Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Paddy
As soon as the alarm blares, I know exactly what happened.
I’m not surprised when I slide my arm across the bed and find it empty.
I jump up and yank on a pair of sweatpants.
I make it down to the offices on the second floor and move to the security office, where I see on the feed that my sweets snuck off on me.
I’m livid.
What part of you’re mine did she not understand?
I head back upstairs and get ready for the day, trying to figure out what I’m going to do. Do I chase after her and force the issue that I took her bare? Or do I just let her go and chalk it up to a perfect night with a fairy?
After my shower, I spot her dress hanging out of the hamper, and the memories flood my mind. How she felt. How everything was different with her. My skin crawls thinking about how dangerous it was for her to rush out into the alley.
I need to see what happened after she got out and where she went. Just to make sure she’s safe, I tell myself, but I know it’s more than that. Deep down, I still need her.
I have a quick cup of black coffee, then head down to my office and get to work.
Even on a Saturday, I’m busy, not just with the clubs, but with family business.
This traitor issue is gnawing at me. Just yesterday, before we headed to the ballet, we had to endure an inspection from the state.
I don’t have any gambling here, but I do have a couple of tables at the back of one of our strip clubs.
The inspection was here at Transitions, something about safety protocols and an anonymous tip claiming the women’s restrooms were unsafe.
It was false, but it was still a pain in the ass to go through.
At nine, both Hayes and JJ step into the office.
“Thought you’d still be upstairs. How long you been in the office?” JJ asks.
“For a while.”
I don’t elaborate, but now that Hayes is here, I need to go see what my sweets is up to. I’ve forced myself to work, but my mind has been on her all morning.
“Hayes, I’d like to take a drive down the Strip.” Again, I don’t explain myself.
“What time did your little dancer leave?” JJ asks as a joke, but just the implication that she’s that kind of dancer grates on my nerves.
“She’s a ballerina, not a dancer,” I clarify. “She left at about four.” They should already know or have figured it out since both of them were alerted when the alarm went off.
“Wait a minute.” JJ finally catches on. “Fuck.” He groans as he reaches into his chest pocket and pulls out something. I watch as he slaps it into Hayes’s hand.
“Told you she’d run.” Hayes chuckles, and I realize what they just did.
“You’re fucking betting on my love life.”
“Yep. It’s Vegas. We bet on everything.” JJ laughs, then pauses. “Wait. Love life? So, it’s serious?”
“As serious as it comes.”
I’m not going to lie to these two men. They’re the closest to me.
They should know what Daria means to me.
I’m going to tie her to me in every way possible.
It’s why I ignored her comment about not using a condom.
I want her pregnant. Then her brother and the Bratva can’t take her away from me.
I’m marrying her as soon as possible too.
“Hayes, I want a full background on everyone around her. I’d also like the car ready in fifteen.”
JJ reaches into his pocket again and pulls out a folded bill that he hands to Hayes.
“Told you,” Hayes says with a deep chuckle. He then turns to me. “Sorry, boss, but you have a meeting with your uncle. He added it to your schedule last night. Didn’t you look at the schedule for the day?”
“No. It’s Saturday. I try not to have meetings on Saturdays. Also, I want tickets for the ballet every night Daria is dancing.” I know she won’t perform every show. Two or three other dancers will cover the nights she doesn’t. “Private box, please.”
“I’ll try to get that. I’ll have some breakfast sent up.”
“Hayes, I’d like you to assume Daria’s personal security eventually. Find a guard you trust to become mine.”
“Yes, boss.” He nods and walks out before JJ plants himself in the seat across from my desk.
He waits until the door is closed before leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. His large arms stress his jacket sleeves. He has to have his suits custom made. This is evidence something is bothering him, because he’s been working out at the gym more, building muscle.
“Cuz, I’m talking to you as family, not your second, and not as a MacEvoy.
” He pauses, and I sit back down in my chair.
“Are you sure about this? She’s not a Bratva printsessa, but she’s as close to one as they come.
Aleksei might not be active in the Bratva and legit, but you and I both know he’s a hair’s breadth from being a brother.
She’s protected by all of them. Besides, I heard from Mama that she’s not only Bratva, but her mother is Carbone’s sister, princess to the Italians. ”
Taking a deep breath, I think about how to respond without sounding like a sap or like I don’t care.
