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CHAPTER 14

VINCENT

“ A date?” Isla asks in surprise.

“Yes,” I say, smiling despite myself. “I want to take you on a date.”

I never imagined uttering those words, especially not to Isla Hart. Previously, when I desired a woman, I would simply take her for a night in my bed to fulfill my needs and then have her escorted out the next morning. I’ve always treated women with a baseline of respect, something that my mother instilled in me from a young age. Any woman who has shared my bed in the past has experienced fine dining and a pleasurable night. But I’ve never let any of them in , not inside my heart anyway, only into my bed. Usually, it’s a one-night hotel tryst followed by one of my men getting them breakfast and a new outfit or marvelous piece of jewelry. Then, I usually never hear from them again because that’s the way I’ve always wanted it.

This feeling that I have now with Isla is uncharted territory. I want her, need her. I feel as if I would do anything for her. To the point of even charming her by wooing her with a date or two. If Alonzo or even Luc saw me like this, they’d say I’m going soft. Which is why I keep my plans private only to myself.

“Where do you want to take me?” Isla asks with excitement in her eyes. “Let me guess, a fancy restaurant maybe? Please tell me you will not take me to see a ballet. I’m behind in my training, and I can’t bear to be reminded about it.”

“No, neither of those things. I want to take you to my other favorite place, second only to the ballet theater. I think it’s beautiful and soothing.”

“Soothing?” she asks, intrigued. “That seems like an odd descriptor for a first date.”

Her brow wrinkles delicately.

“Is something wrong?” I ask.

“No, not at all. It’s just strange to think about going on a date with you.”

“What, I’m not your usual type?” I tease her.

“Honestly, no, you’re not,” she laughs lightly. “I don’t normally date dangerous killers. But for you, I seem to make an exception. It just seems so strange to go from your prisoner to your date.”

I feel a pang of guilt, one not strong enough to want to release her, though. Yet, it is important to understand that even caged birds crave moments of freedom.

“I will never let you go, Isla,” I say. “I can’t. Everything you are belongs to me now. And no one— not even you —gets to take it away from me. That said, I’m sure you can tell by now that you’re not the only one feeling captivated and imprisoned by the other. You may not hold physical power over me, but I’d be lying if you didn’t still hold the power to bring me to my knees.”

Isla’s face changes. She looks emboldened, like a queen— my queen . Her queenly appearance unexpectedly captivates me.

“Get dressed,” I say as I reach for my keys. “I want to take you there now.”

“No driver?” she asks. “Aren’t you normally surrounded by an entire entourage of your men?”

“Yes, I normally am. But not today.”

A knock on the door interrupts us. A quick look out the window shows Luc standing on the front stoop. His unprompted visit signifies importance.

“This won’t take long,” I say, cuing Isla to go to her room and give us some privacy to handle matters of business. I wait until she’s out of earshot before I open the door.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” I say as I let Luc inside.

“I know, my apologies. But I figured you’d want to hear what I found out as soon as possible.”

“And a phone call wouldn’t have sufficed?” My displeasure over being interrupted in my home is audible.

“I wanted to take precautions with such sensitive information,” he says as we walk into my study.

I have a feeling that Isla is a keen eavesdropper. Not knowing the purpose of this sudden visit, I want to avoid her hearing anything inappropriate or alarming. “So, you know how you asked me to do some digging around about Angelo Barone’s wife?” Luc asks. “I found out a few things about Natalia Barone that I think might interest you.”

“Such as?”

“Such as how incredibly unhappy she is.”

“I already knew that, Luciano.” I frown with disapproval. “I hope you didn’t come all the way here to disturb my peace and tell me things I already know. Natalia has always been an elegant, sophisticated, and observant woman—one clearly trapped inside a loveless marriage for years . Anyone with eyes can pick up on that fact.”

“Agreed, but did you already know that she is not only unhappy but also secretly disapproves of her husband’s brutality?”

“I could assume as much,” I shrug, still not impressed by any new information.

“And that her complex relationship with her husband, mixed with the silent contempt that she holds for him beneath her public shows of loyalty, has prompted her to do something completely shocking?”

“Get on with it,” I demand, growing frustrated.

“Natalia Barone has been helping women escape her husband’s trafficking ring behind his back,” Luc says bluntly.

Now that is something surprising that I did not know about. “The Barones only traffic drugs and weapons, not women.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Luc continues. “Turns out, he has a secret ring of sex trafficking that has roots all the way into some of the darkest corners of the underground and all the way up into the laps of some high-level officials, too.”

I groan aloud when I hear that last part. This sounds precisely the sort of case Hal Monroe, that arrogant detective, would relish. Men like him are scum.

“How do you know about this?” I ask him.

“I killed two birds with one stone. I also went to talk with Alonzo’s daughter like you wanted.”

“ She told you all of this?” I frown. “I’m not sure I’d trust her. She’s got her own ambitions to get out from her father’s shadow, and her character is lacking.”

