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PROLOGUE

“Go!Go! Go! Lucky 7! You’re the one. I just need you to make all my dreams come true!”

His heart pounded as fast as the horses’ hooves on the track below. His twenty-dollar bet could be the one to beat all the bets that hadn’t paid out.

If Lucky 7 won this race, he’d be the fifth winner he’d bet to win. The payout would be two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Enough to pay off the loan sharks.

“Come on, Lucky 7! You can do it!”

The horses rounded the final bend and raced for the finish line.

Lucky 7, trailing by two at the corner, seemed to catch his second wind. He sailed past the chestnut, Don’t Mind Me, and gained on the gray, Winchester’s Metal, the favorite. At the very last second, Lucky 7made one last push, sending his nose past the finish line a tenth of a second before the gray.

“I won! I won!” Suddenly, the ticket in his hand felt like something to be guarded, protected and clutched tightly until he made it all the way through the crowd and back to the teller to cash it in.

It was worth so much money that he carried it close to his chest, afraid the wind might blow it away or someone might come along and rip it out of his hand.

By the time he reached the teller window and handed in his winning ticket, his hands were damp with sweat, and he was one nerve short of a full-on panic attack.

He held his breath as the teller checked the ticket, then checked it again. She called for her supervisor and had him check it a third time.

The supervisor came out from behind the window. “Sir, could you come to the main cashier with me?”

“Sure, as long as it gets me my money,” he said and followed the man to the track’s main cashier.

After a couple more people checked his ticket, the manager of the cashiers approached him, stuck out his hand and said, “Congratulations, sir, you just won two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

An hour and a half later, he walked out of the racetrack with a bag full of money, nervouslyglancing over his shoulder, fully expecting to be mugged.

He made it to his car without incident and breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, where should he go?

Hit the loan sharks to pay back some of the money he owed?

If he paid off all his gambling loans, he wouldn’t have anything left of his winnings.

He’d like to buy a new car.

With two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, he could start over someplace new. Someplace where no one knew him and the loan sharks couldn’t find him.

The thought of keeping all the money for himself and starting over with a clean slate spread through him like warm whiskey. It warmed his insides and made him feel happy all over.

As he drove out of the parking lot, his cell phone rang. He glanced down at the caller ID and saw Cissy’s name come up on the screen.

Happiness filling him to full, he answered the call. “Hey, beautiful. Feel like going out for a steak dinner tonight?”

“I don’t know about that. Just heard from a little birdie you cashed in a big ticket at the horse track.”

He frowned. “Word gets out fast.”

“You know the Boss has eyes and ears everywhere there’s gambling. He’s gonna want his share for the loans you took out. If you’re not planning on givin’ itto him, you might wanna watch your back. I’d hate to see you fitted with cement overshoes and dropped in the bayou somewhere. Just sayin’—and you didn’t hear it from me. See ya around.”

His cell phone rang again. The caller ID was Jimmy Bangs, one of the many loan sharks he was sideways with. If he paid one, he’d have to pay all of them. They’d each want their share first and wouldn’t be happy if he ran out of money before they got theirs.

His happiness sank into the pit of his belly. The idea of starting over seemed more like his only hope for survival now.

He checked in the rearview mirror. A minute later, he checked again. Was that black SUV following him?

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