CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
BACK FROM THE DEAD
BIANCA
M y best friend stood before me inside a retro diner in the city of Las Vegas. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
It was like a nightmare had played out before she arrived.
I hugged Tori again. “You’re really here. I can’t believe it.”
“I’m here because of Ritchie,” Tori admitted.
I released Tori and stepped to Ritchie, throwing my arms around his hulking frame. “Thank you for getting my best friend here.” I peeked around his muscled bicep at Catch.
“Thank you,” I mouthed to my fiancé.
He smiled. “Ok, that hug has gone on long enough.”
Ritchie stepped back. “You’re welcome, Bianca.”
“Ok, girls, let’s eat, then we’re giving Bianca a proper bachelorette night. Vegas style.” Asia grinned from ear to ear.
Ritchie whispered something in Tori’s ear. She giggled. “Yes, I’ll be fine.”
He nodded.
I had my girls with me the night before my wedding. Wedding. I was getting married tomorrow. Wow.
What about our families? They’d miss our wedding. It was going to be ok. I was marrying the man I loved.
Amber’s eyes were wild with shock and amazement as she sat our large group at a table in the center of the diner.
She whispered in my ear. “Ask your fiancé about his cousin. Because if he looks anything like any of these fine men I’ll be in heaven.”
I chuckled. “Fine, I’ll ask Catch who he has in mind.”
“Thank you, Bianca.”
I didn’t know her story. Was she a struggling college student? Never been loved right before? One thing was for certain, if she thought getting mixed up with a man in our circle would be sunshine and rainbows, she was in for a big surprise.
I scanned the handsome faces at our table. These guys had gone from strangers to friends in a few short months. A smile curled my lips.
Ritchie occupied the seat at the end of the table, with Tori by his side. I took the seat next to her. Catch sat on my right, while Romeo claimed the seat next to him. Across from Ritchie was Ezra, with Simone leaning against his shoulder, laughing at something he said.
Those two seemed to be getting along better. I still felt like Simone was holding back. She harbored secrets from me and the girls.
Their physical interactions revealed a deep familiarity between them. She couldn’t keep her secrets hidden much longer. Once the Tyra situation was resolved, we were going to have a serious conversation with Simone. No more secrets within our group.
I caught a glimpse of Asia, who sat between Simone and Rémy. She clutched Romeo’s hand across the table while her lips were glued to Rémy’s cheek. Their possessive gazes lingered on Asia.
She sucked up the brothers’ attention. Greedy girl. A smile curled my lips.
Catch did all of this for me. And to think I was upset with him less than thirty minutes ago. He was learning how to make me happy. Sometimes his way of doing things pissed me off. But it was special nonetheless.
My shoulders relaxed. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to look over my shoulder. There wasn’t anyone trying to kill us in Vegas. However, back home Tyra was back from the dead. I knew she planned to take each of us out individually.
“Bianca, I have a few special items for you,” Asia stated, strutting over with her oversized gold purse.
She pulled a white veil from her purse. The words along the bottom of the veil read: Let’s Party.
“Good thing you didn’t add a cheesy line like ‘last night single.’” I smirked.
Catch’s brows dipped.
“The way your man goes bat shit crazy over you I wasn’t serving up some poor asshole on a silver platter.” Asia shook her head.
Everyone burst into laughter except Catch.
“Smart move, Asia,” my fiancé stated.
Catch plastered his lips on mine. He pulled back a little. “This won’t be an easy night for me. The guys are taking me for a little bachelor party.”
“Don’t fuck any strippers,” I ordered.
“There’s only one woman I’m interested in fucking,” he muttered.
“Ok that’s enough,” Asia bit out.
“The entire table knows that, Catch. You and the guys will have fun and so will the girls and me. My men know they can touch but that’s it. I’ll have their balls if they think about fucking another woman,” she snarled at Remy and Romeo.
Romeo caressed her waist. “We’re only giving Catch a bachelor party because it’s tradition.”
“What’s tradition in your world is fucking women at the bachelor party and having goomahs.”
Rémy ran a hand over his hair. “That’s true, but we don’t want goomahs or the desire to fuck other women,” Rémy whispered.
“We’re just making it clear this isn’t a free pass night.” Tori glared at Ritchie.
He stared back at her like she grew an extra head. “I’ll only be climbing all over one woman later tonight.”
