3. Dante
3
DANTE
Dante
A lthough the Hound and Tea brought in mediocre sales, the building was far too profitable to ever consider closing it. The private, top-secret gambling rooms on the second and third floors of the building raked in significant amounts of money. It also served as a common ground for men to speak freely. Countless business deals were struck in these rooms. I’d personally arranged multiple transactions and agreements across the tables.
I didn’t go through the rooms often. Romeo sometimes liked to supervise the happenings there, and tonight, I joined him and Franco. Most of the men were acquaintances of mine anyway, and those who weren’t fell under the category of my enemies. They warranted a closer look.
Stefan Giovanni sat in the corner, speaking with a couple of capos, and I wasn’t sure how to classify him anymore.
As soon as he caught my attention, he tipped his chin up in acknowledgment.
I fought the urge to curl my lip in annoyance. Instead of turning away, I walked nearer to say hello. If he was intent on becoming my enemy, all the better to keep him close.
“What brings you by?” Stefan asked after we greeted each other.
Other than the fact that this is my fucking establishment? I kept my hands in my pockets, cool and aloof as I shrugged. “No specific reason.” What brings you by? More to the point, I wanted to know why he was so curious about my actions. Was he trying to keep tabs on me?
“Haven’t chatted in a while,” he said, almost as indifferently as I had spoken.
“I’m a busy man, Stefan,” I replied as I noticed Franco summoning me to come toward him. “Excuse me.” I nodded at the men he sat with and left to speak with my capo.
“What was that about?” he asked as I reached him at one of the many small bars. He kept his voice to a whisper, and we both hid our mouths behind our glasses.
“What do you mean?”
He arched a brow. “You looked irritated.”
Shit. I’m not hiding my emotions very well. I was a master at disguising my reactions and wearing a blank face. When boredom snuck in, or when I became restless for whatever reason, I tended to slip. “I am. Because if that fucker is here, his daughter will be too.”
He sipped his whisky. “Hmm. I thought maybe you’d heard.”
“About what?”
“That Giovanni was betting with a cheater.” He tilted his head to the side. “Romeo and another floorman caught some idiot cheating.”
Cheats were not allowed to last long in here. It had taken me far too long and required too much money to establish one of the premier gambling locations. I wouldn’t let fools ruin our reputation.
“I’ll deal with him myself,” I said, eager for the chance to inflict some pain. Maybe that was all I needed, a chance to vent and release this bottled-up energy I couldn’t explain.
“Careful,” Franco warned. “I had him pulled aside. He’s in the room upstairs.”
I nodded. The fourth floor was reserved for holding people—those caught here and elsewhere. In a large organization like the Constella outfit, we needed multiple places to stow people, both dead and alive.
“Why the caution, then?” It was hardly the first time I’d tortured a moron who’d dared to break the rules on my turf.
“He’s with the MC.”
I clenched my jaw. I was sick and tired of hearing about that motorcycle club. The Devil’s Brothers was a stupid name, and the men making up the “organization” seemed even stupider, ruthless and prone to violence, but inferior to the class we maintained among the older crime families. They were trying to be the new kids on the block. So far, they’d done plenty in killing damn near all of the Dominos. But they weren’t welcome past that point. And they definitely weren’t invited to these gambling rooms— my gambling rooms.
“Who let him in?” I demanded.
Franco shook his head. “Romeo’s asking the men at the door. It sounds like maybe they slipped in with a disguise, but there’s no mistaking the cheat as one of those MC men.”
Great. That’s just fucking great. If I were to torture one of their men, I would be making a statement against them. Reaper, the club’s so-called President, would use anything as an excuse to fight. I didn’t fear them, but I sure as shit didn’t want the headache of putting up with them directly.
“Thank you.” I dipped my chin in acknowledgment and set my empty glass on the bar top.
He snagged my arm before I walked away to say, “If you want backup, just say the word.”
I snorted a laugh. This was no laughing matter, though. “This is bullshit. Having to walk around on eggshells and be careful not to piss off the newcomers?” I raised my brows, daring him to argue with me.
“I know what you mean. But with the way they decimated the Domino family…” He shrugged.
“The Constellas have ruled in this city for over a century. Some gang of motorcycle dumbasses isn’t going to change that.”
I left him with that statement and sought my son. Maybe torturing this cheat would help snap him out of his guiltiness. Violence wasn’t always the answer, but for dark bastards like us, sometimes it helped to improve our moods.
Before I could track down Romeo, someone else caught my attention. Vanessa. She strode up to me in a narrow hallway between rooms, and I groaned. The noise was hidden with the music and chatter throughout the floor, but I wouldn’t have cared whether she heard me or not. While I didn’t want to cause a scene because I loathed drama, I’d told this young woman no enough times that it was aggravating to repeat myself.
