by Mia Knight
Blade looked from her to Gavin and back. “What the hell?”
“You just take off without telling me?”
Blade dropped his bag and went to Nora who was going wild in Gavin’s arms. Blade held the baby against his chest and ignored Nora’s attempts to kiss him. Lyla took in his appearance. Like Gavin, he was dressed down. Dark jeans and shirt with an army green jacket. He got a haircut, and while his normally stony expression was still foreboding, something was different about him.
“Where have you been?” she asked.
“Why?”
How many times did she need to repeat herself? “You’ve never left me before.”
Blade flicked a glance at Gavin before he said, “You weren’t in danger.”
“How would you know? You weren’t here!”
“Lyla.” Gavin’s tone was chiding as he built two massive sandwiches.
Blade frowned. “Did you have an episode today?”
She crossed her arms. “No!”
“Then what are you so ticked off about?”
“I should know when you’re going to leave me.”
“Why?”
“Because.” Both men were staring at her as if she lost her mind. “You’re my constant.”
“Your what?” Gavin asked.
She waved her hands as she tried to make them understand. “I know Gavin has to go to work. Carmen moved out, and the only person who’s always here is Blade.”
He started off as a gruff second in command, but somewhere along the road, he had morphed into something else. He was her protector, teacher, trainer, confidant, and shadow. He was such an intrinsic part of her life that his disappearance made her feel as if something vital was missing.
“You’re by my side day and night for three years. You can’t just vanish into thin air! What if I need you?”
There was a humming silence in the kitchen. She was dimly aware of the weight of Gavin’s stare, but she didn’t look at him. Her focus was on Blade who was watching her with a grim, contemplative expression.
“I know you can’t be with me twenty-four seven, but can you … can you just tell me when you’re going somewhere?” she asked.
Blade nodded. “I can do that.”
She let out a long breath. “Thank you.” She finally chanced a look at Gavin to find him shaking his head. She was glad he wasn’t going to Hulk out about her attachment to Blade that she hadn’t even been aware of. How could she not depend on him? He was there for every crisis, taking charge and putting his life in jeopardy without hesitation. They had fought side by side. He saw her and Gavin at their worst and never strayed from her side. Blade was an immovable force that had never let her down.
“So where did you go?” she asked.
“None of your business.”
She scowled. He was annoying as hell. When he passed her, she caught a faint whiff of heavy perfume. “You’re seeing someone?”
Blade put Nora in her high chair and ignored her.
“You have a girlfriend?” she persisted.
Blade sneered. “Never had a girlfriend in my life.”
“Booty call?”
“I never fuck the same girl more than once.”
“So you got laid? That’s it? Why’d you want to keep that from me? Did you go to the brothel in Crystal?”
Gavin straightened. “What the fuck?”
Blade looked bewildered. “Why would I drive to Crystal for whores when there’s free pussy in the city?”
“Did you spend the whole night with your one-night stand?”
“You’re done,” Gavin announced as he grabbed her arm and towed her away from Blade who looked more displeased than usual. “How the hell do you know about Crystal?”
“Carmen and I drove out to the Love Ranch once.”
A muscle clenched in his cheek. “Why?”
“Why not? Who wouldn’t want to see a brothel? Did you know the Love Ranch has a gift shop? The food isn’t bad either.”
“You ate there?”
“The staff was really nice. It says on the sign that sex isn’t required. Some people go there for the food.”
“I bet they do,” he muttered.
He pulled her into his office and set her on the edge of his desk.
“Where the fuck was I when you went on this field trip?” he asked as he spread her legs to make a place for himself.
“At work.”
“I should kill Carmen,” he said as his hand slipped beneath her shirt.
She took great pleasure in throwing his words back in his face. “Oh, Gavin, don’t be so dramatic.”
“You should stop seeing her,” he said as he cupped her breast.
“As if that would ever happen. She’s my best friend.”
His expression was inscrutable as he murmured, “Sounds like Blade’s your best friend.”
“Blade is … I don’t know what he is, but he’s a part of us now.” Blade wasn’t necessarily a brother to her. He was caught somewhere between best guy friend and disapproving uncle.
He rested his forehead against hers as his hands continued to stroke her skin beneath her shirt. She looped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as he cherished her without saying a word. There had been a lot of these moments in the past three months. Both of them knew how close they’d been to death. She drank him in, cupping his face before letting her fingers trace the strong line of his throat and then coming to rest over his heart.
“Are you happy?” she murmured, feeling drunk from his petting.
“You have doubts?”
I did things to him you wouldn’t agree with. Manny’s voice echoed in her mind as she opened her eyes and stared into his. “Just checking.”
He raised her chin so he could kiss her slow and sweet. She arched against him as he teased her. When their lips parted, he surveyed her with heavy lidded eyes.
“I have you and Nora. I don’t care about anything else.”
To him, it was that simple. This man battled to keep her at his side and bonded her to him so tightly, she couldn’t imagine life without him.
“I love you,” she said.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed deep.
“Whatever you want, Lyla, it’s yours,” he said gruffly.
She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. “I have what I want.” How could she not love this psycho?
