Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
Mia flopped down on her sofa, cup of coffee in her hand. It had been a long time since she’d pulled an all-nighter, and she was drained. Not only were her feet tired from being in spike heels all night, but her brain was toast from having to concentrate so hard on her game.
She’d been rustier than she’d thought, and it had taken her a while to find her groove again. Playing at the same table with other people hadn’t helped. Ed, the guy in the tux was a disaster. He kept taking cards when he should have stayed, causing her to miss out on some good hands. After two hours of mediocre results, Ed had finally wandered off and then she managed to get things back on track. Once the other two had left the table as well, then it was game on. She hadn’t planned on staying all night but once she had the table to herself and she seriously started to concentrate, everything clicked into place. It was as if the years had fallen away, and she was right back in the thick of it again.
Not somewhere she ever dreamed she be again .
Staring at the cash on the coffee table in front of her, she swore out loud. Yes, Bobby wanted two hundred and fifty thousand to make all of her and Akela’s problems go away, so it wasn’t like she had a choice. But the truth of the matter was that she’d reveled in the second half of the night. The fact that she’d made ten grand in the first night did not help. She could make up what Bobby wanted in a month if she played conservatively. Of course, she didn’t have a month which meant pushing the boundaries. Not good at all.
She sipped the steaming coffee and then set her mug down. She rubbed her bleary eyes. The situation was untenable. Mia picked up her phone and checked her calendar. She had lots of office visits scheduled for this week. Her real business demanded that she visit her clients at least once a month to make sure things were on track. They appreciated the personal touch, and it made her slightly higher rates easier to swallow. Her clients were paying her to be on call and they knew they could trust her to fix any problems and even catch some before they started.
And all that would go away if Bobby leaked that she’d been cooking the books for Akela.
She blew out a frustrated breath. No one would hire an accountant accused of cooking the books. Or at least no one she wanted to work for. Crap, that kind of information could even mean a visit from the cops. That was the last thing she wanted. Emery would find out and then Mia would be beyond embarrassed. She did not want Emery or any of her other friends to find out about any of this. Emery and Dahlia would be livid with Mia for not coming to tell them in the first place.
Mia took another sip of coffee and leaned back on the sofa. Was there an option to go to the cops? Not really. If she went to them, she figured they’d want her to continue what she was doing. For them having a person on the inside was huge.
But for her, being that inside person increased her personal danger level tenfold. If Bobby found out, he’d ruin her reputation unless, of course, he just flat-out killed her. She shuddered. Assuming he didn’t end her life, if she defended herself by claiming she’d been working for the cops, then her clients wouldn’t like it any better. How could they trust her to keep their secrets? Granted, no one was doing anything downright illegal but there were some gray areas where she was dabbling for certain clients who were willing to take a bit more risk. Nothing that could cause her trouble, but they could get their knuckles rapped if they were ever audited and things didn’t swing their way. Those people would never trust her again and those people made up half her client list.
She looked around at her little dream house. She loved the warm gray walls with white accents. The light-colored wood floors with the white furniture and bright blue pillows. The mantel above the fireplace where she displayed pictures of her family and friends. This house was her piece of heaven, serving her joy every day. She’d taken great pains to decorate it and get it just right. And sure, there were issued that required repair or outright replacement, but this little house was the one place in the world where she was completely comfortable.
Or it had been until Bobby arrived. No, she wouldn’t let him ruin it for her. This was her happy spot, and no one would take that from her, not even Bobby with all his threats.
But, she had to be realistic. He had the power to destroy what she’d built and working with the cops would not make it better. In fact, it would be worse. More danger for her, and prison time for Akela. She resented her friend for dragging her into this mess but there was no way she wanted to be responsible for sending the other woman to prison. She understood why Akela had done what she had. If the situation was reversed, Mia wasn’t sure she wouldn’t do the same thing.
A knock at the door had her jumping to her feet and spilling coffee on the floor. What the hell? What now? She swore as she put her mug down on the coffee table and then went to the kitchen to grab a kitchen towel.
“Coming,” she called as she quickly wiped up the spill and then stared at the cash stacked neatly on the table. Where the hell was she going to put that? The knock sounded again. Mia quickly grabbed the bills and stuffed them under the sofa cushions. She straightened, looking around frantically but nothing else appeared out of place.
She headed to the door and glanced through the peephole, letting out a quiet curse once she identified the man standing on the other side.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she opened the door.
“Good morning to you too, Mia.” Carter’s smile was warm and sexy and it hit her like a jolt of electricity. Her damn toes curled.
“Sorry.” She willed the heat out of her cheeks. “Long night. Good morning, Carter. How are you?” She added a simpering smile to eradicate the grumble in her tone.
“I’m doing well. I thought maybe I could catch you before you left for work.” He held up a paper bag
“Are you always going to show up with food?” Mia demanded as the smell hit her and her stomach rumbled loudly.
