But I liked King of Hearts for its twisted irony. I grabbed hearts. I swept them into my world.
And I made it very clear that if they crossed me, I would crush them.
And they would certainly never,everhave mine.
Except…
There had been one.
I didn’t dare think of her name, lest all the complexities of her existence spring to mind. But I could practically feel her presence, even now, over two decades later.
“You are mine. No one else can have you.”
“I don’t want to belong to anyone else, Cassius.”
“Then say it.”
“I’m yours.”
“Say it again.”
“I’m yours.”
And then, just months later, when you got my brother in a car…
“Cassius!”
I barely turned my head. My older brother, Dante, had decided now was a good time to arrive. For the direction my thoughts were headed in, it probably was a damn good time.
He was just as savvy a businessman as I was, but he was rougher around the edges. When our family needed someone to connect with, shall we say, less marketable gentlemen, we sent Dante. In a suit and tie, he looked like me, albeit with a dash more gray around his beard and a thicker build.
But take the suit and tie off, and the tattoos and scars from stories not even I knew of made it very clear what kind of man he could be.
“Where the fuck have you been?” he said, annoyed. “We’ve been trying to get in touch with you all evening. You ever think to check your phone?”
“You know better, Dante,” I said. “No one is important enough for me to carry my phone, waiting for a text or call from.”
Not currently, anyway. Even two decades ago, I wouldn’t have said anyone was important enough. But looking back, it was almost embarrassing. I may havesaidno one was important enough, and yet…
“Yes, because to hear your phone, you need to be physically touching it,” Dante said with an eye roll. “For fuck’s sake, Cassius. We’re your brothers. Act like a dick to the world, it’s good to be feared. But don’t forget who the fuck we are.”
I snorted. I never could. How the fuck could I? The instant that first article came out calling me King of Hearts, I knew I could never trust anyone new in my life at that point. Only the people who came before we went from middle-class rough riders in New York to casino moguls in Las Vegas.
It was a shame, really. Contrary to popular belief, I could be perfectly pleasant to those I liked.
So long as they didn’t cross me. So long as they didn’t destroy part of my world.
Like…
“What do you want, Dante?”
“Well, for starters, the mayor has come back to us,” Dante replied. “He’s willing to give us tax breaks for the next five years if we agree to build another property off-Strip. Said something about it building jobs.”
“Jobs, right,” I said, bemused by the silly talking points. “Did you push for eight? Ten years?”
“Well, you didn’t let me finish. He started at three. I made it very clear if we didn’t do six, there was no conversation to be had.”
“And you settled,” I said darkly. “Vale brothers don’t fuckingsettle,Dante. You especially know that.”