“I know. Which is why I didn’t listen to a word she said. I just kept her talking long enough so that I could swipe her phone and look through all the text messages between her and Natalia Barone,” he explains. “Sera went on and on about how jealous she is of Isla and how she’s been trying to manipulate things in order to expose Isla’s vulnerabilities so that she can get her out of the picture.”

Rage surges through me. I can’t stand that little bitch . “Tipping off who ?”

“I’m not sure, but I’d wager it’s the Barones. I’d bet that’s the cover she and Natalia are using in order to talk to each other. Angelo received a few secrets about his biggest rival’s love interest, which led to Sera and Natalia having a reason to communicate openly. It makes sense. Sera believes she deserves the fame Isla received as a dancer. Now that they’ve temporarily removed Isla from the stage, Sera is trying to take her spot any way she can.”

“I’m going to kill her,” I say with an icy calmness.

“Whoa, hold off on that for now,” Luc warns. “I wouldn’t advise killing the daughter of your underboss. Yeah, she’s a manipulative little bitch, but she’s not worth fracturing the family over.”

I hate the fact that Luc is right. I prefer to solve things with the finality of a lethal, violent act. It’s cleaner that way. No loose ends to tie up. But I can’t take out Alonzo’s daughter. That would be the end of the already tenuous loyalty that my underboss has toward my empire.

I pace the room, thinking about what Angelo Barone’s big play could be. He wants nothing more than to take me down. He’s probably the one who sent that dirty cop to my penthouse to scope things out with Isla there, and he’s probably the one behind the attack that followed. If he’s gotten wind of how protective I am over Isla, then he knows she’s my weakness, and it’s only a matter of time before he tries to exploit that weakness. I won’t let that happen.

“Good work,” I tell Luc. “You were right to come and tell me all of that in person.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

“At the moment, nothing .”

“What?” he asks in surprise.

“I know it sounds like an under reaction, especially for me and my usual desire to kill first and ask questions later,” I say. “But Angelo Barone is a powerful man, and taking him down requires thought and planning. And today, I’ve promised Isla that I will take her on a date. ”

“You’re joking.”

“No,” I say, giving him a stern look of warning. “I’m not.”

“Look, Vincent, I get it—you really like the girl. But you’re the most powerful mafia don in all of Vegas. You can’t kneel to a woman. It will ruin you,” he says, treading lightly and trying not to enrage me by meddling in my personal affairs. “I understand what it feels like to want something so badly that you’re willing to risk everything for it. But you’ve got to realize that it will be your undoing.”

I look at him carefully and try to read between his words. “This isn’t the same as you admiring Leonardo Conti’s woman from afar, Luciano,” I say, calling him out on a secret infatuation that I’ve picked up on as of late. “Yours is a fantasy —a woman locked away in an estate so fortified that it might as well be an ivory tower. Mine is a different situation entirely. Isla is here under my control. She is mine, and only I will decide how big a role that will play in my life. Do you understand me?”

I can see him biting back his anger at my having voiced his secret aloud. But it’s just the two of us here, and he knows I won’t broadcast his hidden attraction for another man’s woman—a rival’s woman, for that matter. So, he simply nods and stops questioning me.

“Just keep an eye on things,” I say as I walk him to the door. “Talk to Gabriel at the bar and see if he can cough up any more useful information to add to what you’ve already found out. After my day with Isla, we’ll plan and confront Angelo and his crew. A three-way war between the biggest Vegas crime families is too risky. I’d like to keep the Conti’s out of my business for now, so taking down the Barones will require some tact and careful precision.”

“Whatever you say,” Luc grumbles as he turns to leave. He’s disgruntled, but he’ll get over it. Maintaining my dominance over Vegas, without further endangering Isla, is paramount. That is exactly what I intend to do.

“What was that all about?” Isla asks when she emerges from her bedroom, dressed and ready to go.

“Nothing,” I lie. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

The drive out to the red rocks is pleasant. It’s an unusual departure from my normal daily routine. Business prevents me from visiting more often than I like. Isla’s increasingly wide eyes show she’s never been here. With a dance training schedule like hers, she’s probably never been outside the strip or even the dance studio much.

“It’s breathtaking!” she says as I drive up to the base of the canyon. The red and cream-colored sandstone stretches as far as the eye can see, towering over us in steep cliffs and spanning the distance at our feet.

“Would you like to take a walk with me?” I ask.

She nods eagerly and practically jumps out of the car as soon as I park. Feeling free out here is not just about her stretching her wings and leaving the gilded cage where I kept her, but also about my liberation. Business demands, particularly regarding the Barones, leave me little time for peaceful, outdoor contemplation. Not that I’m alone now, but Isla brings me an even greater sense of peace than solitude ever has.

Her presence placates my demons. They can’t compare to the brilliant light of Isla’s pure goodness.

“Tell me more about your past,” I say, as we walk hand-in-hand along the picturesque backdrop of the canyon.

“There isn’t much to tell, not much that’s good anyway,” she says, shaking her head.

