Betting on Hope

Chapter 30



Hope had laid her new outfit out on Baby’s bed to look it over when the suite’s doorbell rang. The dress was elegant—deep blue in a gauzy fabric, with a cinched waist and tiny rhinestone buttons down the front. Hope had no idea where she could wear it, but Baby had said, if the dress was right, you would find the occasion.

She had put out the earrings and shoes to go with it when Baby called her from the dining room.

“Hope, honey? Can you come in here a minute?”

Baby’s voice sounded funny, but Hope didn’t think a thing of it until she entered the room and saw Baby sitting on one side of the big table with five burly men sitting at the other.

“What’s going on?” Hope asked.

“Have a seat,” the oldest man said to Hope.

“Is we going to have varenikis again?” one of the big ones said, looking eagerly at Baby.

“No!” Baby squeaked.

“Have a seat,” the oldest one said again.

That’s when Hope noticed that he was pointing a gun at her.

Hope looked at the business end of the weapon and, in a second, thought of all the time she’d wasted being furious and hurt at Tanner, of how much she loved her sister and mother. How she’d never see Amber grow up. How she’d never again feel the sun on her face or the cool softness of the water in Tanner’s swimming pool or the hot roughness of his hands on her skin. Or hear Tanner’s heart beating against hers as she slept next to him.

How she’d be killed in this suite in the Desert Dunes. By mobsters.

This is what comes of playing cards with Big Julie, she thought.

Not that she’d have a chance to do that again.

Hot dizziness swept over her and she had to grab the edge of the table for support. Panic and loss filled her throat as she stared at the ugly weapon that would end her life.

She and Baby would die here. Nobody would know. Nobody could stop it.

And then her little voice spoke to her. Her old impatient friend, the one who made her think hard and make tough choices.

Don’t die. Live.

Hope gasped, clutching the table until her fingers cramped.

Suck it up. Figure something out.

She sat down abruptly, even as dark pinpoints started to sprinkle behind her eyes.

If I get out of here, I’ll tell Tanner—

What would she tell Tanner? What could she say that she hadn’t already revealed?

I’ll ask him—why did he do it? Why did he lie, cheat, and steal? Why did he let me down? Because I wanted to risk it. I wanted to take a risk with him.

She took a deep breath, shocked to realize what she’d just thought. She’d wanted to take a risk with Tanner. A card player. But then there was the game. That had changed everything. And now—now she wouldn’t be able to ask him why he’d hurt her, unless she could figure out a way to get out of this mess.

She took another deep breath, and the dizziness passed. The dark prickles behind her eyelids cleared up. She breathed again and looked at the five gunmen. Well—four big, pasty-looking gunmen and one really handsome, nervous-looking kid.

“That’s right,” Johnny Red said, waving his weapon at her. “Now, let’s get acquainted.”



Tanner stepped off the elevator at the sixteenth floor and instantly realized the flaw in his plan.

How could he get into the suite?

He decided the direct route was his best choice. He tried the door. It was locked, of course. That would have been too easy. He knocked on the door. He could see movement through the security fisheye in the door, but no one answered.

Tanner stepped back and looked around. He didn’t see the SWAT team, although he supposed the purpose of SWAT was to stay hidden until needed. He hoped that they weren’t somehow focused on the windows, ready to shoot anything that moved.

He thought about calling out to Hope, but that might put her in danger.

As he stood in the hallway thinking about his options, he heard a whirring clank followed by several thuds and a pneumatic wheeze. Elevator doors—service elevator doors—opened, and then the protesting wheels of a burdened laundry cart squeaked down the hallway.

Tanner smiled.

The maid came around the corner and skidded to a stop when she saw Tanner. Tanner put out his hand and stopped the momentum of the heavy laundry cart.

“No! No! Por favor!” she exclaimed. “No me tome!”

Don’t take me. Where on earth did the maid think he’d take her?

“Hi.” Tanner beamed his I’m-completely-safe smile at the diminutive maid who trembled before him, clutching the laundry cart in self defense.

“I locked myself out,” Tanner said, shrugging his shoulders as if to say, I’m so silly. “Could you please let me in?”

The maid relaxed. “Toallas?” she asked hopefully.

“No toallas,” Tanner said firmly. He struggled in vain to remember his high school Spanish and then gave it up in frustration. “Keys,” he said, pointing to the door. “I can’t get in.”

The maid’s eyes clouded. “Los gángsteres viven allí,” she said. Gangsters live here.

“Si,” he said, beaming at the maid. “Soy la policia.” I’m the police.

“No,” the maid said, patting her hip. “Ningui arma. No gun.”

Everybody’s suspicious these days, Tanner thought. Too much television.

