I thought I might be able to avoid Lochlan for at least a half hour figuring that he would be busy trying to fuck actresses. But no, I’m not that lucky tonight. When I see him waiting by the door leading to the event center, I hold up a hand for Eli and our four guards to stay back with the boys.
“Salvato, you finally made it,” the Irishman says in greeting, remarking on my lateness, even if it’s only five minutes. With his dark auburn hair kept short, he doesn’t have the look of a typical soul-less ginger. However, the tattoos on his face and his hands, along with the heavy bulk covered by his plum suit, give him the air of a soulless, dangerous man you don’t want to fuck with. He’s beyond filthy rich, thanks to the Dunne family’s thriving whore houses in Vegas and around the world. Every known legal fantasy or fetish are offered at their establishments. The only reason I agreed to let him marry my oldest daughter is because he’s as vicious as he is wealthy when it comes to protecting his people and territory. He’s not afraid to fight dirty when necessary, which means he’s also not a fool.
“Good to see you again, Lochlan,” I reply while shaking his offered hand. Before he releases my palm, he slants his head to the left then the right to glance around me. “I don’t see my blushing bride. Where is she, Dante?”
“Madison insisted on doing some last-minute backpacking around Europe,” I reply which isn’t exactly a lie. She could be on the other side of the world by now as far as I know. When the hotheaded bastard opens his mouth to bitch, I hold up my palm to stop him. “It was all part of our agreement. She gets to travel before accepting your ring and picking a date.”
Lochlan’s jaw ticks as he clenches his teeth. “Six months. That’s my final offer, Salvato. If she hasn’t agreed to be my wife by then, I’ll have no choice but to start fucking your shit up.”
“Understood,” I tell him. “For today, let’s get to the tables, shall we? Do you have room for my four friends, here?” I nod my head back to the boys who are busy staring at their phones.
“Who the hell are they?” Lochlan huffs.
“They’re my…girlfriend’s son and his three friends. I’ll pay you double for their buy-in and my own. It’s for charity, right?”
“Fine. I’ll have to have another table brought in, so wait the fuck out here.”
“Sure thing,” I agree, then call up the most experienced guard. “Frank.” I tip my head in the direction of the event room.
Without further instruction, he replies, “On it,” then steps forward, following after Lochlan who stops abruptly to glare at me over his shoulder.
“Really, Dante?”
“What good would my security be if they don’t make sure every room is secure before I enter them?” It’s also the reason why I don’t leave my casino often.
“Either you’re paranoid or you’re in deep shit,” Lochlan remarks, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t be bringing your drama into my business.”
“It’s just precautionary,” I tell him. “Standard procedure for those of us at the top. I’m sure you understand. I’ll expect nothing less when you marry my daughter.”
With another mumbled swear, Lochlan storms off into the room with Frank nearly stepping on the heels of his dress shoes.
Going back to the group of boys, I tell them, “You’re in once another table is set up. Don’t even think about making fools of yourselves. When you’re out, you’re out, so don’t use your own money. And try not to drool all over any models or whatever. They don’t like that shit. Ignore them instead. Act like they’re the ugliest pieces of shit in the world,” I suggest, giving them the advice of how Vanessa treated me for years.
“Speaking from experience?” Cole asks with a smirk, as if he knows I’m thinking of his mother.
“If you fuck up tonight, then I’m in the doghouse,” I warn him. “I won’t be nice if I’m in the doghouse, understood?”
“Yes, sir.” His sir is so sarcastic he may as well have said “fuck off” to me instead.
“You seem like a good kid, Cole.”
“Ah, thank you?”
“Underneath the manners your mama beat into you, I know you’re still just a horny frat boy who makes reckless decisions.”
“Uh-oh,” Eli mutters softly before he walks away to let us have a heart-to-heart.
“I like your mother, which means I’ll tolerate you being around my casino, in my penthouse. But if you ever touch any of my daughters, even accidentally, I’ll castrate you slowly with a dull, rusty, knife.”
His face pales, letting me know my threat is being taken seriously.
“Damn, man. I seriously don’t have a death wish,” the kid says, rubbing his palm over the back of his neck.
