The Cold Kiss (20 page)

43

We walked into the Silver Legacy casino and went straight for the cashier. I took the money and handed it to the woman working in the cage.

She looked at me and said, “How much is here?”

“Almost twenty thousand.”

She stepped away from the window and picked up a phone. A few minutes later, a man came out of a back room with a stack of forms for me to sign.

When I finished, he looked at me and said, “Eighteen thousand five hundred. How do you want it?”

“What do you mean?”

“How do you want your chips?”

I looked at Sara. She shrugged.

I turned back to the man and said, “As few as possible.”

He frowned then counted out a small stack of chips and slid them toward me. “You sure about that?”

I told him I was.

“We’re only making one bet.”

It was an easy solution.

One bet, one spin.

The most unlucky number there was.

Black thirteen.

If we hit it, the payoff was thirty-five to one. We’d have enough money for a lifetime on any South American beach. If we missed, the money would be gone along with the curse, and Sara would go back to Minnesota, alone.

One bet, one spin.

We walked through the bells and the flashing lights until we found the roulette tables. There were several of them, and we stood for a while, trying to decide.

“Which one?” Sara asked.

“You pick.”

She walked between them, then pointed to the last table in the line and said, “How about here?”

I pulled out one of the chairs and sat down.

Sara sat next to me.

The dealer was stacking chips in the tray. When she finished, she stood back and waited. I noticed she was wearing a small, emerald green turtle pin on her vest.

I smiled.

“Bets, please.”

I put all our chips on black thirteen.

The dealer reached out and counted them. “One minute.”

She turned and the pit boss came forward.

“You sure you want this bet?” he asked.

I told him I was.

He picked up a phone. When he hung up, he turned to the dealer and nodded.

“Okay, here we go,” the dealer said. “Good luck.”

She started the wheel moving, then placed the ball on the rim and sent it buzzing the opposite way.

We watched it go.

I turned to Sara. She was holding her breath.

“You okay?” I asked.

She looked up at me and smiled.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m okay.”

For the first time in a long time, I believed her.

The pit boss walked up and stood behind the dealer. Several other people gathered around us.

We were drawing a crowd.

I leaned toward Sara and said, “Kiss me.”

“What?”

“Kiss me,” I said. “For good luck.”

Sara frowned. “That doesn’t work, Nate.”

“Of course it does,” I said. “It always works.”

The ball slowed and the dealer waved her hand over the table and said, “No more bets.”

Sara looked at me.

“Come on,” I said. “Kiss me.”

Sara hesitated, then leaned into me and pressed her lips against mine. When they touched, I felt it go all the way down my spine, and I never wanted to let her go.

The wheel spun, and the ball rattled to a stop.

Neither of us looked up.

It was a good kiss.