«Huh,» Raleigh said to Eve. «So you figure you’re worth as much as the ring, the pearls, or the treasure map? You must know some pretty fancy tricks.»

The smile he gave Eve was frankly insulting.

«Give the little lady what she wants,» Slater said coldly. «One way or another, she’ll pay up. At Denver prices, a month of her time should cover it.»

Eve barely managed not to shudder at the thought of being at the mercy of a man like Jericho Slater for a single night, much less for a month.

Silently she told herself she didn’t have to worry. She wouldn’t have to pay off the bet, because she had no intention of losing.

For once the idea of cheating at cards didn’t make Eve squirm with unhappiness. If anything, there was a certain rough justice in cheating Slater and his gang. Everything of value on the table had been stolen a few days ago by Raleigh King. If she had to cheat to get everything back, she would.

Her only regret was that she could do no worse than that to the man who had murdered Don and Donna Lyon.

With outward casualness, Eve continued shuffling while she waited for the third player to agree to the unexpected bet. When no agreement came, she glanced cautiously at the man from beneath her thick eyelashes.

The green-eyed stranger had taken a seat at the table an hour ago, just before Eve had begun to deal the first hand. A single look at the stranger had told her two things: She had never seen a man who appealed more to her; and she had never seen a man more dangerous.

She suspected that the stranger’s Virginia drawl was as misleading as the seeming indolence of his movements. There was no laziness in his green eyes. Wariness was as much a part of him as his black hair and powerful body.

Yet Eve’s instincts kept whispering that this man was somehow different from men like Slater and Raleigh, cruel men who cared nothing about hurting or destroying those who were weaker than themselves.