“My answer hasn’t changed,” I told her deadpan.
“Dante.” She leaned in close to press a kiss on my cheek. “It’s so good to see you again.” Not stopping there, she worsened her greeting with an awkward, one-sided hug that ended up feeling like a clingy, full-body grab. I resisted a shudder, but I couldn’t hide a wince as I extricated myself from her grasp.
“It’s been too long since I’ve had a moment to talk to you.” She didn’t quit easily. Next, she took my hand. Her fingers were too thin and icy cold, almost like she was an icy mold of a person. With a forceful tug, she attempted to steer me toward another room that was quieter.
“And you don’t have a moment now, either.” I slid my hand away and stuck it in my pocket, determined to prevent her from grabbing at me again. “I’m busy, Vanessa.”
She was either deaf or oblivious. “Oh! I love the way you say my name.” Plastering herself to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug. The maneuver pushed her fake tits up against my chest, and with the speed of her reaching out to me like this, I was pushed to stumble backward. I wouldn’t encourage her. I would not put my hands on her and accidentally give her a damn ounce of hope. When she smeared her lips over my neck, kissing me and moaning as she ground against me, my impatience snapped. My annoyance shifted into anger.
“Enough.” I thrust her away. Once I had her at arm’s length, my elbows locked so she wouldn’t try to weasel closer, I waited until she looked me in the eye to see how serious I was. “No more, Vanessa.”
Her smile remained loose and lopsided, and not for the first time, I figured she was intoxicated. Probably coke or pills since she didn’t smell like any booze. I’d witnessed her snorting lines before. It wasn’t my business, and I wouldn’t make it mine.
“I am not interested.”
Still, she grinned like a lunatic. “Of course, you are.” She dragged her fingers along the low-cut hem of her dress, enticing me to look at her goods. I’d seen them. She’d flashed me before, at a party, and I wouldn’t change my answer.
This woman wasn’t just obsessed with fucking me. She was obsessed with just getting her way, and she’d made me her target.
I was sick of her coming on to me so strongly. Really, it was stupid to turn her down. Her breasts were fake, but more than a handful. Her skin was smooth and tight. Her face was young and sultry. She was every man’s walking wet dream, but she didn’t do anything for me. Maybe if she didn’t come on so strongly. If she were anything of a challenge, I might have been curious. I enjoyed the chase and the push and pull of sexual tension. With her, there was none at all.
“I am not interested,” I repeated as I released her. My stern echo must have made an impact because she didn’t launch herself at me again. Pouting slightly, she stared at me until I turned away.
I resumed my search for Romeo. If anyone should accompany me to torture that cheat, it should’ve been him. The rooms were all packed, though, and walking from one to another was no easy feat. It didn’t help that I was stopped constantly, sometimes just to say hello, other times to ward off deeper discussions I wasn’t in the mood to have here or now.
Although the gambling hall was crowded with men and their arm candy, it wasn’t elbow-to-elbow just yet. I could slip through well enough, but avoiding Vanessa was another obstacle. She trailed after me, always somehow within sight, and I was tempted to give up altogether.
At this rate, all I wanted was to get the hell out of there. Catching Franco in passing again, I told him as much. “Fuck it. You can deal with the man you took upstairs.” He could torture the man who'd dared to cheat here.
“Hey, I was looking for you too. Giovanni’s been asking where that MC man is.”
I furrowed my brow. “The one who was cheating?”
He nodded.
Interesting. If Stefan was consorting with MC men who cheated… What does that mean, though? Was he hurting for money and wanting to make a few quick bucks? Was he so desperate for money that he’d gamble and befriend the enemy who caused him to lose so much in the first place? The whole concept of keeping friends close but enemies closer often rivaled the principle of an enemy of my enemy being a friend of mine. The Devil’s Brothers ruined the Domino Family. And Stefan aligned the Domino family with the funding and support of the Giovanni Family. Now that the bikers ended the Domino rule…
What the fuck are you planning, Stefan?
I turned, seeking out my former friend, and saw Vanessa’s smiling face as she approached through the crowd.
Dammit. I ran my hand through my hair, growling in frustration. I was sick of this bullshit. At least I was for tonight. “You handle it,” I suggested to Franco. “Because I’m out of here.”
He noticed Vanessa beelining for me. After a pat on my shoulder, which coupled with his push for me to go behind him and exit, he sighed. “Go on. I’ll keep her from chasing after you. But for fuck’s sake, man. Go get laid or something. Let another woman put a claim on you, even temporarily, to make this one back off.”
I huffed a dark laugh. “I’m not even sure that would work.” I patted his back in reply and hurried to leave.