Carla kept her gaze focused on the man at the blackjack table as long as she could. At least he was attractive and looked clean. From what she could tell, he had light brown hair, the edges of which curled from beneath the cap. He could be bald on top for all she knew ... not that it mattered. As if sensing her attention, he glanced up, capturing her gaze with brilliant green eyes that seemed to glow. Then the escalator carried her out of sight.
How could he have known she was looking at him? Was this one of those I-saw-you-across-the-crowded-room-and-knew moments? Carla laughed at herself. Would she ever lose those fairy-tale notions? That's how she'd wound up in the mess she was now in. But when she came into his view again, he was still watching her. How he could do it and play blackjack--and still manage to win each hand--was a mystery.
Carla was almost to him when the casino host darted in front of her. His green eyes shifted to the other woman. To his credit, they never left the woman's face to dip to her deep cleavage.
"Sir, the Galaxy Casino would like the pleasure of comping your room for the evening," the woman said.
A frown tugged his eyebrows closer. "Comping? I do not understand this comping."
His confusion gave Carla the opening she needed to get this over with. She slipped into the chair beside him. "They want to give you a free room for the night because you've won so much money." A rough guess would be close to a quarter million dollars.
His gaze was back on her, questioning her, staring as if he could see into her mind. Emotion overwhelmed her. Much as she feared Drake, how could she do something like this to anyone? True, some men didn't give a damn whether they fathered a child or not. But there were many who did. What Drake demanded wasn't fair. Somehow she had to make this right. Carla had to find the courage and strength to walk away, not only on this situation Drake had set up, but on Drake as well. She'd clean toilets if she had to.
"Yes, sir," the hostess said. "And all your meals."
He glanced at the table where his chips were stacked. "I have won much?"
"Absolutely," the woman said. "So we'd like to give you a room and meals for the remainder of your stay."
"I--"
Carla placed her hand on his arm. "You might not get another chance like this. I'd take it."
He nodded, first at Carla, then at the casino hostess.
The woman smiled. "I'll make the arrangements. Your name is?"
"Nikos Dirvan."
"Be right back."
Carla waited until the woman was out of earshot, then leaned closer. "You might also want to stop playing while you're ahead of the game. You could lose all this just as easily as you've won it. That's why the casino wants to give you a room and meals ... so you'll continue to play and they can win their money back.
"It's what they do for all high rollers, though generally speaking, high rollers lose a tremendous amount of money. They're probably worried because of the amount you've won and hope to induce you to play longer and lose it."
He looked confused again. "I need money to buy fuel for my vehicle."
"Then you should cash out now."
Nikos nodded and tried to gather his chips. Carla snagged a bucket from a nearby slot machine as the crowd around him dissipated.
"Here. This should help."
He accepted it with a smile, dumping his winnings inside. "You are nice, but very sad. Afraid." He gave a slight jerk of his head toward the upper level. "Of him."
"Yes," she said.
"You want to leave, but cannot."
How did he know this? Tears threatened to swamp her eyes. "Yes."
)