“I didn’t say I would kill you. Your mother wouldn’t forgive me for that. I think she would understand if I left you sterile for sticking your dick where it doesn’t belong.”
“Okay. I’ve got it. Jeez.” Shaking his head, he says, “I still can’t believe you’re with my mom.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know. She just doesn’t seem like your type, and I never thought she would agree to date you. She’s never been a fan of yours.”
“Is that right?” I ask, my ears perking up. The boy probably knows Vanessa better than anyone else. If I don’t break his limbs for staring at my bikini-clad daughter, then he could offer valuable insights into the complicated woman.
“I lost count of how many times Mom called you an arrogant prick or a self-centered asshole.” I’m convinced he’s just being a mouthy little dick before he visibly winces while glancing around to see if anyone overheard us. He quickly goes on to add, “I swear those are her words, not mine. The only opinion I have of you is that you back up your threats.”
“Vanessa told you that she thinks I’m an arrogant prick? A self-centered asshole?”
The kid now shrugs. “Maybe I misheard her, but yeah, that’s the gist of her feelings whenever your name was mentioned.”
“Well, I hate to admit that you probably heard her correctly,” I mutter, wishing I understood. Is it my money and Vanessa’s lack of it that makes her hate me? Did I not pay her enough as an employee? I try to offer pay that’s competitive to keep the decent staff around for as long as possible. Why did she stick around at the casino for so long if she was unhappy with her wages?
Slipping my hands into my pants pockets, I stroll past the registration desk to the event door to take a peek inside. The room is full of rambunctious drunken elite gathered around tables, well into their own games of poker. I consider texting Vanessa but then I see Lochlan heading toward me.
“About time,” I tease him. He flips me off with his finger as he approaches.
“Impatient bastard. As soon as they bring in more chairs—”
He doesn’t get to finish his sentence because Frank is suddenly lumbering up behind him, the whites of his eyes showing as he shouts, “Get down!”
“What?” Lochlan turns to ask him.
One second the Irishman is standing in front of me, the next, there’s a boom louder than thunder that shakes the floor underneath my feet. Lochlan slams into the front of my body so hard I’m knocked backward to the ground. The back of my head hits the floor so hard my vision darkens and blurs. I can’t hear shit. It’s like all my senses just decided to abandon me.
Then I eventually realize that it’s not my vision that darkened the room. The hallway is engulfed in a thick, hot smoke that’s quickly filling my nose. I can even taste burning ash on my tongue.
My head is almost entirely under the registration table where two women were working. They’re both on the floor, crying and helping each other quickly crawl toward the glowing exit door that leads outside.
What the fuck.
There must have been some type of explosion. Or a goddamn bomb. Something just blew the fuck up in the event room. The room where we were supposed to be…
Cole. I have to find Cole. If anything happens to him, Vanessa will kill me, and I would gladly let her. Thank fuck Madison wasn’t with me tonight. I have to get back down the hall to find Cole and his friends. Someone on the outside is bound to have called for help by now. I hope they send every ambulance in the county because I think they’re going to need them all.
I have to push half of Lochlan’s limp body off of mine to get up. As I fight to squirm out, I realize why he’s so heavy. Frank’s body is draped over the lower half of Lochlan’s, as if the guard tackled the Irishman to the ground. He was trying to warn us but ran out of time.
There are pieces of heavy debris on top of the big man who is bleeding and not moving. Chunks of the ceiling and door to the event room based on the gaping holes in the wall and ceiling surrounding us.
Either Lochlan and Frank are just unconscious or they’re dead. There’s nothing I can do for them now, so I get to my feet and stumble around the corner of the hallway. It’s just as smoky, but there’s significantly less wreckage from the building. I don’t see Cole or his friends until Eli and the guards climb up off the floor where they must have tried to cover the boys. Once standing, the men offer the kids a hand up. Watching Cole get to his feet, stunned and dirty from head to toe but with no visible wounds is a huge fucking relief.
“Everyone okay?” I ask. Shout maybe. The words echo around in my pounding skull.
They all glance around at each other, then nod. “All good down here. How about you?” Eli asks.