Tori caressed Ritchie’s face and crushed his lips. It was the cutest thing. She deserved love. All my girls did. Simone was the only woman at the table who had nothing to say.
“Simone, is everything good?” I asked.
“Yes. Ezra’s not interested in other women. Now that we’re back in each other’s lives. There was that one who I just can’t forget.” Simone snapped her fingers. “What was her name? She aided Tori on the flight back from Utah.”
“Opal,” Tori stated.
“Yes, her,” Simone snapped.
Ezra threw his hands in the air. “A lot happened in five years, Simone.”
“Who’s fault is that?” Tears clung to her lashes.
My heart went out to my best friend.
“You knew what we were dealing with,” he whispered.
“I do. It destroyed us,” she mumbled.
“We’re here now. The fact that you’re still my...”
Simone’s eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Ezra,” she warned.
“You’re still mine, Simone.”
“I’m not, Ezra,” she gritted out through bared teeth.
He gripped her neck and devoured her lips. Simone’s eyelids fluttered as she pulled back smiling at him.
My poor friend was lying to herself. She was in love with him. I didn’t know the complete story of their past time spent together but it appeared to be pretty intense.
Simone blinked a few times before her gaze scanned each of us. “Asia and I have a sweet night planned.”
Simone’s eyes met Tori’s. “After we eat, we’re hitting the streets. You’ll be in good hands, T.”
I squeezed Tori’s shoulder.
“Yeah.” Tori’s lips inched upward. “I’m ready.”
Ritchie curled a big arm around Tori’s waist, pulling her into his chest. Her fingers caressed his hand.
Asia placed the tierra on my head. My eyes moved to my possessive fiancé beside me. I slid a hand along his stubbled jaw. “Thank you, Callum.”
He didn’t waste time nibbling on my lips like we were the only two people in the restaurant.
“Bianca, I love you,” he muttered against my lips.
“Callum, I love you, too.”
Sitting tall, I fluffed the veil over my shoulders. “Let’s party, girls.”
***P***
As we strolled down the bustling strip, my friends and I each held onto our towering cups filled with the irresistible hurricane cocktail.
Tori sucked on the straw holding it delicately between two fingers. The smile on her face was infectious. I wasn’t sure I wanted to come between her and her drink.
“So T, spill your fucking guts.” I urged bumping her shoulder.
“Yeah, spill bitch,” Simone pushed from my right.
Tori’s eyes darted towards Asia on her right, then shifted to me and Simone. “So, the house – or should I say mini-mansion – that Ritchie bought for me is absolutely stunning. But he's not exactly thrilled that I'm not moving to New Jersey with him. Apparently, there are a few women who have their sights set on him. And can you blame them? He's handsome and mine. Nevertheless, I assured him that somehow, I will make my way to Jersey City and let all those women know that he's taken and I'm not going anywhere. I'll handle them, starting with his overly friendly neighbor who cooks him dinner. She's got it bad for Ritchie. It's horrible,” Tori sighed wearily.
Her eyes widened. “I mean can you believe she cooks him dinner and offers to wash his laundry?”
Looping an arm around Tori’s, I chuckled. “Yeah, T, I can see that. That’s kind of what you did.”
“No, not at first. I just insisted on cleaning his room,” she trailed off.
Tori laughed again. “Shit, I guess I did the same thing.”
Asia smiled. “Tori, but you got him.”
“Yeah, girl, you got him.” Her arm hooked around Tor’s neck from behind.
Tori snuggled into her embrace as we continued down the glitzy strip.
Simone sipped her drink. “Just think if you didn’t flirt with Ritchie these two bitches wouldn’t have their men.”
“Oh, don’t pretend you’re so fucking unhappy, Simone,” I bit out.
“We see how you stare at Ezra. You gaze into his eyes like he’s your world.” I smiled.
Simone stepped away from Tori and returned to my side. “Once upon a time Ezra was my world.” She shook her head. “We’re not here to talk about my traumatizing relationship with Ezra. We’re here to celebrate you tying the knot.”
The girls hooted and hollered.
There was some deep, dark shit, happening in Simone’s life and I could tell she wasn’t ready to share. We’d chisel away at that wall after we got her good and drunk.
“Hold on. Hold on. Tori, what happened this morning?” I asked.
While sipping my cocktail, I waited for her response.
“Ritchie and I went to the playhouse to pick up Reaper and Slasher.” Her eyes followed the pavement as she told us what happened.
