduce the risk to her horses.

“Okay,
you
win,”
Reggie
said
to
the
officer
and
then
spun
toward
Daisy.
“You
remember what I
said, I’ll expect to hear
from
you
the first of the month. Don’t be
late.”

Daisy
watched
her
brother-in-law
being
led
away
between two security officers. It
was
uncanny
that
they
had
come
along
when
they
did.
And
who
had
tipped
off
the
track
office
about
Reggie?
Had
they
really
banned
him
from
the
premises?

Apparently
they
had.

She
breathed
a
sigh
of
relief.
Still,
she
knew
she’d
have
to
pay
the
protection
money.
Given
all
the
things
the
bastard
might
come
up
with,
that
was
the
least
intrusive.
And
she
knew
she
was
protecting
more
than
the
horses.
She
was
protecting
Maxine
and
Nick,
and
maybe
even
herself.

Leaning
against
the
stable,
Daisy
gazed
at
the
spot
where
Reggie
had
stood
when
he
made
his
threats.
How
long
would
five
hundred
dollars
satisfy
Reggie’s
greed?
Probably
not
for
long.
She
huddled
against
a
stiff,
cool
breeze.
How
long
would
money
satisfy
Reggie
Lassiter’s
lust
for
blood?

Daisy
pulled
into
a
parking
spot
across
from
her
walkup
apartment
and
scowled.
Directly in front of her sat a familiar
red
Jeep; its driver opened the door
to get out.
After
the
unsettling
encounter
with
Reggie,
the
last
thing
she
needed
was
the
doting
attention
of
Nicholas
Underwood.
Her
lips
thinned
in
response
to
Nick’s
set
jaw.

“Hi,”
he
said.
“How
are
you?”

“I’m
fine,”
she
replied,
stepping
out
of
the
pickup
and
grabbing
her
purse.

“Are
you
going
to
invite
me
in?”

She
folded
her
arms
across
her
chest
and
leaned
against
the
pickup
fender.
“Only
if
you’re
going
to
be
civil.
You
look
like
someone
bit
your
tail
real
hard.”

“Let’s get off the
street, if you don’t
mind.”
Nick
took
Daisy
by
the
elbow
and
escorted her toward her front door.

Daisy
shook
her
head
and
pulled
out
her
keys.
Was
she
getting
paranoid,
or
was
Nick
looking
around
like
he
was
expecting
company?

“You
want
something
to
drink?”
she
offered,
once
they
entered
her
dining
room.

“Sure.
If
you
have
wine
open,
that’ll
be
fine.
Or
a
pop
will
do.”

She
heard
his
footsteps
following
her
into
the
kitchen.
This
Underwood
mood
was
unusual.
He
was
tense,
almost
combative.
As
she
opened
a
bottle
of
Prairie
Fume,
she
took
the
initiative.
“So,
how
was
your
day?
I
didn’t
expect
to
see
you
this
evening.
Is
something
wrong?”

“I
don’t
know.
I
was
hoping
you
could
tell
me.”