CHAPTERFIFTEEN
DANIIL
I scruba hand over my tired face and allow myself one more tiny glance at Bianca. It’s only the millionth time I’ve snuck a peek at her, but she is especially beautiful when she sleeps. Scratch that, I find her breathtaking all the time.
Blyad. When have I ever waxed poetic about someone’s beauty? I sound like fucking Romeo over here. Pathetic.
The door to my office opens and when I see Leo, I wave him in, putting a finger to my lips and pointing to Bianca curled up on the couch, my jacket draped over her. His eyes understandably widen in surprise, because only a day ago, I was actively avoiding anything Bianca. But that was before.
Before she broke me down. Before Ilet herbreak me down. Because if I’m going to be honest with myself, the minute I saw her from across the casino floor, something inside me knew she was mine. I’ve been fighting the magnetic pull between us for so long, it’s impossible to resist anymore.
More than that, I don’t want to.
I know she’s keeping secrets from me. Hiding skeletons in her closet that one day I will unearth. I just hope they aren’t big enough to break us apart.
Leo sits across from me at my desk. He takes a cigar out of his pocket, but then glances at Bianca and seems to think better of lighting up.
“This is an unexpected sight.” He gives me a little smile. “I take it to mean you’re on better terms.”
I kick my feet up on my desk and avoid his question. “It’s unexpected for me, too. She didn’t want to be alone.”
When I’d agreed to let her come to the casino with me, it was under the condition that she didn’t leave my office unless escorted by me, a condition she happily agreed to. We got here around midnight, and after five minutes of looking around my office, she settled in front of the television, eventually closing her eyes and drifting to sleep.
A pang tugs at my chest at how content she seems to simplynotbe alone. She must have been left alone a lot in her life. At least after she went to live with her uncle.
Leo nods in understanding, his intense gaze fixed on me. “Días just got here,” he says, gesturing to the large monitor on my wall. “VIP poker room.” I pick up the remote, and flip to the correct security camera. Jorge and his posse of Zegas appear on-screen. There’s nothing unusual about this, the Zegas are in here every night, but the knowledge Días is near makes the hair on my arms stand on end. “You still don’t trust him.” It’s not a question, Leo is stating a fact.
“Not even a little. I don’t know what his endgame is.” Bianca releases a little sigh in her sleep, and both of us look over at her, still curled up peacefully. “No, fuck that. I do know his endgame. It’s her.”
“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath. “You think he would cross Emilio to get her back? He’s not that stupid, is he?”
I scratch my neck in thought. “He’s not stupid, he’s vengeful—which is worse. Much worse.”
My eyes flick to the monitor. The VIP room has gotten increasingly rowdy since the last time I looked. Tonight is a party night. The Zegas are letting loose. Drinks are flowing, girls are milling about in various states of undress while a poker game is underway in the middle of the room.
As if we have a psychic connection, Díaslooks up at the security camera, a wasted stripper on his lap. He smirks, holding eye contact with the camera as if he knows I’m looking right at him in this moment. It sends a chill down my spine. This guy is a fucking loose cannon, and I don’t want him in the same building, much less the same city, as Bianca ever again.
With a final menacing grin, Jorge turns back to the game in front of him, pushing the girl off his lap like the dick he is.
“He might be slippery as fuck,” Leo says, interrupting my thoughts, “but he hasn’t actually done anything yet. We have to bide our time and wait until he screws up before we can deal with him properly.”
Leo might be right, but when I look over at Bianca, hair fanned out behind her, parted lips, looking even younger than her twenty-one years, I decide I don’t like that idea very much.Wait and seemeans we’re vulnerable, like sitting ducks, and that’s not my style. “No, fuck that. We need a different approach.”
Leo leans back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head as he observes me. “I’m listening.”
“We need to set him up. If he has intentions of messing with us, let’s make it happen sooner than later.”
Leo raises his eyebrows. “Are you suggesting using Bianca as a lure?”
“That’s not at all what I was suggesting,” I respond, jaw clenched.
He chuckles, holding up a hand. “Shit, don’t bite my head off. Deny it all you want, but if he’s going to do something stupid, it’s gonna be over her.”
“I don’t like it,” I grind out, but I also know my brother is probably right. There’s a reason he’s in charge of spying and intel for the family. “But let’s say for argument’s sake I agreed, what would you suggest we do?”
He sighs and swipes a hand over the back of his neck. “You told me that Kira is organizing a girls’ night out for Bianca. We leak the time and place to the Zegas.” I shake my head, but he holds up a finger to let him finish. “We send them to one of our clubs, we have the place surrounded by our men, we’ll be there. If Jorge shows up… well, that says something.”
I hate this idea, but I hate sitting back and waiting for him to make a move even more. It’s true what they say—the best defense is a good offense.