Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Roman

The blades of the helicopter are still whirring over my head as I exit the chopper at the top of Kincaid Tower. My cousin Luke is just behind me.

What a fucking day.

From our vantage point, I can see all the lights of Vegas spread out before us. The city glitzes and shimmers like the grand illusion that it is. Meant to be an oasis, it’s just as lethal as the desert beyond.

I’d hoped to get back sooner.

But we’d had Nia and Jake to see off on their trip to the Keys, and then there had been the car to deal with….

It takes a bit of time to dispose of a burnt-out wreck with bullet holes.

And of course, there was the body…

I scrub a hand through my hair as Luke pushes a button on his phone, unlocking the rooftop door to the private elevator.

“I got seven calls while we were in flight,” he growls out as the door opens and we step into the elevator.

“Any of them the police?” I ask, my eyes closing as I lean against the wall, exhaustion pulling at my limbs.

“No. Just the fucking building inspector, the lead architect, and the foreman of the construction crew. Fuck me. Somethings royally fucked up, I’m sure.”

The moment the doors slide open to the conference room, he’s got his phone to his ear, snarling words I only half listen to as I pour myself a glass of scotch from the bar at the far end of the room.

In theory, my brothers, my cousin Luke, my uncle Jake, and I are the five owners of a successful real estate enterprise.

But we are also the five fingers of a fist, punching at anyone who gets in our way.

And no one gets to where we are without getting his hands dirty.

I take a large swallow of the drink and then another, I don’t love these days. The days where I’m not in the boardroom but fighting off the Italian Mafia as they try to take what is ours with guns instead of corporate mergers.

But either way, we do what we have to do to stay on top.

My phone rings, my brother Mason’s name popping up on the screen. I take another swallow and pick up. “Mason.”

“What the fuck happened today?”

“Toni’s dead, Jake is wounded, and Nia is on the war path.” And then I finish the glass and pour another.

“Toni’s dead?”

“Yeah. Tweedledee and Tweedledum Vendetti were with him, though, and they both got away.”

“Vigo and Vincent are problems we’re going to need to solve soon. Tell me about Nia.”

“I think the Vendetti twins are going to be the much easier discussion.”

Mason sighs. “Tell me about Nia anyway.”

“Our new aunt,” I say with a snort because, while Jake is pushing forty, Nia is younger than all of us. Why he’d want a woman like that, a woman who actually calls him Daddy, is beyond me. “Would like some recompense from Gris Smith. In her words, she’s paid a hefty price to become part of this family. And Jake just had to kill her father to keep her, and us, safe. But she feels that Gris has been all gain and no pain after the way he set her up and it’s time he put his skin on the line too. She’s not wrong.”

Mason grunts. “Should have seen that one coming.”

And that’s why Mason is our fearless leader. He rarely misses a move and blames himself when he does. “Her exact words to Gris’s brother, Tris, were, and I’m quoting, ‘I’m a Mafia princess who is now a queen of Vegas. You didn’t think what your brother did was going to go unpunished?’”

“What did Jake say?” Mason asks, not commenting on Nia at all. He’s calculating the damage and how to spin this to our advantage, I know it.

“He said, ‘Give him hell, baby girl.’” I repeat. Jake was completely behind his woman. Then again, Jake has been hooked about as deeply as a man can be.

She’s not so vulnerable anymore. Jake has gone about eliminating her problems one body at a time.

Hence why I was on clean-up duty today.

“And Triston Smith? What was his response?”

“It seems like he’s going to make his brother pay whatever price Nia demands.”

“She’s a businesswoman underneath the bombshell exterior,” Mason murmurs. “She negotiated with me like a pro. And I am a man with a lot of experience when it comes to creating deals.”

“That is true.” I take another swallow, as I consider. Mason sounds like he’s going to support Nia too. Was he looking for an excuse to back out of his deal with the Brits? Gris and Tris are new players in Vegas, having come from London to own a piece of the American dream.

“But honestly, Gris is the steal in the group. Not Triston. This could mean war.” I hear Mason scratch his chin. “Gris is a threat to us, I’ve always known it. We just can’t afford another enemy right now.”

The idea of another party to fight makes me tired.

“Shit. I’m getting a text from Jake now.” He pauses, likely reading the message.