“Ritchie said he’d check the house out first. I agreed. There was a pile of mail on the floor at the front door. I picked up a few pieces then I noticed a box. The message read: Tori, this package is just for you. I’m delivering a little bang. From you know who.”
My fist curled around the plastic tumbler so tight I thought I’d crack it. “That fucking bitch,” I roared.
Tori continued. “I glanced across the street cursing at her under my breath. Then I shoved my anger aside and shouted, it’s a bomb,” she whispered.
She couldn’t yell those words on the strip. Those words would’ve caused chaos.
“Next thing I knew Brock threw me to the grass covering my body with his as the playhouse exploded.” Tori shook her head. “Just another fucked up situation to add to my mental house of horrors.” Her eyes squeezed shut as we came to a halt in front of Planet Hollywood.
“I thought the best man that came into my life was dead. Honestly, I hadn’t had time to wrap my mind around my feelings at that moment. It felt like a piece of my heart exploded in that house.”
We sat on the stairs, still grossly enthralled in our best friend’s story. Brock’s lurking nearby didn’t go unnoticed. A part of me felt relieved we had a bodyguard. Didn’t matter if we weren’t in danger in Vegas. That fact remained that someone still wanted to kill us.
“Through a cloud of smoke Ritchie walked toward us holding the dogs’ leashes.” She smiled as a tear slipped down her cheek.
“I ran to Ritchie, kissing him like a crazy woman. He said he decided to get the dogs ready for transport first. Reaper and Slasher saved his life.”
We wrapped our arms around Tori, squeezing her tightly.
“It might be difficult to be here.” Tori smiled. “But being with my best friends feels good.”
We held each other a beat longer.
“Was Tyra across the street at her cousins when the bomb went off?” I asked.
“I believe so. Bet she got great joy out of almost blowing me to fucking pieces,” Tori growled.
“Bianca, the girls and I will wait until you return from your honeymoon to go after Tyra,” Tori confirmed.
“Thank you,” I stated.
“This time there won’t be anything accidental about the way we handle the situation,” I hissed.
“That’s right.” Simone grabbed my hand, pulling me upward.
“I’m eager to get rid of that once and for all,” Asia said, tugging Tori to her feet.
“Let’s show Vegas how the girls from the Chi party.” I threw a fist in the air.
We scurried inside the casino. Our eyes were glued to the bright shiny shops before we made our way into the casino.
After draining our tall tumblers, we located a waitress.
“How many coins do we need for the slots?” Simone asked.
“Twenty dollars’ worth,” I suggested.
“Shit, I don’t have cash,” I said as I reached into my purse for my lipstick.
“No worries, Ezra’s paying.” Simone winked. She grabbed Asia’s hand, and they darted toward the cashier station.
My fingers moved over several bills in the pocket of my purse. “What the fuck is this?”
“What’s wrong?” Tori asked.
“Catch put cash in my purse. I thought I only had his credit card. There has to be about ten one-hundred-dollar bills here.”
“Get used to it, Bianca. He’s filthy rich,” she whispered.
My heart raced, and I could feel my breathing becoming more rapid. It was a full-blown panic attack. This was the reality of going from having nothing to suddenly having everything.
Tori placed her hand on my back, trying to soothe me. "Just breathe, Bianca."
I focused on her gaze and followed her lead in taking deep breaths.
"Never would’ve thought I'd be helping you through a panic attack," Tori said with a small smile, though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.
“I’ll always help, Tori. You’re my best friend. Fuck that we’re sisters.”
A smile lifted her cheeks. “That’s right. We’re fucking sisters.”
Asia and Simone returned carrying a bucket of coins and a tray of chips.
“Bianca, should we hit the slots first?” Asia asked.
I nodded. “Yes, baby steps.”
An hour later, I pulled the slot machine’s side lever. One blue dollar sign, two, then three appeared on the screen.
“What?” I yelled.
Four and five. There were five blue dollar signs on the screen in a row staring back at me. Bells and whistles went off on top of the machine.
“Ah,” I screamed.
“I won. I won,” I shouted. The girls and I jumped up and down.
A spark of electricity zinged through my body.
***P***
Once I had collected my winnings from the cashier, the girls and I headed to the craps and roulette tables. To our delight, we all walked away with some extra cash in our pockets.
“Are you ladies ready to go?” Brock asked.
“Yes,” I said.
