Scarlet Lady (14 page)

He felt the boat touch the dock and the engines die. The laughter of passengers leaving the boat drifted through the night air. He waited until all was quiet. Carefully, he untangled himself from Katie and reluctantly slid out of bed. Quietly, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and poked his feet into his running shoes. Fifteen minutes later he’d retrieved Carson’s IOUs from his office safe.

Katie thought he’d encouraged her brother to gamble.
He hadn’t. But he was about to do the dumbest thing he’d ever done in his adult life. He couldn’t even explain to himself why he was doing it. He didn’t want to think he was making some kind of grand gesture. Instead, he chose to think of it as helping someone the way Mac had helped him. Except, it was Katie he was helping, not Carson.

With a bold slash of his pen, he marked the vouchers
Paid in Full
, negating over twenty thousand dollars in bad debts while he’d repaid his own debt to Mac. Once done, he headed back to his quarters. Holding his breath so that he wouldn’t wake Katie, he carefully opened the door and padded inside. He placed the IOUs on the cover where Katie had to see them, then backed out again.

He’d stopped fighting the way he felt about Katherine Carithers. He’d become her protector, reluctantly, but inevitably. Now he’d become her lover. Never before had the two things merged. Even so, he wasn’t fooling himself. As a gambler, he was out of her league socially, if not financially. And that was just as well. His experience with society was bad—all bad—and it was too late to go back home and change things in his life, even if he should ever want to reconcile with his family.

Katie had wanted him for one night. But one night, no matter how magical, wasn’t forever. Forever was that elusive thing on which songwriters built great hits, and novelists painfully dismissed as unrealistic dreams. And he wasn’t certain how she’d really feel come morning when she realized what she’d done the night before. But he thought she’d probably regret her decision. Montana
didn’t have to be told that Katie didn’t sleep around. Everything about her said she was a one-man woman. Once she found her man, she’d be loyal and trusting—rare qualities in today’s woman.

Yes, Katie was special.

Except for her cheating. He kept coming back to that. How could a woman he was beginning to care so much about be a cardsharp? Could he ever trust her? Could he have been wrong?

Then he remembered Carson and knew she’d be whatever was needed to save her brother. If Katie were ever to have a life of her own, Carson’s addiction had to end. In order for that to happen, he had to be found.

Montana closed the door to his suite and left the boat, all his logical conclusions intermingled with the fantasy he’d just shared, still swimming around in his head. Someone along the river had to know where Carson Carithers was. Montana just had to find him.

But first he had to call Mac. He glanced at his watch again. It was after two o’clock, just about right to catch Mac. Sliding behind the wheel of his convertible, he picked up his car phone and punched in the number for Shangri-la.

The phone rang once. “Lincoln McAllister.”

“Mac, Montana here. I still haven’t found Carson Carithers. He seems to have disappeared. Any news on your end?”

“None. And I’ve run a quiet check on Vegas and Atlantic City.”

“Damn. I’m worried.”

“What about Miss Carithers? Where’s she?”

“Katie? Katie is on the
Scarlet Lady
.”

Mac’s “hmm” was followed by, “What do you think, Montana? You think the boy’s done something foolish?”

“Too early to tell. The bad news is that he left home with eighteen thousand dollars to redeem his IOUs and went straight to the casino instead.”

“And the good news?”

“He quit before he lost it all.”

“How do you know that?” Mac asked.

“He sent Katie the rest of the money and a note.”

“What kind of note?”

“Typical runaway stuff,” Montana said. “Basically said he was sorry, that he was no good and was leaving.”

“Keep looking,” Mac ordered.

“Any information about a man named Leon who drives a gray limo?” Montana asked.

“No. What’s the connection?”

“He’s been seen along the river, talking to gamblers, including Carson. Nobody can get a handle on him.”

“I’ll look into it,” was Mac’s reply. “And, Montana, Miss Carithers is a working girl. It’s time she was in bed, her own bed—alone. Do you understand?”

Montana laughed tightly. “Yes, sir. I’m receiving you loud and clear.”

“Unless,” Mac added with a chuckle, “you’re planning to make an honest woman out of her.”

An honest woman?
Montana muttered good-bye and hung up the phone. Before he lost all his senses, he’d do some more checking along the river. The sooner he found Carson, the sooner his own life would be back to normal.

It was full morning when Katie finally stirred. At first she simply stretched, relishing the quiet luxury of soft sheets and a body that felt completely relaxed. If she could just stay like this, remain in a cocoon of warm nothingness where there were no worries or fears.

Allowing herself to drift, she lay content, absurdly happy with no conscious thought of why. She dozed and woke again, unwilling to open her eyes and destroy the warm afterglow.

Rhett Butler Montana.

His name and image suddenly shattered her peaceful state. She sat straight up, the sheet falling away, exposing her nude body, still flushed with warmth.

She glanced quickly around, reached out, exploring the empty bed and drawing in the musky smell of lovemaking. “Ohhhhh,” she moaned. It hadn’t been a dream. She was where she feared she was, on the
Scarlet Lady
in Montana’s big red-velvet-covered bed.

Alone.

Where was he? Did he always spend most of the night making glorious love to a woman, then vanish the next morning, leaving his lady of the night to dress and slink away without any further encounter?

His disappearance left her furious. Then common sense swept over her. Good. She was glad he was gone. The last thing she wanted was to open her eyes to the sight of Montana’s powerful body next to hers, wasn’t it? Why then did she feel so … so rejected? She stretched out her fingertips, smoothing out the rumpled
sheet. It didn’t surprise her that Montana was gone. Leaving probably made the next morning less painful for both of them.