“He says that Nia’s decided on her demand of the Smiths…. She wants to put our casino security man in charge of his casinos too. Eyes and ears right on every one of their floors.”

I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it. Christ. It’s a brilliant plan. “Wow,” I mutter.

“I know. Turns out, our young little princess is making us stronger.”

“Remind me not to piss her off,” I respond, though I know I pissed her off already. She was our enemy’s daughter and I don’t do well with women who have a lot of baggage.

In my defense, my mother died when I was young. Just eleven. Car accident. If you can call being fall-down drunk and then driving an accident. My hand clenches around my phone as I bring my glass back to my lips.

I take another swallow of my second drink, knowing I ought to slow down. But the past few days have unsettled some careful balance I usually keep.

“Fuck,” Luke yells from the next room, loud enough that Mason hears him too.

“What’s happening?” Mason asks.

Instead of answering, I switch the phone to speaker and cross the conference room to the adjoining meeting room.

Luke is standing by the windows, his back stiff and straight, his jaw clenched in hard lines. “How much did you offer her?” he asks in clipped tones as he speaks into his phone.

My brow furrows as I cock my head and listen.

“And she didn’t take it?”

Mason is silent, surely listening too.

“Make her another offer, double it.” Luke’s hand slices through the air like he’d like to cut all this bullshit.

“Why wouldn’t she want that kind of money?” He looks back at me, his brow furrowed in an angry line as he listens to the speaker on the other end of the phone. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He spits.

“What’s wrong?” I finally ask, not that he answers.

“Tell me you’re researching her. Find a weakness, find a way to make sure she sells.” And then he hangs up.

I wait, not one to repeat myself as he drops his phone in his pocket and scrubs his face.

Letting out a long breath of air, he finally grunts. “Problem with the tunnel.”

“What problem?” Mason asks.

Luke eyes my phone like I’ve betrayed him. Did he not want Mason to hear this? That’s too bad. We don’t keep secrets from each other.

“The problem is that there aren’t enough ventilation vents in the tunnel and the place they’ve requested we add one, is underneath the land of a small nonprofit animal sanctuary.”

Small animal sanctuary? In the city?

“Judging by what I heard,” Mason clears his throat. “Offers have been made, but she’s refusing to part with the land?”

“That’s right,” Luke nods, looking at me with a pained expression that tells me there is more that Luke isn’t sharing.

I set down my glass and scrub a hand across my jaw. “We’ll take a look at the property. See what size it is, what facilities she’s got. My guess is if we offered a larger parcel with more amenities somewhere else, she’d take that deal.”

Luke’s eyes light up.

“I agree,” Mason rumbles. “The sooner the better. We could do with a few less problems.”

We certainly could.

I hang up with Mason and pick up my glass, draining the drink. “First thing tomorrow?” I ask, wishing for nothing more than the bliss of my quiet apartment and the comfort of my bed.

Luke shakes his head. “I’m not sleeping tonight. I think I’ll go now.”

“You can’t show up at a woman’s place at one in the morning without ending up in a jail cell.”

“I just want to do a drive by and it’s a business, not a home.”

I scowl. “I’m going to bed, and I’m not picking up my phone, so if you end up in jail, I’m not bailing you out tonight. You’re sleeping with the drunks.”

“You’re not coming with me?” Luke asks with a frown. “I could use your eyes on this one. Without the vent, the project will be stalled for months. Our first permits are running out the end of this week.”

That was what he didn’t tell Mason. The two of them have a weird dynamic. Mason is my actual brother. Luke is the cousin that is like a brother. But the two of them…it’s different. Mason was long gone by the time I moved in with Luke. Off at school.

I mutter several curses because that’s Luke. Leaving out important information and running things down to the wire. “I hate you right now.”

“But you’ll come?”

I let out a long breath of air as I look down at the second glass of scotch I just finished.

Maybe it’s the drinks, or the hellish day, but a sense of dread fills me. “Fine. Asshole.”

“Thanks, dickhead.”

He strides toward the elevator. “I’ll drive.”

I set down the glass and follow behind him. “What do we know about this woman?”

“She’s some hippie, I think. She takes the birds that get wounded running into the skyscrapers and doctors them or some shit. There can’t be any money in it.”

