16. Has The Casino King Chosen His Queen?
SIXTEEN
HAS THE CASINO KING CHOSEN HIS QUEEN?
“ O h my God …” she cried again, the pit in her stomach about to make her sick.
“When was this?” Dante slid the paper out of her hands, keeping her from staring at it a moment longer, to see the date.
“Today’s paper,” Lucca informed him. “And I’m sure you’ll get the front page again tomorrow due to the boat blowing up.”
“Get the editor in chief on the phone and remind him who he really fucking works for,” Dante ordered fiercely.
His son nodded.
Dante now looked at Amo. “I want you and Drago to switch off guarding Nadia until we find One-Shot.”
Amo went to firmly nod his own head when Lucca spoke up.
“Drago’s not going back to bodyguarding anytime soon. He has his wife to worry abou—”
“That was an order,” Dante boomed as he hit the desk with his fist.
Nadia could see it then, as the ice-blue eyes battled against the blue-green ones.
The shift of power that was trying to be out won from father to son.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Lucca must’ve been his underboss, and he sought the chair his father sat in.
She just wondered how much longer it was going to be before the bloodshed.
And for bloodshed to happen against your own family, of those you once loved, was a crime of the highest accord. It was simply unforgivable.
Nadia would know because she had survived it.
The boss’ tone shifted, his order now coming out as a plea. “Please, just ask Drago. I’m sure you could figure something out to keep Katarina protected while he’s with Nadia.”
“I don’t think One-Shot will go for Kat again. I think, after that,” Leo finally spoke up, pointing at the paper that sat on his father’s desk, “Nadia might be next, especially if she’s an easy target with no guard. She needs the best,” he warned his brother gravely.
Whoever Drago was, she could only imagine he was the best of the Caruso men, right along with Amo, who had proven himself on the yacht.
Lucca seemed taken aback by Leo’s response, moving his eyes to his younger brother’s. It was like they spoke to each other without words before he nodded, agreeing to do it.
“Thank you,” Dante said with relief.
If it was possible, blue-green eyes went back to staring at her even more curiously, making her head spin more than it already was with how they were talking about her as if she wasn’t in the room.
“Dante, can I talk with you?” Nadia interjected quietly. “Alone.”
None of the men waited to hear Dante’s response, beginning to leave.
“See you soon,” Amo told her.
Leo, however, paused at the door, turning to give her a last good look. “Bye, Nadia.”
“Bye, Leo.” She waved at him with sadness in her heart. She couldn’t help but feel hurt to see him leave when she just wanted more time to help him.
Waiting until he was completely gone from view, she finally turned back around to face Dante, only to see Lucca still standing there, closely watching her. He did so a moment longer before he spoke.
“It was nice meeting you, Ms. Brooks.” His eyes glowed as a slow smile curved his lips. “I hope to see you around.”
Those words should have scared her, coming from The Boogieman.
However, there was no chill that went up her spine when he had said them, seeing he had genuinely meant them.
Whatever had just taken place, she wasn’t quite sure what to think, other than she strangely got the approval of the most dangerous man in Kansas City.
“Nice meeting you, too, Lucca.”
She watched him quietly disappear and couldn’t help but think what it would have been like to not have gotten his approval.
Dante got right to it, without hearing what she had wanted to talk to him about. “You can stay here at the hotel. I have a roo—”
“No,” Nadia said, stopping him.
“No?” He looked at her, not comprehending what she must be referring to. “No, what?”
“As in, no, I’m not staying here. I haven’t been home in days,” she clarified. “I just want to go home and sleep in my bed and in my clothes.”
Stunned, Dante clearly hadn’t considered what she might want. It took him a few seconds to get his thoughts in order. “Okay, Amo will take you home, then, and stay with you for tonight.”
Nadia shook her head. “Your men are clearly spread thin. He can take me home, but I’ll be okay for tonight. Haley is my roommate, so it’s not like I’ll be alone. Besides”—she looked at the godforsaken newspaper—“whoever it is wanting to kill you won’t know we’re back till tomorrow.”
Opening his mouth, he then quickly closed it before he seemed to say something else entirely as he went around the desk to stand in front of her. “If this is about the paper, fuck the paper.”
“Dante, I run Moonbeam; how am I supposed to get donors after—”
“Donors are not going to be a problem,” he assured her.
Angry with his nonchalant response, Nadia went for the door.
