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“Who is this man? Do you know anything about him?”
“This is Rafe Torres. Answer my question, Hugh.”
He frowned. “I know that name. Where have I heard it before?”
“He and Callie dated for a while. How much money do you owe?”
“Almost $1 million.”
Kristi stared at him, and Rafe whistled. “Are you serious?”
“It’s temporary. I’ll pay off the debt and be back on track. I swear. One winning streak, and I’ll wipe the debt clean.”
“The odds are stacked in favor of the house,” Rafe said. “Otherwise, casinos would go out of business.”
“I have a good system. I’ll win back the money.”
“Is this the same system you’ve been using?”
Hugh’s cheeks flushed. “It needs a little adjustment.”
“Ditch your gambling system and get help for the addiction, Ward.”
“I’m not addicted.”
“Right. That’s why you’re in debt over your head, stole money from a hedge fund, drained your trust fund, and looked to Kristi for a quick fix to your problems. Tell me this, Ward. What happens when you pay off the debt? You planning to permanently lay down your cards and walk away from the blackjack table?”
“I can quit anytime I want.”
“Really? The time to do that was long before you owed $1 million. How much did you lose overall, Ward?”
“None of your business.”
Rafe shrugged. “I’ll find out anyway.”
“You’ve almost drained your trust fund,” Kristi said, frowning. “Didn’t you tell me that you had $20 million in the fund at one point?”
Hugh glared at her. “I planned to pay it back. You still didn’t answer my question. Are you with Torres now?”
“Yes.”
He snorted. “You’re as much of a fool as Callie was. Can’t you see that he’s using you like he did her? If he marries you, Torres won’t have to work another day in his life.”
Kristi stiffened, expecting Rafe to go after Hugh again. Instead, he surprised her. Her operative laughed.
“Told you, Ward. I don’t need Kristi’s money. Better than that, I love my job.” His smile faded. “What do you know about Kristi’s kidnapping?”
“Nothing except what Alan told me.”
“When did you learn that she’d been kidnapped?”
“Alan called me early the next morning and told me that two men grabbed Kristi at the hotel and shoved her into a van. He received a ransom demand and wanted me to be aware of what was going on in case Kristi was allowed to call me.”
Even if she’d been allowed to make one call, Kristi wouldn’t have called Hugh. Her first instinct would have been to contact her father and now Rafe. She sighed. Her heart had never been involved with Hugh. He wasn’t and never would be the person she turned to in a crisis. Rafe, however, was a different story. She couldn’t imagine anyone more capable of handling a crisis.
“Where were you the night Kristi was kidnapped?”
Hugh’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? I didn’t kidnap Kristi. I would never hurt her.” When Rafe’s eyebrow rose, Hugh’s cheeks darkened. “All right. Fine. I would never seriously hurt her. If you’re implying that I would kidnap her to force Alan to cough up $5 million, you’re nuts. I didn’t have to do that. I was planning to marry her.”
