She opens for me, a moan escaping her lips before I swallow it. My free hand comes up and grips her chin, arching her neck back for me. I deepen the kiss, just as the palms of her hands hit my chest.
She steps away from me, breathing heavily, and shouts, “I said no.” There’s that fire I like. But it’s unnecessary at the moment. I’m not the one she should be mad at.
“I never heard those words.”
She slaps me across the face. “I’m not for sale, Luca. I’m not going to give you my body because you wrote a check.”
“It was actually cash …”
She slaps me again.
This time, I grip her face, spin her around, and slam her back into the wall. Her eyes widen, and she gasps. Her hands come up and grip my wrists. “Luca …”
“Let’s get one thing straight, Haven,” I growl in her face. “We can do this one of two ways. One, you cooperate, and I’ll treat you well. Or two, you be a fucking bitch, and I treat you like one. Do you understand me?”
Her pretty dark eyes fill with tears. I watch one fall down her flushed cheek from her run. She’s so beautiful. She always was. When other girls were spending hours on their makeup, she was throwing on mascara and lip gloss and called it good. She has a little freckle on the right side of her upper lip, and I loved to run my thumb over it. Her amber-colored eyes and chestnut hair make her stunning. She is what a man dreams of. I know I always have. That’s why I never let her get too far away. There were many times she tried to break it off with me, but I wouldn’t let her. I am Luca Bianchi, and I always get what I want. Even if I have to lie, cheat, or steal for it. She will be my wife and the mother of my children.
“Luca,” she whimpers.
“Do you understand?” I shout, losing my patience. I don’t know why she’s fighting me on this. She should be thanking me. I saved her father. Her future. She would be out on the streets with them within a year at the rate he was going. He’s in deep debt and was about to lose everything before I stepped in. They were days away from their Victorian mansion being in foreclosure. Her father had several of his cars hidden in an undisclosed lot, for Christ’s sake. What would she have done? Where would she have gone?
“Yes,” she whispers as the tears run down her face.
I release her and take a step back. Not even bothering to grab my towel, I exit the bathroom and slam the door shut behind me. I pass by the kitchen, grab the flowers, and throw them into the trash, knowing that I need to show Haven just what kind of a guy I can be.
HAVEN
I stand in the bathroom, silently crying, trying to get my emotions under control. My run didn’t help one bit. And neither did last night. I couldn’t sleep. He had walked out of his room and never returned.
Where the hell had he gone? Who did he go meet? Was it a woman? I hate how much I care to know the answer to that question. And he had recently showered. His hair was wet, and his towel sits at my feet. I lean down to pick it up. Had he showered to get the smell of a woman off? Did he use protection?
We both know we’re not marrying for love, so it wouldn’t surprise me to know he spent the night with someone else.
I open the shower door and turn on the water. I step in and allow the scalding hot water to burn my skin. To cover my tears. What will my life be now? How long until he gets bored with me? Before he throws me away? I didn’t get to read the contract. Did it have a clause where we have to stay married for so many years? And if so, how many? I don’t know a lot about the Mafia, but I’m pretty sure the only way you can be free is if they die. And even after that, your life is still devoted to the Mafia.
I take my time in the shower, making sure to scrub every inch of my body. At one point, I sit down and rock back and forth, trying to come up with a plan. But I get nothing.
My name has been signed. The deal is done.
Stepping out, I wrap the towel around myself and walk into the spare bedroom. I scream when I see a man standing over by the door.
I tighten the towel around myself. “What are you doing? Get out!” I shout.
He doesn’t move, doesn’t even look at me. It’s Nite, standing there like a fucking statue. “Get the fuck out!” I scream.
He ignores me like he always has. Huffing, I storm over to the door and yank it open. I run up the stairs and into Luca’s bedroom. I hear water running in the bathroom, and I yank it open. He stands at one of the sinks, bent over, his hands splashing his face with water.
He straightens, gripping the towel and yanking it off the hanger next to him, and wipes his face. His eyes meet mine in the mirror. “What do you want, Haven?” he asks with a growl.
My jaw tightens. “I want you to get Nite out of my fucking room.”
“No.”
“No?” I gasp. “Is this a joke?”
He turns to face me, and I stand my ground as his eyes bore into mine. “This is very real, Haven. Nite will accompany you at all times from now on.”
“Luca …”
“And no more morning runs.”
“You can’t be serious?” I growl. He’s going to make me a prisoner. His plaything that will only be meant to satisfy him in the bedroom. The other ninety-five percent of the time, he will run around on me with whoever he pleases whenever he wants. We’re going to be just like his parents.
He shoulders past me and back into his bedroom but doesn’t answer me.
“Luca?” I snap as he enters his walk-in closet.
He stands with his back to me in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He removes a black button-down from a hanger and shrugs it on.
“I’m talking to you,” I seethe.
He removes a pair of black slacks from another hanger and goes to step into them.
I yank them from his hands. “Listen to me.”
“I don’t listen to nonsense,” he says calmly and takes the slacks back before sliding them on.
