Page 30 of Fixate (Devious Mafia Daddies #2)

Ricardo

Life balanced itself out after I got caught buying a sex toy.

Words I thought I’d never think. First of all, how could balance be found after something like that? And second, why the fuck was I buying sex toys?

Coming to Vegas had changed so much in my life. I wasn’t sure what it said about me that all the changes were centered around another person. Hopefully that I’d found someone worth spending time with.

Pharrell went out of his way to make sure everything we did was consensual. His ability to communicate blew through everything I’d know in relationships. It was like he had a manual none of the rest of us did.

But then again, I found it easier and easier to tell him things as time moved on. The days turned to weeks, which surprised me when I finally stopped to look at a calendar. Life was going so quickly, yet instead of dreading it, I was ready to jump in headfirst.

Daddy made sure I could.

His support gave me the confidence I needed to take charge in ways I hadn’t before. For instance, when I scheduled a security check for today, I expected the men to be ready. It was for the casino, which should have been easy enough.

What I actually found when I arrived were a bunch of assholes goofing off while halfway paying attention to the monitors.

It was as if they thought Pharrell’s name alone would keep the riffraff out.

I knew from my time with the Romanos that this wasn’t always the case.

There were groups out there, equal in size, but oftentimes smaller, who sought to dethrone a king.

I refused to think about what would happen if one of them were successful.

Losing Dante would have hurt. He’s like a brother to me.

Losing Pharrell would end me.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I said to the group after watching them shoot the shit for a few minutes. “You’re not paying attention to anything.”

Their eyes widened when they saw me pointing toward the monitors.

Potts, a guy in his forties who had a bad habit of biting his nails, spoke up first. “Uhm, sorry sir. We were just talking for a bit. Things have been fine though.”

“How can you be sure? If I’d wanted to hurt you three, you’d already be dead by now. You didn’t even realize I’d been standing in the back of the room for ten minutes.”

The guy beside Potts scoffed. I couldn’t remember his name, and with his badge flipped, I didn’t much care to ask either. Asshole.

“Yeah, but you’re you. I bet you could sneak up on anyone and kill them.”

I bristled at his words. “What is that supposed to mean?”

His eyes went wide. “Nothing, sir.”

The third man finally took his shot at explaining. “We are sorry, sir. This won’t happen again. Things have been quiet. We should have known there was —”

Just then, the phone rang. It wasn’t the regular phone though. It was the red one in the corner of the room that only meant problems were headed our way.

I grabbed it before any of the idiots in the room could. “This is Ricardo,” I answered.

“Um, sir. There’s been… well…”

“What is it?!”

“A bomb threat, sir, Ricardo, sir. There’s been a call to say it will go off in ten minutes. They didn’t say where it was.”

I slammed the phone down before they could say anything else.

“A fucking bomb threat!” I roared, making the men’s faces pale. “We have to get people out of here. And Pharrell…”

I froze when I remembered he was still in the shower after our morning together. He said he needed to do some grooming and wanted to soak up some heat since my feet and hands were like ice.

At the time, I’d laughed it off. Now I was furious because he would be several feet above us. Could he get downstairs in ten minutes with all the hotel guests trying to get out too?

I pulled my phone out to see if Pip was near him. He’d be able to assess things quickly enough. The three goons were still looking at me as if I were going to direct them on what to do next.

“Protocol,” I bit out at them as I turned to the door. “Fucking follow the protocol.”

When I’d done my initial walkthrough of the casino and learned everything, Pharrell had assured me there was something for every type of problem — fire, bomb threats, heists, etc. meaning these men had to know what to do.

Fuck. I hoped they did.

Pip answered on the third ring. “Howdy there.”

“No time to fuck around, Pip. Bomb threat. Get Pharrell and get out. Now.”

“Done.”

I heard the line disconnect and breathed a bit easier. Pip might not have been La Famiglia , but he was fucking close enough to count. If there was anyone I trusted enough to get Daddy to safety, he would be it.

