“And yet you still want to play poker with these guys,” Travis muttered. “If breaking and entering is part of their routine, something tells me cheating is going to be second nature to them.”
“There is no evidence that Hoffmann or anyone from the circuit was behind it.”
“Right,” Travis said sarcastically. “It’s only coincidental that a break-in happens when you enter a high-stakes poker game with these guys.”
“The only time that emerald is out of the vault is when I enter a high-stakes poker game. That emerald you’re keeping safe in your jacket is my collateral.”
“And your lucky charm,” Travis added. His friend’s superstitious nature brought them more problems than protection.
“That, too.” Aaron leaned back in his chair and had a faraway look in his eyes. “If I didn’t have that when we were chased out of that village on the Amazon River...”
Travis rolled his eyes. Why did his friend give all the credit to a rock? “I still would have saved you.”
“Yes, but would I still have all my limbs? We’ll never know.” Aaron straightened in his chair. “Anyway, I’ve had that emerald with me whenever it counted. I had it when I met Dana.”
“Had it when you married her,” Travis finished for his friend. “I’m surprised you didn’t add it to her engagement ring.”
“She said emerald engagement rings are bad luck.”
“Can’t have that.”
“Damn straight. But when I win this poker game, I’m going to buy her something nice. I saw this necklace in the window—”
Travis raised his beer bottle to his lips and paused when he saw a woman walk into the casino from the hotel lobby. She stood out from the crowd of T-shirts and jeans, wearing a skintight blue dress and platform heels. His gaze traveled lazily down her body. Travis did a double take when he saw what was in her hand. Instead of a designer purse or a weekend bag, she held a vintage mountaineering backpack. Only this backpack had never been used.
He slowly lowered his beer onto the table as his curiosity deepened. Travis glanced at her face and his heart gave a violent kick. She was a natural beauty. She didn’t need to highlight her wide brown eyes or her full pink lips with a heavy layer of makeup.
The woman reached up and flipped her hair back. The movement pulled at her dress, emphasizing her gentle curves and athletic build. His gut clenched when he saw her long, bare legs. He’d bet they were silky smooth. Warm and strong. He wondered what those legs would feel like wrapped tightly around him. Travis gritted his teeth as his imagination bloomed.
“She’s out of your league,” Aaron said.
It was true, but that didn’t make Travis ignore the woman. “Dana is out of your league, and look what happened there,” he said gruffly.
“Dana is different. That woman? High maintenance. I see that kind of woman all the time in the casinos. Do you see how she’s dressed? How she isn’t with anyone? She’s on the hunt for a big spender.”
Travis shook his head as he watched the woman walk past a row of slot machines. She was a breath of fresh air in a kitschy casino filled with gold furniture and red carpeting. She was looking around, taking in everything. He had recognized the look in her eyes. She was ready for anything. “No, she wants excitement.”
But what kind? The backpack indicated she wanted adventure but it didn’t seem a natural fit. Her do-me-right-now shoes suggested she was looking for a good time, but she tugged at her dress as if she wasn’t comfortable with the short length.
“She wants a glamorous lifestyle,” Aaron corrected. “Financial security. Two things you don’t possess.”
“I’m getting big bucks to babysit the emerald,” he reminded his friend. He would have done it for free to help out but Aaron had insisted. It was the only reason Travis would visit a place like Vegas.
“Which you plan to spend on climbing the volcanoes in Indonesia. Waste of money, if you ask me.”
Travis reluctantly dragged his gaze away from the woman. “You’re just saying that because you want to come along. Dana won’t let you, will she?”
“Hey, she worries about me,” Aaron said with a smile. “And I kind of like that.”
Travis frowned. It had been a long time since someone had worried about him. He used to prefer it that way. After being raised by his grandmother, who saw danger in every corner, he didn’t want to be held back because of someone’s fears. But the idea of a loved one caring about him didn’t sound as suffocating as it should.
“You know,” Aaron continued, “if you stopped spending your money on adventures and started investing it, you could have a very comfortable lifestyle.”