RISK(3)

"Arrested?" Her eyes pop open as realization washes over her. "You're not going to defend me? You know I wouldn't steal a thing, Nolan."

"You told me your ex was lying when he went on record saying you stole all that shit from him." He scowls. His long fingers circle the silver cuff link attached to the arm of his blue dress shirt. "What was it? Cufflinks, a bracelet, a f*cking video game. There was more. The list was long."

"Philip is a liar." Her voice cracks as she straightens her stance. "He went on that stupid talk show to boost his career. He hasn't had a hit movie in more than two years. He used our divorce to put his name back in the spotlight."

"You took it all." He rakes both his hands through his hair. "I watched the interview. You said he was acting. He was f*cking serious. You slipped all those things into your greedy palm too, didn't you? You're a goddamn thief."

"I'm not." She inches back on her heels. "You're making accusations you can't prove, Nolan. You can't talk to me this way. You'll regret it."

"I have few regrets in life, Shelby. I assure you that walking away from you and never looking back will not be one of them."

He turns toward me, leaning down until I can feel his breath on my cheek. His blue eyes are fierce, guarded and tamed by something impossible to place. "I'm Nolan Black, Ellie Madden. It's been a pleasure meeting you."

Before I can say anything, he pivots on his heel, brushes past a stunned Shelby and walks out of the restaurant just as security arrives.





Chapter 2


Ellie




"We can skip the magic show, Ellie." Adley scans the floor of the casino. "You put on a kick ass show of your own back there in Meadow."

I watch as she tightens the elastic that is securing her high ponytail in place. I've always admired Adley York's effortless beauty. Not one blonde hair on her head is out of place. Her makeup has held up through early evening drinks, our drawn out dinner at Meadow and a quick stop to play the slots. Lady Luck may not be shining her bright light on us tonight, but spending time with my best friend feels like winning the jackpot to me.

"You told me you've always wanted to see that magician. That's why I bought tickets." I wave to Jersey, a gray-haired man who arrives like clockwork at the same time each night to play a twenty on his favorite penny slot machine. I've been assigned the late shift virtually every day I've worked here. I tell myself it's because they want the brightest and best on the floor during the casino's prime hours. The truth is that the senior security guards pull rank and take the early shifts so they can be home when the clock strikes midnight.

"I know I did," she concedes with a nod of her head. "I get that you spent your hard earned money on those tickets, but we haven't celebrated our birthdays yet. You haven't forgotten that we weren't together on my birthday last month, have you? It was my twenty-fourth. I only get one of those."

"We weren't together on my twenty-fourth birthday last week either," I point out with a wink. "I thought the whole purpose of this trip was so that we could have dinner at Meadow to celebrate my big day."

"Our big days," she corrects. "I'm only here until tomorrow, Bean. We've spent most of my visit playing catch-up. Tonight we need to party."

"Don't call me Bean." I push the Cash Out button on the slot machine I've been playing. "I've been asking you to drop that nickname since we were in middle school."

"You're my jelly bean, Ellie Bean," she sing-songs. "I'm never dropping it."

I know she won't. I'm secretly grateful even if I'll never admit it to her. "So you want to ditch the magic show and party instead? Where is this party taking place?"

"You, my very best friend in the entire world, are going to get us into Shade Nightclub."

I hold up the printed slip from the slot machine and wave it in her face. "With the way my luck is going tonight, we won't get anywhere near the inside of Shade."

Her eyes zero in on the paper. "Twenty-seven cents? That blows."

"I lost ten dollars in the blink of an eye," I say on a heavy exhale. "I worked hard for that money and now, poof, it's gone."

She takes the slip of paper from my hand. "Your boss should give you a bonus for catching that woman who stole the wallet in Meadow."

"It's part of my job." I look over at where Jersey is sitting. His left brow is raised. That's a sure sign that he's on a winning streak. "I don't get bonuses for nabbing petty thieves."

Adley frowns. "That's a crime in itself. That poor man would have spent the rest of his vacation trying to replace his credit cards and crying over the lost money in his wallet. You saved him from that headache. You should at least get your picture on a plaque on the wall for the employee of the month."

I smile. When two of the senior security staff arrived at Meadow, I briefed them on what I'd witnessed. They approached Shelby and the owner of the wallet. She was taken to the central security office on the third floor once she realized that she couldn't talk her way out of the fact that the man's wallet was in her purse along with a credit card belonging to another female hotel guest.