Nan Ryan Read Online Free

down out of heaven.” She affectionately tucked one of the small blue satin bows back in place amid Nevada’s upswept raven curls, and added, “You’ll see. Trust old Belle. I know most of these boys.”
    Too frightened to speak, Nevada clung to the hand Belle offered and did her best to draw long reviving breaths while she peeked out at the cavernous hall beyond the foot-lit stage.
    It was a long, rectangular room filled with tables crowded with gamblers, tables for all kinds of games Nevada had never seen before. There were tables for roulette, for blackjack, for faro. And big, heavy tables at the room’s far end around which men stood playing dice.
    Along one side of the smoke-filled room was a long, polished mahogany bar where men stood laughing and drinking. Opposite the bar, on the other side of the room, were doors leading into small private salons meant for poker and red dog.
    Around the whole of the big, noisy room, ran a wide balcony where heavy mahogany doors led into plush salons where Nevada assumed leisurely midnight suppers were served in private. Most of the doors stood open at this early hour.
    Nevada’s eyes returned to the area right down front, below the stage. There, at white-clothed tables meant only for dining and enjoying the show, sat gentlemen who had come aboard the Gambler solely to watch the entertainers.
    Nevada looked from face to face and felt her heart sink a little. Almost all were middle-aged men, many overweight and balding. Nowhere in the loudly applauding, whistling crowd did she see the kind of “refined handsome gentlemen” her papa had told her about.
    All at once the applause grew thunderous and Nevada realized that Lilly’s well-received act had come to a close. The tall blonde was bowing and blowing kisses as she inched her way steadily off the stage. Out of breath, perspiring, Lilly joined Nevada and Belle in the wings, the brilliant smile immediately evaporating.
    “He’s not here.” she said, obviously disappointed. “I looked at every male face in the whole damned room! Johnny hasn’t shown up.”
    “Relax. Johnny Roulette will be here,” said Belle. Then turning to Nevada, “Honey, you’re on. LeRoy’s playing your intro.”
    Frozen, Nevada stood rooted to the spot. “I—I can’t.”
    Lilly, wiping her shiny face on a linen towel, put her disappointment aside temporarily and smiled. “Sure you can. The only problem you’ll have is getting them to quiet down long enough for you to sing.” Nevada turned big, questioning eyes on the tall blonde. Lilly lowered the towel and impulsively hugged the tiny, terrified girl. “I mean because you’re so pretty, Nevada.” She gave the trembling beginner a motherly squeeze, turned her about, and pointed her toward the stage. “Get out there and give them what they came for.”
    “Good luck, Nevada,” offered Belle, giving her a pat on her shiny blue derriere.
    Nevada, knowing it was now or never, shook off all traces of doubt, squared her slender shoulders, and walked confidently onstage while LeRoy, seated at a black walnut piano, winked at her and gave her a wide, reassuring grin.
    Lilly had been right. The throng of ringside gentlemen took one look at Nevada and went wild. They shouted, they whistled, they stamped their feet, and one excited admirer tried to rush the stage. He was quickly and soundly discouraged by the Gambler’s giant bouncer, Stryker. Stryker was at the drunken man’s side in the blink of an eye and, grabbing him up by the scruff of the neck, calmly deposited him back in his chair with a warning from his raised eyebrows.
    Stryker’s sudden appearance had a calming effect on the crowd and LeRoy, recognizing the opportunity, snapped his fingers, nodded to Nevada, and said in a loud, warm voice, “Now, child. Sing it!”
    She did.
    With the aplomb and poise of a seasoned veteran, Nevada went immediately into a song well-suited to the leering all-male crowd. A song that was brand-new, one