Lucky Streak

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“HOLY MOLY, BOYS, everyone take a deep breath,” King Bobby said, keeping a careful distance from Mike’s and Marshall’s guns.

Mike couldn’t breathe. Not until he got Amber away from that psychopath. She was a champ, and refusing to show Marshall any fear. But Mike could see it in her eyes. He could feel it in his gut. And he wanted to kill the man with his bare hands.

Marshall was a wild card. He shook like the pansy he was, which made Mike nervous he’d fire by mistake. And while Mike’s gun was trained on Marshall, Marshall’s alternated between Amber and Mike.

“Come on, Banks. Be smart,” Mike said. “Put the gun down before someone gets hurt.”

He let out a laugh. “I am smart. I’ve got the girl. You’ve got nothing.”

Mike ignored the dig. “Then do the math. You’ve got what looks like a.22 and I’ve got a.38. Anything you shoot is just going to piss me off. On the other hand, you’ll be sprawled on the pavement bleeding out, with no chance to spend all the money you’ve been winning.”

“My money!” King Bobby shouted.

“Shut up,” Mike hissed at him. He didn’t need the big Texan stirring up Marshall’s already volatile temper.

“Marshall, I was on my way home to Las Vegas. Why don’t we work out our problems there. Put the gun away,” Amber said, her voice strong despite his grip on her.

“You hear that?” he asked Mike. “She wants me, not you. We love each other. We’re going to have a good life.”

Mike stared.

Even Amber, who was trying to keep Marshall calm, looked at the man as if he’d lost his mind.

“Tell him you love me, baby, and he’ll just walk away,” Marshall said.

Amber winced. She could only do so much in the name of keeping everyone safe, and as much as she tried, the words Marshall wanted to hear wouldn’t come. Not even in a patronizing tone.

“Tell him you love me.” Marshall’s grip tightened so hard she thought her arm might break.

Amber looked from Marshall to Mike, digging down to find strength she didn’t realize she’d had. “Marshall, are you crazy? We never were more than partners. And that was only so I could pay for my father’s nursing home.”

“There’s different kinds of love. We had an understanding! Now tell him!” He waved the gun at Mike.

“I can’t! Because I don’t love you, I love him!” Amber pointed to Mike.

At her declaration, Mike’s throat went dry. Stars spun behind his eyes. Her words shocked him, although he should have known, should have realized it before.

At the same moment, the sound of sirens filled the air as police cars pulled up around them. In a small town, Mike was surprised they hadn’t attracted notice before.

“Damn cops. They’ll take the bastard and I’ll never get my money,” King Bobby muttered. “Of all the damn, rotten luck…”

“Drop the gun, Marshall. Before you find yourself in a situation you really can’t win,” Mike ordered.

“Marshall, please.” Amber spoke directly to her ex-partner, pleading. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. Neither would my father. The worst the police have on you now is possession of an illegal weapon. That’s minor. It can still work out. Just give it up,” Amber begged him.

King Bobby groaned. “I’m goin’ back to Texas. You kin’ keep your money for when you get out of the can,” he said to Marshall, clearly fed up with the whole situation.

“Oh, hell. I’m probably safer in the joint here than in Vegas where the loan sharks can find me,” Marshall muttered. Then he lowered the gun, tossing it onto the ground.

Mike scooped up the weapon and seconds later, the local cops had surrounded them, demanding Mike’s attention, preventing him from dealing with Amber and her declaration.

I love you.

OTHER THAN A FEW BRUISES where Marshall’s fingertips had dug into her skin, physically Amber was fine. Emotionally was another story. But as soon as she boarded the bus for Boston, she’d be able to put this ordeal behind her. Putting Mike there, too, though, wouldn’t be quite as easy.

When the police had arrived, one officer had taken care of Amber, steering her toward a waiting ambulance over her objections. Standard procedure, they’d said. And Mike had been occupied giving his statement.

He hadn’t looked for her at all, not that he’d had much of a chance in all the commotion.

King Bobby had disappeared, probably to avoid any possible scandal that might upset his so-called associates. And Amber knew Mike wouldn’t bring up the man’s name to the local authorities. The simpler the story, the faster this mess would all go away. Simple. Since Mike was a fellow cop, they’d taken his word for what had gone down.

A man from Amber’s past had followed her to Stewart and tried to force her to go with him at gun-point. She assumed they’d both told the same story, because the police seemed satisfied with her answers, asking only for her personal information so they could find her if they had any more questions. She supplied her Las Vegas address, home phone and cell.

