by Cara Dee
I couldn’t help but smirk a little. I didn’t see any reason to get worried or nervous, but I had to hand it to her. She was alert.
“It can’t be about me,” she went on. “You and your brother wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
Oh, we were plenty stupid, though she was right in this case. Allegra was protected. Hell, even by us. If she faced problems anywhere, Boone and I wouldn’t hesitate to help, just like we could count on TJ and DJ to have our backs.
“At this point, it’s better we go through your cousins,” I told her. “We won’t involve you.”
That did something to her. It was as if she’d been struck—hard—and her eyes flashed with a plea. “You can’t. TJ would pull the plug on me so fast. Please—can’t we handle it between us? I’m at my wit’s end here. If they start meddling again, I swear I’ll leave the state.”
I felt my eyebrows rise at the desperation in her tone. She wasn’t kidding around. She didn’t want her family involved one bit, which made me curious about her situation. How much did she think she was hiding from them? From my understanding, the women in their family had virtually no privacy, mainly because they kept their security tighter than a virgin asshole.
“You realize the guys have eyes and ears all over the Vegas, right?” I had to make sure she understood that. “If you haven’t told them you work here, they’ve figured it out on their own.”
“Of course they know,” she responded in a rush. “It was DJ who helped me set up a new identity. But they gave me a warning—slightest indication of trouble and they’ll tell my dad. And he doesn’t know. Well, not the whole story. He knows I’m working.”
Uh-huh. Even that was naïve. Her father was one of the highest-ranking members of their organization. Trust, he knew everything.
“Look.” She leaned forward, evidently ready to bargain. It was written all over her face. “If you’re gonna go through my cousins to get something that you’d originally intended to get directly from me, it means it’s something I can do. The way I see it, they don’t have to know a damn thing. I know how to keep quiet. Do you?”
It wasn’t a matter of being able to keep quiet. “I have a responsibility toward your cousins, Allegra. You gotta understand that.”
“Which is always about my safety!” she pleaded imploringly. “I know you’re obligated to tell them if you think I’m getting myself into trouble or whatever. But I’m not. I clearly have something you want—so it’s up to you. Is this, whatever you want, gonna put me in harm’s way?”
I frowned. “Of-fucking-course not.”
“Then…” She gave me a look, at a loss, not seeing why we couldn’t handle this between us. And I was starting to think she was making sense. “Let this be a simple exchange between you and me. You want something—I want something. As long as I don’t risk anything, why go to my family?”
Back up. What did she want?
Unfortunately, we didn’t get further than that because Laney returned, and it was fucking frustrating. I composed my face and did my best not to ask my friend to take a hike for five minutes. To be honest, if I could avoid involving TJ, that was the route I wanted to go down. I just had to make sure I could do it with a clean conscience.
“Did I miss anything fun?” Laney asked and plopped down in her seat.
Allegra sent me a flirtatious smile. “Actually, I’m really tired, so I was just about to ask Casey to walk me out.”
I exhaled a chuckle and felt the frustration dissipate.
Laney looked like a combination of proud matchmaker and…well, she was a good person, so I could tell she felt a bit guilty too.
“Sure, I can walk you out.” I pushed back my chair and stood up. “I’ll be right back,” I told Laney. Then I waited while the girls said their goodbyes before I ushered Allegra out of the dining room, then past the bar area too.
“I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt since you’re TJ’s friend,” she said as we reached the indoor plaza. She peered up at me. “Here’s what I want. There’s a man working in Hospitality. His wife is cheating on him—relentlessly. And I wouldn’t mind if he found out about that, preferably before he gives a certain job to his wife’s obnoxious daughter.”
Jesus Christ, she was well and truly a part of her family. I didn’t know if Allegra had her eyes set on the job or the guy; it didn’t matter. It was nothing I couldn’t handle.
“That’s it?” I asked. “You want pictures of his wife’s affairs to show up on his desk or something?”
Allegra shifted her weight from one foot to the other and glanced around us, maybe making sure no one was listening. Cute. “That actually sounds perfect. Can you make that happen?”
Oh, I could. I chuckled. “Sure. Just give me his information.”
Her brown eyes flashed with relief and a bit of excitement. “So what is it you want from me?”
Shit, we might actually pull this off without any hassle or risks. “Access to one of your clients’ files.”
She cocked her head, curious. “Whose? I only have two at the moment.”
“Alfred Lange.” I watched the recognition flick across her features. “All of it—whatever you’re planning for his birthday party. Dates, reservations, specific times, guest totals, the whole thing.”
She straightened and hiked her purse over her shoulder. “Would there be any risk of it tracing back to me?”
“None,” I replied. “You just share whatever information you have with me—and keep me updated on changes.” I’d make sure she knew where to be and not to be during the events too, but no need to scare her with that right now.
I kept my gaze locked with hers as I noticed Boone crossing the plaza behind Allegra.
“Okay. Deal.” She extended her hand.
I smirked faintly and shook it. “Perfect. Clear your schedule after work tomorrow. We’ll meet up and discuss details.”
“Got it. Um, should we exchange numbers?”
