“I stashed my earnings in my lucky purse and turned to leave. That’s when he finally crossed the room. He congratulated me on my win like he already knew the exact amount I’d walked away with. ‘Not everyone does their homework before they sit down at a table,’ he said. He made it sound like a compliment, but it was bait.”
April closed her eyes, hearing Vince’s voice. When she opened them, Shane was watching her like he wanted to tear time itself apart.
“He asked if I’d ever thought of consulting. Not in a serious job-offer way, more like he was planting a seed. ‘A brain like yours shouldn’t waste its luck at the tables. People pay for that edge, bella.’ He’d said it casually, but I remembered it later when security really did recruit me to spot card counters and frauds. I knew he had to be behind it somehow.”
And now comes the hard part.
"He asked me out on the spot and I turned him down. He pursued me for over a year before I agreed to date him. Bought me expensive gifts, which I declined at first, until he figured me out. He knew I could buy myself whatever I wanted so gifts didn’t work. What I wanted—needed—was respect and protection. So, he showed it to me. Wore me down little by little. I was dumb enough to think persistence meant love, that control was protection."
Her voice cracked. "He only ever knew me as April Meyer. Thank God, because after we got engaged and I moved in with him, the mask slipped. He became…short-tempered.” She tried not to flinch, remembering the first time Vince hit her, what a shock it had been. “And it turns out he just wanted to use me. He wasn't just playing tables—he was running scams. Fake chips, past-posting. He figured that if we were married, he could control me. I wouldn’t turn him in. He miscalculated that one."
Shane’s throat worked. He looked away for a second, then back—like he needed the pause to keep from breaking something.
April wrapped her arms around herself as she told Shane about her last day in Vegas.
I don’t knowhow much time I have. April rushed around the house, looking at all the things she’d accumulated in the years since she’d left Lyons, deciding what would stay and what she’d take. She’d bought most of it over the past three years. Well, bought or had it bought for her in what she realized much too late amounted to bribery.
Jewelry is valuable and transports easily, but what about the coins? Will TSA confiscate them? She felt another wave of nausea, placed her hand over her belly, and darted to the bathroom, making it just in time. Wiping her mouth, she looked at herself in the mirror over the double sinks—pale, clammy skin, dark circles under her eyes, colorless lips, constant nausea, all of which she’d attributed to stress. She looked haunted, like a zombie.
Fitting, since I’ve been sleepwalking through my relationship. God, she’d been a fool. And now… She placed herhand over her belly for the thousandth time since taking the pregnancy test. But now I know the truth. All of the truth.
I have got to get out of here.
April splashed some cold water on her face and eyed multiple tubes of lipstick in fancy golden cylinders. She pulled out a basket from underneath the sinks and swept them into it along with the sable makeup brushes and bottles of perfume, wincing as the glass clinked, hoping she didn’t just break anything. She could resell them online for good money if she had to.
I’m thinking like I did when I first got to Vegas. Gaging the value of everything and how I can squeeze out every last penny. She’d gotten soft the past few years, too comfortable. Vulnerable. Weak.
“I don’t even know where I’m going,” she told her reflection, realizing even as she said the words it was a straight-up lie. She was going to the one place she didn’t ever want to see again.
“Home.”
But saying the word didn’t hurt like it had since she’d left Lyons. Instead, it coated her insides like warm honey. Her mom was there, a woman who’d shown her nothing but love. Her little sister, who’d always looked up to her. Same with her cousin, who might as well have been her sister. And her Papa, the model of a loving, protective man. The opposite of the bastard she’d married.
“I’m going home,” she whispered to her reflection. She cupped her belly. “We’re going home.
Three hours later, she stood in the foyer with four large suitcases and a stack of boxes to be mailed. She shrugged her lucky Louis Vuitton bag higher onto her shoulder and scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she trusted the most and hit call.
Bunni answered on the first ring. “I saw the news.”
April’s stomach tightened. Word had gotten out quickly, which was no surprise. But, she was hoping her old friend would still be there for her.
“So, whatcha need from me, kid?”
April smiled with relief. Bunni understood. “I need a ride. I’m leaving town.”
“Fucking finally,” Bunni sighed. “But why not drive yourself?”
“The car is in his name, and it can be traced. He might even accuse me of stealing it.”
“Ah, yeah, gotcha.”
“I’ve got everything packed and ready. Could you come?—”
“Uh-uh, no,” Bunni interrupted her. “We’re not doing it that way. I’m not coming direct to you. Too many eyes. Here’s what you do.” Bunni gave April instructions that made her sigh with relief. She wasn’t thinking straight, so Bunni had her back.
An hour later, April relaxed in the back seat of Bunni’s cab. She’d picked her up at the bus station after April had mailed her boxes at the post office, driven to the station, and parked her ex-fiancé’s car on the street nearby. Then, she went inside and bought a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, using her credit card. She went back outside to the curb. When Bunni pulled up and parked, her eyes went straight to the white Louis Vuitton slung over April’s shoulder. The rainbow LVs flashed in the sunlight, and her brows shot up.
“Still got your lucky bag,” Bunni said as April slid into the back seat.