Brock led us outside where a chauffeur was waiting with the door to a super stretch pink hummer limousine open.
I looked over at Brock, surprised. "Is that for us?"
He nodded in response. The girls and I excitedly climbed into the limo, and I immediately removed my veil and tossed it onto the plush white leather seats. Standing up, I poked my head through the huge sunroof and the girls followed suit, shouting "Chicago's in the house!"
“Bianca’s getting married.” The girls y elled it out loud for everyone to hear.
My stomach dropped at the thought of being separated from Catch. We had been inseparable for weeks and now we were expected to live apart for a significant portion of each month. I couldn't even remember when he said I would see him again. But I had to focus on the present, especially with the girls around. If they sensed my worry, they would bombard me with questions. Plus, I couldn't move out of state right now anyways.
We needed to get rid of Tyra once and for all before I could even think about visiting my second home in Jersey City.
As we gazed upon the glimmering casinos under the night sky, Tori exclaimed, "It's time to party!" as we settled into our seats.
Simone reached for the bottle of champagne nestled in the ice bucket.
We each grabbed a delicate champagne flute. With a flick of her wrist, Simone popped the cork, and we watched as the bubbly liquid shot out like a geyser.
We chuckled as she filled our glasses with champagne.
“Tomorrow at this time our bestie will be a married woman,” Asia yelled.
The girls and I didn’t waste time draining our glasses.
The Hummer came to a halt. We piled out of the limousine. We thanked the chauffeur before entering the Mirage casino. Brock was on our heels.
Low chatter hummed across the casino floor while people gambled at slot machines and tables.
A popular song shook the floor as we approached the night club. Two huge bouncers stood on either side of the entrance. Brock stepped in front of us whispering something in one of the bouncers' ears.
The bouncer nodded, then smiled at me and the girls.
“Welcome Mrs. Rizzo and guests.” He extended his hand to the expansive night club. “Enjoy your night.”
I smiled.
Mrs. Rizzo. That was all my fiancé’s doing.
My grin grew as we entered the venue. The neon hues of purple and blue illuminated the sea of bodies moving in unison on the dance floor.
A waitress approached, smiling. “Good evening. My name is Michelle. I’ll be your server tonight.”
The girls and I greeted her.
“Thank you for choosing our night club to celebrate your bachelorette party. I’ll lead you ladies to your table in V.I.P. Enjoy any of the four dance floors.”
We squeezed each other’s fingers as we halted at the oversized table filled with top shelf liquor.
“If you need anything don’t hesitate to ask,” Michelle said before walking toward a neon blue bar.
We scooted around the large blue leather booth. Asia filled our shot glasses with tequila.
“This is the only time we’ll drink tequila tonight. We can’t get plastered,” she chuckled.
She lifted her shot glass. We held our hands high too.
“Bianca, I can’t believe we’re in Vegas.” Asia smiled. “Tomorrow you’ll marry the love of your life,” she yelled.
“Yes,” I shouted.
“Catch is the luckiest man in the world to marry our computer genius best friend,” Tori stated.
“Don’t forget the love you feel in your heart whenever he makes you mad,” Simone laughed.
I burst into laughter. Wish I would’ve remembered my love for him when he upset me earlier.”
The girls chuckled.
“That man loves you, Bianca. Here’s to happiness beyond measure.” Tori smiled.
“Happiness beyond measure,” we shouted in unison.
My friends and I quickly downed the shots, slamming our glasses onto the table. We were all dressed up in our little dresses, ready to hit the neon pink dance floor. It was easily the biggest dance floor I had ever laid eyes on. The energy from the crowd was exhilarating as we made our way towards the center.
Hands raised, we rocked our hips to the beat. Our day came full circle. Tonight, we’d have the time of our lives. After the club I wanted to enjoy a midnight swim at the pool.
“Hey beautiful.” Strong arms wrapped around my waist.
My eyes shot to Asia’s. There were long muscled arms squeezing her waist too.
“Did you miss me, baby?” he yelled into my ear over the music.
“Get your hands off me now,” I bit out.
“Is that anyway to treat your man?” he chuckled.
“Come on, Asia. I know you missed me,” the other guy said.
My worried eyes held Asia’s.
“It appears we have a deadly problem.” At the sound of my fiancé's enraged tone, my heart plummeted to the floor. "You're holding onto something that only belongs to me," he snarled with frustration.
No blood shed, please. Could I prevent murder a second time today?