I shook my head. “Won’t be necessary. When do you get off work? I’ll get you a new phone you can contact me on.” With her background, she was probably not a stranger to throwaways.
“I have a wedding next weekend, so I start working double shifts tomorrow,” she said. “But I have a three-hour break at four.”
“That works,” I replied with a nod. “Let’s meet up outside Taco Bell at four thirty, then. The one that serves booze.”
She snickered. “I’ll be there. This will be fun!”
I let out a chuckle and shook my head. “The apple doesn’t fall far.”
She smirked at that.
Eight
“What do you think, Daddy?”
I looked away from my magazine and stared at my nails. “They’ve never looked so good, princess.” Who knew purple was my color? “Maybe you can do nails when you grow up.”
She beamed and tucked away her nail polishes into her toiletry bag. “When’s Dad coming?”
Soon. Too soon. I checked the clock over the TV and sighed to myself. “Twenty minutes.” Which meant I had to get out of here.
I wasn’t sure I could do this much longer. It’d been almost four years, and my own brother still couldn’t face me unless he had to.
Every week when Ace’s pickup time rolled around, I was dragged further down into a pit of despair.
Wasn’t the pain supposed to fade over time?
By the time Boone and I were walking away from the plaza and all the restaurants, I could tell I needed to clue my brother in before he lost it.
“Mind telling me why we just said goodbye to Laney and the mafia princess?” he asked, frustrated. “We’re supposed to be heading to a bar with them now.”
“I already took care of shit,” I answered. “It’s practically in the bag. I’ll explain when we get upstairs.”
I guessed we didn’t need Ma to babysit Ace after all.
“Wait.” Boone grabbed my shoulder and halted our step. “You’re saying everything’s taken care of? We’ll have t
he info we need?”
“Yeah. Tomorrow—Allegra and I struck a deal.”
Boone was itching to hear the details, but it seemed he had something else on his agenda first. “Then why go upstairs? We have—” he checked his watch “—five hours until Mom’s going back home.”
My gaze got caught on the pizza slice pin on his shirt, and it made me look down at the pin Ace had given me. Heading upstairs and letting Mom go home early meant we might get another family moment like before—and I craved them like heroin—but on the other hand…
“What do you have in mind?” I asked him.
He grinned. “A fucking bar, obviously. We haven’t gone out together, just you and me, in four years.”
His grin was infectious, and there was no need to twist my arm. I was game.
Twenty minutes later, we stepped out of a cab outside Mandalay Bay and made our way into the casino. Of all the bars in Vegas, EyeCandy was in my top three, no doubt. It had a sweet vibe with its interactive dance floor and cozy booths, and nothing catapulted me back to the eighties and nineties like leather furniture lit up in purple and a DJ playing Cher.
It was one of my favorite remixes, to boot.
Maybe I would’ve gone with another song, but the DJ couldn’t know that I’d had “Strong Enough” on an endless loop for a month after shoving Boone out of my life.
“This goddess helped me get past our breakup,” I half joked and slapped Boone on the back. “Don’t read into the lyrics, ’cause they’re entirely too accurate.”
Why did I have to be so goddamn honest all of a sudden?
I blew out a breath and aimed for the bar. I was in a Gimlet mood.
The place was barely half full, and it felt too intimate to grab a booth, so I parked my ass on one of the stools at the bar and gave the bartender a chin-nod. Boone got settled next to me and spun his stool to face the dance floor.
“What do you want?” I asked him.
He squinted at the bar over his shoulder. “Uhh… Negroni.”
Nasty. I couldn’t stomach Campari since we’d stolen a bottle from Ma in high school.
“Do you remember…?”
He let out a chuckle and spun around in his seat again. “I thought we were gonna have to take you to the hospital.”
I shuddered.
After ordering our drinks and opening a tab, I glanced behind me, surveying the crowd tonight, and bobbed my head absently to the new pop remix playing.
I was gonna feel more upbeat soon, right? It felt forced now.
“What did we get wasted on after we learned we were gonna be Ace’s guardians?”
I hummed and thought back. That’d been some cheap, foul shit too. “Some peach liqueur. Christ, Ma has shitty taste in booze.”
Boone grinned but said nothing.
Maybe he was thinking on those days too. We’d been terrified. A single phone call was all it’d taken. We’d gone from believing that grieving a lost friend was the worst that could happen, to discovering there was a toddler out there with our name on her. And then when the lawyer asked if we would proceed with Tia’s wishes and actually take care of this slip of a girl… I shook my head to myself. We’d been two dumbasses; of course we’d hesitated first. Even as we knew there’d been no option. If our friend’s final wish was for us to raise her daughter, so be it.
Boone nudged my shoulder with his. “What would we do without her today, huh?”
I didn’t wanna think about it. As soon as the bartender handed us our drinks, I held up my glass. “To the best daughter in the universe.”
He clinked his glass to mine and took a swig.
I followed suit and felt the lime and the gin explode in my mouth.
Back in the day, I didn’t need a drink to get me in a party mood. Now, I was waiting for the alcohol to make me feel similar urges as in the past, to hit up a club, to go crazy, to sneak in to pool parties, to drive out into the desert and run around just for stupid kicks that only made sense after a line of blow.
