Page 37 of The Gambler

“Tell me what happened.”

She had a stronghold on his hand now. “It was an accident. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? In the end, the outcome is still my fault. Sometimes we do things out of goodness, at least we start to, but then it turns ugly. Because we can’t predict every outcome, Luca. Some things are just bound to happen. It’s what we do afterward that counts. I can never repay that man’s family my debt. They will never see him, hold him, talk to him again. That’s on me.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me what happened? There’s no way you hurt that man on purpose. You’re just not that kind of person, Tess. You don’t have a killer instinct.” But he was beginning to understand. “You were angry at that man?”

She shook her head. “That’s the worst part. That man was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. He had nothing to do with my mom’s death. He just got in my way when I was out for revenge.”

This time, it was him who tensed. He knew what she was trying to tell him. He just chose to ignore it.

Didn’t mean he could disregard her pain as well. He just needed to speak her language.

He held out his arms to her. “So, I’ve read somewhere that if you hug someone for twenty seconds, it makes them healthy and happy.”

She snuggled up to him before he’d finished his sentence.

Her cheek brushed against his chest. “That is so true. Hugging increases the levels of oxytocin. Which, in return, reduces your stress levels, blood pressure, and heart rate. It even boosts your immune system.” She was silent for a beat. “Some studies show that the giver of the hug benefits as much from the hug as the one getting hugged.”

“The maybe we should hug a little more. In the name of science.”

“Of course. For science.”

They spent the day at home. Working. Eating together. Drinking together. He found he liked her company.

A few times, he pulled back into his study to make a few phone calls. There was still no word on the whereabouts of Jamie. Angel did tell him, however, that Irish Brian was looking for him feverishly. Something was boiling in Irish Town. He was going to make sure that whatever the hell it was, it wouldn’t back fire on his unicorn.

CHAPTER 15

TESS

It was day five as Luca’s guest and, once again, Tess was dragged into a party she didn’t want to be invited to.

Halloween. The most dreaded of holidays. A fest she avoided like the plague ever since herSailor Moondebacle. The Japanese manga costume, which was plastered together by glue, hadn’t exactly held her outfit together, resulting in her being left bare ass naked in the midst of a party. Right after her drunk college roommate had pulled her on stage.

Now, years later, once again, she was pushed into an outfit that was glued together. The source of this evil: Tommie Green. Instigated by: Carmen. She held a whip in her hand, which was a nice accessory to her black latex dominatrix suit. Tess didn’t know any woman who was less of a dominant than Carmen. The Carmen she used to know had been a shy, introverted person with an ever-present sadness in her eyes. The current Carmen was surrounded by a sadness that was dipped in darkness. Miscarrying her baby after getting a beating by her husband could do that to a person.

As a distraction, Tess counted the cases in Tommie’s CD shelf that was plastered against one of the walls. His loft above Diaz Security, which used to be Hector’s bachelor pad, was huge.

“Ouch!”

“Sorry,” Tommie said. “Guess my seamstress friend forgot a few pins inside your Vader costume.”

“Can I open my eyes now?” Tommie loved surprises. Tess, not so much. The guy had a knack for being a brat. Who knew what she looked like.

“Not yet.”

There was a smile in his voice that didn’t bode well for her. It was time to turn the tables. “I haven’t spoken to you since getting laid night. Last time we spoke, you were going to ask a certain Greek god on a date. How did things go with Achilles?”

“Don’t mention that,” he hissed. Then, more subdued, “I might have tried to drunk kiss him.”

“Oh, wow. You really did take my advice on being ballsy. So, what happened afterward?”

“Don’t know, but since he hasn’t bashed in my skull, I suppose I passed out before my lips reached him.”

“I think you should try again.”

Even Carmen had to laugh at that.

“Ta-da!” Tommie exclaimed. “You can look for yourself now.”

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