Free Scarlet Lady by Sandra Chastain

pain in his voice stopped her anger.
    She couldn’t imagine what kind of family turned their back on a seventeen-year-old, no matter what he did. “And you did it,” she said softly, “all by yourself.”
    “No,” he said, standing. “I was as wild as your brother—for a while. Then someone helped me. If not for a stranger, a man I didn’t even know, I’d probably be dead or in jail—like your brother is going to be.”
    She came around the desk, grabbing both his upper arms in a death grip. “Dead? Do you know something about Carson you’re not telling me?”
    “No, not yet. But I will. If I have to find him to get the two of you off my back, that’s what I’ll do. What time did he leave here?”
    “I’m not sure. I … I overslept. It was almost lunchtime when I got up and he was already gone.”
    “Well I was on board the
Lady
and he didn’t come there. I would have been told.”
    “Where could he have gone?”
    Montana let out a deep sigh and disentangled himself from her grasp. “God only knows. With that much money in his pocket, he could be in Vegas by now.”
    “No, he wouldn’t—” Katie began.
    “Katherine, he would. The sooner you accept that, the better off we’ll both be.”
    “We? Thanks, but I already told you, Carson’s my problem. I’ll handle him.”
    “No, Carson’s my problem now. And if I’m going to find him, I’d better get going.”
    “I’m going with you.”
    “Until I know where he is, you aren’t going to get involved. There are some people who aren’t as kind to cheaters as I am.”
    “If Carson had cheated, he wouldn’t have lost.”
    “No, he would have been caught. I caught you and my guess is that you’re better at it than he is.”
    Katie swore. The man was like a bulldog tugging on the south end of a grizzly going north. “One last time, I don’t cheat.”
    “One last time. The cards will prove that you do.”
    “Hmph! I can see we’re not going to get anywhere.”
    “Not as long as we argue. I’ll call you and let you know if I find him.” He started toward the door.
    “I won’t stay here. My father ruled my mother’s life, and to a degree, Carson’s and mine. Because I loved him and I thought he knew what was the right thing to do, I let him. But I was wrong.” She looked at Montana. “I’m not about to let you do that. I’m going with you. And you can’t stop me.”
    She had a point about control. She wasn’t the first one to accuse him of taking over. But from the look on her face, Katherine Carithers wasn’t about to let that happen here.
    Montana replaced the cheroot in his pocket, shrugged, and started toward the door. “Suit yourself.”
    Seconds later she slammed the door behind them. “We’ll have to take your car. Carson is driving mine.”
    “He took your car? Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
    “His car must be in the shop,” she fibbed. She might want to string her brother up by his thumbs and torture him, but that was a family matter. “Let’s go. Vegas is a long drive.”
    “Aren’t you going to lock the house?”
    “Nope. There’s not much left inside to steal. If anybody wants to come in, they’ll just break a window, and that costs money to repair.”
    Montana thought about his childhood home along the Battery in South Carolina. Though the house belonged to a stepfather who’d come into his life when he was only a boy, it was the only home he’d ever known.His stepfather had kept it locked tight, protecting what he owned. The thing he had protected most was his reputation. Until Montana had ruined it.
    Now Katie was throwing her reputation to the winds, riding down River Road with a notorious gambler. “Where do we go first?” she asked.
    “The possibilities are endless. From Silver City to New Orleans, there must be a dozen gambling boats.”
    Montana hoped that Carson had chosen one of them instead of the private games that moved from place to place. If he’d gone underground, he’d be