Page 38 of Legacy of Deception

Chapter 15

I wouldn’t call it stupid

BROOKLYN

Santo Deluca needed to suffer. He needed to know a fraction of the pain he unleashed on those around him. He may have been intelligent, but he was also manipulative and orchestrated evil at every turn without regard for the destruction he would leave in his wake. What he needed was to learn a lesson.

Luckily for me, I felt more than equipped to rise to the challenge.

And maybe it was sadistic, but it’d be a real pleasure for me. If I had disliked Santo Deluca before I had sat down for dinner at his table, then now I deeply detested the man.

My plan in a word—Vegas.

I lifted my phone from the nightstand and propped myself up against the headboard of my bed.

Brooklyn: We need to talk.

A significant amount of time passed before those three glorious little dots danced across my screen, and he replied.

EJ: Why, hello, Brooklyn. Nice to hear from you. I’ve been well, thanks for asking.

Useless information, considering this wasn’t a social text. It was a means to an end. As was he. EJ Gray—hedonistic fuckboy with a sterling, and bullshit, reputation—turned being a hardened and heartless shark into a lifestyle choice.

Brooklyn: Sorry. How are you?

EJ: I’m working, but you obviously have something to say, so what is it?

Working… In other words, had his feet poised on his desk, crossed at the ankles as he smoked a cigar and considered which woman in one of the dozens of Las Vegas casinos he would be getting a blow job from next. To say I didn’t agree with most other women in their assessment of what a decent, good-natured person he was would have been this generation’s biggest understatement. In every way, business included, he was like a phoenix. No matter how many times he was stabbed, metaphorically speaking, he figured out how to rise from the ashes. He was relentless, but he was also my ticket to destroying Santo, another man who stupidly thought he was indestructible.

Brooklyn: Answer your phone.

Texting was fine for the nice greetings, but it wasn’t going to fly after that. I had no intention of putting anything I was going to say in black and white. I wasn’t a rookie, that much was for sure. So, I didn’t hesitate in clicking over to dial his number.

“Hellfire. Miss the sound of my voice?” For as much as he smoked, his voice was smooth. And disgustingly aloof.

“New nickname?” Amusement entered my tone as I leaned forward, placing a hand on my ankles, waiting to hear what he had to say. Truthfully, I would have argued it was better than the ridiculous one he’d previously had for me. Brookie.

Silence pounded in my ears, louder than most concerts. I didn’t really need a response since I couldn’t have cared any less.

My expression blank, I cut to the chase. “I’m coming to Vegas.” I had far better things to do with my time than converse with the likes of him.

“I’m busy.” Frigidity entered his voice, and it suddenly felt like he was sending the Arctic through the line. “You’ll have to find another man—”

The pause could only mean he was multitasking, just as I had suspected, exhaling a drag he had taken.

“—to get wasted and try to marry you.”

Rolling my eyes, I reached over to grab the bottle of body cream from the nightstand. “I’m engaged.” It seemed he didn’t keep up with the news from New York. Figured, though. If it didn’t somehow directly affect him, he was the picture of disinterested.

Gasping, I could practically hear the intrigue consuming him. “Oh, to who? I should send my condolences.”

“Marco Deluca.”

He released a long, high-pitched whistle that I was sure only filled the air with a plume of smoke. “So, what do you want from me, Brooklyn?”

Placing my phone between my shoulder and my ear, I cursed the fact that I couldn’t put it on speaker. I couldn’t risk the chance of Marco hearing something. Not that it was entirely likely, unless he was roaming the halls, but still, I preferred to be cautious. “I want you to tank the deal with Santo,” I said, dropping my voice for the same reason. Squeezing cream into my hand, I leaned down and struggled to lather it on my legs.

“Trouble with the in-laws so soon?”