I stand before him stunned. My heart pounding with anger and my jaw tight. I watch him tuck his shirt in and then button them up along with the zipper. And I wonder what he’s doing. Where he’s going. I had only gone for a thirty-minute run, and he wasn’t here when I left. I checked like the sorry piece of shit woman I am. A million different scenarios went through my mind. All of them involved a woman and him in bed together.
“Leaving already?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. He wants me to be his wife? I can be the most annoying, intrusive, demanding wife possible. He’ll want to pay someone to take me off his hands.
He looks up at me. His brows creases at my question. After a long beat, he answers. “I have work to do.”
Cryptic. No surprise there. “Work or someone?”
The corners of his lips turn up, and my breath hitches. Why did I ask that?
He takes the five steps, closing the short distance between us. Reaching up, he pushes my wet hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear. “Are you jealous, Haven?”
I snort at the question, but my heart is now racing because it’s true. The thought of him with other women has haunted me ever since he left me for Italy. Now he’s going to openly do it in front of me. “No.”
“Liar.” He wraps his arm around my towel, pulling me to him. His other tangles in my wet hair. “I’ll tell you what.” He lowers his lips to my ear, and I hold my breath. “How about you fall to your knees and suck my dick to try to keep me faithful?”
I try to pull back, but he keeps me captive. “You son of a—”
“You remember how I like it?” he interrupts me, his hand yanking my head back and forcing me to look up at him with tears in my eyes. I refuse to let them fall. Letting go of my waist, he runs the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. His eyes boring into mine. I see the amusement in his. He’s enjoying this, and it’s breaking my heart. “You were always so good at opening that mouth for me when I wanted it.”
My hands fist his freshly pressed button-down, hoping I wrinkle the fuck out of it. “You’re not the only one I got on my knee
s for,” I say, hoping to fucking shatter any thoughts he has of me. I want this fucker to hate me as much as I hate him. Even if I have to lie.
His face grows as hard as stone, and his eyes narrow on me. I can feel his body stiffen as he holds me tighter. Closer. I don’t dare move. Or breathe. We glare at one another. I wait to see what he does next because I know he contemplates snapping my neck.
Thankfully, the door opens, and he shoves me away. I look up to see Nite enter the massive walk-in closet. He holds out his right hand to Luca.
My eyes widen. “Is that my phone?” I ask. Did that fucker dig through my purse to retrieve it? He had to. It was on the bed downstairs …
“Thanks, Nite.” Luca says tightly and then places the phone in the pocket of his slacks.
“Hey, that’s mine.”
Nite nods and exits the room, closing the door behind him.
Luca turns to me. “Nothing here is yours. Everything belongs to me. Even you.” Then he too turns and exits the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
CHAPTER FIVE
LUCA
I SIT IN the driver’s seat of my car, scrolling through her phone. She didn’t have a lock on it, so it made this easier. I go through all her texts, calls coming and going, and nothing shows any sign of a guy that I can see. Everything consists of her friends, Emilee and Jasmine.
I go through her pictures. She doesn’t have many. They’re mostly of her and Jasmine. A few of her and Emilee.
Turning the phone off, I throw it onto the passenger seat and run a hand down my face. I’ve never felt so fucking jealous, so furious with her in my life. I wanted to strangle her. The thought of her touching another guy, let alone on her knees for another sends me into a rage. I’m gonna find out who it is, and I’m gonna break his goddamn legs.
Pulling my own cell out of my pocket, I shoot Nite a text.
Me: Don’t let her out of your sight.
He answers immediately. Yes, sir.
Her little stunt in the bathroom earlier earned her a babysitter. She wants to act like a kid, then I’ll treat her like one.
Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling into a parking lot right off the Strip. Glass in black letters is written on the side of the two-story building. I make my way around to the back and park next to a blacked-out Lamborghini Reventon. Only thirty-five were made in the world, and my business partner owns one of them.
Exiting my car, I walk up the metal staircase to the second floor and punch in the code on the keypad to unlock the door. I step inside and walk down the hallway, entering the first door on the right.
I walk over to the desk and drop Haven’s cell on top of it, right in front of my business partner.
His brows pull together as he looks at the picture of Haven and Emilee from when she went to visit her three months ago in Chicago. She doesn’t know that I know. But she hasn’t done a damn thing without my knowledge. That’s why I don’t understand how she could have been seeing someone and I missed it. She had to have been lying. And when I find out that’s the case, she will regret making up shit just to rile me up.
“What’s this about?” Bones asks, leaning back in his seat.
“Haven’s phone.”
He arches a brow. “And?”
“And nothing.” I sit down in the chair.
He reaches up and shoves the phone away. I smile to myself. He never speaks of Emilee, but that doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about her. You don’t ever forget the one who got away. Or more like the one you let go of.
“What couldn’t wait until later?” I ask. The bastard called me an hour ago and said to meet him up here. I had planned on going home and getting a few hours of sleep, but he doesn’t care about things like that. He and Titan rarely sleep. They only crawl into a bed if it’s to fuck a woman.
“Marco is on his way,” he answers.
“Ah.” I nod. “What do we plan on doing to him?”
“Not sure yet.”
