Chapter 38
Kian
As soon as Ace is in the shower, I stride into the bedroom and snatch her phone off the nightstand, then head to the kitchen to figure out her breakfast.
After typing in the same passcode as her front door, I sigh in relief when it unlocks. Thank fuck. It was going to be a lot more difficult if that wasn’t the right one.
It only takes a second to navigate to her messages, then find Luciano in the string of chats to the one with L as the name. I open it and type what I come up with in hopes he won’t get suspicious.
Lacey: Any chance you have time to come to Vegas this afternoon? My first ballet class is doing a grand opening event tonight. I’d love if you could come.
I close my eyes, knowing that it’s as low as fuck using her dance school to get him here. But it’s her passion, and Luciano acts like he cares about it. Which is why I’m so damn confused. I’m going to make this motherfucker answer every question I have.
L: Tonight? Kind of short notice.
Fuck.
L: Fuck. Of course I’ll be there. What time? I’ll pick you up.
Lacey: I’ll meet you at the house around five so I can freshen up.
L: See you then.
Fucking aces.
I quickly delete the conversation and block his number before I return her phone to the nightstand, then go about heating up a breakfast sandwich while the coffee brews.
By the time she pads out to the kitchen, I’ve already eaten, so I carry her plate out to the back patio and pull out her chair.
“Sit, angel. I’ll get your coffee. Start eating.”
She laughs, and it soothes my nerves. When I return with our mugs, she’s staring off into the distance, her dark purple hair flowing in the wind. I swear, I’ve never seen anything so perfect in my life. She belongs here.
“How was girls’ night last night?” I ask when I join her at the small bistro table.
“It was fun! Jordyn is hilarious, and Quinn is just the sweetest,” she says. “We’re going to start up a book club. Turns out, they like reading all the same kind of kinky stuff as I do.”
Raising my eyebrows, I reach out and capture her chin in my hand. “Tell me about these kinky books, angel. Actually, never mind. I’ll just strip you down naked and make you read one to me tonight while I feast on your pussy.”
The way her cheeks turn bright red makes my cock harden.
“You like that idea, baby?” I ask with a shit-eating grin. “Like the idea of Daddy playing with your sexy body while you read me filthy books?”
She bites her bottom lip and nods, then reaches for her coffee, averting her eyes from mine.
Jesus Christ.
“You’re cute, angel.” I rise from my seat and offer her a hand. “Come on. We’d better get going so you’re not late.”
Extra security is already in place when I drop Ace off at work, though they blend in like hotel staff, so they won’t interrupt or throw off her energy while working with the dancers. I walk her in and linger way longer than I should, but I don’t want to leave her.
When I finally tear myself away, I head to Royal Aces and go straight up. Cash, Xander, and Beckett are already waiting for me in my office.
“You’re late,” Cash says when I walk in, a cocky smirk on his face.
I flip him off. “As if you have any fucking room to talk, bro. When in your life have you ever been on time?”
“My wedding.” Cash breaks out into a grin.
We stare at him in silence before all of us bark out laughing.
“Because Jordyn would have actually killed your ass if you were late,” Xander quips.
I sit behind my desk and look at my brothers. My best friends. Even when they do piss me off.
“Why’d you call us here, Kian?” Beckett asks, sensing the vibe I’m putting off.
Leaning forward, I rest my forearms on my desk and sigh.
“I know Cash and Xander are newly married, and Beckett’s doing whatever the fuck he does, but I need you guys to start stepping up.
I want to be more available for Ace, especially once she finds out that someone, possibly even her own cousin, put a hit on her. ”
My brothers are silent as they look at each other, then turn their attention back to me, all of them slowly smiling. It’s creepy as fuck.
“I fucking knew she was the one,” Xander says.
Cash chuckles. “There’s no need for any of us to be here every day. There’s sure as fuck no reason to physically come into the office every day. I still respond to emails and make calls. I just do it when my wife is busy.”
“You need to relax, man,” Beckett offers. “Trust what Dad started and what we’ve helped build. You’re the one who puts too much pressure on yourself.”
Blowing out a breath, I glare at him. “It was hard not to, growing up. You three motherfuckers stressed Mom and Dad out so bad that I did whatever I could not to cause them more problems. And that’s only continued as we’ve gotten older.
They counted on me to be the one who brought home good grades and didn’t get in trouble.
And then Mom died, and Dad counted on me to keep the business going while he was grieving.
