Page 9 of Midnight Secrets

“Are you having a poker night tonight?” she asked with a slight smile.

“Not tonight.” Shit. “Do we make too much noise? Sorry.”

She shook her head. “Oh no! Not at all. I don’t hear much, just the occasional shout or groan. I imagine they correspond to a win or a loss. Do you do much losing?”

“Nah.” He’d always earned extra money with poker. He could beat the pants off Satan himself. “But I’m sorry if we bother you.”

“It’s actually kind of…nice hearing you guys.” She bit her lips as if she’d already said too much. Her voice sounded wistful.

Was she lonely? Wow, that was a thought. And yet—she had to be. To Joe’s knowledge, he was the only person she saw. It seemed so outrageous to him that a woman as beautiful and as nice as Isabel could be lonely, but there it was.

Joe was really lucky. His company, Alpha Security International, was like a big, extended family. He’d been blown up at the end of his deployment in the military and ASI had carried him on its payroll since then, even when he’d been in a coma and had begun the series of operations that put him back together. ASI was mainly made up of his BUD/S buds who had shown their support in every way.

He had his teammates and soon would join them full-time in the job. They were like a family, tight and strong. Anything he needed, he got. And as soon as he was fully functioning, he’d be there for them, too—no question. He knew he was soaking up help, but that was the way families worked, wasn’t it? When you reached out for a helping hand, it was there.

His own family hadn’t been like that, his old man would have been more liable to knock Joe down than extend a helping hand but Joe was no dummy. He’d seen how good families worked and it was like a little miracle.

Where was her family? Who cared for her? Why was she so isolated?

He burned with questions he wanted to ask her.Who are you? What happened to you? Where are your people?

“You can come over anytime you want,” he blurted. “Poker game or not. You play?”

She smiled and shook her head. “I’d lose every cent I had if I played poker. I don’t have much of a poker face and I can’t keep the cards straight in my head. Clearly, you can.”

Oh, yeah. After a day or two, he’d be kicked out of any casino in the country for card counting.

“You can sit beside me and be my good luck charm,” he said and she closed up. Bam. Just like that. Face as blank as that of a doll’s.

“I don’t bring anyone good luck,” she said softly.

Well, fuck. If a beautiful classy woman considered herself a jinx, what could he say?

They were back home. He walked her up to her front door. He opened his mouth to say something, anything—do you want to come over for the lunch you cooked for me? Do you want to go for a drive? Do you want to go to bed with me?

But before he could put his foot in it, she smiled at him, thanked him again and disappeared into her house.

Joe was left staring at the wooden door that was exactly like his until he snapped out of it and entered his own house. He had some paperwork to get through—he had to read through a contract ASI had signed with a local bank and which would be his first job for them at the first of the month, he had some laundry to do.

What he did was head for the shower. He needed a long, cold one after his walk with the most beautiful woman in the world, Isabel Lawton.

But first, he had to check his email. There might be another contract for him to look at.

He shucked off his parka and sweater and boots and socks, standing barefoot in front of the keyboard.

There was an email from Jacko—We’re on for tomorrow! Metal’s bringing beer.

So—poker night tomorrow was confirmed.

And another email from an address he didn’t recognize. In the subject line: READ ME. It smelled of spam but if it had passed his spam filter, it was worth a look.

He clicked it open and felt his face tighten as he stared at the message.

PROTECT ISABEL

* * *

Doyou want to come over and watch while we play poker?

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