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What surprised me most was how freely she spoke about her gambling business with me. As if she felt comfortable letting her guard down since I knew more than most and I couldn’t hold any more over her head.
I knew I was a bastard for blackmailing her into this, but I couldn’t feel an ounce of guilt for it.
“She’s definitely different.” I glanced down at a braided black-and-red leather bracelet she’d bought from an elderly lady selling her handcrafted jewelry at a local craft fair on the outskirts of Vegas.
“You need to put some distance between the two of you.” The order had me furrowing my brow and glaring at Kasen.
“How is this your business?”
Ignoring my question, he asked one of his own. “Have you realized outside of the week around the holidays, you’ve spent more time with her in the last few months than here in New York?”
I thought over his words, realizing he was right.
“Don’t tell me you’re still pissed about New Year’s.”
I’d let Kasen represent me at some ball in the Hamptons and decided to ring in the coming year in Vegas.
Lost in Nyx’s body.
“She’s not yours. Don’t forget this.”
I clenched my jaw, and said, “She is for one year. Officially starting tonight.”
“You still need to keep some distance. Especially if this thing between the two of you is supposed to be a secret. Both of you are being reckless.”
He had a point. And I could admit I hadn’t made it easy to cover my tracks for the last few weeks. Normally, I’d have flown into different airports and then driven to my final destination.
However, this conversation revolved around more than making others suspicious of my involvement with Nyx. If anyone outside of the Mykos brothers found out about us, they wouldn’t blink an eye, knowing we were engaged. But then again, letting anyone, specifically Albert and Hal, know Nyx had any significance in my life, outside of the business matters of this engagement, could cause more problems than I already dealt with.
Wait. Was I really thinking Nyx mattered more than business? Shit. Kasen needed to get out of my head.
“Lay it on the line, Kasen. What’s the real reason that you want me to take a break from her?”
“Don’t let her become your weakness. Don’t get attached. Keep it casual. Business, as you planned from the beginning. It’s better for the both of you when it ends.”
The seriousness of his words had me pausing and going back to my thoughts from moments earlier.
What Kasen worried about wasn’t possible. At least from my side. Nyx and I enjoyed each other, nothing more.
For me to have a weakness, I had to have a heart.
Gio Drakos had beaten it out of me long ago. To this day, his words remained etched in my head.
“Boy, I will make sure you won’t destroy my legacy as your father did by marrying your mother. Now see where it got him. Dead. You will pick someone like youryia yia, a woman who knows her place. Nothing is more important than the family.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” I told Kasen. “Nyx and I want very different things for our lives. Besides, do you actually see the Mykos Hellion as my wife?”
“Without a question, and deep down, I think you’re seeing it too.”
“Well, you’re wrong. The last thing I need is to worry about her private antics while trying to maintain control of the family and the territory. This is casual—no complications other than maintaining a low profile about our affair for the next year.”
“Keep lying to yourself. The moment you flew to Las Vegas to see her three months ago, she became your undoing.”
“Let me put this in terms you can understand. We fuck, we enjoy ourselves, and we go our separate ways. She believes this life of ours is a cage. Nyx wants her freedom, and I’ve agreed to give it to her. End of story.”
Why did the thought of never seeing her after this year was up bother me so much?
“As I’ve mentioned before, I’ll be here when it implodes.”
