Player & the Game Read online

  “And I said that I am!”

  Keith gritted his teeth. That was it. He had had enough of this! He ripped off his sunglasses and glared at her. “Do I look like I’m driving a school bus to you? This isn’t a field trip! This is an investigation! I’m tracking down a con artist. You don’t get to just tag along!”

  “I’m well aware of who you’re tracking down,” she said firmly, raising her button nose into the air. “I’m also aware that if it wasn’t for the information that I gave you, your trail on Isaac would be dead as a doornail right now. Am I right?”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Look,” she said, tilting her head. She placed her hand on his arm and leaned toward him. “Let’s be reasonable about this,” she cooed, batting her eyes. “I’m not going to get in your way. I’ll hang back and let you do your little detective thing. I just want to see what—”

  Little detective thing? “No!” he barked, swinging open the driver door. “Hell no!”

  “But why can’t I just—”

  “I said no!” He climbed behind the wheel. “You’re staying here and that’s it! I’m driving to South Carolina. I’ll send updates to Mike. Call him if you have any questions.”

  He then slammed his door in her face, leaving her gaping and fuming on the sidewalk.

  Keith plugged the address in South Carolina into his SUV’s dashboard navigation system. He then put his key in the ignition and watched in his rearview mirror as Stephanie scampered back across the street to her BMW, almost getting hit by a Mazda Miata as she ran across the roadway. She hastily threw open her car door and tossed her luggage and handbag inside.

  When he turned on the engine and pulled off, she pulled off after him. When he made a left onto a side street, she did the same. When he made a right at the stoplight, she also made a right. Ten minutes later, when he jumped onto another roadway, she was right at his bumper. He watched in amazement as her BMW took the exit onto I-95, then pulled in behind him in the center lane.

  She’s following me. This crazy chick is following me, he thought. Fan-damn-tastic!

  He was going to strangle her. If his head didn’t explode first, he was going to kill her. What in the world had he gotten himself into?

  Keith rubbed his neck and yawned. He had been driving for hours and was finally drawing close to the North Carolina border. He had stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom and grab a drink from a vending machine, but hadn’t stopped for gas yet. He didn’t need to. He would in another hour though. He glanced in his rearview mirror and wondered if Stephanie was faring as well.

  She hadn’t pulled over to get gas either. He assumed that she hadn’t because she didn’t want to lose him. She only had a vague idea of where he was headed, after all. If she put any distance between her and his Explorer, she may end up lost.

  A half an hour later, Keith adjusted his rearview mirror and watched in the reflection as Stephanie’s car dropped back.

  What the hell is she doing now, he thought in bewilderment.

  She slowly steered her BMW to the highway shoulder. Smoke seeped from the sides of her car hood, creating a heavy, turbulent fog around the vehicle. The last thing he saw as he accelerated down the highway was her angrily throwing open her BMW’s door and marching around her car to the hood. Stephanie’s image became smaller and smaller and then disappeared.

  So she stalled, he thought, slowly shaking his head as he drove. That didn’t take long.

  He had wondered if she had checked to see if her car was up to snuff for the long journey. Her BMW was immaculate. Even the tires didn’t seem to have a speck of dust on them. She probably hadn’t driven the thing more than forty miles at any given time since she purchased it.

  Not my problem, Keith thought as he signaled and moved to another lane on the highway. He had told her not to come. If she didn’t bother to prepare herself for this trip, that was on her. At least now he wouldn’t have to worry about her tailing him anymore. He could head to South Carolina and get some work done without having to worry about dragging her around.

  “But what if she ends up stranded?” a voice inside his head asked him guiltily. “Shouldn’t you go back and help her?”

  Why did he have to go back to help her? That’s what the AAA was for! And he had told her not to come!

  “Yes, she didn’t listen. Yes, she’s pigheaded. So what?” the voice chided. “That doesn’t mean she deserves to be stuck on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck. Did you see what she was wearing? Do you really want her alone out there?”

  Keith let out a deflating breath. He glanced at the sign over the roadway. If he was going to turn around and go back to get Stephanie, the exit ramp was coming up soon. He would have to make a decision pretty quickly.

  So much for reaching South Carolina by the end of today, he thought as he threw on his turn signal and took the exit.

  “Oh, don’t do this to me now!” Stephanie shouted as she popped the hood of her BMW and threw it open.

  She jumped back as soon as the smoke came billowing out, burning her eyes and nose. She waved her hand in front of her face frantically and coughed.

  What on earth was wrong with her car? Her baby? When the smoke finally cleared a little she stared at the engine in confusion. The only thing she knew about her BMW was how to a) fill it with gas, and b) take it to a mechanic whenever she had any problems. She didn’t even put in her own windshield wiper fluid! And now Keith was gone! He had deserted her. How in the world was she supposed to fix this herself?

  “Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” she yelled, stomping her high-heeled feet on the asphalt.

  She looked up at the sound of a revving car engine. Stephanie whipped her head around, only to find a beat-up, blue pickup truck pulling off to the shoulder in front of her. When the driver killed the engine and opened his car door and hopped to the ground, she got a better look at him. What she saw didn’t exactly make her feel like the cavalry had arrived to rescue her.

