Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Good Kind is More Dangerous Than The Bad
When Lake went back to work after the changing room encounter, Vincent went upstairs to talk to his dad.
He sat in the oversized, leather chair in the dark surveillance room. I wish they would fucking hurry. I need to get back downstairs.
When the door finally opened, he quickly stood. His face showed he wasn’t happy to see the man in front of him.
“How’s the job?” Lucca smiled at him as he passed.
Fuck you.
“It’s great. Thanks,” he gritted out the words.
Vincent went through the office door and was met by Dante and his father, the two men he hated most at the moment.
“What do you want, son?” Vinny asked.
“I need to speak with you.” He made it clear it was a blood family discussion.
Dante stood. “You can talk in here. I have some business I need to take care of. I’ll be gone for an hour, so take as long as you need.”
“Thanks,” Vincent said before Dante walked out the door.
He continued to stand and stare at his father.
After a moment, his father raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to just fucking stand there?”
“Why the hell is Lake working down there?”
“How did you find out?” Vinny looked at him curiously.
“Lucca put us on security.” Vincent rubbed his eyes, on the verge of a headache.
“He did?”
“Yes. Now, why is she down there?” He didn’t have time for the bullshit.
“Because Lake was stupid enough to walk through that door.” Vinny pointed to the one he had just come through.
“Goddammit,” he mumbled to himself.
“I had just gotten here because Dante wanted to make sure whatever decision he made was fair. So Dante, Paul, and me are here and in fucking walks Lake. She literally walked up to Joe and asked to see the boss. That girl isn’t very bright.”
Jesus Christ. Lucca had warned him about her mouth. Vincent was going to have to teach Lake a thing or two.
“What happened then?”
“She told Dante she would work for him to pay off her father’s debt, so I suggested she work down there.”
“Tell me why the fuck you thought it was okay to do that! She’s my sister’s best friend. Would you have done that to Adalyn, too, and not even fucking told me about it?”
He hated how calm his father always was, never once showing emotion or caring about anything in particular. His job was to be the voice of reason without taking sides or being partial to anything or anyone. That time, his impartial judgment had gone too far. He should have cared a little about Lake.
Vinny’s tone changed. “What did you want me to do, son? Put her life in the hands of Dante? Paul had been borrowing money from him for years. You know the family loves Paul as if he was made, but he owed him fifty grand. Then, when he gets in a poker game and wins enough to pay Dante back, he decides to go all-in. Dante had the right to do as he pleased with Paul—it was his fucking money. Her walking in here made a bad situation worse, so she had to be placed where she was going to be the most beneficial to him.
“I can pull any girl off the street to answer calls or clean piss stains off the hotel sheets. Not to mention, those jobs are minimum wage and would take him too long to collect his money. The only chance that girl had for living was that job. She’s young and pretty, which will keep his customers happy and his pockets full. Lake is fucking lucky that job was available and I was here to even suggest he give her a shot.”
Vincent ran his hands through his hair and finally had to take a seat. “Okay, so she owes him fifty.”
“No, she owes him thirty.”
He quickly turned his head to look at him. “What?”
Vinny shook his head. “She fucking dropped twenty grand in front of Dante like it was nothing and said it was her whole college fund.”
“Fuck!” Quickly, he stood, going to the door. “I need to go.”
“You want her, don’t you, son?”
Vincent squeezed the door knob, unaware of how to answer his father’s question.
In their line of work, they started to think it was best and safest to not have someone you cared about more than the family.
Vinny gave his son a warning. “She’s the good kind of trouble, and the good kind is more dangerous than the bad.”
Opening the door, he started to go through before saying, “Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Vincent shut the door behind him and headed straight toward the elevator. Once there, he held down the code to reach the underground casino. When the doors closed, he let out a deep breath.
She’s fucking scared of the family enough to leave yet not enough to keep her from trying to save a dead man’s life. He didn’t think Lake valued her life, and he was going to make fucking sure that changed.
His father was right; she was stupid to think she could save her father. It didn’t matter whether she did or not; the risk was too high to even try.
Dante was a man you shouldn’t fuck with. His moral code had died a long time before when his wife did. If his dad hadn’t been there, Lake would be six feet under in a casket, not in a casino.
‘She fucking dropped twenty grand in front of Dante like it was nothing and said it was her whole college fund.’ Finding out that Lake wasn’t planning on leaving anymore was bittersweet. It was selfish and wrong for a part of him to be happy that she wasn’t leaving, but the other part of him hated the fact that she had made the decision. Giving Dante that money was like throwing her life away, and he doubted she had even thought twice about it. Not only that, but she owed a dangerous man thirty thousand dollars. The minute she’d agreed, she was owned by the Caruso boss.
Vincent got off the elevator and headed down the hallway. Knocking on the door, he was let in a moment later. His eyes searched the room until they landed on a sad pair of hazel eyes. Lake was smiling, but he could see how she truly felt.
Nobody fucking owns her but me.
Going to the wall, he stood between Nero and Amo. “Anyone fucking touch her?”
Amo crossed his arms as he leaned back on the wall. “Do you think we would be standing here if they did?”
“Yeah, I think you fucking threatened us enough before you left. What did you find out?” Nero asked.
“Her dad owed yours fifty grand, so your dad wanted to kill her dad. She decided, like a genius, to take her college fund of twenty grand to him and work the rest off. Sooo, my dad suggested she work down here for several fucked-up reasons, such as her being worth more alive than dead because, let’s face it, your dad would have killed Lake and her dad if he didn’t.”
Nero thought for a minute, trying to digest what he had said. “Well, she and Elle do have one thing in common—my dad wanting to kill them.”
“Damn, I didn’t think she could get any hotter. She really fucking did that?” Amo continued to stare at Lake, not pulling his eyes away to fully engage in their conversation.
“I told you to fucking watch the men to see if they try to make a move on her, not stare at her ass,” Vincent growled.
Amo averted his eyes. “Exactly how do you plan to fuck her after she caught you in the bathroom with that bitch?”
Vincent heard a small laugh escape from Nero.
“You don’t think I can fucking win her over?”
Amo looked back at Lake’s long legs. “I never thought I’d say this, but I think she just might be out of your league.”
Vincent felt offended. Out of my league, really? He was Vincent fucking Vitale the Third. No girl—or woman, for that matter—was ever out of his league.
He watched Lake sweep her bangs off to the side. Fuck.
“I need you to go make sure her fucking car doesn’t start tonight.”
Nero started to laugh. “So, you’re forcing her to be with you.”
“Yeah, like you didn’t force Elle?”
“I didn’t say it was wrong,” Nero agreed.
“Can I watch her attempt to fix it?” Amo asked sincerely.
“No!” Vincent was beginning to wish for the death of one of his best friends.
“What if she fixed it in that outfit, though, man? You would benefit from it, too.”
Vincent decided to give Amo a warning. “You better quit fucking staring at her.”
Amo turned his head to the side again as Lake bent over the table to give someone their drink. “You know how I said you owed me for watching Adalyn? Don’t worry about it; I think I got rid of all my nightmares.”
Vincent began to laugh hysterically. Suddenly, he flipped a switch and went silent.
Amo finally turned his head away from Lake. “Are you ok—”
Reeling back his fist, his knuckles pounded into flesh. “I am now.”
Nero shrugged. “He kind of deserved it.”