This is decent information. She’s probably not motivated by our offer and she’ll want to be close to the city. “She probably doesn’t care about money, Luke. People who start non-profits sometimes don’t.” Unless they use them to launder. Which is an interesting possibility. “This hippie have a name?”

“Maddie Reid.” Luke presses the button at least a dozen times as we wait for the doors to open. “It’s a tiny tenth of an acre parcel but she’s refusing to sell, despite the offer being four times the value of the property.”

I frown as I take in that particular piece of information. “Either she’s crazy or she’s got some ulterior motive.” I’ll keep my theories to myself until I know more.

Luke shakes his head. “I agree. Which is why I want to gather a bit of information where I can assess the property without being observed.”

The elevator opens and I give him a long glare as we step in. “I’ve had enough shady dealings for today.”

“I’m not going to be shady.” He doesn’t meet my eye as he leans casually against the wall.

“Bullshit.” Luke is the king of looking carefree and charming. It’s an act.

“Ok, I’m not going to get caught. Besides, we both know a woman like that does not have an alarm or cameras.”

I shake my head, knowing I’m going to regret this as the elevator stops at the garage and we walk toward Luke’s Ferrari.

The drive is short, her small parcel right in the heart of the city. How she’s kept it for this long without selling is rather impressive. She must have had lots of offers as new Vegas has built up around her. Why not cash out?

We get out of the car, the flickering streetlights only making me more certain I’ve made a mistake. The alcohol is taking effect, and my senses are dulled as I survey the street. We’re on the back side of several casinos where traffic is lighter.

But it’s late and it’s a good spot for trouble.

I turn back to look at the lot. The property is protected by six-foot-high brick walls, not that Luke cares.

Before I’ve said a word, he takes a three-step running leap and vaults over the top. “You’re a billionaire who wears a suit most days. What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m a man who gets the job done,” he calls from the other side of the wall. “And we both know I like wearing jeans way more than I like suits.”

Several birds squawk in response and I roll my eyes. “What you’re doing is your best to get arrested.”

But I stop talking, letting him do his thing as I watch the street.

I do manage to note that the walled yard is attached to a stucco building that looks like it might be a two-family residence. Another Vegas oddity.

No lights are on inside, but I have this moment of unease. Does Madison live there? Is that why she won’t sell?

I cock my head to the side. “Luke,” I rumble out in a rough whisper. I’m liking this less and less.

He hops back over the wall. “She’s got about thirty birds and a few squirrels. That’s what’s holding up our billion-dollar project. A few parakeets.”

“Parakeets don’t fly into buildings, they live inside them around here,” I answer automatically, not even looking at him. Something isn’t right. I can feel it.

“Seriously, though. Why won’t she sell?”

That’s when I see the headlights coming around the corner. I step back into the shadow of the wall, my arm flinging out, to push Luke back too.

“Fuck,” he mutters as the car not only comes toward us but stops right in front of the house.

“You packing?” I ask, realizing that I’m not.

“No,” he spits. “Shit. I ditched my gun at the office.”

We’re hidden but his car is in plain view, parked just in front of the Maserati that just pulled up.

The driver, a large muscular man, gets out of the car and opens the rear door behind him, helping another person from the car.

There is something familiar about the guy, and I lean closer. If I’d skipped the scotch, I’m sure I’d already know what’s making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I eye the second, smaller person. Even in this light, I catch the flash of long blonde hair as the man slips a hand around her waist, walking her toward the door.

“Fuck me, that’s Vigo Vendetti,” Luke mutters.

The passenger door opens, and when the streetlight catches the second man, I know that Luke is correct. It’s Vigo’s brother, Vincent Vendetti, who steps out onto the sidewalk. He takes a long look at Luke’s car, before he starts walking straight toward us.

This is bad.

The Vendettis are the unhinged nephews of the man we killed today. And if they realize that the Ferrari is Luke’s, they’ve got us right where they want us…

I lean closer to the wall, my jaw hard as granite. “What do you want to do?”

I hear Luke growl. “We can make a break for the car, or we can…”

But Vincent’s scanning the area and I swear he sees me, our eyes locking.

My hand comes to my chest, feeling the bullet proof layer of protection I’ve been wearing since this morning.

It only takes a second for Vincent to reach behind him and pull out a pistol.

I barely hear the two pops before I feel the bullet strike my upper chest. I look over just in time to see Luke go down…