  He was a large guy with huge muscles and a pot belly. He had a receding hairline but the rest of his dirty blond, stringy hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He slowly walked toward her and tucked his sunglasses into the front of his stained, black T-shirt. He smiled, revealing crooked and missing teeth.

  “You need some help, honey?” he asked.

  Yes, she needed help, but she didn’t know if a guy like him was likely to provide it. She looked around her, watching as cars streamed up and down the busy roadway. Well, she doubted that he would try anything with all these people around. There were plenty of witnesses. Maybe she would be OK.

  “Something’s . . . Something’s wrong with my car,” she muttered hesitantly, tucking her hair behind her ear. She waved her hand toward the open hood. “I don’t know what it is though.”

  He nodded. “Well, let’s have a looksie.”

  He walked toward her car. As he drew closer she got the heavy smell of sweat, dirt, and gasoline. He braced his hands on the open hood and peered inside the engine.

  “Could be a crack in your radiator or an oil leak,” he said. “Could be anything.”

  She took a step toward him and gazed over his shoulder. “Well, what do you think it is? My BMW is only a couple of years old. I haven’t had any problems with it before.”

  He turned to her. “Some cars can go to shit whenever they take a notion,” he muttered with a chuckle. “Especially if you push ’em too hard.”

  “I don’t think I pushed it that hard. I’ve only been driving for a few hours.”

  “Few hours?” He squinted. “You goin’ on a trip somewhere?”

  “Sort of.” She gazed back at the engine, hoping to return the conversation back to her car. “So do you think it’s the—”

  “Where you headed?”

  She hesitated. “To South Carolina.” She pointed at her car again. “So can you—”

  “South Carolina, huh? That’s quite a ways.” He was still smiling but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. I
nstead, they were analyzing her shrewdly like a hawk would his potential prey. “What’s a pretty lady like you doing driving all the way to South Carolina by herself?”

  She hesitated, not liking the look on his face or his questions. “I’m not . . . I’m not by myself,” she answered shakily.

  “You aren’t?” He peered around the hood at her car’s windshield. Her purse was in the front seat. Some of her luggage was in the back. He then gazed at her again. “Your car looks empty to me. Where’s your friend?”

  “He . . . He walked farther up the road to see if he could find a gas station.”

  “He left you alone with the car to find a gas station? Well,”—he laughed softly—“that don’t sound very gentlemanly. Why didn’t he just call a tow?”

  “His legs were . . . were tired and he wanted to go for a . . . a w-w-walk.”

  “Uh-huh.” His gaze dropped to her cleavage and lingered there.

  “He should . . . He should be back soon,” she said quietly. Her voice cracked. She took a step back.

  And he’s a really, really big guy, so don’t try anything, she wanted to add.

  “Well, why don’t I give you a drive to the gas station where he walked to and we can meet him there?” the man asked.

  Stephanie shook her head. “No, that’s quite all right. I can just . . . I can just wait for him to come back.”

  “You sure?” He then jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “My truck is right there.” He hooked his thumbs in the front of his jeans. “It wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “No, we’ve got it covered. Thanks,” Keith said.

  Stephanie suddenly turned to find Keith striding toward them. He had parked his SUV several feet away, farther down the shoulder.

  She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t expected to see him again. She thought he’d be halfway to Charlotte by now.

  The driver stared at Keith. “You with this lady?”

  “Yeah,” Keith said as he stood in front of him, “and I can take it from here.”

  The two men glared at one another, sizing each other up. Stephanie glanced nervously between them both. The silence between them seemed to drag on forever, but finally, it broke. Either the driver found Keith too intimidating or he figured Stephanie wasn’t worth the battle. Whatever the reason, he backed down.

  “Well, if that’s the case . . . I’ll be on my way then,” the driver finally uttered curtly.

  “You do that,” Keith muttered in return.

  “Th-thank you for your help,” Stephanie called after him. The man didn’t respond. She watched as he walked back to his truck. The truck pulled off a minute later, sending up a spew of exhaust in its wake, making her cough again.

  Stephanie turned back around to face Keith. She found him focusing his steely glare on her, narrowing those dark bedroom eyes.

  That man has no right to look this good when he’s this pissed, she thought.

  “Why were you following me?” he asked.

  “You know why I was following you! Because you wouldn’t let me come with you. I had no choice!”

  “You did have a choice . . . and I made it! I wouldn’t let you come along for a good reason,” he said as he turned to look at her BMW. “I thought you would slow me down and now you have!” He slowly shook his head and then leaned under the hood. “Shit, I knew this was going to happen!”

  “You didn’t have to come back and get me,” she snapped. “I could have taken care of myself!”

  “Yeah, right . . . and when I came up just now, you looked like you were doing a fine job of it. You were fifteen minutes away from being kidnapped by some toothless mountain man!” He scanned his eyes at the engine and exhaled a long breath. “We’re going to have to get someone to look at this.”

  “Someone? What?” She waved at the engine. “You can’t figure it out?”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “No . . . Can you?”

