All In by Aleah Barley Read Free Book Online

there?”
    “Undercover.”
    “Right.” There was a long pause. Jack yawned. “Want to tell me about it?”
    “Not particularly.” Ryan flopped back onto the hotel bed. His room wasn’t quite as nice as Daisy’s—he didn’t have her pull with the staff. Instead of a king-size bed and a sitting area, it had two doubles. The floor’s air conditioning unit cut off the view.
    He kicked off his shoes. “I met a woman.”
    “Finally. How long has it been? Six months?”
    “Since the shooting.”
    “That’s almost a year.” There was a long pause. “Is it Stephanie? I met her at a conference a few years back. I know she’s your type but—dude—she’s on her fifth husband.”
    “Not Stephanie.” Ryan frowned. “You think she’s my type?”
    “Tough as nails? Legs for days?” Jack laughed. “Yeah, she’s your type. I’m surprised you haven’t proposed to her yet. You being the marrying type and all.”
    “Maybe.” Ryan considered it for a long moment, then shuddered. Definitely not. These days, he was definitely interested in something a little more compact. “Can you run a background check for me?”
    “Sure thing.” There was a long pause. “You got a name?”
    “Daisy Adams.” He could hear Jack typing in the distance. “Are you looking her up in the database?”
    “Google.” There was a pause. “Cute little college professor?”
    Ryan bit back a laugh. “Sounds about right.”
    “Hell. Have you seen her CV?”
    “Not really.”
    “This chick went to Harvard.” There was a pause. “And UCLA. You meet her playing poker?”
    Poker. Ryan frowned. He reached for his computer and Googled Daisy. There were a bunch of different articles and her CV. He clicked over. It was six pages long. She really was a genius.
    And there on top of the list of publications was a book: “ Ante Up: A Statistical Analysis of Casino Poker .”
    No wonder she thought she could play.
    He searched for the title on Amazon. It was available as an ebook for $12.99. That seemed pricy for a digital file, but at least some of the money would go to Daisy.
    He bought the book.
    Something to keep him entertained at night.
    “You seriously met this woman?” Jack asked. “And you like her?”
    “Something like that.” Ryan shook his head. He shouldn’t have said anything. This was just a case. Of course, he’d already gotten Jack out of bed. He may as well talk to the guy. “How are you doing, Jack?”
    “Fine.” Ryan’s ex-partner was ten years older than he was. Tall and lanky, he’d always been the brain to Ryan’s brawn, but he’d also been capable of holding his own.
    Right until he’d been shot in the spine by one of Morelli’s men.
    “You getting around okay?”
    “Fine,” Jack repeated.
    “Linda and the kids doing okay?”
    “Linda got moved to the night shift.” There was a long pause. “She’s talking about having another kid—she always wanted three—but money’s tight these days. We’re trying to build up a cushion.”
    Another kid. They’d been talking about it before the accident. But now? Ryan hadn’t even known it was possible. Jack couldn’t walk, but the rest of the equipment had to be working if they were still considering it.
    “That’s great,” Ryan said.
    “Don’t get too excited.”
    “Yeah, well, let me know if you need any help around the house…or with Linda.”
    “Fuck off.” Jack laughed, then he hung up.
    What were best friends for?

Chapter Six
    Daisy leaned back in her seat to get a better view of the tournament. At least this morning she’d remembered to make coffee in her room. The Styrofoam cup wouldn’t last for long, but it was better than nothing. Now, if she could just find a waitress.
    “Morning.” Ryan slid into the seat beside her. “I knocked on your door—thought we could walk down together.”
    “Yeah, no thanks.” She’d left fifteen minutes early. She may know the sexy FBI agent’s secret—they might even have come to some kind