“I’m fine. Frank and Lochlan are still out, though. Come help me get them out.” The three guards and Eli rush past me, seemingly unharmed. They return a moment later with Lochlan between two of them, blinking his eyes open, but not Frank.
“He’s gone,” Eli says. “Shrapnel went right through his back, through his heart.
“Fuck.” If not for Frank, Lochlan and I would probably both be dead too. He was a damn good man, always faithful and honest to a fault. He may have known he was putting his life on the line working for me, but that won’t make it any easier on his family when they find out he’s gone.
“Let’s get the boys out of here. I’ll…I need to notify Frank’s wife before she hears about it on the news.”
With every step, my entire body feels bruised and stiff. But I’m up and walking. I’m still alive, somehow.
“What the fuck happened?” Cole asks.
“Some type of explosion. Frank tried to warn us,” I reply as I put my arm around his shoulders to urge him to the door I saw the women go out.
Once we’re in the fresh night air, I don’t let the kids stop walking. “Leave Lochlan and get the boys back to the cars and to the casino. I want security tightened so that nobody goes in or out any door but the main entrance, and everyone, every bag is searched,” I order.
“You’re staying here?” Eli asks as I pull out my phone. Lochlan is lowered to the curb, able to sit up on his own which is a good sign.
“I’ll wait with Lochlan, make sure there’s enough help on the way, then see if the responders need help.”
“What if it was a bomb and there are more set to go off?”
“Then we’re fucked.”
“I’ll stay too,” Eli offers.
“No. You go back and make damn sure Cole goes straight up to see Vanessa. Hopefully before she hears about this and loses her mind.”
“At least one guard should stay with you two in case there’s a sniper.” His neck swivels around, as if looking for the imaginary lone gunman.
“Fine. One guard. The rest go back. Now.”
“I’ll stay,” Mike offers, and I give him a nod.
Legs heavy, I take a seat on the curb next to Lochlan as the sound of sirens fills the air.
“How are you doing?” I ask him.
“Half-dead or I’d be back inside to…fuck,” he mutters, lying back on the concrete. Reaching up, he swipes his palms over his dusty face.
“We’re both lucky to be alive. I wouldn’t let you go back inside if you could walk. Frank gave his life to keep us both breathing. Anyone we try to pull out now could just hurt them worse, so let’s leave it to the professionals.”
“This is a goddamn nightmare.”
“Yes, it really is,” I agree just as a firetruck and three ambulances come speeding down the road toward us.
“Who do you think is behind this shit?” he asks.
“Your guess is as good as mine. But if I had to guess…Kozlov.”
Dropping his hands, Lochlan slowly returns to a sitting position, eyes furious when he stares me down. “The Russians? Why would they fuck with me?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Did you tell anyone I was coming tonight?”
“What?”
“Who knew I would be here?”
“Oh, so you’re just going to assume it was a hit on you that took out two dozen or more A-list movie stars, models, and beloved musicians?”
“Fuck, I don’t know, Lochlan. Maybe? If Kozlov found out about you marrying Madison, about our alliance, maybe he wanted to take us both out.”
“Fuck you and fuck your enemies! All these deaths are on me, not you, because this is my casino!”
“Hey, don’t take this shit out on me. You’re the one who was stupid enough to put my name on the public roster, didn’t you?”
“How was I supposed to know they would plant a fucking bomb in my hotel to get at you, Dante? Give me a fucking break,” he grumbles just as the first group of firemen jog toward the building without the slightest idea of what they’re about to walk into.
What a fucking day.
I feel pretty damn lucky to be alive, unlike Frank and who knows how many others.
If there was a bomb meant for me, I will find the fucker responsible and make them pay.
I have to if I want to keep my girls, my employees, and myself alive.
And then there’s Vanessa.
I can’t wait to hold her in my arms tonight, thanking whatever fates brought her into my life. I had convinced myself that I have to let her go to keep her safe from my world. Now, I can’t help but wonder if I should ask her to stay, to let her decide whether or not she can handle my lifestyle. She’s tough as nails, the most badass woman I’ve ever met. I know she can take care of herself; she has her entire life. Maybe she even thinks I’m worth the risks.
All I can do is promise her that I’ll do everything under the sun to protect her, then leave the future up to her.
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