His Risk to Take Read Free Page B

Grant,” he explained finally. “Did I pass muster? Can we go now?”
    She’d always been too curious for her own good. “Why ex -partner? What happened?” As the words left her mouth, she realized what was coming and immediately wanted to take back her question.
    Troy sighed, pinning her with a look. “He’s dead. Shot during a raid earlier this year.”
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered before he’d even finished his explanation. Her stomach felt hollow. She wanted to rewind the last minute and start fresh, make him smile again. An odd reaction to have over someone she’d just met, but there it was. Damn her nosiness. With a shaky swallow, she reached over and took his hand. “Let’s go.”
    With a curt nod in his friends’ direction, he led her from the bar.

Chapter Three
    Troy watched Ruby move around his half-unpacked kitchen, her inquisitive gaze lighting on every surface, taking stock of the slightest details. His take-out menus, the brand of his whiskey. He doubted anything escaped her attention. She would have made a hell of an investigator, he thought wryly. Each time he spoke, Troy could actually see her weighing his words, searching for another meaning, discerning his tone. Street smarts were probably a necessity for someone who made their living hustling people out of money. The thought made him frown.
    She took off her coat and hung it on the back of his dining room chair, once again revealing those long, jean-encased legs and low-cut black sweater. He’d nearly imploded earlier, watching her bend over in those jeans. Seeing the smooth skin of her lower back peek out just over the top each time. His mind had gone wild with the fantasy of unbuttoning those jeans, wrenching them down over her ass, and hauling her back onto his waiting erection. It had been the sweetest kind of torture, sitting aroused in the overcrowded bar, hoping for a glimpse of her cleavage, while at the same time, battling the urge to belt her back into her coat so no one else had the privilege of seeing her high, deliciously rounded breasts.
    The way she’d so casually and efficiently divested the guy out of his money earlier still blew his mind. Oh, she’d done it before. Many, many times. Troy had watched her opponent get progressively angry as the game wore on and luckily he’d been there to intervene. Surely she wasn’t always so fortunate. He had a hard time believing the men she beat simply handed over their money once they realized they’d been conned.
    He thought of the types of places she probably frequented looking for a game and inwardly cringed. A girl who looked like her caused a stir merely by walking down the street, let alone in male-dominated pool halls. What she did on a regular basis couldn’t be considered safe by any stretch of the imagination.
    She said she could take care of herself. To an extent, he believed her. But someone had introduced her to the world of gambling and he wanted to know who. It didn’t take a seasoned detective to see she was sharply intelligent and could probably do anything she wished with her life. Yet someone had encouraged her to become a professional liar instead. One who, as far as he knew, worked alone in a dangerous city with no one to step in if things went south. It made him uneasy just thinking about the possibilities. In his line of work, he knew all too well how quickly things could go to shit. The way they had with Grant.
    As always, the thought of his ex-partner sent a feeling of discomfort hurtling through his chest. He’d been presented with too many reminders tonight. First, watching Daniel and Brent interact in a way that reminded him of all too much of Grant’s antics. Then again when Ruby stumbled on the picture in his wallet. But he couldn’t think about it yet. The pain of that fatal night months ago still felt fresh as though it had taken place yesterday.
    He looked up to find Ruby watching him closely, as if she could read every single thought in his