A quick glance at her watch told her she could still make her bus. Another told her Mike was still busy with the local cops.

She could get on the bus and go home without a messy confrontation. He’d probably appreciate that, since her I love you declaration had gone unanswered. Besides, she hadn’t said it to him, she’d said it to Marshall.

About Mike.

After he’d shut the door on them.

Amber was many things but she wasn’t a martyr. She knew he cared for her, but he’d made it clear he could never forgive what she’d done. To stick around where she wasn’t wanted wasn’t her way. Mike had saved her and she was grateful. Beyond that, there was nothing more to say.

IT WAS OVER.

No sooner had Mike grabbed Marshall’s gun from the sidewalk than the local cops took over. They cuffed Marshall and read him his rights. The paramedics, who’d been called out along with the police, presumably by someone who’d witnessed the standoff, had reached Amber before Mike had a chance to get close to her. It was just as well. Anything they had to say to each other was best done in private.

At that moment, Mike hadn’t a clue what he was feeling beyond relief and an overwhelming desire to kiss her until she melted into him, his body joined with hers, and he forgot the fear that had consumed him watching Marshall holding her in one hand, a gun in the other. But as Amber had pointed out earlier, that was just sex. Anything physical between them had always been spectacular. He wasn’t ready to delve deeper.

So with the paramedics seeing to Amber, Mike put all his energy into making damn sure Marshall Banks didn’t slip through any procedural cracks. Although Stewart wasn’t his jurisdiction, Mike prided himself on being thorough, and he wanted the local cops to handle this booking the same way.

Only when the squad car carrying Marshall had pulled away did Mike turn to look for Amber. He glanced around, but he didn’t see her anywhere. The ambulance had left and only one cop remained, scrawling notes while he sat in his car.

“Hey, man. Do you know where Amber went?” he asked.

The guy shook his head. “No clue.” Then his radio beeped, capturing the cop’s attention.

Mike headed for the bus station. He asked a few people if they’d seen her based on description, but no one had. Finally, he walked over to the young woman selling tickets behind the counter. “Have you seen the woman who was being held hostage earlier?” he asked.

“Yep. She took the number ten.” The woman hooked her thumb toward the bus stop far from where the drama had taken place.

Mike’s heart nearly stopped. “She what?”

“Bought a ticket before the ruckus and took the bus after.” The woman glanced around him. “I’m sorry, but you’re holding up the line.”

Mike looked over his shoulder. One person stood waiting to buy a ticket. Some line. “Sure, sorry.” He stepped aside and glanced toward the front door, slowly making his way out.

Gone.

She’d up and left him.

Because he’d told her they were through.

Because even after Marshall had released her, he had avoided dealing with his feelings for Amber by immersing himself in work.

Because…he was no better than his father. The truth hurt. In trying to avoid the trap his father had fallen into, Mike had landed there anyway and he’d probably lost his only chance at happiness. The only difference was that Mike claimed sanity while avoiding what frightened him. Only now that Amber was gone did Mike have the courage to face his fears.

Her words, the ones she’d used when she’d refused to tell Marshall she loved him, “I don’t love you, I love him,” ran through his mind nonstop.

Taunting him.

I love him, she’d said.

And at the moment when Mike thought he might lose her to Marshall and his gun, Mike had gone cold inside. Because though he hadn’t verbalized it, he’d realized he loved her, too. And that love scared him, causing him to avoid her. He’d still been running, holding tight to the reasons he’d sent her away-the fear of instability, roller coaster and insanity.

Mike looked at the empty street where the bus had once been and realized those reasons suddenly meant very little when compared to losing her forever.

He’d been a fool, he thought, running a frustrated hand through his hair. He’d been too afraid to face his feelings before, because if he let himself love her…His thoughts trailed off and he broke into a sweat.

Afraid if he let himself love her…what?

Alone, Mike walked to the end of the sidewalk where the bus station ended. He and his friends used to hang out in the empty lot here. For Mike, the place had been an escape from his tense family life-at least until he and his mother had moved out. An escape from the arguments between his parents and the uncertainty of his father’s mood swings. Mike had never known what he’d come home to. He’d always been afraid of ending up just like Edward, pushed to the edge by the curse. Or loving someone too much.

