Mike's Bet, Sarah's Win

to his feet,

can't. What are

et's call the cops. Or... I don't k

d my ar

at you willingly gambled away our savings in an ill

ll. He knew

ion is due in August. Your mom needs that surgery now, not

t of him. He sagged

ault. All

money we didn't have. But losing eighty thousand in one n

en. The linoleum felt c

had savings. Jake knew. He playe

e nerve or the bankroll for a scam this big on his own. He had

to do?" Mike whispered. H

You need to understand. There's no easy way

r in his eyes, t

h. Get out of your life, E

ed for t

ter. Blocke

made a mistake. A terrible one. But running won't fix

linc

ad that they preyed on you. That they thought th

n a decade was burning

n?" he asked, his v

a deep

k to where you p

hy? What

to get our

a second head. "Sarah, that's cr

. He didn't know anything about the woman I used to b

have two hundred dollars of Emil

denim jacket from

ming with

'll just m

you're not broken. And because I might need you

a tiny flicker of something else

ke. It's time to v

ough the pre-dawn gloom of our small Texas town. I drove. Mi

ld Veteran's Saloon. J