Chapter 2
?Nate
Present day – five years after Lexi’s party
Julian rolls up in a red Mustang convertible, and I throw my duffel into the back seat. He pulls me in for a hug as I close the door.
“So good to have you home, man!”
He pulls away from the curb, and we dart into traffic.
“You might as well ask. I know you’re dying to know,” he says, raising a brow at me and giving me a knowing look.
I’ve kept tabs on Lexi since that kiss on her eighteenth birthday. She walked away, and it killed me.
She had gone from a girl to a woman in the years I was away at college. I had to adjust myself under the table when I laid eyes on her. I haven’t forgotten that kiss. The way her body molded to mine, the softness of her perfect pink lips, and her vanilla and lavender scent forever in my brain.
I lied to her. I told her nothing could happen between us because I was entering the Army. I knew she was going to be engaged the next day, and like an asshole, I didn’t warn her. I chickened out, kissed her back, and lied to her face. Little did I know her uncle would be marrying her off to a monster. I only could think about her the entire time I was away. I hardly dated. Whenever I was with another woman, her face would pop into my head. She was too young for me. I was an adult; she had barely been eighteen. It was wrong. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about her twenty-four-seven.
She was marrying Matteo Russo. The son of George Russo, International arms dealer. Matteo is a sociopath. He has a different woman on his arm every night and a different one in his bed later that night.
“Her bachelorette party is tomorrow night at the casino, and we’re on security detail,” Julian says, looking over at me. Carmine offered me a job at the casino when my father told him I had gone into counterintelligence.
I’ve only been home once since I enlisted, for my father’s funeral two years ago. He died of a heart attack, which I believe is bullshit. I’ve been looking into his death ever since. I’m certain Carmine’s number one – Sal Graziano had something to do with it. He’s a slimy son of a bitch. He became head of security after my father died. He always wanted my father’s job and was all too happy to take it, even before my father was laid to rest. I swore to myself that I would prove it was him, and now that I’m back, I can focus on making that happen.
Julian has worked security at the casino since I enlisted.
“How is he allowing her to marry that sociopath?” I ask with a hiss.
“Money. Power. Take your pick.”
“He knows about Matteo’s reputation? What the fuck? I thought he was keeping Lexi on a short leash because of her ‘gift.’” I say with air quotes.
Lexi has what Carmine calls ‘a gift.’ He discovered it a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday. She had been sneaking out of the tower, going to other casinos, and winning big. Lexi has a sixth sense for detecting deception and recognizing hidden agendas. Her uncle has been using it to his advantage ever since. He’s made a lot of money and business deals because of her, so to let her go off and get married to someone who’s been a rival for decades doesn’t sit right with me.
“He’s made some arrangements with the Russo’s. They have no idea what she can do. He’s been telling people for years that she went into cybersecurity to help the business, and she will continue to work for the casino from her office a few floors down from his penthouse.”
I have to chuckle that she went into cybersecurity after sneaking out so many times. I nicknamed her Little Mouse the first day I met her; she was this tiny little thing and had an unnatural ability to fit into tight spaces, especially when she was somewhere she shouldn’t be.
“What has your contact come up with?” Julian asks.
The contact he’s asking about is my FBI contact. But not even Julian knows who it really is. He thinks I have a friend who’s still enlisted and is in counterintelligence. I enlisted and was trained as an explosive ordinance disposal -or EOD specialist. I also went into counterintelligence and was recruited by the FBI. I’ve been at Quantico for the past two years. My dad told me it was too much, and he was probably right.
The nightmares started soon after my first EOD mission, and the only way to quiet them was through the underground boxing matches that I participated in. Being back home, I hope the nightmares will subside. They take me to a very dark place, one where I can lose control very easily. I don’t have to be asleep for them to find me; they find me either way, awake or asleep; it doesn’t matter.
Now, I’ve been assigned to the Caruso family. The FBI and Interpol have been trying to take Carmine Caruso down for decades. His shady dealings are well hidden, and my association with the family puts me in a unique position.
I’ve been trying to get something to prove to Carmine that Matteo can’t be trusted. I finally found something that might do the trick, but waiting for confirmation is taking forever.
“Something pretty big, but they probably won’t have confirmation until Saturday.”
“The wedding is Saturday,” he says, raising a brow.
“You don’t think I don’t know that asshole?”
“I missed you too dickhead.”
I just hope Carmine sees how much Matteo could hurt Lexi and calls off the wedding.