Amber had pushed and pulled. She’d abandoned him in Vegas, taken his money, left him alone only to show up again in Boston. With every lie by omission, every little truth finally revealed, Mike had suffered one punch to the gut after another.

He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. His father had the power to put him on that painful roller-coaster ride because Mike loved the ornery old man.

Amber had the same power over him, he realized now, because he loved her, too.

He glanced at his watch and wondered if he could get to Boston before her bus. If not, he’d probably be able to head her off before she boarded the next bus out West.

He ran for his car only to be stopped by the cop he’d questioned earlier. “Corwin!” the other man called.

“Yeah?” Mike turned, trying not to sound annoyed.

Now that he’d made his decision, he wanted to find Amber immediately.

“Dispatch just radioed in. Your father was taken to the county hospital. Possible heart attack,” the officer said. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Thank you.” Mike glanced up at the sky and swore aloud. When in the hell would he catch a break?

He dialed Amber’s cell phone, but it went directly to voice mail. He didn’t leave a message. What he had to say could only be done face-to-face.

After he made certain his father was okay.

With the police car leading the way, Mike sped to the hospital, raced into the emergency entrance and ran through the doors leading to the patients. All the while, his heart was lodged dead center in his throat. Because, for all the aggravation that went along with being Edward Corwin’s son, Mike loved his father. And he did not want to lose him.

He heard his family’s voices immediately and zeroed in on his cousin Derek’s, the one person he could trust to be a voice of reason.

“What’s going on?” Mike asked, winded from his panic.

“He’s okay,” Derek assured him first. “After you took off, his agitation increased. He started complaining of chest pains in between his ranting about the damn curse again. I brought him right over.”

“Thanks.” Mike sapped his cousin on the back. “What’d the doctors say?”

“They ran some blood work and said Edward hadn’t had a heart attack. But they need to check it two more times. Some kind of protocol. He’s hooked up to a monitor.”

Not a heart attack. Thank God.

“What do they think it is?” Mike asked.

“Too early to say, but my guess is a panic attack.” Derek shook his head. “I’m only surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.”

“I know. I’m sure it was the stress of being in public with Clara, the reporters surrounding them…”

“Finding out about Gabrielle’s pregnancy, Amber leaving, you going after her because she was in trouble,” Derek continued. “Your father’s had a lot to deal with today in the one area of his life he doesn’t cope with well.”

Mike nodded. “I’m just glad he’d okay. I’ve made an appointment for him with Dr. Shelby.”

“You might not need to go. Dr. Shelby was called in to consult. She’s going to evaluate him before they let him go home, assuming the rest of the tests come back negative, too.”

Mike exhaled a long breath. “I need to see him.”

Derek pointed to the closed curtain. “They gave him something to calm him down and he’s sleeping. Gabrielle’s standing watch outside as you can see, and Clara’s sitting beside him inside.”

“I take it there was no telling her ‘family only’?” Mike asked, laughing. The other woman had reinvaded his father’s life and obviously decided she was staying.

Mike was grateful. His father needed someone to love him. After all his years alone, he deserved that. Mike just hoped Edward would be able to enjoy it someday.

“I hate to bring this up, but what happened with Amber?” Derek asked.

Mike shook his head, still in shock himself. “When it rains, it pours, my cousin.” He filled Derek in on the events of the last hour, including how Amber had taken off before they could connect.

“In other words, she bolted before you had the guts to face her.”

He laughed at Derek’s uncanny accuracy. “That’s right. Now shut the hell up and let me think.”

“About?”

“About the fact that I can’t get out there until I get Edward settled. Which means Amber’s going to have a three-day bus ride to build up her walls and begin to hate my guts.” His stomach tightened at the unavoidable thought.

Derek hung his arm around Mike’s shoulder in a how of support. “Look, she’s smarter than you are. Maybe she won’t hold it against you.”

“Funny. She’s female, isn’t she?”

Derek grinned. “Last time I looked.”

“Then she’ll hold it against me,” Mike said. He’d earned any grudge Amber chose to hold on to.

She’d offered him everything and he’d turned her away. Why would she believe in him now?

THREE DAYS AFTER Edward was admitted and evaluated, Dr. Shelby discharged him. Mike was relieved and met the doctor in his father’s room when she told him the good news.

