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Willow dramatically rolled her eyes. “Really? He’s such a—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” Lisbeth warned. “Now, what were we talking about before Edward showed up?”
“We were talking about that hottie Samson, your past lover who you should revisit before you end up with Mr. Perfect.”
“Please don’t call him that.”
“I just want you to know, you used the word ‘perfect’ three times during your conversation with him. It’s not normal.”
“Neither is my assistant snooping and trying to dig up my past.”
A past she had no intention of revisiting. Edward was a new, solid start on firm ground. Samson was a reminder of her younger years fraught with uncertainty and doubt.
“I just don’t want to see you make a mistake.”
Lisbeth knew all about mistakes. As an only child, she carried the burden of helplessness over her family’s financial problems alone. The memories of their once-happy family were too hard to bear, and when her father committed his last desperate act, she left home and never looked back.
“You’re sweet to care, but I know what I’m doing.”
Lisbeth’s move to California put all that pain behind her and her vow to find a reliable, dependable man.
10
“Igot a good feeling about this place.” Nick studied him with a long look. Like Cobra, the Serpents’ prez, Nick kept his feelings to himself and had much more self-control than Samson.
Samson huffed out a breath, barely able to contain his frustration. “I just hope you’re right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” No sense in getting into bullshit from long ago.
“You got something to say, then spit it out.”
“You’re banking on Alex Monroe to give us a leg up, but it won’t mean shit if Frank leans on us.” Samson twisted his lips, then mumbled, “You should’ve let me and Jax handle this years ago when Frank first started pulling our chain in Brooklyn.”
“Right, with the cops breathing down our neck every minute, just looking for an excuse to shut us down, or did you forget we wouldn’t have even had the Oasis if it wasn’t for Frank?”
“Yeah, yeah, I was there, too, remember? He took away double for everything he gave us.”
“I’m not defending the guy. I’m just sayin’, back then, it was too risky, and now everything’s different. A fresh start, a new place, and new rules. You can’t go balls out looking for trouble.”
“No trouble, just giving that bastard Frank what he deserves.”
“We can’t afford that kinda shit now. This ain’t some back room where you can bust some heads and nobody cares. This is Vegas, and right now, all eyes are on us, so we gotta play it straight.”
“I still say we should’ve put him down when we had the chance. Sure would’ve been sweet, but you said you had it under control. Only you missed the part where bastards like Frank can’t be controlled.”
“And that’s where Alex Monroe comes in. With his power backing us, Frank and all his New York muscle won’t touch us.”
“I hope you’re right,” Samson said the words, but his gut wasn’t sold. Alex Monroe might be some powerful exec, but Frank Barnett was fuckin’ crazy—and crazy won out every time.
“I am.” Nick turned back to the windows and spread his arms wide. “You can see for miles. Something empowering about all that land and open space.”
“Creeps me the fuck out. Get a mile outside the Strip, and some of the streets don’t even have lights.” Samson joined him at the window. “The other night, I took my bike out on I-15 and opened it up. I’m zipping along, and suddenly, a pack of coyotes runs across the highway. Fuckin’ weird.” Samson twisted his lips. “Give me the city any day.”
“Give it time. Who knows? It might grow on you.” Nick laughed, shaking his head. “Might even buy yourself a pair of cowboy boots.”
“Yeah, right. You got a better chance of seeing me grow another dick.”