“I’m sorry.” Dante grabbed her arm, stopping her from taking another step. “I’m sorry I dragged you into any of this,” he apologized sincerely, bringing her closer to him and resting his head on hers.
Nadia’s breath hitched. It was the closest they had been since …
She took a deep breath, trying not to go back to that night on the yacht. She needed to keep her head straight enough to leave.
“Listen, this is a lot. I just need to go home and clear my head, okay? I can come back tomorrow, and we can talk about this after a good night’s rest.” She emphasized the word this for whatever the hell was happening between them.
They had yet to talk about what they were or if there was even a possibility of them.
But she was sure Dante didn’t even know himself yet.
Slowly, he nodded his head against hers then pulled away to let her leave. “Good night, Nadia.”
She thought watching Leo tell her goodbye was hard, but this was excruciating, and they weren’t even saying bye; it was just for one night. “Good night, Dante.”
Waiving Amo goodbye, she unlocked her apartment door, only to be tackled as soon as the door was closed.
“I’ve been worried sick.” A familiar, sweet woman squeezed her to death for an eternity before she pulled away and started hitting her. “You scared the shit out of me, Nadia!”
“I’m sorry.” She laughed, trying to dodge the love hits. “I sent you a text saying I lost my phone, but I was all right!”
“You’re supposed to be the responsible one. How could you lose your phone?”
“Yeah, well, it’s surprisingly not hard when you’re getting shot at.” The smart comeback slipped through her lips.
“What?” Haley suddenly stopped hitting her. “You were shot at?”
“Yes—”
Nadia got the breath knocked out of her when Haley grabbed her for a hug again. “But I’m fine,” she assured her best friend that she didn’t even get a scratch on her.
“Thank God!” Haley cried then pulled herself together. “What the hell happened?”
Nadia was able to answer simply, “Dante Caruso happened.”
Her friend’s mouth dropped open. Then, seeming to remember something, she went to the coffee table and picked up today’s paper. “Oh, I know.”
Going over, she slipped the paper from Haley’s hand and took a seat on the couch, staring down at it ominously. “Yeah, well, he gives Tony Montana a run for his money.”
“Spill,” Haley said, sitting down next to her.
Knowing Haley would go to her grave with what she would tell her, she spilled everything that had happened since she had walked into the hotel casino on Friday to today, letting her know that the rumors about Dante Caruso were true.
There were several moments of silence after she got done with her story while Haley took in everything she had said before she spoke. “Do you know what you’re going to do or say to him tomorrow?”
Nadia shook her head, staring down at the black and white photo again.
“I think I really like him,” she finally admitted, more to herself than to Haley.
“But I don’t think he’d ever care for me the way I feel myself beginning to care for him.
” It was true and blatantly obvious that the man she was falling for in a mere weekend had already given his heart away to another woman many years ago, his heart that was now buried along with her.
“You sure about that?” Haley asked softly, pointing at Dante’s face in the photo.
As she let her eyes drift, her heart skipped a beat. She had been so focused on herself in the bathtub, as it was humiliating to be undressed on the front page of the newspaper in her city, that she hadn’t really gotten a good look at him.
The way Dante looked at her was the way any woman would dream to be looked at. There was so much care, tenderness, and … love in a single look that it had Nadia wanting to run back to the casino hotel right now.
“By the way, you forgot to mention how hot he was in that folder of yours that you made of him. I would have picked him if I kne—”
“Desmond!” Nadia gasped, remembering Haley had had her own meeting. “How did it go?”
“Well …” Haley started, not knowing where to begin, “I think I might have gotten you more than just a donation.”
“What?” Nadia screamed in excitement. “Spill!”
“I will, but not tonight,” she told her.
“Your story is enough for one night, so we’ll save mine and Desmond’s for another day.
Now, I’m going to bed before you make me spoil it.
” Haley laughed, quickly starting to leave.
She knew if she stayed there, Nadia would have it out of her in five minutes, and they needed to get some rest.
“No fair!” Nadia yelled at her friend before she disappeared behind her bedroom door. The silence hit her hard, reminding her that she was finally alone.
Nadia slowly brought her eyes back to the black and white photo. Only she no longer saw herself in it anymore.
Had he been looking at her like this the entire time, and she had simply missed his glances? Or did the photographer snap the picture at the perfect moment, making it look like more than it was?
I have one night to decide.