Free Hard to Hold by Karen Foley Page A

the street called the Hold ’Em Inn was as good a place to start as any.
    He put his sunglasses on and had his hand on the door when his attention was arrested by activity at the Hold ’Em Inn. One of the guest room doors opened and a woman emerged. Even from a distance, Colton could see she was drop-dead gorgeous. She was slender, but nicely curved in all the right places. She wore a short cocktail dress made of some shimmery gold fabric that plunged low in the front, and her slim feet were encased in a pair of delicate, strappy sandals. Her honey-gold hair had been swept up into a loose bundle of curls at the back of her head, and she carried a tiny, glittering purse in one hand. As Colton stared, openmouthed, a taxi pulled up. She had opened the door and climbed into the backseat before Colton was galvanized into action.
    Wrenching the lobby door open, he sprinted across the parking lot to his truck. That was his fugitive who had just morphed from teenage grunge to elegant sophisticate. The transformation might fool some, but not him. He had her in his sights, and this time he wasn’t about to let her get away.
    He tailed the taxi through the congested downtown Reno traffic, keeping at least six cars between them. When the cab drew up in front of the posh Glittering Gulch Resort & Casino, Colton pulled his truck to the side of the street and waited. He watched through narrowed eyes as Madeleine climbed out of the backseat and then leaned in through the passenger window to hand the driver some bills. The doorman of the exclusive casino all but prostrated himself at her feet as she turned to enter. Colton snorted in disgust as she gave the man a brilliant smile and swept through the enormous doors.
    Yep, he’d sure misread her. She’d done a hell of a job putting on the damsel-in-distress act, and he’d fallen for it hook, line and sinker. Oh, he had no doubt she was in some kind of trouble, but she’d demonstrated she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
    Colton swiped a weary hand across his eyes. He had no reason to feel so disappointed, but dammit, he’d never felt so completely used. It didn’t help that he had only himself to blame. If he’d just done his job and taken her into custody at the diner in Lovelock, he wouldn’t be sitting here now, remonstrating himself for his stupidity. Or recalling how hot her kisses had been. Or how he had wanted nothing more than to pull her beneath him on that sofa and make her forget about everything but him.
    With a low growl of frustration, he pulled up to the entrance of the casino and thrust the truck into Park. He leaped out and dropped the keys into the valet’s hands.
    “Keep her close by,” he muttered. “This won’t take me long.”
    He strode into the casino and paused, letting his eyes adjust to the relative dimness of the interior. Despite the fact it was still early, the place was thronging with people in T-shirts and Bermuda shorts, and above the laughter and noise was the steady hum of slot machines being furiously worked. The rich, dark carpet was offset by the glittering chandeliers and soft, recessed lighting, and the brilliant flash of colors from the slots.
    Colton hated casinos. He disliked everything about them, from the glitz and glamour of the decor, to the phony friendliness of the staff, to the greed that motivated both the owners and the patrons. Worse, he hated what gambling inevitably did to the unwary. He’d seen more than his share of good folks completely ruined by the lure of the one-armed bandits or the gaming tables.
    Impatient, he scanned the crowd. He spotted the security personnel keeping a close watch on the machines, and beyond that, the pits where the gaming tables were located. Waving away a scantily clad waitress with a tray of drinks, he worked his way through the slot room toward the tables.
    The place was cavernous, despite the deliberate effort to make the individual gaming areas cozy. He’d paused, debating