“Mr. Corwin, we’ll be releasing you today,” Dr. Shelby said to Edward, who was sitting up in his hospital bed. “I’m sorry it took this episode for us to meet. But as I explained to your son earlier, I’d like to start you on a medication for mild anxiety. We’ll meet at my office next week and see how you’re doing on it, if that’s okay. I’m hopeful that with weekly visits and the proper medication, we can improve how you’ve been feeling,” she said.

Edward, normally blustery and talkative, remained sullen and quiet.

“Dad?” Mike sat down on the chair close to the side of the bed.

For the last few days, Edward had refused to even look at Mike. Yet despite his behavior, Mike held out hope that his father was finally getting the treatment he needed and that things would finally improve for the older man.

“Did you hear that? Your heart’s fine and you’re going home,” Mike clarified.

Silence.

“Edward, your son’s talking to you,” Clara said, no edge in her tone.

Because she wasn’t immediate family, she hadn’t been permitted to spend the nights at the hospital. But she’d been by his side every waking minute since Edward had been admitted.

Edward shrugged. “I got nothing to say to him. He thinks I’m crazy.”

“No, I think you’re sick and you need help,” Mike said with much less patience than Clara exhibited.

The doctor stepped up to Mike and tipped her head toward the door. “Can we talk?”

Mike followed her into the antiseptic-smelling hallway.

“Don’t worry,” she said after she shut the door quietly behind her so Edward couldn’t overhear. “Your father is fine. He’s now on an anti-anxiety medication, which has calmed him down and let him feel for the first time in ages,” the doctor explained.

“So he’s feeling anger. Toward me. The only person who’s stood by him?” Mike asked in disbelief.

Confusion, frustration and anger overwhelmed him, an impotent mix of feelings he didn’t have the first clue how to handle. Because along with those feelings came the guilt for being angry at a sick man.

“Welcome to the world of therapy, Detective Corwin.” The psychiatrist placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s always really bad just before it gets better. But it does get better.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Sometimes counseling can help family members, too. It’s not easy to deal with the changes in their loved one.”

Mike let out a rough breath. He didn’t need counseling, he needed Amber.

Needed to tell her he was sorry, that he loved her. That he didn’t want to end up like his father, alone and afraid. He should never have sent her away. Mike wanted Amber in his life now and forever. And the sooner he told her those things, the better, as far as he was concerned.

But Edward was his first priority. And as much as that frustrated him, it was the way it had to be. “What does he need from me now? Can he stay alone?” Mike asked the doctor.

She shook her head. “But his friend Clara offered to move in and make sure he takes his medication and things like that. He seems to respond well to her so I have no objection if you don’t.”

The knot in Mike’s stomach eased. Not just because he wanted to hop a plane to Vegas, but because Mike feared for his own sanity if he had to move in with his father.

“Selfishly, that works for me,” he admitted.

The doctor nodded. “I understand. It saves you having to disrupt your life until we know if his medication is correct and he’s able to function on his own.” She scribbled a few notes on her chart as she spoke. Then she glanced up at Mike. “Any other questions?”

“Actually, yes. About my own life…” Mike paused, feeling extremely self-centered for what he was about to ask. “I need to go out of town for personal reasons. But I won’t go until you say it’s okay.”

“Detective-”

“Mike, please.” He had a feeling they’d be seeing a lot of one another.

“Mike. Your father is going through a rough time, and clearly he’s taking his anger out on the one person he trusts enough not to abandon him. That’s you.” She smiled, reminding him of his warm, caring mother. “That said, because he is angry, it wouldn’t hurt if you put a little distance between you. As long as Ms. Deveaux makes sure he takes his medication and contacts me if there’s a problem, you can feel comfortable taking your trip.”

Her words took him off guard. “Really?”

She nodded. “As much as you feel responsible for your father, he’s safe. He’s cared for. And he’s on the road to being healthier than he has been in years. I can’t promise, but I can say with ninety-nine percent certainly based on experience, he will come around. Edward knows he can count on you.” She touched his shoulder. “You’re a good son.”

Unbidden, a lump formed in his throat. “Thank you.” He forced the words out.

She inclined her head. “I’m just telling you like I see it. You’re a good influence and your father needs you.”

Grateful, Mike shook the doctor’s hand.

He’d help Clara get his father settled at home, then he’d see about booking a flight to Las Vegas, Nevada. The state where he’d met Amber, the city where his lucky streak had begun. With everything inside him, Mike hoped the streak didn’t end in the same place it had started.

His fate was in Amber’s hands.