Two steps out of the security office, I heard the blare of the fire alarm start. Fucking great.

Part of me wondered if this wasn’t part of the protocol. Maybe this was a way to mobilize people without having to yell about a bomb threat.

With that rationalized thought in mind, I took off towards the banks of stairs. There was no way Pharrell’s elevator would work with the alarm blaring. He’d have to take the long way down just like everyone else.

Except, that wasn’t the case.

Two minutes after my call with Pip, the two of them strode from the elevator like there was nothing wrong.

Clients and guests swarmed the bottom floor, all of them rushing to the front door to hit the main drag.

I didn’t even want to think about the number of people who’d been displaced in this rush.

Pip tore off as I reached them. His gaze scanned the crowd as he went, like he was hunting for something in particular.

I knew I should have called out to him. Hell, I should have been trying to figure out if there was actually a bomb and trying to get the police to help us.

But none of that was my priority.

No, it was the man in front of me, looking at me like he was terrified I’d been hurt.

“Daddy,” I said softly once I was within reach.

He pulled me to his chest. I could smell the fresh scent of his soap, letting me know he’d probably just finished his shower when Pip grabbed him.

“Mon Chou! I’m so glad you’re ok. What’s going on? We need to check on the security and find out what the status is,” he said while trying to drag me with him back the way I’d come.

“They’re pieces of shit. They were lounging around minutes before the call came. I took it and told them to follow protocol.”

He turned back at me with a grin. “Sounds like you might need to help me get new guys in there too.”

I thought of Tank and his NightShade people. He would be a good resource to call in for this type of thing. He vetted his men within an inch of their life. If anyone would bring us great recruits, he’d be it.

“Ok, Daddy. I’ll handle it.”

The noise swelled as more people rushed in from the various stores and floors above us. It was utter madness.

A man barged between me and Daddy, breaking the grip we had on one another. I was about to shout at him when I felt a sharp sting.

Looking down, I saw a knife sticking out of my gut. When I looked back up, Daddy was more steps away, his head turned back as he looked for me. I’d bent forward with the pain of the knife, meaning he couldn’t see me anymore.

As I opened my mouth to speak, it felt like the weight of the world crashed down on my shoulders. I was suddenly lethargic to the point where my eyes started to close without my permission.

Not today, motherfuckers.

I need to see him. To see Daddy.

Safe.

Need to get safe.

It was no use though. I felt the darkness closing in on me as I slid to the ground. Feet crashed against my body, trampling me as they tried to escape.

I groaned and curled into a ball, hoping it would protect me long enough for Daddy to get back to me. He wouldn’t leave me here. He couldn’t.

I was his. He’d said so.

As I closed my eyes, I hoped this bomb threat wasn’t real because with the time ticking and a stab wound, I worried I’d run out of good luck.

Pip

Fucking hell.

What a disaster.

Disarming a bomb was one of my least favorite activities. There was no blood, and it always left me feeling jittery afterwards. Probably the whole ticking clock aspect.

I needed to get back to Pharrell and Ricardo to see what else needed to be handled. But there were too many fucking people. Goddamn animals.

GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY.

I wanted to roar the words out loud. Wanted to let the beast free so they’d clear a path.

Except Pharrell had been clear about my conditions for staying. He said I had to put on my normal person suit when at the legit businesses. I could be as psycho as I wanted elsewhere. Just not here.

“Ricardo!” I heard Pharrell’s voice rising over the crowd. When I turned to look at him, he was in a blind panic, shoving people out of the way as he tried to fight against the flow.

I whistled sharply to get his attention. He whipped his head my way, then motioned to the area between us. I didn’t need to be close to understand him.

Something had happened to Ricardo. He’d been right here and then gone.

My first instinct would be to spread out to look. Maybe he got pushed around in the shuffle.

