Chapter 7
Xander
IT’S HER
Earlier in the night…
“You never come to Luxe. To what do I owe the pleasure of my favorite brother?”
I sit on one of the plush couches in Cash’s office. We all have offices within our casinos. It’s our way of trying to stay present throughout our venues so our staff feels supported and can get a hold of one of us easily.
“You’re only calling me your favorite right now because the other idiots aren’t here. And I was literally here two weeks ago for a meeting.” I lean back and rest an ankle over the opposite knee.
Cash smirks, and I can’t help but notice how relaxed he is. How deeply happy he acts. And it’s all because of Jordyn. She’s changed him for the better. He doesn’t take everything so seriously anymore. It’s nice to see.
“You said you have a business opportunity to discuss. So let’s fucking hear it.” He pours us both a drink, then hands one to me.
I lift my chin in appreciation and take a sip, then rest the glass on my thigh. “I want to buy a bar. It’s on The Strip.”
My older brother looks at me like I’ve lost it. Maybe I have. I’m okay with that, though.
“A bar,” he repeats slowly, trying to make sense of it. “We don’t buy singular bars. We buy huge fucking casinos.”
“I’m buying it. I’ll use my own capital if I have to.”
“Dude, what the fuck? We don’t run bars. We run entire casinos. Where is this coming from? I haven’t heard of any bars coming onto the market on The Strip. Where are you talking about?”
“It’s not for sale yet, but it will be. It’s The Ace Bar. It’s right next to The Royal.” I shrug and take another drink. “I don’t care what we do once we own it. Turn it into a fucking ice cream place for all I care.”
Cash narrows his gaze, assessing me a little too closely. “Who owns it?”
I shrug. “Doesn’t matter. Only thing that matters is that we ruin them.”
“Jesus Christ, Xander. Can you stop giving me the fucking runaround here?”
A slow grin spreads on my face. This is kind of fun. “A woman in my building worked there. She got fired because the owner made some advances toward her and she declined.”
I’ve been looking into the owner of The Ace Bar.
He’s an absolute piece of shit from what I can tell.
And when I went in there to scope the place out, it was obvious that his employees were miserable.
Overworked and underpaid. If the fucker crossed the line with Quinn, he’s certainly done it to others.
And I’m not okay with that. Not only am I going to break his jaw for saying filthy words to her, but if I find out he touched her, his fingers will end up broken, too. Hell, maybe I’ll do it for fun.
“Let’s fucking go.” I toss my thumb over my shoulder and turn to leave, not surprised when I hear Cash’s steps behind me.
My brothers and I always have each other’s backs. There are two things I know without a doubt in this life, and one of them is that any of us would die for another. The other thing is that nothing is ever certain. Not tomorrow. Not love. Not happiness. Not anything.
Together, we move through the crowded casino that we’ve been walking through.
It’s the time of night when things will start slowing down.
Guests will head up to their rooms, occasional players will call it a night, while the hardcore gamblers will find their favorite tables and stay there until the sun starts to rise.
But right now, it’s loud with voices and the sounds and sirens of slot machines all around us.
We pass Velvet Sins, the enormous bar set in the center of the floor.
It’s always been one of my favorites out of all our bars.
Everything is dripping in velvet, crystals, and gold.
Pure luxury, yet it has an undeniably sexy feel to it.
My gaze drifts to the bar as blonde, wavy hair catches my eye. It reminds me of the same shimmery French braids from a few days ago. A group of men is in front of her, but when they turn and walk away, I stare at the beautiful woman as she mixes multiple drinks at once.
Jesus.
She looks like Quinn. A lot like her. Yet at the same time, she’s different.
Bolder. Brighter. And sexy as fuck. Unlike Quinn, this woman has makeup on.
Deep red lipstick, and her cheeks glitter under the lights as she moves.
Multiple necklaces adorn her neck and pretty much leave an arrow pointing to her big, pushed-up tits.
Fucking Christ.
This is what I’d imagine Quinn’s tits look like. Full and soft. And covered in so much fucking glitter.
Then the woman smiles and laughs at something the male bartender says, and my blood runs cold. Because standing behind my bar is Quinn Summers. At least, I’m pretty sure she is.
Cash practically collides with me, but I’m quick enough and start moving again.
“What the fuck are you looking at?” Cash asks, scanning the bar.
