Scarlet Lady by Sandra Chastain Read Free Book Online

she made it to shore?”
    “I saw her.”
    “She could have drowned.”
    Montana chewed on the end of his unlit cigar. “I don’t think she’s a fool. Desperate is more like it.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “She came on this boat determined to win a lot of money. No, what she said was a lot of
my
money. That’s the key.
My
money. Why would that be?”
    “You’re convenient?” Royal offered.
    “There are three gambling paddleboats along this stretch of the Mississippi. Why mine?” And why, he wondered, did she leave without claiming the
Scarlet Lady
?
    Royal smiled. “Boss, more than half the gamblers on this boat are women, women who come here because of you.”
    “Women make up more than half the gamblers in all casinos, Royal.” He carried on the conversation with Royal, but his mind wasn’t on the words.
    “But on the other boats they don’t move from floor to floor when you do.”
    Montana looked at Royal in surprise. “I hadn’t noticed.”
    “ ’Course you haven’t. You just dress in those black clothes because you like pretending you’re one of the Earp gang.”
    “Only when I’m working. When I’m not, I look like a beach bum, which I’m going to be in real life if our ship jumper comes back and claims the
Lady
.”
    “What do you mean, claims the
Lady
?”
    Montana pitched the cigar overboard and leaned forward, resting his arms on the rail. “That was the bet. If I won, I won her for the night.”
    “And if she won?”
    “She got the
Scarlet Lady
. I’m sure she knows I never welsh on a bet. I expect she’ll be back.”
    Royal frowned. Behind them, the workers were leaving for the evening, the crew was tying the boat down for the night, and the lights on the dock were going out, one by one.
    “You say she won?”
    “No, she said she won. She had the queen all right.”
    “Then I’m back to square one. Why’d she climb out the window and go overboard?”
    “Because, my friend, to win, the lady cheated. And there’s only one thing I hate more than a welsher—a cheater.”

    The message was waiting for Montana in his office, a message he’d expected for a long time. A message he couldn’t ignore.
Call Lincoln McAllister as soon as possible
.
    He glanced at his watch. Louisiana time was after three in the morning. But Mac and Shangri-la were in New Mexico, a one-hour difference, and the word was that Mac never slept. Montana picked up the phone.
    One ring. “Yes?”
    Montana remembered the voice well. “It’s Montana,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
    “You tell me,” was Mac’s curious reply. “Do you know a kid named Carson Carithers?”
    “Unfortunately, yes.”
    “He owes you money?”
    Montana groaned. Carson Carithers was the world’s worst poker player and he drank too much. The kid was a problem Montana tried to dodge. He’d done everything but ban him from the boat. Still he came back, desperately determined to recoup his losses. Finally, Montana decided that Carson was better off gambling on the
Lady
than somewhere else. At least Montana wouldn’t deliberately take advantage of his obvious addiction.
    “Does he owe me money?” Montana finally said. “He does. Too much money. I’m holding a fistful of IOUs with his family home as collateral.”
    “And that’s why I’m calling. Carson Carithers is what’s wrong. He has a sister who is devoted to him. He’s already lost the family business and now they’re about to lose the family home. They need help, Montana. I need you to help them.”
    Montana wanted to swear. He wanted to hang up the phone and pretend the call had never come. Hell, if he were wishing, he’d wish the entire evening hadn’t happened, including his lady in red—the lady who’d disappeared before he could get to her.
    He’d learned a few things about her. She hadn’t drowned. She had an accomplice. She was a cheat, a liar, and she could swim like a fish.
    And kiss like an innocent.
    And make his pulse quicken at the