So we could be burying a body in the desert in the next hour or not. Never know with Bones. Just depends on what kind of mood you catch him in.
Just then, the door opens, and the man of the hour enters. He doesn’t look like he’s been to bed yet either. He wears a pair of black jeans and a red collared shirt. It’s the dress code here at Glass for the male employees.
He looks from me to Bones and comes to a halt. “Bones?” he shrieks.
Everyone in Las Vegas knows the Dark Kings. They’re each feared for something different. Bones is known as the enforcer, but no one knows that he owns a part of Glass. He’s a silent business partner. So Marco probably thinks I hired him to work him over. Get his hands dirty for me.
“Have a seat.” I gesture to the chair I vacated.
“No, that’s okay …”
I grab his shirt and shove him down into it.
Bones grabs the remote, pointing it at the large monitor that hangs on the wall, and then pushes play.
The date in the lower right-hand corner shows three weeks ago. You see Marco working behind the bar, rushing around making drinks. Then you see the customer give him cash. He slips some in his back pocket and only rings up half of the cocktails he just made.
Bones pauses it. “I have fifteen more just like this.”
“I can explain …”
“We don’t need an explanation,” Bones says. “See …” He places his tatted hands flat on the desk “The only thing I care about is money. And you owe us five grand.”
“I … I can … I’ll …”
“You’ll pay us back,” I say.
He nods quickly and begins to dig in his pocket. He throws some twenties on the desk. “That’s everything I have on me.” He quickly pats his other pockets to double-check.
Bones ignores the money and grabs a blank piece of paper from the printer. He sets it on the desk along with a pen. “Sign this.”
“What?” Marco blinks.
“I said sign it.”
“But there’s nothing there.” His round eyes look it over.
There’s a tic in Bones jaw. “If you don’t sign your name on this, I will break both of your hands. Do you understand?”
The guy grabs the pen and scribbles his name down.
“You have five days to come up with the money,” he says, falling back down into his seat.
Marco nods, jumps up, and storms out without another word. He doesn’t have to be told twice.
The door slams shut, and Bones leans his head back, closing his eyes.
“Go home. Get some rest,” I tell him. “You look like shit.”
He runs a hand down his unshaven face. “I’m heading to Kingdom.”
No one knows about our business deal here. Two years ago, I went to Bones with a plan. I wanted to start a business that didn’t involve my father. I wanted something that was completely mine. Something I had control over. I had the perfect place and the money. I just needed someone to help me with it while I was in Italy. A partner.
Bones was the perfect candidate.
So we went into business together and bought Glass, a strip club right in the heart of Sin City. It was once a run-down wedding chapel, so it felt fitting.
The girls are the elite of Vegas strippers. They must be at least twenty-one and audition, but other than that, they can pretty much do whatever the fuck they want. We have VIP rooms. The men pay for bottle service, and the girls decide how far they want to take it. We make sure the girls are taken care of and well protected. We always have armed guards on the property. Plus, most of them also work for the queens at Kingdom. They’re literally rolling in cash.
His phone rings, and he digs it out of his pocket. Hitting answer, he leans back in the chair. “Hello?” He pauses. “Yeah, I’m about to head that way.” He runs a hand down his face again. “I’ll take care of it.” Then he hangs up and stands. “I gotta go. Make sure Marco pays up. If not, let me know, and I’ll deliver the threat.”
HAVEN
I sit out on a chaise o
n the large balcony to our room. Nite stands off to the side by the sliding glass door. True to Luca’s word, the bastard has been breathing down my neck ever since this morning. I look over the black railing at the heart of Sin City. You can see the Strip from where the house sits. I always found Las Vegas ugly and dirty during the day, but at night, it comes to life and shines brighter than all the stars in the sky.
Standing out the most, Kingdom, dominates the sky with four towers—one for each king. Back when their fathers owned it, it only had two. They’ve built onto it over the years. When they took over after college, they made some changes. And those alterations made them even more untouchable. More royalty in this town. And gave them even more enemies.
I take a puff from my cigarette. Leaning my head back, I let it out slowly and close my eyes, thinking of Emilee and how much I miss her. I visited her recently in Chicago.
“So what are we gonna do while I’m in town?” I ask, falling onto her bed. Her entire apartment is about as big as her bedroom back at home, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Emilee never needed expensive things.
She walks out of her bathroom and gives me a big smile. “We’re going out tonight.”
“Where to?”
“A club.”
“That’s vague.”
She winks at me.
I laugh because I love seeing her like this. So free. Bones always had a hold on her. She swore she didn’t love him, and I believed her, but the Kings were two years older than us. So when Bones, Titan, and Cross graduated, they started to take over Kingdom, and that left Emilee alone. She has never said it out loud, but I know that hurt her. They grew apart, and she started seeing someone in our grade. After graduation, she chose to move to Chicago, and that was that. She was gone. I think she was running away from something she knew she couldn’t have. None of the Kings would ever settle down. They were meant to be ruthless playboys who ruled their own world and had no room for women or families.
“There’s this awesome club here called Seven Deadly Sins.”
“Oh, I like it already.”
Code of Silence Page 7