Forcing my gaze away from her, I scowl and keep striding toward the exit. “Just checking.”
Cash side-eyes me but doesn’t say anything else. I glance at the bar one more time, and when I do, her eyes are on me. Her plush red mouth opens slightly, then closes right before she disappears from my line of sight when we turn the corner toward the valet.
“You need to drive.” I nod to my brother as the attendant waits for us. “I took a car here. Didn’t want to risk your wife sniffing me for alcohol and making good on her threat.”
Cash rolls his eyes and scoffs, shaking his head at me. “Jesus Christ,” he mutters under his breath so only I can hear.
It only takes a few minutes before we’re in Cash’s Range Rover, driving down Las Vegas Boulevard.
“Are we going to prison tonight?” he asks.
I shrug. “We aren’t. I might.”
His fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “Who did you say this girl is?”
She’s Quinn.
But I can’t say that.
It isn’t an explanation.
Not to Cash anyway.
If I had to describe her, I’d tell him she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
She’s too smiley and too bouncy and too positive.
Yet, I’ve been craving her ever since I left her empty apartment.
Those innocent brown eyes and pouty lips that I wanted to do so many things to.
So many filthy and fucking depraved things.
I’d bet anything the little ray of sunshine doesn’t have a single tattoo on her soft skin. She’s so damn young and innocent. And somehow, not at all intimidated by me.
“She’s no one. Just a neighbor.” I scowl. The words taste like acid on my tongue.
I might not know Quinn Summers well, but she’s sure as fuck not just anything. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s absolutely everything good in this twisted world. She might be an angel. And I need to stay far, far away from her so I don’t tarnish her.
The woman in the bar was my imagination. I haven’t stopped thinking about Quinn, and my mind is playing tricks on me. After I take care of this sleazy ex-boss of hers, I’m going to forget we ever met. Surely, she’s long forgotten about me by now.
“Oh, damn, I didn’t realize you were talking about the bar outside of The Obsidian,” Cash says as he follows the GPS into the valet of one of our other casinos, which is the closest parking to The Ace Bar.
We walk the distance from the car to the small but busy bar that has both a takeout window and seating inside. The window has several lines leading up to the six bartenders mixing drinks.
The nice thing about Vegas is that it’s almost possible to blend in with the crowd. Anyone who really looks at us should be able to tell that my brother and I are different. We’re dangerous. But only when it’s necessary, and right now, it is.
Instead of getting in line, we stride toward the back of the bar. Wherever this fucker is, he’s hiding in an office or back room instead of checking on his employees. I confirmed he was here an hour ago when I called while on my way to Luxe to meet Cash.
“What’s this asshole’s name?” Cash asks from in front of a door with a cheap nametag mounted on it. He points to the small plaque. “If it’s Lonny Ace Smalldick, I’d say he’s in here.”
Smalldick? Fucking probably. And as soon as we storm into his office, it’s probably going to shrivel up to a fucking belly button.
I glance at the engraved name and smirk at my brother, eyeing him sideways. “It’s Smallridge,” I murmur, my expression turning into an amused smile. “I think I like Smalldick better, though.”
Reaching out, I test the door to see if it’s locked. I’m a little disappointed to find it’s not. I’m in the mood to smash some shit up.
With a hard push, it swings open, slamming against the wall and bouncing toward us, but Cash and I are too quick. A woman is backed into a corner of the tiny office with some sleazy prick all over her as she tries to push him away.
“Oh, fuck no,” I roar, my heart pounding as I charge him before he even knows what’s happening.
The woman runs as soon as I have my hands on Lonny, dragging his heavy, sloppy body away from her.
“What the fuck?” he shouts. “Who the hell are you?”
We go down with a thud, rolling as I immediately start scuffling with him, though it’s not much of an effort. At this point, he’s going to die of a fucking heart attack before I get the chance to finish the job.
“I’m your worst nightmare. Listen to me closely,” I growl as I dig the tips of my fingers into the column of his neck. “I’m Xander Savage. And you’re about to regret your entire fucking life.”
The air is stale with his BO and cheap cigar smoke. I don’t even want to think about what might be on this filthy floor as I get to my feet. When the sniveling fucker tries to stand, I pull my foot back and kick him in the ribs, sending him cowering in a ball, howling in pain.