“I’m going to give you more,” he vowed.
“You can’t give me more than you have already.”
He placed his lips on her ear as he said, “Watch me.”
5
One Month Later
Gavin surveyed his cousin who sat on the opposite side of his desk. Three months as the crime lord of Las Vegas had taken a toll on Angel Roman. The smile on his face no longer reached his blue eyes. His hair was wet from a recent shower since he arrived in a blood-stained suit. Angel was forced to put on jeans and a shirt, a staple of his that Gavin could see didn’t sit well with him anymore. He understood the feeling. Crime lords had an image to maintain, and the suit was a part of it. It became their uniform and a symbol of wealth, dominance, and authority. It didn’t hurt that it concealed weapons and bloodstains. Suits were so versatile.
“Trouble?” he asked.
“A minor inconvenience,” Angel said.
He was itching for action. Angel didn’t betray himself by fidgeting or letting his attention wander restlessly around the office, but Gavin sensed it. The high of power and violence was a drug he was well acquainted with. It was what drove him to Hell and infidelity. The darkness of the underworld was making an impact on his younger cousin. Angel was handling it well, but if he didn’t find an outlet, it would drag him under.
Angel had adapted amazingly well. While he sneered at New York underworld traditions and politics, there was something to be said for having protocols in place. Las Vegas had turned into Gotham—lawless, pitiless, and brutal. Angel was morphing into his own brand of crime lor
d. He was deceptively accommodating until crossed. His methods to gain compliance were inspired. Word was spreading through the underworld of its new master.
He worked hand in hand with his cousin, adding his influence when necessary to solidify Angel’s reign. He had to admit Angel was the best man for the job and kept Raul apprised of his brother’s progress. Raul wasn’t surprised by his younger brother’s success. Resigned was more like it.
“Progress with the Black Vipers?” Gavin asked.
Angel overplayed his hand and barely survived a murder attempt. They had left a staggering number of bodies in the wake of that incident to make a statement. Any opposition would be removed. Since Raul sent reinforcements from New York, there hadn’t been anymore close calls.
“The Black Vipers called on some California gangs, which have caused trouble, but we’re taking care of it.” Angel tilted his head to the side. “I hear some cops visited you at the casino.”
“Their third visit since Malone and the others went missing. They showed up here once.”
Angel’s eyes narrowed. “They came to your residence?”
“They didn’t make it past the gate. They were … persuaded to leave.”
Angel’s mouth twitched. “Imagine that. So did they come right out and ask if you had anything to do with all these disappearances?”
He settled back in his chair. “They start with bullshit and then ask if I knew the governor and the gaming commissioner and so on.” He was actually enjoying these verbal spars. The public was in an uproar over having so many public servants and government officials disappear into thin air. The cops were grasping at straws, hoping he’d slip up or some stupid shit. Everyone knew something big had gone down, but they didn’t know where it took place or who was involved. The cops were smart enough to sniff around him, but they wouldn’t find shit.
“I’ve been approached by some dirty cops. Looks like they want to make a deal with me,” Angel said.
“You ask Stark about them?”
Angel nodded. “We declined their offer.”
“How’d they take it?”
Angel’s smile wasn’t friendly. “They weren’t happy, but they’re smart enough to walk away with their tail between their legs.”
“How’s Stark working out?”
“He doesn’t say much, but he knows his shit.”
He felt better knowing that Stark had Angel’s back. Stark knew the underworld well. Angel needed someone on hand who could help him make intelligent, split-second decisions. He also hoped Stark would curb Angel from doing anything too reckless.
“While I’m gone, if you need anything—”
Angel waved his hand. “Don’t go all big cousin on me now.”
“I can’t resist.” Reconnecting with his cousins was one of the best decisions he’d made. He had support, backup, and could give Lyla the life he always promised. “I owe you.”
“For what? Gift wrapping the greatest city in the world for me?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“So am I.”
He had underestimated his pretty boy cousin. Angel still had a ways to go before becoming a full-fledged crime lord, but he was holding his own in a world where only the strong survived.
“Go on your trip. I’ll take care of everything.” Angel sniffed the air appreciatively. “What’s the occasion, anyway?”
“It’s been four months since we killed that fuck.”
Angel’s eyes gleamed. “I should visit Hell, maybe piss in a toilet there as an extra fuck you to that little bastard.”
“You heard from Lucifer?”
“No. Why?”
“Just checking.” It wouldn’t surprise him if Lucifer tried to reel Angel in. Angel put on a show in the pit to stake his claim as crime lord. Lucifer wouldn’t fail to notice his skill.
He glanced down at the dog flopped on his foot. For some reason he couldn’t fathom, Honey had taken a liking to him. She had become a permanent fixture in his office and followed him everywhere.
“That guy, Jonathan, came by my place,” Angel said. “He installed the security system. It’s amazing.”
“What do you think of him?”
Angel shrugged. “He seemed a little nervous, but otherwise, fine. Smart guy. Why?”
