A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,77

cousin and then we shall be out of your way,” he said motioning to Caroline.

The other men at the table seemed uninterested, until Mr. Lamb raised the gun and settled it on her temple.

“Your cousin is otherwise engaged,” Mr. Lamb said.

“Step away, Roe. This will all be over soon. I need only to finish the game,” Caroline said.

Roe stood to his full height and looked at the man behind her. His features were set in an anger so fierce he nearly didn’t look like himself. “I’ll kill you if you so much as touch her.”

Caroline tried to shake her head, but the cold metal of the gun prevented the movement. “Roe, it’s not that simple. He has one of the girls, too. He says he’ll kill her if I don’t play, if I don’t win.” Caroline knew she was no longer disguising her voice, but it seemed a moot point now. No one would care that she was a female if her blood was spattered all over their cards.

Roe’s hands clenched into fists. “Where is the girl? Where is he keeping her?” Roe asked through his teeth.

“Lady Winguard has her at her townhome. She’s Lamb’s mother.”

Two men came from the crowd and stepped toward them. They both gestured to Mr. Lamb. Evidently Lady Winguard had sent reinforcements, more than likely because she didn’t trust Mr. Lamb and wanted to secure her investment. But no one told Caroline to be quiet, so she kept talking. “He owes her a large sum of money, and, Roe, she’s a nasty woman, I think utterly mad. Threatened to kill the girl herself if Lamb wasn’t back with the money by tomorrow morning.” She bumped up her chin, motioning to the other men that had stepped forward.

Roe looked around and nodded. “Lamb, give her to me. Whatever amount of money you need, I’ll give it to you.”

Mr. Lamb eyed Roe, then smiled. “I don’t think I’ll need that offer, but I won’t say no just yet.” He tapped the gun lightly on Caroline’s head. “Caroline, I want you to reach forward and gather all the monies on the table.”

The other men who had quietly observed until this point stirred.

“I’ll kill you all if you touch one single coin,” Mr. Lamb told the men. He waved the other men forward and both of them retrieved guns of their own.

Of course Caroline wouldn’t be surprised if the men at the table also had weapons, but so far none of them had reached for one.

“Caroline, collect the money,” Mr. Lamb said.

She looked up at Roe. He shook his head so she didn’t move.

“Mr. Lamb, consider this for a moment, these men at the table are not likely to allow you to simply walk out of here with their money. Why don’t you follow me to my townhome and I’ll issue you bank notes in whatever amount you deem appropriate?”

“No!” Mr. Lamb shook his head violently. “No, I struck a deal like that with Lady Winguard, and she will not let me out of her clutches. It’s never over with you people. You think you deserve everything and you’re all so bloody entitled to everything. No. We’ll take this money, now move, Caroline. Now or I’ll shoot you.”

Caroline ignored the tears in her eyes and reached for the money. She stretched forward to gather the money of the man across from her and he clamped his hand down on hers with a heavy slam.

“This is not my fight,” he said in a low gravelly voice, “and that is my coin.”

In a blur of movement, Roe charged at Mr. Lamb and the two other men jumped the other men at the table. Fists flew and slammed into faces and stomachs. Then there was a shot.

Pain shattered through her shoulder and she screamed.

Roe ran toward her, catching her before her head fell to the hard floor. “Caroline!” She saw his lips form her name, but the sounds in the room blended together. Cold surged through her body and she shivered against the chill. “I love you,” she tried to say, but she wasn’t sure if the words came out. She wasn’t even sure if her lips moved.

And then everything went black.

…

How could she be gone?

Roe looked up to see Mr. Lamb standing there, horror etched on his face. He stood and grabbed the man by the shirt. “What have you done?” he roared at him. Then he hit him so hard, the man crumpled to the floor. Roe wanted to kill