Page 44 of Vicious Kingdom

His lips had been so close. So tantalizingly close.

But the timing wasn’t right. There were too many messes to fix.

The night air chilled the tears I hadn’t realized were streaming down my face. What was I doing? Running from the only person who made me feel something other than fear? But I couldn't drag Leo into my nightmare.

I reached the main entrance and hailed a lingering cab, sliding into the worn leather seat with a broken sob.

We lived in different worlds. Mine was garish, full of toxicity and secrets that would taint anything they touched. Including him.

Leo was my dream, and I would do anything to make him mine. So long as he never learned how broken my world truly was.

Chapter 16 – Leonardo

The lights showered the room in a majestic, golden glow. Soft cheers rose to the ceiling when a hand was strong or someone at one of the various tables won big. Waiters moved about the room, offering cigars, alcohol, and smiles.

It was another successful night in the coliseum.

I brushed a hand down the front of my tuxedo. The first few times, once this place opened, I felt like James Bond. The technology in my ear improved over the years, but I always had access to Sandro, who was stationed in the back room, observing every card game from above. While he watched the patrons, we needed a man on the ground. It was how my persona as a billionaire started. Once I had the corporate clout, men learned my name. But the money came first, and it came from the cut our famiglia took every night we hosted the illegal, unsanctioned card night. We rarely worried about a sting. Our contact in the Organized Crime Division of the FBI worked to keep us off the radar. But if the law ever did snoop, we had documents showing that this was all fake money. The actual funds people won were discreetly delivered to them the next day.

We always paid.

We always profited.

“Quit messing with your tie, you look great,” Sandro muttered in my ear.

Realizing I was fidgeting with the vise around my throat, I dropped my hand. This venture lost its shiny excitement a long time ago. Now it was routine to show up, to win or lose big, and then go home.

Where thoughts of my temptress would haunt me in the long hours before dawn.

When I saw her at the golf course with that fucking pretty boy…. Dio! He was perfect for her! The golden one, polished and socially acceptable. Everything a girl like her would want. I hadn’t planned to go to the wedding, especially knowing she would be there, probably with him. What had they done in Germany? I hated knowing that someone else was in her life. Wanting to punish her, to exact my revenge, I went to the wedding, only to stand in the shadows and watch.

And then, she said it was over. The relief went straight to my head. A sucker for the pain, I nearly crumpled. I almost crossed a line I swore I wouldn’t. The feelings I swore were dead sprang up with vengeance.

I almost kissed her.

Almost closed the distance.

She was the one thing I wanted, even as I swore I hated her for messing with my head.

“Ah fuck, Corwin is here.”

As my brother’s annoyed observation crackled in my ear, I turned my head. Blau was an addict. Every time the jeweler came, it was probable the night would end disastrously for him. He didn’t know when to pull out. The moment he won, he went bigger. Since we were invested in his black-market gems, we couldn’t let him lose too badly.

A long sigh escaped my lips. Tonight, I’d be babysitting—again.

“That’s three times this week,” I grumbled softly, knowing the don would hear me.

Sandro snorted.

The sound grated twice as badly given the nature of our communication.

I sat at a poker table, threw down a few chips, but kept my attention focused on the craps table to my right. I was dealt a king, a six, and a queen. I kept the lucky lady and traded out the others.

“Well, this is interesting,” Sandro mused.

Another royal woman appeared in my hand. I kept her and raised the stakes.

“There’s a shaky little man in a brown suit who made the buy-in.”