Chapter One
Lucas
“Ican’t pay you.”
From the floor below I could hear the muffled, excited chatter of guests and the automated ringing of machines. This casino and the four others in the cluster used to belong to my father, Charlie, but since his passing four years ago they’d fallen to me. I was twenty-one when that happened and there was a momentary uncertainty that I’d fail him. Charming yet ruthless, my father had run things smoothly until his untimely death. But I liked to believe I’d settled into the role.
The man in front of me, Hector Griffin, looked at his wit’s end and it was an expression I’d become all too familiar with. Hector had borrowed a considerable large amount of cash from me and now he had the audacity to sit in front of me and tell me he couldn’t repay his debt. I didn’t care what his excuse was. He knew the terms when he came to me.
Leaning back in my chair, I surveyed Hector properly. The man looked stressed and tired. There were dark circles under his eyes and several broken capillaries around his nose, and, teamed with his haphazard fair hair, Hector looked like some bedraggled scarecrow. If I had a more caring disposition, I might have felt sorry for him, but I honestly couldn’t care less. If the current situation he found himself in caused him anguish, then he should have thought twice before agreeing to business with me.
“That wasn’t our arrangement,” I reminded him. My voice remained calm. There was no need to scare him just yet.
“I know,” Hector started, and I could hear the panic in his words. “But I don’t have the money.”
Behind me, Michael and Theo both took a step forward and I raised a hand to signal them to stop. I appreciated the loyalty, but I called the shots here and I was not ready to cut this meeting short just yet. I’d humor him and hear what he had to say. Surely, he knew better than to think I’d let him walk away from all of this without consequence.
“What can you offer me?” I asked him, inspecting the fingernails on my left hand. The skin was slightly puckered in places from old scar tissue and I could barely push my two thick, silver rings past the bumps on my knuckles.
“I can pay you in installments?” Hector suggested. “I’ll work for you?”
Both of the offers Hector had placed on the table caused me to scoff. He was an old man with a fondness for drink and a gambling problem. He’d be no use in my line of work. If anything, he would be a liability. I didn’t expect to babysit those who were in my employment. I already had a hard enough time making sure Dante stayed in line.
“You can pay in installments,” I said, contemplating his first offer. “If there is something you can offer as a guarantee. I’m sure you can understand why I’m having trouble trusting your word.” I was not willing to have this man make a fool of me for the second time.
“I don’t have anything to offer,” Hector scrambled.
That was the default statement people reached for. An impulsive response when they felt cornered, but I kept important details close to hand. It was in my best interest to know more about the people I did business with than they would feel comfortable with.
Leaning forward, I propped my elbows on the dark, wooden desk that sat between us and steepled my fingers together.
There was nothing extraordinary about Hector. Construction worker. Widower. One daughter.
How did you hit a man who didn’t have a lot to give in the first place?
You took the only thing that made his life worth living.
“Now,” I said to him, narrowing my eyes. “That’s not quite true.”
He gave me a bewildered look and I couldn’t help the wicked smile that graced my face.
Chapter Two
Mia
Ilet myself into the house after a long day at work. Working in a care home, even as an administrative assistant, is demanding and the extra shifts had left me with aching feet and a feeling of fatigue that was hard to shake. No two days were ever the same, and despite how difficult it could be some of the residents had managed to make their way into my heart. I wouldn’t change it for the world. It also helped that the pay was decent enough that I could contribute towards the bills and keep the house running.
It felt like more effort than it should to shower and change before I could finally drop onto my bed. Burying my face into the pillow, I let the faint scent of lavender take the edge off my tense mood. It would be so easy to just stay like this and let sleep consume me, but considering I didn’t get a lot of free time I hated to feel like it’d been wasted.
Lifting my head, I looked at the stacks of books that took over every inch of free space in my room in an attempt to decide on something to read. Many of them had been gifts from Dad over the years. He’d done his best to raise me ever since Mom passed away. I was so young when cancer took her that I couldn’t remember what she was like. The only way I could familiarize myself with her was through the photographs that Dad kept. The older I’d gotten the more I realized that I was her double in every way.
My Dad was by no means perfect. He had a temper and he was partial to one drink too many, but how could I begrudge the man who picked up the pieces when he lost the love of his life, to raise me? I’m not sure I would have the courage to carry on if I had gone through what Dad had.
“AH!”
A scream followed by the sound of a door slamming shut hard enough to shake the house caused me to jump. My heart thumped against my breastbone as I tiptoed to the top of the stairs to see Dad muttering to himself as he paced the floor. Initial panic fading, I made my way to join him.
“Dad?” I asked as he whirled around to look at me. His eyes were wide, the whites of them bloodshot and my heart sank as I caught the vague scent of alcohol. “Dad, what’s wrong?”
