Page 40 of Risky Bet

She frowned and nodded for the dealer to color up her chips.

Shoving the stack of chips into her pocket, she stood and left the high-roller poker room and looked for the guest services counter.

“Mr. Novak asked you to check the news, Miss Colton.”

She frowned but pulled out her phone. There were half a dozen missed calls and even more texts.

She quickly navigated to the news app.

Andrew Jenkins Arrested on felony fraud charges. Memphis Foster will go free.She stared at the headline.

She scrolled through the urgent texts from Memphis, asking her to call him.

Pressing the green button, she called him back.

There was no answer, so she called Hunter.

“I take it you finally got the message?” he asked.

“I did, but now he’s not answering his phone.”

“Hang tight. He’ll call you back. His company is about to be turned on its ear, so he’s got a lot of cleanup to do. You can go back to playing poker or I can set you up in a room if you want to get away from everything for a while.”

“Thanks. I might take you up on that if I don’t hear from him soon. For now, I’m just going to wander around.”

“OK. Keep an eye on your phone.”

As she shoved her phone in her pocket and turned to find a slot machine to play—her father would be appalled—a familiar figure stepped onto the casino floor.

His eyes were frantic as he scanned the crowd, but she couldn’t move to go to him.

When he spotted her, he broke into a jog and pulled her into his arms.

“It’s over, lover,” he whispered.

She enjoyed the feel of his arms around her for a moment before she stepped back.

“I’m happy for you, Memphis. What happened?”

“After I confronted him with the evidence we had, I got him to confess. His personal assistant also played a large role and is facing criminal charges. Kimberly called off the wedding. The company as a whole has agreed to paying a hefty fine in addition to assisting in the restitution owed the families who were hurt, and we’ve agreed to oversight from a business watchdog organization for the next three years, but I’m not going to prison.”

The relief in his voice made her want to hug him again, but she needed to know where they stood.

He stared at her for a while before he finally said, “Rylee, I’m so sorry for all the pain I’ve caused you. Forgive me, please?”

“I can forgive you. But I’m not sure where that leaves us,” she murmured.

He stepped closer to her. “It’s your call, Ace. You gonna fold or raise the bet and take a risk?”

She couldn’t help but grin. “There you go with the really terrible poker metaphors again.”

He let out a laugh.

After another moment of silence passed between them, he picked up her hand.

“You’re killing me, lover.”

“Am I your lover?”

---