You guys were, too, but in your own fucked-up ways. ”
Xander stares at me thoughtfully, his jaw flexing. “Well, just know you can count on us now. It’s not all on you, bro.”
“We have executives in every building,” Cash says nodding toward me.
“Dude, live your fucking life. Live for that girl you’re in love with.
Become unhinged like me. It’s fun as hell.
Life doesn’t need to be so serious all the time.
We’re only on Earth for a short time. I’m not going to apologize for being sprung on my wife.
Or wanting to spend every minute with her. ”
I let my brother’s words sink in.
He’s not wrong about any of it.
Our dad died in the blink of an eye.
The same thing could happen to us at any given time.
“I’m going to marry her one day,” I tell them.
When I look at my brothers, they’re all smiling.
“We kind of already figured that out, bro,” Beckett says with a laugh. “First things first, though. What’s the plan with Luciano?”
As soon as the deadbolt disengages, my heart rate speeds up until I’m nearly shaking as I rise from the couch, where I’ve been for the last hour waiting for Luciano.
“Lacey!” he calls out as his shoes clack on the floor on his way down the hall.
If this motherfucker tried to kill Ace, I’m going to shred him into pieces. What that did to her, the pain and suffering, the surgeries and rehab, not being able to do ballet, he will pay for every single bit of it.
Luciano walks in with a bouquet of flowers in hand, not noticing me at first, until he does, but it’s too late for him to draw.
Four lasers are pointed at different parts of his body, and those are just the ones he can see. Cassian walks up from behind Luciano and pushes the end of his rifle into his back.
Most men would piss themselves at this point. They’d be on their knees begging. But not Luciano Ricci.
He tilts his head to the side and smirks at me. “This is not the reunion I’d hope to have with you, Kian. I brought you flowers and everything, and you welcome me like this?”
Beckett quickly searches Luciano, who doesn’t so much as flinch or look concerned when my brother pulls two pistols off his body.
“You piece of shit,” I grit out. “I already knew you were one, but you had me fooled when it came to Ace.”
Luciano blinks, his light blue eyes blank as he stares back at me. “You’ll have to clarify what you mean by that, Kian. I don’t speak riddles.”
Shaking my head, I hurl the coin at him, sending it bouncing off his chest onto the floor.
Luciano looks down at it, his gaze narrowed.
“Pick it up,” I command quietly.
He studies me for half a second before he bends down and takes the coin into his hand. “What am I looking at?”
“You’re looking at the marker that the assassin you hired to take out Ace left in the coffin of the man who drove into her,” I explain, then explode, “The marker with your fucking initials on it!”
I’ve seen what it looks like when someone lies. I’ve stared dozens of men in their faces as they’ve sat in front of me and sworn up and down that they didn’t steal from us, that they didn’t cheat in our casinos, that they didn’t do whatever it was that I knew they did.
But as I stare at Luciano, his entire world is crumbling before his very eyes as my words sink in, I know he didn’t order the hit on Ace. He’s not the one responsible for hurting my girl. And that’s more of a relief to me than I expected.
Ace would be devastated if Luciano had betrayed her. I might not like Luciano, but we’re going to have to learn to get along since I plan on making Ace mine forever. This little situation might set us back a bit, though. He’ll get over it. Mob guys are always super understanding.
“Kian,” he starts quietly as he stares at the coin, his hand trembling, “tell me what I’m not understanding. Are you telling me Lacey’s accident was a hit to kill her? To kill…” Luciano shakes his head like he can’t believe it, his voice breaking. “To kill Lacey?”
I look at Xander, who is watching Luciano closely, and I know he’s thinking the same thing.
Luciano isn’t responsible for this. Lowering my gaze to his gun, I nod.
Xander lowers his rifle, everyone else following his lead except for Cassian, who keeps his rifle pressed between Luciano’s shoulder blades.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Where is she?” he says, looking around in sudden panic.
“She’s at work. Surrounded by security.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Why are your initials on that coin?”
Luciano finally looks up and meets my gaze, his ice-blue eyes those of a man who’s struggling between anger and heartbreak. “I have no fucking idea,” he snaps and looks around at everyone else in the room, scowling. “Who the fuck are these assholes?”
“My brothers, Cash, Xander, and Beckett,” I say, pointing toward them.
“Cage Black,” one of Cassian’s brothers answers, then gestures to another. “Ghost Black. Cassian Black is behind you.”
“Fuck,” Luciano murmurs.