Growing up, I’d just never had any fear. I’d thrown myself into the dumbest dares and most reckless ruses, knowing I’d be okay in the end because Boone had always been next to me. We’d protected each other.
“Why are you lookin’ all broody?” he asked.
I smiled ruefully and emptied my drink, then gestured to the bartender for a new round of the same. “I’m getting old and nostalgic.”
He smiled back. “Bring me with you.”
I chuckled and ran a hand through my hair. “How many pool parties and nightclubs have we snuck in to over the years?”
“Hundreds. It’s the duty of a Vegas kid.”
I exhaled a laugh.
“Yeah, maybe. I’m not really feeling it anymore, though.” I dropped my chin in my hand and rested my elbow on the bartop. “I want barbecues and soccer games and watching Ace light up at a new pin.”
Boone nodded and dropped his gaze to his drink, though not before I got a glimpse of the same desire in his eyes. Maybe that was why he was pushing for a house. He wanted to settle down and have family moments too.
Jesus Christ, how I’d missed having him in my life. The fucker gave my life meaning. Without him and our girl… Another thing I didn’t wanna think about. It physically hurt.
“I know the feeling,” he said into his glass. At the same time, my second drink arrived. “I think there’s still some hell-raisin’ left in us, though. Hey,” he addressed the bartender. “You got bottle service around here?”
I cocked a brow at him.
“Yes, sir.” The bartender reached for something under the bar and produced a tablet. “Our menu is right here.” The screen came to life and showed items only idiots would pay that much money for. For chrissakes, I didn’t even wanna use someone else’s credit card for a $500 bottle of vodka.
Soon as the bartender gave us some space, I leaned in and eyed the menu closer. “Are you outta your damn mind?”
“Oh, come on.” Solid argument by my brother. “I have no interest in setting you loose in a club, but I’m not ready to head back to the hotel room. I want drinks and a trip down memory lane. Does that work, princess?”
I tapped my fingers over my lips and couldn’t help but grin. It was what he did to me. Same thing back at the Venetian when he’d suggested we go to a bar. His mood was contagious.
“It works for me,” I said.
“Good. Now, help me pick an outrageously marked-up package deal.”
Deal implied bargain; this was the opposite. Thankfully, we weren’t the ones getting robbed.
I took a swig of my gimlet and peered at the offers that included gin. One package stood out. A small bottle of vodka, a small bottle of gin, six beers, six hard lemonades, and mixers. Oh, you got snacks too. I was a big fan.
“That one.” I pointed to it.
Boone approved and flagged down the bartender again.
So that was how we ended up in one of the smaller, circular booths a little while later. The backs of the booths were high, and as if that didn’t provide enough seclusion, they were draped too, leaving only the entrance open. And we had our selection of drinks on ice on our table, including a tray with lime wedges, orange slices, and lemon rinds. Fancy shit.
While I dragged a couple nachos through the guac, Boone decided to mix us two gin and tonics.
This was better. More comfortable. Much less noisy.
Over the next drink and two beers, I explained what Allegra and I had agreed to, after which Boone and I discussed our immediate plans. I knew he wanted to take that trip down memory lane, but we had work to cover too. I wanted to get that out of the way, including how we divvied up the workload.
We decided that Boone would take over for me and keep an eye on AJ Lange’s habits, while I focused on Allegra’s request to pin the cheating wife, because I assumed that would take a few days at least. Possibly more. I could easily bring Ace with me too.
“Speaking of,” he said. “I don’t wanna do every other
week with Ace anymore. I fucking hate it. I wanna be able to see her whenever.”
I furrowed my brow and dumped a few ice cubes into my glass, then reached for the vodka. “What choice do we have?”
“That’s a dumb question coming from the family’s self-appointed brain and beauty,” he replied. I laughed, couldn’t help it. The drinks had warmed me up and loosened my tongue. “You can stop pushing me away and let me stay with you until we find a house.”
Until we…
He narrowed his eyes at me—or tried. The booze had reached his head. His cheeks were a little flushed, and his blue eyes were slightly glazed over. “You’re hesitatin’,” he accused. “Why don’t you wanna live with me? You said it yourself, we’re the best family. And like the good old days—you’re in charge of food and laundry. I tidy up and clean.”
Fuckin’ hell, he was going way too fast. “They’re good old days to you, Boone. To me, it was…” Sheer agony. The best and the worst of all of it. Being so close to everything I wanted without actually having it.
I shook my head and emptied half a bottle of ginger ale into my vodka. Some lime followed in my lame attempt to create a Moscow mule without the proper ingredients.
“I thought we were gonna go slow.” I took a long swig of my drink, thankful that I didn’t feel bad or anything. The topic would’ve been much more uncomfortable if I’d been sober.
“Slow sucks! Slow is keeping us apart.”
I grinned lazily at his outburst. It was funny how the same words could have different meanings depending who spoke them. He was all about getting our family back together. If I’d uttered the words, “I don’t want us to be apart,” it would mean something else.
“I forgot what a whiny crybaby you can be,” I drawled. “God forbid I leave my dirty clothes in the bathroom after I shower.”