High-Stakes Affair Read Online Free PDF

And we ran because…because we didn’t know who they were. We thought the guards were someone else, maybe La Brigada raiding the casino. And you were trying to keep me safe.”
    “It still won’t work.”
    “Of course it will. Once I explain—”
    “I’m a thief, Paloma. I’ve got a criminal record. It won’t matter what you say. They’ll assume that I coerced you and throw me back in jail.”
    “Not without proof, they won’t.”
    “Proof?” He shot her an incredulous look. “What planet do you live on? Since when do they need proof to arrest someone?”
    “That’s awfully cynical. Our laws—”
    He barked out a bitter laugh. “Laws. Right. That’s why they tossed me in jail before—with no lawyer, no contact with the outside world, no chance to fight the charges, whatever the hell they were.”
    “I don’t believe that.”
    “Then you’re either stupid or naive.”
    She frowned at his angry profile, his bitterness bothering her. True, she hadn’t found his arrest papers. And she knew the system wasn’t perfect, that some of the older guards were corrupt. But Dante made the country sound medieval. And while her father might be high-handed, he’d never tolerate abuses like that.
    “I don’t know what happened with your arrest,” she admitted. “So I can’t argue with you about that. But you don’t have to worry about tonight. I’ll make sure my father knows that you didn’t do anything wrong. I’ll talk to him in person and prove that I’m all right.”
    Dante slanted her a glance. “There’s still one problem.”
    “What?”
    “ I don’t believe you. ”
    The car hit a rut, and she clutched the seat. He didn’t believe she’d stand up for him? “Why not?”
    “Why should I?”
    “Because I said I would. And my word is good.”
    “Your word?” he scoffed. “You’ve been lying to me from the start. There isn’t a chance in hell Gomez was blackmailing you with the reputation you have.”
    She flushed and crossed her arms, unable to deny the truth. “The reason I need that disk doesn’t matter.”
    “It matters. I’m in this mess as much as you are, so you damned well owe me the truth. And until I get it, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
    “What?”
    “You heard me, Princess. You’re stuck with me until I decide we’re through.”
    Outraged, she clamped her jaw. Then she turned her gaze to the side window, where the wind whistled through a crack. Wonderful. She’d thought the night couldn’t get much worse. But she’d been wrong.
    Because now she had to worry about him.

Chapter 3
    D ante had to hand it to the princess. She’d lived up to her bad reputation and totally screwed up his night.
    Furious over the debacle she’d landed him in, he stopped on a cobblestone street in the heart of the ancient city and parked. Darkness enveloped the car. A dog barked from a nearby house, its sharp, high-pitched yaps adding to his foul mood.
    Paloma had embroiled him in a disaster, all right. The police were hot on his trail. They would assume he’d abducted the princess and would probably shoot him on sight. They’d definitely connect him to that bomb blast—and possibly the casino owner’s bizarre death.
    And until he could extricate himself from this unholy mess, he wasn’t letting her escape. She was the only hope he had to clear his name and keep himself out of jail.
    “Where are we?” she asked.
    He turned his head, barely able to make out her features in the predawn light. She hadn’t spoken for the last half hour as they’d worked their way down the forest trail. She’d sat with her arms folded tight, her sultry lips compressed, upset that he didn’t trust her, no doubt. Well, too damned bad. He needed answers. And he intended to get them, even if her feelings got hurt.
    “A property I’m restoring,” he hedged. “No one will find us there. We can talk, make plans.” Figure out what had gone wrong.
    Still seething over his predicament, he