And that’s exactly what I need.

A night at the casino, playing cards and being someone other than Ilaria Riccio.

26DANTE

Ilaria’s cries are burned into my mind playing on an endless hell loop as I think about handing her over to my cousin when she needed me the most. She’s going to hate me for it, and be furious when she finds out about the contract. No doubt Francesco told her just to watch her start crying all over again.

That pervert probably got off on watching her tears.

And I had done it.

I had been the one to just leave her with him, trusting that he would do the right thing. He probably didn’t.

My hand slid through my hair as I parked outside the casino, hating that I had to come here to meet the asshole from the cartel in the penthouse that he keeps here.

Just outside the city they built this monstrosity of fake luxury.

I’ve been here a few times because people always came here for a meal and to do business, acting like this was a Vegas style place. My eyes rolling at the thought as my stomach tightened thinking about Vegas.

I’d make everything up to Ilaria with Vegas.

Moving into the casino I head over to the elevators, nodding at one of the men lurking around as security. At first glance you’d think he was working here but I knew he was a guard for the Cartel.

He moves over to hit a button, the elevator opening and both of us going inside. It’s quiet as we ride, one floor after another, until he finally slams the stop button turning to me as I meet his eyes.

“I have to do a pat down.”

I nod once, arms extending as I think about the weapons left in my saddle bags. I wouldn’t be stupid enough to bring a gun to the fight but that was because I knew that they wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill me.

If I died there would be a war and their foothold in the entire Northeast would take a hit that would take decades to recover from. I was too valuable for them to just off and have my body found floating in the Charles.

Hands slide up and down my body as I roll my eyes, acting like I’m not thinking about how my whole future revolves around this meeting.

The elevator starts moving again as I lean back, calm, cool and collected as I freak out inside. But there was no time to fully let myself go into any sort of panic. I was raised into this and this was the life I would be living.

I needed to be strong.

Always.

The doors opened, my eyes sweeping around the suite to see what was going on.

Several people were in the living room area, they all were speaking together when I walked in but when Caesar Torres let his eyes land on me everyone went quiet.

Everyone is eyeing me, trying to see if I’m dangerous or if I’m just the son of a dangerous man. Sometimes the son of a lion is a kitten and they want to make sure they’re dealing with someone worth their time.

A minute later, Caesar is standing, walking toward me as he offers me his hand. The sort of action takes me by surprise because I hadn’t expected this.

This meeting was supposed to be tense and talk about the fact that he had shot up my god damn engagement party.

He was the reason that Ilaria was staying at her fathers house and not home with me.

He had ruined all the progress that I had made.

“Dante, I owe you an explanation and most importantly an apology.”

I train my face not to react as my mind whirls and the slow sense of fear starts to creep into my mind.

Had I walked right into a trap? Because the boss of this distribution point in the Cartel should not be apologizing to me.

“Two of my men got eager chasing a lead to a problem we are having. They saw her in your club and went ahead shooting at the target. They didn’t know it was your club and didn’t know it was closed for a private event. I did not clear this and have dealt with them. Any damage for the club I insist on paying for and the next six months of shipments will be boosted to show my apology to you is sincere.”

This is absolutely not how I saw this meeting going at all.

I’m sitting down and look around once again seeing the men are antsy, looking at me and realizing that a stupid move can erase all the work that they had been doing here.

We were giving them a large business and a foothold in a city that they wouldn’t be able to break through if we didn’t okay it.

“Are you telling me two of your men went rogue without orders?” I watch Caesar needing to see his face as I say this.

His embarrassment at the mention of not being able to control his men is clear. No one wants to admit that they had a bad apple in the bunch; you’re only as strong as your weakest members. And if he didn’t okay something like shooting a target then that is something that is a huge issue.

Caesar pours two glasses of bourbon, pushing one towards me as he makes a sound that I know is embarrassment.

“They had been tailing a target. A woman who is attached to someone who is counting cards at some of the casinos we own. She was spotted going into your club and it was the first time they had a clear hit like this on her without anyone present. I would have preferred they kidnapped her and brought her to me if they were being spontaneous but they were young and eager. And have learned that a life is paid with recklessness.”

The way he talked about death, how he killed two people who made a mistake should have bothered me but I could feel it in my stomach. Something turned me on, making me thankful that the two men who had been responsible for the shooting had been taken care of.

They could have hurt Ilaria and their fate had been sealed with such a mistake.

“Do you want me to look at the target? They were at my engagement party. This can be an act of good faith between us.”

I was offering this to seal our bond, to strengthen the alliance and make it known I was accepting his apology. This business needed to be taken care of so I could have my fiancée come home.

Caesar snapped his fingers, a folder coming out and landing on the coffee table in front of me. He motioned me to take it, letting me pick it up and open it.

As Ilaria would say, ‘Fuck’.

“This girl was in the club when my table started to get played. The men are all too drunk to seem to remember who they were playing with and the camera seems to have issues whenever they come into a casino.  We think there is a group that is working with them but this girl, she has been caught three times as a waitress, handing out free drinks that we think are roofied. Explaining the blank spots.”

I nod my head looking at the picture of Becca in a few different scenarios.

The gritty camera footage that catches her isn’t good but I know her because she is close to my Ilaria and I have to make sure that she is safe so my bride to be is happy.

Apparently she is not safe.

Becca was the good girl friend. The one who was always in pictures glamming up her friends or cooking for them. She always seemed like a little mouse who was quiet and scattering about the background. But she was the one with a chemistry degree from Northeastern that used her degree to make cosmetics that she sold on Etsy and her social media.