When her fingers touched the squares of paper, she didn’t know what to think. Refusing to look, she gathered them in by touch, her throat tight and her heart racing. Surely he hadn’t … The low-down gambler. He’d actually paid her.

How dare he?

Then she opened her eyes and looked at the sheets of paper she was holding, looked and felt her heart stop.

Carson’s IOUs.

Marked
Paid in Full
.

Carson
had
paid off his debts. Montana had used her. He’d lied to her. The scoundrel. How dare he lie to her?

Then reality set in. It didn’t make sense. Carson hadn’t paid off any debts. He didn’t have enough money to do that. And she still had the money he hadn’t lost gambling, along with a note that he was going away. Beside’s, where was Carson’s marker for the plantation?

What was Montana up to? There was no point in setting up such an elaborate charade. He couldn’t have simply wanted to keep her near, make her depend on him. He was a smooth-talking devil with enough experience that she probably wouldn’t have been able to resist him if he’d set his mind into seducing her. Why go to all this trouble? No, the IOUs were marked paid for some other reason.

Then she remembered their original bet. He’d said if she lost he wanted her for the night. She’d said she
was worth more than just one night. Her face burned. Her worth—her pay for the evening was in her hand. Not only had her brother’s gambling debts been settled, Montana really had paid her off.

If Montana had been there, she would have scratched his eyes out. If thoughts could kill, he’d be a dead man. What did he think she was, some cheap—no make that expensive—hooker sleeping with him as payment for a debt? Her stomach churning, she made a decision.

She wouldn’t take this insult lying down. Cursing, she glanced at her watch. She was late for work. As she punched in her office number she hoped that Cat was on time.

“Miss Carithers’s office,” her friend’s voice responded.

“Cat, come and get me.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m on the
Scarlet Lady
.”

Katie didn’t have to see Cat to know she was smiling as she sang out, “And why are you there?”

“Don’t ask. Just get over here.” Katie slammed down the phone, gathered up her cocktail-waitress costume, and pulled it on. She started out of the door, changed her mind, and moved back to the bathroom mirror, where she scrawled a second message to her absent host.

THE BET WAS DOUBLE OR NOTHING
.
YOU STILL OWE ME
!

Moments later she was charging through the nearly empty casino and onto the dock, Carson’s IOUs clutched in her hand.

Montana’s sports car wasn’t in the space where he’d left it. Good. He was gone. She had a lovely vision of nails, roofing nails, scattered across the asphalt roadway. Elegant long nails piercing the tires on Montana’s sports car. The idea of him careening off the highway and into a mosquito-infested swamp was delicious. For good measure, she conjured up a couple of snakes as well. The power of positive thinking had gotten her through some very rough spots in her life. But never before today had she deliberately used it for revenge. What the hell, even if it didn’t work, it made her feel better.

“Well, you certainly look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” Cat commented as Katie got into her car. “Did vou have an interesting night?”

“Don’t ask.”

Cat put her car in reverse. “Too late. I already have.”

“Please understand. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Cat hit the gas pedal and smiled. “When a person starts talking about understanding, they’re usually trying to justify an action.”

Katie leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Cat was right. She couldn’t blame Montana. She’d asked for an “I understand” kiss. What she’d really been asking for was a “make everything all right” kiss. No, what she’d wanted was the kiss. All the other was rationalization. She hadn’t even been honest about that.

“Don’t look so striken, Katie. Once in every lifetime, if she’s lucky, a woman meets a man she can’t resist, a man worth throwing caution to the winds for and
going after. Stop beating yourself up and take a risk. Enjoy your gambler.”

Katie let out a frustrated sigh. While Carson was going God only knew where, she was giving herself to the man who pushed him into leaving. Not only was she giving herself, she’d been the instigator. Her body still tingled not from anger, as she’d told herself, but from some physical response that she still couldn’t explain. In an odd way, she could accept Cat’s supposition. It was inevitable that one day she’d do something totally wild, something totally personal. She wasn’t so naive that she couldn’t appreciate good—no, make that incredible sex.

If he’d left it there, she could have accepted the night for what it was. But the one thing she’d never accept was being paid off for it.

“You don’t understand, Cat.”

“Then explain.”

“I can’t. First I have to get home and change clothes. Forget going home first. Take me to buy a new dress.”

Cat couldn’t hide her look of surprise. “You’re going shopping? Now?”

“Oh, yes. You were right about one thing. A woman on a mission has to catch her victim off guard. Can you turn me into the lady in red again?”

“Katherine, my love, you’ve always been the lady in red. It just took a man to make you believe it. When are you going to see him again?”

Katie fingered the IOUs in her pocket. “When I’ve won ten thousand dollars.”

There was silence. Gold-and-brown leaves blew off the tree-lined road ahead of their car as it sped along.
Off to their left, beyond the high grass-covered levee, came the slow, labored sound of a barge engine. From the limb of a tree near the road, two ghosts, made from sheets, danced in the morning air, reminding Katie that Halloween was only days away—Halloween and the hospital’s charity fund-raiser.

Cat slowed the car and looked at Katie. “You want to explain what all this is about?”

“I don’t think so. Just hit the gas pedal, Cat. I’m in a hurry.”

“You
want
me to speed?”

“Absolutely.”

“What about the hospital? If neither of us shows up, they’ll think something dreadful has happened.”

“Tell them I’m taking a few days’ vacation.”

Cat laughed skeptically. “Sure. Then they’ll send the paramedics. The last time you took any vacation was when your parents died, and that was only three days. If you’re not there, who’s going to hold up the corner of Angel Memorial Hospital?”

“For the next few days? You, Cat. You’ve just been promoted to assistant director of finance.”

“And I’m immediately going shopping? Won’t that look a little odd?”

“I’m the boss. I’ll explain.”