But there was something else telling me I should stay where I was. Something telling me to think about why Ricardo wouldn’t answer Pharrell’s call. If any two people were meant to be together, it was those two. That meant Ricardo would come every time his partner called, not the opposite.

I dropped into a crouch and watched how the bodies around me moved. There was a method to the madness, which I spotted right away. There was also some discord.

Enough to tell me something — or someone — was causing a break.

I shifted through the crowd, body still bent over. It was hard to keep my balance, but I managed. I’d been in worse conditions.

When I got closer to the disturbance, my blood turned to ice at what I saw.

Ricardo’s crumpled form jolted each time someone ran into him, though otherwise, it remained still.

Rushing forward, I leaned over him protectively as I assessed his body for wounds. It was easy to see the knife still sticking out of him and the blood coating his clothing and the floor beneath him.

Even with what I saw, he shouldn’t have been unconscious like this. He was made of tougher stuff. I knew because I’d been watching him for months now, making sure he was the right fit as Pharrell’s partner.

Since he’d proved himself to be a great fit, this made no fucking sense.

Also, how the fuck did he get stabbed?

Then it hit me.

Dammit.

This was a setup.

Someone called in the threat to cause panic, then went after the person Pharrell had come to care for most. It was a direct attack against a man I considered family.

This wouldn’t stand.

More importantly, we had to get Ricardo the help he needed before this got worse. I felt for his pulse, then sighed when I found it steady, though a bit slow.

I rose to my full height, then whistled sharply in three quick successions. It was enough to distract the people around me and also to get Pharrell’s attention. I waved him over, then stuck my arms out wide to create a barrier as much as I could.

“Back the fuck up,” I shouted when others got to close.

The second Pharrell was within reach, I yanked his suit to get him through the bodies. At Ricardo’s broken form, he collapsed.

Knowing he wasn’t fit for it, I called for an ambulance. There was probably one outside, but I needed them to get in here right fucking now with a stretcher and some answers.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Someone has been stabbed. I’m at The Casino Famiglia . First floor. By the slots on the far back left.”

The woman on the other end hummed as she clicked her keys. “Sir, I show there are paramedics already there. I’ll tell them your location. Hold tight. Would you like to stay on the line until they arrive?”

“No,” I said as I hung up. There were other important people to call.

Henri answered on the first ring. “You have them?”

I didn’t need him to tell me who he was referencing. We both understood Pharrell and Ricardo were a package deal these days. You couldn’t protect one without the other.

“They’re secure. Well, I have eyes on both.” I winced.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong? Tell me!”

I’d never heard him so flustered. While part of me hated it, I also enjoyed knowing he was more than the robot he tried to be. Pushing the knowledge away, I explained to him how I found Ricardo stabbed and on the floor. I also mentioned that Pharrell was worrying over him.

“Paramedics should be here soon.”

“And what about the bomb?! They need to get out.”

I laughed, then said, “The bomb has been handled. I took care of it first. If I hadn’t, then maybe he wouldn’t have been stabbed. But then again, it would be blowing up soon, so there’s that.”

Henri was surprisingly quiet for a minute before mumbling, “He deactivated a fucking bomb. Jesus Christ!”

“Pip.” Pharrell’s voice drew me from the amusement Henri brought out.

I looked down at his crouched form. He was covered in blood, likely from trying to see if there were any more wounds on his partner.

“Yes, Boss,” I answered. Henri was silent, likely because he was also listening.

“We’re going to get him to the hospital, then we’re going to go hunting.”

I smiled wide at that.

“My kind of hunting?”

Pharrell’s expression turned the darkest I’d seen yet. I reveled in the horror it would bring.

“Yes, Pip. Your kind of hunting. I’m going to tear this fucking city to shreds until I find who did this.”

“Sign me up. I love a good hunt.”

Henri groaned before ending the call. Poor thing. One day, he’d learn how to have a good time with some maiming and torture like the rest of us.