His smile broadened. “Hungry, huh?”
Mia wanted to say no but damn it, she was starving, and the food smelled so good. She turned away from the door. No point in denying it. Her stomach had been so loud, she wouldn’t be surprised if her neighbors had heard it. She made her way to the kitchen fighting the embarrassment she knew was coloring her cheeks still.
“Do you want coffee?” she asked. When she didn’t get a response, she turned to find her kitchen empty. She went back around the corner and stared at Carter still standing on the step. “Are you coming?”
“You didn’t invite me.”
God, was he a freaking vampire that needed an invitation to cross the threshold. She shook her head. “That didn’t stop you the other night.” She bit her lip. Shit. She’d wanted to avoid that topic but the words had just shot out of her mouth.
“Extenuating circumstances? Now I need an invitation.”
She snorted. “Seriously, are you a vampire?”
He barked out a laugh. “Good one, but no. I was just raised to respect a woman’s wishes and never assume anything. Are you going to invite me in?”
Mia wanted to say something snarky but had to admit she was impressed. “Please come in, Carter. Would you like some coffee?”
“I’d love some,” he said as he closed the door and toed off his boots.
Mia filled a mug for him, and refilled hers, then placed one in front of him at the island. She grabbed some cutlery and came around and sat down, handing him a knife and fork, and putting hers down with her coffee in front of her. “What did you bring me?”
“Loco Moco from a place in town. The guys at the ranch say it’s the best.”
“It is the best.” Her stomach growled again. It was her favorite. “Have you had it before?”
Carter shook his head. “No, but given the way everyone sings its praise, I thought I’d give it a try.”
Mia smiled. “You are in for a treat.” She rose again and got plates and then dished out the food, placing a full plate in front of him.
Carter stared at it for a moment. “I can’t remember ever eating rice for breakfast.”
Mia took up her food and then went and sat down next to Carter. “Then you’re missing out. This is heaven. Rice with a beef patty, and an egg on top smothered in gravy. It doesn’t get better than this.”
Carter forked the first bite into his mouth and chewed. He swallowed and then nodded. “Okay, it sounded weird to me, but damn, this is really good.”
“Yup. It’s outstanding.” Mia took her first bite and savored it. She didn’t allow herself to have Loco Moco very often, but it was her favorite breakfast. She used to go with her parents almost weekly when they were alive. She found herself suddenly blinking back tears. Weird. Must be because she was overtired.
The next minutes were spent in silence as they ate. Mia relished her breakfast and by the look of Carter’s empty plate, so did he. “More coffee?”
“Sure.” Carter pushed his mug in her direction. Then he stood, picked up the plates, and carried them to the kitchen.
“You don’t have to do that,” Mia said as she followed him.
“I don’t mind.” He rinsed the plates and then looked around. “Dishwasher?”
“I don’t have one,” she said with a sigh. It was on her list to install but the money just wasn’t there for that kind of thing. It would involve redoing the entire kitchen because of the way things were laid out. Gambling like she had last night would help her earn the cash, but until she’d been forced back into it, she hadn’t even given it a thought.
“Okay.” He set them down in the sink and started looking around again.
“Just leave them. I’ll get them later.” He was annoying her. Suddenly, it felt as if her lack of a dishwasher was a mark against her. Having him in her small kitchen made her uncomfortable enough for altogether different reasons, and now she felt some kind of silent rebuke.
Carter turned and she handed him his coffee. “Here.”
“Thanks. I don’t have a dishwasher either. Never saw the need when there’s only me.” He flashed her a smile and took a sip of coffee as he leaned back against the counter. “Why is the coffee so much better on this island?”
Mia blinked. Damn that smile and its ability to slay her every time. And now she just felt stupid about the whole dishwasher thing. She was way too sensitive about her home. She sighed and then took a sip of her own coffee.
“So…” she began as she searched for some topic of conversation. “How long are you in town for? Dahlia mentioned you and your friends were visiting out at the ranch with Hawk.
“Yeah,” Carter agreed, but he cocked his head as if asking how she knew that.
“It’s a small town. A group of new guys showing up at Ohana’s pretty much means we’re all gossiping about you.”
“Good to know. We’re in town for a few weeks. We’ll see how it goes. We’re testing some equipment out at the ranch.”
“You’re in the military? Navy, is it?” Mia tried to be casual about it. The way she’d heard it from one of Dahlia’s texts, they were SEALs.
“Yeah,” he said.
The corners of his lips curled slightly upward as if he knew she was trying to play it cool. Shit . She needed to get this man out of her house. He was messing with her mind. Overtired . That had to be it. She took another sip of coffee. It couldn’t possibly be the fact that he was sexy as hell and standing in her kitchen giving her a look that made her toes curl and her lady parts tingle. Nope, it couldn’t possibly be that.