Gambling on Love (Stories of Serendipity #6) by Anne Conley Page A

felt a touch of pride swell inside as he remembered what had happened with Darrin. It wasn’t one of his finest moments, as a man, but he’d done what needed to be done to get most of Kathy’s stuff back. His fingers absently twirled the wedding band on his fingers as he recalled that night, six weeks ago.
    Kathy pointed Darrin out to him, playing black jack at a table in the corner. For a moment, Luke repressed the urge to beat the guy right there, but knew that getting himself kicked out of the casino wouldn’t solve anybody’s problem, so he decided to stick to his plan. Kissing Kathy, he sent her back up to the room where he’d had a surprise waiting to distract her. She loved expensive lingerie, and he hoped it would keep her busy while he did what he intended to do to this creep.
    Luke joined Darrin at the table, and over the course of the next hour, they played, Luke winning and losing until he’d almost broken even. When the other two guys left for greener pastures, Luke sidled up next to Darrin and offered to take him to a private high stakes game at his “friend’s house” in the desert. His entire plan hinged on them getting alone in his rental car, and if the guy was as street-smart as he should be, Luke would have to go on to plan B. But apparently, the drinks he’d bought the table had worked, or else the guy was already looped when Luke had sat down, because remarkably, Darrin agreed.
    They left and got into the rental car, Luke’s heart pounding with thoughts of this guy man-handling his wife. He knew he was putting himself in a dangerous situation, behind the wheel with Darrin in the passenger seat.
    “You aren’t going to rob me, and leave me for dead in the desert, are you?” Luke joked, half-heartedly, watching his response carefully. An uncomfortable laugh on his lips.
    Darrin looked at him, shock obvious on his features, before replying. “I wasn’t planning on it. I’d rather play poker, man.” He laughed a small chuckle, fiddling with the collar of his shirt. Luke relaxed and started the car.
    They made small talk, and once the city lights were behind them on the interstate, Luke pulled onto a side road that his map had shown led off into the middle of nowhere. He reached under the seat and pulled out a handgun he’d bought that afternoon at a gun show he’d found. He hoped to God he didn’t have to use it.
    Darrin’s eyes bugged out when he saw Luke rest the gun on his lap, pointed at him easily.
    “What the fuck, man?” He’d stiffened up, and clutched his hands into fists.
    “Don’t try anything, Darrin. I just want answers. I’m not the killing type, but I’m mad as hell right now.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Let me find someplace we can talk.” Luke drove until there were no cars and he pulled off the road, killing the lights, immersing them in total darkness. He turned in his seat seeing Darrin’s pale face clearly in the darkness. Moonlight reflected from the whites of his wide eyes, and Luke saw them darting around. He reached into his pocket and turned the recorder on his phone. He’d set it up earlier so all he had to do was slide the screen awake and push a button. He prayed he’d pushed the right one. It was something he’d been practicing all afternoon.
    “Tell me about Kathy.”
    “Kathy who? I don’t know a Kathy.” Darrin started squawking petulantly. Luke lifted the gun.
    “Look, I don’t want to be here all night. Just tell me about her. Do you do that to women regularly?”
    Darrin’s eyes closed, and he leaned his head back on the head rest of the car, expelling a shaky breath. “No, man. I don’t. I prefer to win my money. But she made it so fucking easy. She set herself up for it. A total dumbass wouldn’t have taken advantage of that level of stupidity.”
    Luke swallowed his anger at the man, and pushed the gun into Darrin’s face. He hadn’t taken the safety off, but he would never know that. Not in the dark. Surely. “Just