Tanner shook his head. “En el contrario,” he said, holding his finger to his lips and then pointing down the hallway. “SWAT. Por todas partes.” He made a circle in the air. Would that mean “everywhere” to the maid? “Por estos criminals.” He continued, pointing to the door again. “No immigracion. Entiende?” He doubted that Frelly’s SWAT teams were anywhere, much less everywhere, but maybe he could fool the maid. Maybe. If she could understand him. He probably should be jailed for murdering the Spanish language.

But the maid seemed to get it. She opened her eyes wide and glanced down the corridor.

“Entiendo,” she whispered. “Si.” She silently handed him a stack of clean towels. “Use este disfraz,” she said.

Tanner grinned at her. She thought that the towels would be a disguise. And maybe they could. And if they didn’t, maybe he could smother the Russians with them. He took the towels and then nodded at the locked door.

“Por favor,” he said.

The maid unlocked the door and pushed it open for him.

“Muchas gracias,” Tanner said, and went in.

“De nada,” the maid said, still whispering. “Buenas dias.”

Tanner beamed back.

He was in.



When Tanner came into the suite’s dining room carrying an armful of clean towels, Hope’s heart turned a summersault. She was never so glad to see anyone in her life.

But what was he doing here? He wasn’t here to see Baby, was he? She felt a pang and quickly smothered it.

Whatever Tanner was here for, he’d walked right into a trap. These guys had guns. Didn’t the dummy know he could get hurt?

And what was with the towels?

Despite her annoyance, she felt a smile of relief light her face. Towels or no towels, she was happy he’d come. Maybe he could think of a way to get them out of this.

“Who are you?” Johnny Red asked, as Yakov and Markov stood up, brandishing their weapons.

“I brought towels,” Tanner said, beaming at the Russians. “I’m her boyfriend.” He nodded at Hope, smiling confidently at her.

Boyfriend? Hope thought, shocked. He thinks he’s my boyfriend? We aren’t even speaking!

“Then you don’t want her to get hurt,” Johnny Red said ominously.

“No, I don’t. Here’s your laundry.” Tanner handed Yakov the towels and sat down in the Russian’s chair. Yakov looked nonplussed and then headed toward the bathroom with the stack of folded towels, putting his gun on top to weigh them down.

“So, what’s going on here?” Tanner asked.

“These are our hostages,” Johnny Red said.

“They want to exchange us for Big Julie!” Hope said.

“I already said how that won’t work,” Baby said. “Big Julie and I are through. I went to see him. He fit me in because Marilyn was getting her hair done! Can you believe that? To me, he says that. And then he says he’s gotta let me go! He don’t care now if I’m a hostage.”

“By all the Russian saints and martyrs, he must care!” Johnny Red exclaimed in shock. “You are divine! The varenikis!”

Baby turned sad eyes on him. “He don’t. I swear. Didn’t I give him everything? The best years of my life. And then he picks Marilyn! Although,” she added judiciously, “I got a nice severance package.”

Tanner nodded. “Big Julie has other plans,” he agreed. “He got released on his own recognizance and is making a deal with the feds.”

“Released? He got released from where? Made a deal with the feds?” Alexei asked. He glanced at Johnny Red. “Uncle, maybe—”

“Released on his own recognizance?” Johnny Red asked. “This cannot be! We got a tip! He is here!”

“No,” Tanner said. “He was arrested for income tax evasion. I was there. And now he’s making a deal. He’s not coming back.”

“Arrested? Income tax evasion?” Johnny Red shouted, jumping up.

Yakov, back from his towel errand, slipped into Johnny Red’s chair.

“So can we go now?” Tanner asked. “We’re sorry and all that, but—”

“No!” Johnny Red said. “He’ll come back for her.” He nodded at Baby. “He likes her. He won’t want us to hurt her.”

“Hurt me?” Baby wailed. “Why hurt me? Anyway, he won’t—”

“I don’t think so,” Tanner interrupted. “I just ran into the FBI downstairs. They’ve got a SWAT team positioned, backup on the way. Your tip was a lure to get you here.”

“You will be our human shield,” Johnny Red said. “All of you. You will get us out.”

“I don’t think I have the outfit for that,” Baby said.

All eyes turned to Baby, wondering what kind of outfit she’d need to be a human shield.

“Your outfit will work fine to shield us,” Johnny Red said.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hope saw the Grand Canyon tourist helicopter fly up to their window and hover.

“I think that’s the FBI black ops helicopter out there, waiting to shoot you through the windows,” she said tentatively. “You better run now. While you still can.”

Igor looked through the dining room window at the helicopter that said “Grand Canyon Tours” in huge purple and orange letters.

“Thadth a douritht helicopter,” he said. “Idth nod for black opth.”

“That’s how the FBI paints all its black ops helicopters,” Hope said firmly. “You think they actually paint them black?”

The helicopter flew closer to the Desert Dunes, and Tanner, repressing a grin, turned and squinted through the window. Amber waved energetically at him through the window. He waved back.

“He’th thignalling,” Igor said.