“No reason.” He hadn’t had contact with Huskin since Maine. He gave his orders to Z who passed them onto Huskin. It was better that way. “He’ll be installing our system while we’re gone.” There was no way in hell he would allow Huskin in the house with Lyla around. Their trip to Bora Bora was a convenient excuse for Huskin to come in and do his thing.
“You have some interesting contacts,” Angel said.
“They come in handy,” he said as he got to his feet.
“Don’t worry about the city, Gav. I got it.”
“Good. Then maybe you can get Luci to stop calling me every day.”
Angel grinned as they exited the office. “She’s going stir-crazy. I may have to let her come here for a weekend or something before she does something stupid.”
He didn’t like the thought of Luci coming here when things were still in transition, but it was Angel’s call.
They passed the kitchen, which was filled with catering staff. He didn’t like having strangers in his home. It put him on edge, but he could tolerate it for a few hours. There was a fancy table set up beside the pool. Lyla chatted with Carmen’s mother, Isabel. He assumed the older man and teenager with her were the Armstrongs, the family she would be marrying into. He had looked into them and found they were as vanilla as could be, lucky for them.
He walked toward Lyla who turned when she sensed his approach. When she saw him, she smiled, and held out her hand to him. He was powerless to deny her. She was shaking off the aftereffects that Hell and Vega had left on her and was shining bright again. He grasped her hand and kissed her before he switched his attention to Nora who grabbed his shirt with a tiny fist and stared at him with impatient eyes.
“Dada!”
He couldn’t stop his shit-eating grin. He was never going to tire of hearing his title. Nora chanted it daily, and it was music to his ears. He couldn’t be more delighted that dada had been her first word. He settled Nora in the crook of his arm while Lyla introduced Isabel’s fiancé, Marv, and his daughter, Maddie.
“Cousin,” Angel said as he kissed Lyla on the cheek.
He draped an arm over her shoulder and whispered something that caused her to give him a dirty look. Angel grinned and said something else that made her laugh and shake her head. When she wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him, he saw Angel fully relax. Lyla’s light had the same calming effect on Angel that it did on him. Angel didn’t have his family to keep him anchored, so they needed to step in. When they returned from Bora Bora, he would make a point to have his cousin come by more often. Angel treated Lyla with the same warm affection he had for Luci. The Romans had accepted her as one of their own. He’d heard Lyla on the phone with Luci several times. He didn’t know what was said, but the contentment Lyla exuded afterward boded well.
He wasn’t pleased when Blade came up beside him since Nora reached for him. Blade took the baby who rested her cheek on his chest and sucked her thumb. Carmen arrived, dressed as if she was on her way to the opera. He knew she was behind this get-together, but he couldn’t find it in him to be pissed when everyone was having a good time. They settled around the table as the food was served, women on one side with the men on the other. It took him less than five minutes to discern that Marv Armstrong was a good man. Blade and Angel were impressed with Marv. He served in the military, ran his own mechanic shop, and loved to hunt.
He was glad when the evening wore down, and they escorted people to the door.
“Thank you for coming,” Lyla said as she hugged and kissed Isabel.
He shook hands with Marv and nodded at Maddie. She met his gaze for a moment before she flushed and looked away. Lyla waved them off before she turned to him with a dazzling
smile.
“You had fun, didn’t you?”
He shrugged and pulled her into the house so he could kick the door shut. He was very aware of the staff still in the kitchen and the fact they still had some guests in the house, but he was distracted by her warm weight against him. When she pulled him toward the couch, he didn’t fight. She pushed him down on the cushions and then curled into his side.
“I had a great day.” She sighed. “Hair and shopping with Carmen and then a great dinner with friends and family.”
He slipped his hands through her blond locks. “I’m glad you didn’t cut or dye it.”
“Of course, you are.”
“You’re always messing with me.” She had been teasing him for days, threatening to dye it some ugly ass color.
“You’re so easy,” she said lazily.
He loved her hair, and she knew it. It was shiny and heavy, and he loved falling asleep with it tangled around him or wrapping his fist in spun gold as he fucked her.
“Two more days until Bora Bora,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Are you excited?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
His life revolved around Las Vegas. Between the casinos and the underworld, he had no reason to leave the city. The longest he had ever been absent was when he served time in prison. But times had changed. He wasn't the crime lord any longer, and he had a COO who could run the casinos all by himself. Marcus and Angel had given him more leeway than he ever had. In his twenties, he thought money and power gave him freedom, but he was wrong. It was a ball and chain that nearly destroyed everyone around him.
He had been arrogant and foolish in his youth. He thought he was indestructible and could rule the underworld without paying his dues. Vinny’s and his father’s deaths changed him. Life was so fucking short, and he was glad Lyla gave her ultimatum. It forced him to look beyond the underworld to something worth fighting for. He would ensure Angel’s reign as long as he wanted it, and in the meantime, he would fulfill his promise to Lyla and give her the paradise she deserved.
He played with the ends of her hair as they sat in silence, their feet side by side on the coffee table. For the first time in his life, everything was in its place. He didn’t feel the hunger that drove Marcus in business or Angel in the underworld. He had exceeded every goal he set for himself. There were no more mountains to climb, no one to kill. The unquenchable need to conquer was now focused on Lyla.