The Gambler Read Online Free PDF

nothing to do with them thinking I helped the boy escape?"
    "Me?" Shock stamped Clancy's tone again. "No! You still thinkin' I'm holding a grudge since you broke up the partnership? Hell, it's best you went yer own way. You always had too soft a heart fer me."
    Raven began to eat again. Charm noticed that he was left-handed like Jude. She stashed that information away.
    "And you always had an imagination, Bodine," he said now.
    "Yeah." Clancy laughed. "Yeah, that I did. Hey, like to join us in a game of poker?" He nodded toward the open doorway where men still sat around a table. "Been a long time. Maybe I'll let you win. Like I used to. But then, maybe you brought your luck with you tonight, huh?" He turned his smile on Charm. "Damn, she's pretty. Where did you say you met her?"
    Raven's wrist tendons were tight again, but he showed no other signs of tension that Charm could discern.
    "You out here on a job, Joseph, or still searchin' for your old man?" Clancy didn't turn his attention from Charm when he asked. Raven's expression changed, but so slightly and so quickly that Charm failed to interpret it.
    "I'm working," answered Raven. "Was offered ten thousand dollars to find the queen of England. You seen her around?"
    Clancy threw back his head and laughed, causing Charm to jump at the sound, though in a moment she recognized it as honest mirth. "Well, it just so happens I'm on a hunt," he said with a nod. "Looking for a gal named Chantilly Grady. From St. Louis. You heard of her?"
    "I saw the ad," said Raven evenly. "Who didn't?"
    "Hey, you want to find her together? Partners again?"
    "I'd rather live a couple more years, if you don't mind."
    Clancy laughed again, seeming to find Raven's opinion of him quite amusing. "This Grady deal ain't nothin' like that. No risk. Course, there ain't much information 'bout her. She could be 'most anyone." He turned a broad smile on Charm. She shrank away mentally while making certain her physical being remained as it was. "You sure your name ain't Chantilly?"
    For a moment she failed to find her voice, but this time Raven wasn't speaking for her. She lifted her chin, remembering to breathe. "No. It's Charm. Charm Fergusson."
    "Ahhh." Clancy sighed. "Too bad. Just my luck Grady'll be ugly as a snakebit possum."
    Charm shifted her fingers gently on the trigger of her hidden derringer and managed again to speak. "Are you a lawman, Mr. Bodine?"
    She heard Raven's derisive snort mix with Clancy's chuckle.
    "Me? No. I'm a detective. You sure you ain't Chantilly Grady, huh?"
    She shook her head, wanting desperately to be gone from here. It wasn't fear exactly, but she had never thought of a better way to describe this horrible tension. And, too, Jude needed her. She shouldn't have left him alone. Not after that loss at poker. But what choice had she had?
    "If you'll excuse me." She forced out the words. They sounded surprisingly cool. "I must see to my father."
    To her amazement, Raven nodded his agreement and rose. Clancy scowled. "But, Miss Charm, you ain't ate a bite."
    She rose, too. "Jude's not well." And if he had found a bottle, she would make Raven Scott sorry. "It's been..." She paused. Remembering how the elegant Southern ladies spoke, she tried to emulate their aloof politeness. "It's been utterly delightful meeting you."
    Clancy stood, still straddling his chair before swinging it out beside him. "Very delightful." He reached for her hand.
    She sucked in her breath and turned, trying to look casual. But now the door was within sight, and freedom loomed before her. From behind came the sound of coins dropping to the table, the rumble of combative voices. Then quick footsteps followed her. She hastened her retreat.
    Only one man pursued her. Of that she was certain and grateful, for if she could just get outside, she would lose him.
    The door creaked as she pulled it open. She hurried through, feeling fear grip her in clammy hands. Darkness engulfed her. The door groaned closed