Amber leaned back reaching for something and then Marty leaned forward past her and squinted toward the windows.

“Let’s see!” Johnny the Red said, leaping toward the windows.

“Do you recognize Marty the Sneak?” Tanner asked, as he waved to Marty. “He’s with the Jersey mob. He’s identifying you for the agents right now.”

Johnny Red gazed out the window, saw Marty, and then with a horrified oath, dropped to the floor. The crash jarred the mobster’s weapon, and the gun went off. The blast ricocheted through the suite, and across the room from them, the huge ceramic pot holding the ficus plant splintered into a thousand colorful pieces. The ficus slowly toppled to the floor in a mess of dirt and shattered leaves.

“You shot the ficus!” Tanner yelled. “Be careful with that thing! You could hurt somebody!”

“Stalin’s ghosts!” Johnny Red gasped. “We never counted on the FBI! And the Jersey mob is informing! To get us out of the way! They are nothing but the lap dogs of imperialism!”

“I don’t know where the SWAT team is,” Tanner said, telling the truth for the first time in the last twenty minutes. “But I think you should get out of here while you still have a chance. We’ll stand in the windows so you can get away. They won’t shoot us.”

Johnny Red pointed the gun up at Hope from his position on the floor.

“Where’s Big Julie now?” he asked Tanner. “The truth, or she dies!”

“He’s on his way back to FBI headquarters,” Tanner lied. “He’s meeting with the FBI at—” Tanner glanced at his watch. It was four o’clock. “Four-thirty. You could intercept him if you hurried.”

“You could even make a deal with the FBI,” Hope said. “Your own deal. A better deal.”

“Yes!” Johnny Red shouted. “Let’s go!”

“Uncle, I’m not sure—” Alexei started, but Johnny Red had jumped to his feet and, bending low at the waist to stay clear of the windows and the black ops helicopter outside, tore from the room. The other four men rushed after him. Tanner heard the outer door slam shut behind them. The helicopter peeled away from the window and headed toward the Grand Canyon, two hundred fifty miles away.

Silence filled the room.

“Tanner—” Hope said.

“Just a minute, pumpkin,” Tanner said. He took out his phone and dialed a number.

“Agent Frelly? Tanner Wingate. Listen. Johnny Red and his four associates are heading over to FBI headquarters right now. If you hurry, you can intercept them.”

There was a pause. Hope could hear squawking on the other end of the line.

“Well, it’s a long story. They think they’re going to intercept Big Julie. Yes, I know he’s not there. But if you hurry, you can arrest these guys right now at the elevator. Don’t thank me. I’m always happy to help.” He closed his phone.

“Tanner—” Hope tried again.

“I’ll be right with you, sweetie,” Tanner said. He opened his phone and hit a number on speed dial.

“Jack? Tanner. Listen.”

Hope watched him grin and felt a sharp pain shooting through her jaw. She realized she was grinding her teeth.

“I have a new customer for you,” Tanner said. “You have to get down to the FBI office right away. The clients have deep but shady pockets. Five Russians who are allegedly mobsters but are probably innocent businessmen just engaging in legitimate trucking and associated commerce.”

Tanner looked over at Baby. “Baby, how good is your Russian?”

Baby looked indignant. “As fluent as my grandmother’s, born in Minsk,” she said, sparks shooting from her eyes.

Tanner smiled. “What’s your real name?”

“Real name? Baby,” Baby said, confused.

“I mean on your birth certificate. What did you mother name you?”

Baby looked down. “Angela,” she said, sounding apologetic.

“That’s a pretty name.”

Tanner turned back to the phone and Hope felt a throbbing pulse in her temple. She’d been glad to see Tanner? She’d been worried when he walked into a room full of Russian gangsters? Now it was all, just a minute, pumpkin, and I’ll be right with you, sweetie, like she was one of her mother’s regulars at the Bluebell Café. And Baby! Was Tanner forever planning to flirt with her friend? She was so done with this. Him and his lying, cheating ways.

Tanner had turned back to the phone. “Jack? About the Russian mobsters. Their English is pretty good, but I’m sending you a translator, just in case they need help with procedure.” He paused for a second while Jack talked.

“No, trust me. This translator is good. Her name is Angela. You’ll like her.”

Tanner paused. Then he grinned.

“Don’t thank me. I’m always happy to help.” He folded up the phone and dropped it in his pocket.

“Baby, I just got you a paying gig translating Russian for my friend, Jack Sievers. You’ll need to get over to the FBI building right away. Look for the guy with the briefcase.”

“You got me a job? Really? I’ve never had a job,” Baby said.

“It’s a week for firsts,” Tanner said. “And the job’s not much, but I think you might have fun with it. Jack sure will, and he’s a guy who needs more fun.”

“Well, Big Julie’s gone, so I gotta do something,” Baby said and picked up her purse. “And now’s as good a time as any to figure it out.” She grinned at them as she headed for the door.