Page 52 of Burn the World Down

“Bastian was CIA. On his last job, he…stumbled across something valuable his target was hiding. Anyway, he had his reasons for leaving the life, and decided to put the windfall to good use.”

“What, like stumbled on a vault filled with gold?” I joked.

“No. Several bags of uncut diamonds.”

My mouth dropped open.

“He built the Avernus with the sale of the diamonds. People fight to get a job here. He pays the highest wages and offers the best health insurance and benefits.”

And supported charities for veterans. “Why Avernus? Where does the name come from?”

Nash’s lips quirked. “It’s the name of a volcanic crater and lake in Italy. It’s said to be an entrance to the underworld in Roman mythology.”

“And he’s a former assassin, so the underworld fits.”

“The best restaurant in the casino is Elysium.”

I gasped.Elysium. I’d heard of the restaurant before. It had a top chef and a months’ long waiting list for a table. “Elysium is like heaven in Greek mythology, right?”

“It was a part of the Greek underworld reserved for the good and heroic, or those chosen by the gods.”

His greenhouse came into view and he tugged me closer.

“What about Cole and Alessio?” I asked. “What do they do?”

“You probably don’t want to know.”

“I can tell they weren’t military.”

“No, they were not.” He opened the greenhouse door, and we stepped into the lush confines. “A story for another day.”

I pulled in a deep breath of mixed scents—soil, fragrance, and fertilizer. Soon, I had a green watering can in hand, watering the orchids that needed it. Nash went to a workbench to work on some orchids he was propagating.

When I finished, I sat on a low, wooden bench nestled right in the center of the space. From here, you couldn’t even tell you were in a city, let alone Las Vegas. I felt a sense of peace drift through me. I wondered how many times Nash had sat here.

My gaze shifted to him, where he was bent over his workbench. I’d dreamed about him so many times, and here he was—big, strong, and oh-so-real. Taking care of me, helping me, keeping me safe.

I knew I couldn’t let myself get used to this, couldn’t depend on him too much. But fighting the pull of him was impossible.

Rising, I set the can down and walked toward him.

His head lifted. “You getting tired? We can head back to the villa.”

“I’m okay.” I saw the orchid on the bench and I gasped. “Nash, that’s incredible.”

The blooms were blue. Several lush flowers were on the stem, with a delicate yellow center. I’d never seen anything like it.

“Blue orchids are rare,” he said. “You can get some in the shops, but they’re regular orchids that have dye injected into them.”

I pulled a face.

“This one is an Australian orchid that is one of the few, naturally blue ones. The flowers bloom in the morning and close in the evening.”

“It’s gorgeous.”

He wiped his hands on a rag and reached up. As he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, I suppressed a shiver.

Being with him, it was making so much come back to life inside me.