  “No, but . . .” She shrugged. “I thought that’s what guys do. Stick their head over the engine and say, ‘Yep, there’s your problem right there.’ ”

  “Not quite,” he muttered drolly and closed the hood with a loud bang, making her jump. “I’ll stay with you until the tow truck comes and I’ll see that your car is being taken care of before I move on, but after that I’m heading on to South Carolina. All right?”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

  Keith made good on his word. He stayed until her BMW was towed to a beat-up-looking, small auto-body shop adjoining an old gas station just outside of Wilson, NC. But as soon as the wiry-looking mechanic raised the hood, Keith headed back to his Explorer.

  “Wait!” she shouted, dragging her expensive luggage cases behind her. “Wait!”

  “I’m not waiting,” Keith mumbled as he threw open his car door. “I’ve got a lot of time to make up. I’ve gotta get back on the road!”

  “But the guy said the fix could take days! He may not even have the car part! I could be stranded here, Keith!”

  “Stay at a motel. Sleep at a bed and breakfast. Make a weekend of it. Go exploring. I don’t care!” Keith called back, climbing inside his SUV. “I’ve gotta go!”

  He started to put his key in the ignition but stopped and stared at her in exasperation when she tugged open the passenger-side door and climbed inside.

  “Stephanie, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  She quickly tossed her bags onto the backseat and plunked her bottom on the leather seat beside his. She then gazed out the windshield.

  “I’m going with you,” she answered obstinately.

  He closed his eyes and silently told himself to count to ten. He then opened his eyes again. “Woman, you are severely testing my patience. We’ve been through this I don’t know how many times. I’m not—”

  “You’re right! We have already been through this!” She leaned toward him. “Keith, do you realize what Isaac did to me? He stole my money! He humiliated me! I can’t go back to Chesterton and just sit around in my office or in my living room waiting to see if someone finally catches him. Just sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, is going to drive me crazy! I have to do this! I told you that I won’t get in the way. I’ll stand back! You can do your work.”

  He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off before he could.

  “I know how to be quiet . . . really! You won’t hear anything from me! Not a peep! You won’t even know I’m there! But I can’t wait around in Virginia. I can’t sit on my hands waiting to hear whether you found him, Keith. I can’t. I have to do something! Please?” she asked, clasping her hands together dramatically. “Please?”

  His expression softened. He leaned back in his seat and gazed at her. She could see he was weighing her words, but she didn’t know if she had swayed him.

  “Do you promise,” he began quietly, “that if I let you come with me to South Carolina, you won’t get in the way, that you’ll do what I say, and that you’ll let me do my job?”

  She eagerly nodded. “I promise! I swear!”

  “If you don’t hold up your end of this bargain, Stephanie, then the deal is off. You go home. No arguments. No complaints. Understood?”

  She nodded again.

  He stared at her a long time, making her wonder if he was going to send her back to Virginia anyway.

  “Fine,” he finally conceded, “then you can come with me to South Carolina.”

  “Yay!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Keith!”

  She then threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug, catching him off guard. She planted a warm kiss on his lips too, though she didn’t know why the impulse had come over her—the heady smell of his cologne, perhaps, or even though he was acting like a real jerk, she still found him sexy as hell. Instead of tensing up when she kissed him, he instantly relaxed against her. His lips were full and strong—made for nibbling. She did just that, taking his bottom lip into her mouth and running her to
ngue over it.

  The instant she did, Keith jumped back as if she had stung him. Stephanie pulled away, only to find him staring at her like she was stark-raving mad.

  Well, that wasn’t quite the reaction she expected.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, settling back into her car seat and adjusting the front of her dress. “I just . . . I wasn’t trying to . . .” Her words trailed off.

  They gazed at one another. The silence in the Explorer seemed to stretch on endlessly.

  Keith turned back around to face the windshield and put on his sunglasses. He cleared his throat. “Let’s get going. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time to do it.”

  She nodded and buckled her seatbelt.

  Chapter 15

  Dawn walked across the gallery toward her assistant, Kevin, while quickly scanning her messages on her iPhone.

  “Just arrived in SC,” Stephanie’s message read. She had sent it to all her sisters more than an hour ago. “Staying @ shitty no-tell motel. Detective is a real ass! Will update you later.”

  Dawn shook her head and laughed at her sister. Well, at least she got safely to South Carolina, Dawn thought, though she also wondered what had happened to make Stephanie want to jump the detective’s bones a few days ago, and now call him a “real ass.” She was sure she’d get the details when Stephanie returned from her trip.

  Dawn glanced up at Kevin expectantly and tucked her phone into the pocket of her flared skirt. “So how’s everything going? Better I hope.”

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Kevin muttered before turning to face her, “but I think everything is under control.”

  Dawn patted him on his shoulder. “Thank God!”

  They had to put out a few fires—one, literally—before tonight’s exhibition opening. In addition to a painting falling off the wall, a brief power outage thanks to a blown circuit breaker, and tonight’s featured artist getting stranded in traffic, one of the placards had caught fire on the candlelit buffet table where they were serving wine and cheese. A fast-thinking waiter had managed to grab an ice pitcher and put out the blaze before the entire tablecloth caught aflame.