“Do you ever think about your time in Louisiana . . . about what would’ve happened if you didn’t save Peyton?” Ripp asked.
Visions of that night flashed through my mind, but I willed them away. With a heavy sigh, I tucked my phone back into my bag. I wasn’t the type to think about the what-ifs. Thankfully, I was lucky Peyton’s story had a happy ending.
Turning to the window, I watched all the lights blur together as we drove through Sin City. “I try to live in the present and how my choices affect the moment,” I whispered low. “With how messed up my life has been, there was no room to think of the future.”
Ripp nodded in understanding but didn’t say anything. While he concentrated on the road, I stared curiously at him. I wanted to know who the guy in the suit was and why Ripp was angry at him.
His eyes shifted my way and he chuckled. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Who was that guy you were talking to earlier?”
Ripp’s jaw clenched, and he stayed focused on the road. “I talked to a lot of people tonight, Wren.” He knew exactly who I was talking about. His reluctance only made me more curious.
“He was the guy in the gray suit, Ripp.”
He shrugged it off. “He’s nobody.”
I scoffed. “He sure didn’t look like nobody to me. You forget I have experience with all types of men. That one is worth a lot of money. Not to mention, he was packing a lot of heat beneath that expensive suit.”
Ripp blew out a frustrated breath. “His name’s Grant Baker.”
Parker cleared his throat sarcastically and it grabbed my attention. When I turned to look at him, his eyes were dialed in on Ripp’s in the rearview mirror.
“Are you sure you want that to be your answer?” Parker said to him. “You know I have access to all sorts of FBI files, right?”
They stared each other down and then Ripp sighed. “Okay, fine.” Ripp looked over at me and I could see the worry on his face when he spoke next. “It was Seth Michelson.”
CHAPTER5
WREN
Holy freaking shit. I should’ve known it was Seth Michelson. I could feel it in my gut. The comparison to Nikolai was just too uncanny.
When we left California to visit Vegas, I thought we were leaving the mafia and all that danger behind. Boy, was I wrong. I had been duped by Seth’s brother and could’ve easily lost my life because of it. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him or those kinds of people.
Unfortunately, when Ripp told me the reason Seth was in Vegas, it didn’t look like I had a choice but to be around his kind. I dumped all the contents from my bag onto the hotel bed and stared at the envelope full of money. Judging by the thickness of it, I’d say there had to be at least a hundred thousand or more in it.
Ripp had lied to me about the whole process. I thought it was regular people bidding on the fights, but that wasn’t the case at all. What I didn’t know was that only certain fighters actually got paid. The woman I fought tonight didn’t get a cent. The betting was all for Seth and his mafia friends; they reaped the benefits along with the select fighters who got paid.
A knock sounded on my hotel door, and I stormed over to it, ripping it open. I thought it would be Ripp, but it was my brother.
A light smile tugged at his lips when he looked at me. “Still pissed at Ripp?”
I stepped out of the way so he could come inside. “You could say that.”
Parker walked past me and set his laptop on the desk in the corner. “I think he’s going to give you some space for a while. There was a moment tonight when I thought you’d punch him.”
Huffing, I threw my arms in the air. “And I wish I had. The cocksucker knows he doesn’t have to lie to me. That’s what infuriates me more than anything.” I turned away from him and paced the floor. Why wouldn’t he have told us the truth? “Out of everyone in our group,” I said, turning back to him, “you and I are the criminals. If anyone should know about the shady shit, it’s us.”
Parker shook his head and laughed. “Yeah, we’ve dabbled in a lot of illegal shit over the years.” He pointed over at the envelope. “How much did you get?”
I shrugged dismissively. “Don’t know. I haven’t looked. You’re more than welcome to, though.”
Parker walked over and opened the seal, his eyes widening the second he looked at what was inside. When he was done counting the money, he set the envelope back on the bed, clearly astonished by the incredulous look on his face.
“Fucking hell, Wren. You could add up all the money we’ve stolen in our lifetime, and it still would only be a tiny minute fraction of that.”
I didn’t want that to entice me, but my traitorous heart raced excitedly; I hated myself for it.
