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"Why did you come back?"
Shit. I wasn't prepared for him to ask it outright like that. I fumble and wring my hands, but he doesn't look like he's about to let it go. I'm not sure what to tell him.
I needed money. I wanted to see this place again to remember that night. I had to get what I could from the place that ruined my father. I'm buried in my father's debts, and I feel like I can't breathe, and I thought one last hack here would cut it because I'm an idiot.
Instead of saying any of that, I shrug and say something else that's true but less fraught with danger. "I assumed you forgot all about that night."
Domenic's gaze heats so unexpectedly that I don't have the wherewithal to step back when he moves slightly closer.
"Believe me. I wish I could have," he says so low I almost don't catch it. "But I never forget anyone banned from the Golden Flame. I don't forget faces easily, least of all yours."
Least of all yours.Is Domenic saying that because he was so disappointed with mine after he learned the truth, or is it because he's thought about that night all the time the way I have over the last three years?
I can't afford to ask that question no matter what the answer is, so I finally step back and clear my throat.
"Why are you even asking about that now?" I point out. "It doesn't matter, right? I just came to let you know about the payment issue."
He studies me, his face unreadable as he tucks his hands into his suit pockets. "It does matter. I think you came here because youneededto, despite the danger. It was a desperate last resort. You were in some kind of pressing bind. A financial one, I take it."
I flush. "I—I…"
I don't even know what to say to that. In fact, I'm thoroughly humiliated.
"Just call it an upfront bonus and focus on making my security ironclad."
I huff. "So it's some kind of bribe or something? Or are you trying to give me charity? Because I really don't want—"
"Loren." Domenic's voice is almost a growl. "My time is stretched thin enough as it is. I need to get back to my rounds. Either accept the money and continue working here or send it back and get out."
Sheesh.
I give him a cold stare-down, showing him his snippiness doesn't frighten me. "Fine. I'll drop the topic and get back to work. But a word of advice? Act like less of a stubborn, immovable ass when dealing with your higher-up clients in the casino, or they'll go to someone who understands the concept ofcatching more flies with honey.It won't kill you to smile at a few people. Who knows? Maybe you'll even enjoy yourself."
I go to pass him and then hesitate. Then, glancing up, I mutter, "And…thanks. Again."
Before I slip into the security rooms of the busy casino, I hear him mutter, almost so quiet that I don't catch it, "You're welcome,fiore di ciliegio."
Chapter 6
Domenic
"Every day, businesses fail. It's always the ones no one expects."
I make no response because my father doesn't need to make it more clear how he feels about how I'm running things at the casino. Profits from The Golden Flame fund much of our family's other assets and pursuits. He calls it the heart of the Caputos.
He's smoking a long cigar across the table from me, gazing out the window with a frown at the heavy Vegas traffic below. People tell me we look alike, something I've never considered a compliment despite how popular my father has always been with women. His dark hair is streaked with gray now, and he has far more worry lines etched into his stern, mature face, but admittedly, we have the same eyes and build.
But our personalities and personal ideologies couldn't be more different.
"I'm aware," I reply.
"We can't let our Golden Flame be one of them, Nic. We simply can't. It's all on your shoulders now, and things should be going better than they have been."
I've always disliked the nicknameNic. It doesn't suit me, but I've never told my father so because I doubt it would stop him from using the term.
Three years ago, he was constantly breathing down my neck, demanding that I take the reins of the family and step in as head don. Most mafiosos in my position, the sons and heirs of the most powerful crime families, wait with baited breaths for the day they get to take charge.
I was indecisive. I've never known ifthisis what I want or if it's merely what I was raised to do.