He’s right. Aleksei is as close to being Bratva as someone can get without actually being in it.
Then there’s Carbone. He and I have always had a strained relationship, but I don’t care.
I can’t stop how I feel for her any more than Aleksei could stop how he felt about Lyric.
“I know. I should talk to Aleksei, but I’m going to get my girl back first. And with this other issue we have going on, I need to focus on that.
The families aren’t like they used to be.
Your own half sisters are married to Bratva.
Besides, Daria isn’t Bratva and wasn’t raised that way.
From the background I pulled on her, I know she was raised in hiding, away from the life.
I’ll also speak to Carbone. It’s the right thing to do. ”
“Exactly. She was in hiding because of her parents. You think we’re more progressive, but look at what happened to my sisters.”
“Your sisters went against the families for a short time.”
He takes a deep breath. “I thought it was just Jimmy we had to watch out for, then Johnny went sideways, and I’ve been trying to catch up since then.” He leans back, and I see the exhaustion in his body.
“Do you need to take a break for a bit? How is Aintín taking it all?” His mother might have gained two daughters, but she lost a son and an ex-husband in it all.
She and Jimmy, JJ’s father, weren’t exactly divorced, but they were as close as she could get them to be when he was killed.
“No. I don’t need a break. What I need is to figure out who is behind all this.
I feel like Johnny wouldn’t have turned without a big influence other than our father.
Jimmy was an ass, but he was still our dad.
Johnny always wanted more than what he was given.
He wanted your job.” JJ waves his hand at me.
Johnny had the same problem his father had. That need to blame everyone for what they lacked. Johnny blamed me for his lack of respect and status. I tried to help him so many times, but he wanted everything without working for it. He was lazy and wanted it the easy way.
I took over this family at nineteen, and it was the greatest lesson I’ve ever learned.
I’ve not always done everything right, but I’ve always worked hard for where I am.
I fought to prove I could lead. I fought other organizations when they tried to step in and take what was mine.
The Triad and I still fight over our footholds in Vegas.
But the Triad wants the whole fucking city and will destroy everyone in their path to take it.
It wasn’t until one of Andrei’s second in commands or Two Spies, Dmitri, killed a general from China and shot the Chairmen’s own son in the shoulder that they took a step back and have been quiet.
I still wonder if the Triad is behind our usurper. When we had the first meeting with Andrei and his men a few months ago, I’d hoped he would say it was the Triad or leftover remnants of JJ’s sisters’ antics, but I was wrong. That’s when a thought hits me.
“JJ, your father talked your sisters into their plan, correct? And originally it was supposed to just be the Lucky Dice. They said that, right?”
“Yeah to both points. Why?”
“Why go after the other families?”
“Ainsley said originally it was because they were tired of made men getting away with having kids and leaving them.”
“Where did they get that idea from, other than proof of your father?”
“Fuck, you think someone was guiding them or Jimmy?”
“Yeah. I need to talk to your sisters. Can you arrange a meeting with them?”
“I can try, but their husbands are very protective. Do you want their half sister, Lennon, too? She’s Bronwyn’s daughter.”
“Yeah, if we could.”
“I’ll try.”
“Invite the husbands too if it will make it easier.”
“Okay.”
He gets up and heads for the door, but it opens before he reaches it. I’m pissed when the club manager, Sally, and my uncle walk in without knocking.
“Knock,” I bark.
“Oh, sorry, sweetie. Broderick was just telling me you went to the ballet last night. Did you see my sister? She was in the corps de ballet.” She smiles coyly at me, and it makes my skin crawl.
This woman has been trying to get with me for months, ever since I hired her.
I’ve told her repeatedly I’m not interested.
She saunters toward me and leans a hip on the desk.
Her loose jacket falls open, giving me a full view of a naked breast and the fact she isn’t wearing anything underneath. I ignore it and turn to my uncle.
“Uncail Broderick, I see you needed a meeting today. Is everything okay?”
He looks pointedly at Sally’s gaping neckline, and I stand.
“That’s enough, Sally,” I dismiss her.
She huffs and walks from the room, adding an exaggerated sway to her hips. Before the door closes, she shoots a look back at Broderick. He gives the slightest nod, but I catch it. Huh. I shake my head. She’s his mistress.