King of Pain (Lords of Las Vegas #5)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Luke

Kate jolts, her wide eyes meeting mine, and then does exactly what I ask, slipping through the door I just left open.

If the situation were different, her reaction to my command would have me growling in satisfaction.

But I’ve got a job to do.

The Vendettis are big on muscles, swagger, and bad behavior. They’re light on intelligence, though, and that’s how we’re getting out of here. By outsmarting them.

I’m not the brightest bulb. In fact, in my family, I’m probably the least of everything. But I can outsmart these three bozos.

Not sure when I decided that Kate was coming with me. Maybe it’s the way she looks in the semi dark, tending my wounds. Or maybe I knew the second I looked into those big brown eyes. Yeah. I think it might have been then. So scared. So fragile…

I don’t normally get sentimental about the ladies, but her hands feel like silk and every part of her is pretty, from her pinky finger to her slender shoulders, right down to her gorgeous little feet and sweet toes.

So yeah. First, I’m going to have to get Guerriero out of the way. Then, when Vincent comes for Kate…

It’s about as good a plan as I can come up with.

And honestly, it’s not half bad. It would be better if I wasn’t injured. Vincent and Vigo are massive, but Guerriero…

That guy looks like the fucking Hulk.

Jumping up on the bench right by the door, I wait as Guerriero calls again, lets out a rumble and starts stomping toward the changing room. Looks like the Hulk, moves like a rhino.

I wait until he appears in the door and then I bring the pool skimmer pole down right on his head.

It’s not that thick and the fucking thing bends around his skull as he roars, taking a swipe and sending me flying across the room. I hit the other wall hard, the pain shooting through me.

Okay. Maybe my plan sucked.

But I’m committed now. I’ve still got the skimmer pole in my hand, and I make a quick jab, getting him right in the solar plexus.

He doubles over and I don’t hesitate, thrusting the pole between his legs and right up into his ball sack.

Fucker goes down like a brick house.

Using the string, I hogtie that Hulk, wrapping him tight. Then, grabbing a dirty towel, I stuff that shit in his mouth. “Love,” I call to Kate. “I’m going to need some of that tape.”

“Why?” she pokes her head in. “Oh. Be right back.”

Her flip flops clip-clap across the house and she returns with a roll of medical tape and small set of scissors.

I take the roll and wrap it several times around his head to hold the towel in place.

He must be recovering because now his eyes are promising death as he glares back up at me while I tape.

“Sorry, Gorilla,” I pat him on the shoulder. “But I don’t fancy staying.”

Then I rise, pulling Kate into the other room. “Listen, love, when Vincent returns it’s the same drill.”

“We could just leave now.”

I try the knob. “Locked. We could break a window, but I don’t know if it’s alarmed or not.”

She nods, nipping at her lip. “I’m just worried about you.”

“Thanks, love. But I’ll be fine, and Vincent is the ticket out because he should have the keys…”

She nods, squeezing my hand. “Good idea.”

“We have two choices once we’re out the door. Head to the gate or go over the wall. The gate is risky, the wall difficult.”

“The wall,” she answers, squaring her shoulders.

“You sure?”

“I do my share of Pilates. I got this.”

I wink at her. “Good girl.” I test my shoulder. It hurts like a mother. “Are there any pain killers in that first-aid kit?”

“Ibuprofen.”

“I was hoping for something stronger,” I mutter as she gets out the little packets of pills and opens two of them.

Crossing to the sink, she fills a glass of water, bringing it back to me.

“You know,” I say, popping the pills in my mouth and raising the glass to my lips to swallow them down, “you never told me your specialty.”

“It’s too early to commit, but I’m thinking of becoming a surgeon,” she answers.

I give her a one-sided grin. “Beauty, brains, and talent?”

A ghost of a smile touches her lips. “I was out on a date with Vincent Vendetti. You tell me how smart that makes me?”

“Did you mumble something about a dinner?”

She sighs. “Being in school for as long as I have makes a girl poor. He offered to take me out to Volturno and I’d read an article about how great it was, but really pricey.”

A sound outside catches my attention. It’s only been forty-five minutes but I’m sure Vincent has decided to collect his date early. He doesn’t strike me as the patient type.

I wave for Kate to go hide and she thinks to slip off those flip flops before she races into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I position myself against the wall next to the front door.

I maybe should have traded out weapons. A bent pool skimmer stick wasn’t even good the first time.

The door swings open and Vincent strolls in, swaying on his feet. Fucker is wasted.