“I want to know about it,” I press. “I want to know what trauma in your past has made you so strong.”

“I never told you I had trauma in my past.”

“You didn’t need to. Strength like yours doesn’t grow from a flowery backstory. It grows from pain and necessity.”

When Isla first talks about her childhood, she starts out sounding quiet and reserved. She tells me about her mother’s death, the upheaval of her formative years as she was tossed into group homes and foster care. But by the time she talks about her teen years, her tone has changed to one of anger and fierce determination. Her drive to secure a dance scholarship and her resolve to never need anyone again in order to survive on her own are beyond impressive. Her story also triggers something else in me—a deep, potent protective urge to keep her safe.

“No one will ever hurt you again,” I tell her when she finishes detailing the account of her past and opening up her most private wounds to me. “I will make sure of it.”

Isla looks at me, and I feel swallowed whole by her innocence. Nothing and no one will ever touch her again, besides me. It’s no longer just a promise, but my sheer obsession to ensure that she remains protected at my side.

Sure, I have a million other things to take care of too, mainly putting down Angelo Barone and his crew. My life has taken an unexpected turn, and a ballerina is now my most important possession. We both take one last long look back at the canyon before leaving. Isla breathes in the air deeply and closes her eyes as if committing the colors at the edges of the sky in the late afternoon to memory.

On the drive home, Isla stares out the window quietly and I wonder what she’s thinking about. Upon returning home, I will have tasks to complete and may need to visit one of my casinos. It will depend on whether I need to meet Gabriel Reyes in person or if Luc has any useful information. Then, I’ll need to figure out what the hell I’m going to do about?—

“Vincent, look out!” Isla screams as a car comes careening across the median from the other direction and heads straight toward us.

I yank the steering wheel, and the tires squeal as I try to get us clear of the impact. I’m able to avoid a head-on collision, but the other vehicle still hits us. It barrels into my driver’s side door, momentarily stunning me, pinning me against the metal and trapping me inside the car.

“Are you alright?” I ask Isla, reaching over to make sure she’s okay, and grimacing when I twist my shoulder.

“Yes, I am—” The passenger door flies open, and a man wrenches her from the car, cutting her statement short. “Vincent!” Her scream for help cracks my heart in two as I reach for my gun and fire at the men who are holding onto her arms and pulling her back toward the car that hit us.

“Let her go!” I shout as I fire. “Let her go, you motherfuckers, before I kill every one of you!”

I wrestle against the car, but I’m pinned too tightly. I can’t even turn all the way around to get a clear shot once they walk around the car. For fear of hitting Isla, I stopped shooting. Instantly, the car sped past, allowing me a clear view of its driver. Barone’s capo.

“ Fuck !” I shout inside the empty car as I strain to reach for my cell phone that flew across the dashboard on impact. As soon as I have it in my hand, I call Luc. And before he can even say hello, I holler into the phone.

“They’ve taken her!” I shout. “They orchestrated a crash when Isla and I were leaving the canyon. My car is a mangled mess that has me pinned beneath the crunched driver’s side door, but they pulled Isla out of the car and took her. I couldn’t shoot them because I couldn’t get a clear shot.”

“Slow down, Vincent,” Luc says. “ Who took her?”

“ The Barones ,” I growl. “I saw the driver as he sped off with her in the back—three men in total—and I recognized the one driving. It was one of Angelo’s capos. You’ve got to come get me out of this car, and I’ve got to go after them and get Isla back.”

“On my way,” Luc says. I can hear the urgency in his voice and the sound of his car engine starting. “Was she hurt or injured at all in the crash?”

“No, not that I could tell. But they’ve got her now, Luc. And she saw me kill one of Angelo’s informants at the theatre,” I remind him. “Angelo knows that she’s my weakness, that’s why he took her. I know it, and you know what that will mean for her.”

“Yeah, I do,” he sighs. “It means that she won’t be unharmed for long.”

“ Hurry ,” I say before hanging up.

I need to get to Isla. And I swear to God that if Angelo Barone or any of his men lays a finger on her, I will tear them apart limb from limb with my bare hands.

When Luc arrives, he brings Marco along, and they both attempt to open the car door from the outside. I’ve already torn up my hands trying to get it open, and I’m pretty sure I dislocated my shoulder in the accident. But as soon as I’m finally free from the car, I grab my gun, my phone, and tell them we need to go.

“There’s no time to waste,” I say as Luc grabs my arm and pops my shoulder back in. “I’ve got to get her back.”

“How are you going to do that?” Marco asks as the three of us get in his car and race back toward the strip. “If Angelo knows he can use Isla as leverage against you, he will use every bit of advantage out of holding her in his possession for as long as possible.”

“You need to be strategic,” Luc advises. “Think this through before you fly off the handle and do something that you can’t rein in.”

It’s much too late for that. I’ve already flown off the handle the moment that I watched Isla being pulled away from me.

“I’m not worried about being able to rein anything back in,” I say as rage consumes me. “It’s Angelo Barone who should be worried about what I’m going to do now.”