Lexi -Present Day
“You about ready?” Scarlett asks as she peers around the door of my office.
Scarlett’s long red hair is in a ponytail, and she is wearing a green mermaid sequin mini dress.
“I’m not going,” I say, not looking away from my computer screen.
“You can’t miss your bachelorette party,” El says, popping up behind me.
“Seeing as I’m being forced to marry a womanizing asshole who brought a hooker to his apartment last night, I think I’m entitled to do whatever the fuck I want,” I say with a sarcastic tone.
“I know this is shit, sweetie, but you don’t have a choice,” Deirdre says from behind Scarlett.
The night after my eighteenth birthday, my uncle introduced me to my fiancé, Matteo Russo. He’s a womanizing sociopath whose father is an International arms dealer. That’s why he was so happy the night of my party. Not because he was glad to be celebrating but because I was old enough to announce the engagement.
Arranged marriages are not new in our family. My grandparents’ marriage was arranged, and they had been married for over fifty years. They were happy almost right away. My engagement is a business deal. Nothing more.
Last night, I called him to finalize plans with the photographer, and a woman answered Matteo’s phone. I heard a loud crack and then silence. He picked up the phone and was beyond angry that I dared call him. Asshole.
Scarlett takes my hand as I reluctantly click off my computer. Deirdre slips her arm around me, and we take the elevator up to my suite, one floor below my uncle’s penthouse. When I turned twenty-one, he gave it to Matteo and me as an engagement present. Luckily, my uncle wouldn’t let Matteo move in until the wedding night. My little tower sits empty, but I still sneak up there every so often using the secret door, which thankfully is still a secret, even after Scarlett, El, and I got caught a few weeks after my eighteenth birthday.
My uncle’s number one, Sal, had been following us, watching me win at different casinos in the city, until one night, he revealed himself and brought us to my uncle’s office. Why he picked that night, I have no idea. It was all on me. I got greedy and sloppy. I was trying to win enough to escape and it blew up in my face.
My uncle was beyond livid. He was red-faced and kept throwing things as he raged at El, Scarlett, and I. Deirdre threw herself under the bus and told him that she had left the security codes on her desk, and that’s how we slipped out.
I had to admit how I was winning. He made everyone leave the room and threatened Deirdre’s job if I didn’t tell him. I have the ability to read people and know if they are being truthful or not. My uncle calls it ‘my gift.’ He’s used it to his advantage ever since. I’ve sat in more meetings than I can count since he found out. He always told people I was in the room to learn the business because I was his heir. I’ve been on a very short leash ever since. He had me go into cybersecurity as a cover for my ability.
I put on my little purple and blue iridescent cocktail dress, throw my hair into a twist, and put on my matching stilettos. My bachelorette party is a joke. It’s at the casino in the VIP section.
Scarlett, El, and Deirdre are the only three that I will really know at my own bachelorette party. Matteo’s sisters, Giovanna and Grace, and Sal’s granddaughter, Valentina, will also be there.
Giovanna and Grace are the biggest bitches on the planet and only want to come to be seen. Valentina isn’t as bad, but she always follows Grace and Giovanna’s lead. They are also my bridesmaids, and I trust all of them about as far as I can throw them.
We take the elevator down to the hallway that leads to the VIP section. Two huge security guys are guarding the door. One pulls the red velvet rope aside, nods, and we all file in. The three other women already emptied a bottle of Dom, and a waitress is bringing a second bottle. All three get up, and it’s fake cheek kisses all around before they sit back down, and the gossip continues.
“Here’s to you and our big brother,” Grace says with a tiny hiccup.
“You are so lucky, Lexi,” Valentina says.
“Thanks,” I say dryly.
Julian climbs the stairs and flashes a smile at Scarlett, and she smiles back. He must be on security detail tonight. My breath catches as I see Nate following close behind him.
“What is he doing here?” I whisper to Scarlett.
“I have no idea,” she answers. Her eyes narrow as she looks at Julian.
I haven’t seen Nate since his father’s funeral two years ago. I avoided him at the service and faked a migraine so I could skip the cemetery and lunch afterward. He left a day later, but not before knocking on my door. Scarlett answered and told him I didn’t want to see him.
“He looked like I just kicked a puppy,” she told me after closing the door. “Maybe you should clear the air.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do if we are in the same room again. It went so well the last time,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“I don’t think he’d have come if he didn’t want to make things right, Lex.”
“I can’t,” I said quietly. “I just can’t. Maybe someday, but not now.”