He doesn’t even notice me as he stumbles in. “G?”

“Busy,” I rumble before I bring the stick around, smacking the crazy piece of shit with all I’ve got right in the face…

He shot me two hours ago. I don’t feel bad as he falls to the floor. I just wish I had more string.

But crossing to the medical kit, I pull out the three remaining rolls of tape and go to work. Then I grab the keys from Vincent that are hanging out of his pocket.

“Love.”

Kate appears a moment later, her eyes wide as she looks at Vincent. “You’re really good at that.”

“We all have our skills.” The fact that this is mine doesn’t say much about me. But I gesture for her to come as I grab a kitchen chair from the table.

We slip out onto the pool deck and around the back of the pool house. The wall has got to be seven feet high but with the chair, I’m able to hoist Kate up on the top without much issue. When it comes to pulling myself up, my shoulder hurts like fucking hell, but I get there.

We’re straddling the wall facing each other. The robe is tight around her waist but the long length of her legs are on full display, the flip flops in her hand, her bare feet dangling in the breeze.

“I’ll jump down and then I’ll catch you,” I tell her, swinging my leg over one side.

“Are you sure? I know I said your arm was just a cut, but it must hurt terribly…”

I chuck her chin. “I’ll be fine, love. Men like me are supposed to break for women like you.”

Her eyes go wide, her lips parting in a way that looks completely kissable.

“Let’s get out of here and then we can worry about recovery.”

She nods, and taking a deep breath, I make the leap. On a normal day, it’s not that far, but the landing makes my teeth rattle, pain radiating through me.

Ignoring it, I turn back and gesture for her to jump. She does, landing in my arms.

It fucking hurts like hell, but also, she feels amazing pressed to my body like that. Her arms come around my neck, her breath fanning my face.

I lightly set her on her feet. With one arm still around my neck, she tugs on the flip flops with the other. And then, taking her hand, we’re off down the street. “You got a phone?”

“No,” she shakes her head. “Vincent took it.”

“Mine too,” I huff. No calling my family then. They’re going to notice I’m gone. Roman too. But I need to tell them what the Vendettis have planned.

And I need to tell them that I messed up the permits. They should have never given the job to me. I can’t be trusted with shit like that.

I nearly fucked this whole thing up and it’s my job to fix it. Which means telling them the permits have almost expired.

Only Roman knew and last I saw him, he wasn’t moving. Roman is ten times smarter than me. I should be on the ground, and he should be here.

Not that I even know where I am. And honestly, directions are not my thing.

But as we slip through the dark, the flip flops clopping along, I see a little Honda Fit parked on the street.

Reaching for the handle, I give it a pull and find that it’s unlocked. “Score.”

“Are we…” Kate sucks in a breath. “Stealing a car?”

“Think of it as borrowing,” I tell her.

“We can’t do that.”

“You want to keep walking? Vigo’s going to come after us when he finds Vincent and Gorilla.”

She nips at her lip, and it’s cute as shit, a second before she nods.

I get into the driver’s seat and pull out the wires, the car firing up as she slides into the passenger seat, closing the door and doing up her buckle.

A laugh ripples from my chest. “Safety first,” I rumble before I slam the car into gear and drive off.

She looks over at me, her mouth opening and closing. “You should put yours on too.”

“My shoulder is not up for buckling.” I could. But it’s not worth the pain.

“Oh,” she says softly before she unclicks her own and leans over me, her face close to mine again.

Damn, this woman smells so good. Her hair tickles my neck as she reaches in front of me and pulls on the belt, clicking it in place. Then she slides back in her seat and does her own. “Thank you for not leaving me,” she says as we start driving through the dark.

“You’re welcome,” I grunt in return. And then I draw in a deep breath.

Because our night is just beginning, and we’ve got several things to discuss.

“You any good with directions?” They are like a bunch of things that when they get in my head, I swear they jumble all around. I couldn’t navigate for us even if I knew what town we were in. I know we drove for a solid half hour outside of Vegas.

“I’m all right with them but I’ve only been in Vegas like three days. I have no idea where anything is.”

In the rearview mirror I see the headlights of a car go speeding past a cross street, the outlines of a GT3 unmistakable.

“Fuck,” I mutter and kill the lights of the Fit, taking a left turn and then hitting the gas. “Good thing you did up those belts.”

“What? Why?” she asks, her hand coming to grip my arm.

I hit the accelerator.

It doesn’t matter which direction we go this exact moment, as long as we slip away from here. I’ll figure out how to reach my family after I know we’re safe.