Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Nia

Deep inside I keep a dark secret. It's so ugly and awful, it has colored my entire life.

I stare out at the perfectly manicured lawn of my gated home, the lush, green grass and sunshine mocking my mood.

I pull my long blonde hair back into a high ponytail, feeling a bit of air on my neck as I hum a bluesy song meant to remind me of why sunshine isn't always happy. If it was, Las Vegas would never be sad, but I swear, it's one of the most morally bankrupt places on Earth.

I have proof. Everyone thinks my mother's death was an accident. A drunken drowning in her own tub. As if that isn't dark enough.

But the truth is, the man who is publicly acknowledged as my father killed her. And he did it because he learned the truth about me.

I'm not his daughter.

I used to be his favorite. His namesake. Now, it's all just a careful fa?ade. He pretends to love me, and I pretend that the very sight of him doesn't make me recoil in revulsion.

If I don't…I'm sure I'll be the next accidental death.

But privately, I'm making plans. I'm going to leave Vegas, disappear .

I've got it all mapped out.

I just need the right moment, the right person, and then I'll be gone. What comes after I leave, I couldn't say. That's the next problem.

"Nia," my sister Jess calls. "Are you ready yet? We're leaving in like fifteen minutes."

I push up from my chair on the covered patio, stepping into the much-cooler house. "I'll be ready. Just give me five."

She snorts. "No shower?"

I roll my eyes. Jess is a girly girl. It's hair and makeup for hours. I only wear the barest bit of mascara and gloss, my hair usually pulled into a ponytail like it is now or down in my loose, natural waves. "Of course I'm going to shower."

Not that I care about how I look or smell for this particular outing. We have a weekly date with a few girlfriends at our father's casino, the Diamond.

They all like it because we drink for free. My father likes it because he can keep an eye on us. I don't give a crap about socializing, but it's all part of the charade. I pretend to be the frivolous daughter of the successful Vegas casino owner. He pretends to care. Neither are true.

I don't care about the money or the big house. I'd happily live in a tiny apartment if it meant I was free.

And Toni Carcetti isn't a success. I know how to discreetly listen, and Toni is about to lose several properties. He's distracted. It's the chance I've been waiting for.

But if I'm going to successfully escape, I'm going to need some cover. The only person who might be able to help me is Jess.

Not that she wants to escape. She loves Vegas and this life. Granted, she doesn't know the truth, but I'm not sure she'd believe me even if I presented her with a mountain of evidence.

She's happy being a mafia princess.

Or maybe I stopped being able to trust anyone a long time ago.

Either way, if she's going to help me, she'll have to do it unknowingly. Shouldn't be a problem .

I run up to my room and take a two-minute shower, changing into a strappy sundress that hugs my curves.

My mom was a beauty. We look a lot alike, except for my blonde hair. I'm surprised Toni didn't question my paternity sooner. I'm the only blonde in the entire Carcetti family. Today, I let my hair fall around my shoulders in loose waves, putting on the mascara and lip gloss that are my regulars.

Then I'm back downstairs.

Jess shakes her head when she sees me, her lip curling.

She's had a bunch of work done and she hates that I don't put more effort into my appearance. "It's not fair," she snorts now. "You shouldn't look that good when you don't try at all."

I shrug as I walk past her heading for the car. "Who are we meeting tonight?"

"Renee and Justine," she answers, falling in step next to me. "Casandra isn't coming."

"How come?"

Jess rolls her eyes. "Didn't you hear? Mason Kincaid got married."

I'm trying to keep up. "Okay?"

"Casandra was holding a torch for the King of Vegas," Jess whispers. "She's too depressed to go out."

I shake my head. Casandra didn't really know Mason Kincaid, she'd only seen him from afar, met him at a few charity events that are a part of the fa?ade we all wear. But her lack of a real relationship didn't stop her from talking about him constantly. "Really? Married?"

"That's right. Daddy says that's why the Kincaids are calling in so many debts. They want to protect Mason's new bride. Isn't it romantic?"

I barely keep from rolling my eyes. "Did you mean psychotic?"

"What's wrong with a man protecting the woman he loves?"

"Potato, potahto," I mutter, sure Jess won't understand. To protect her, the new Queen of Vegas, they are going to hurt a whole bunch of people. Jess is seeing herself as the protected woman but we're about to be the bugs the Kincaids squash. I'm sure of it .

"You know the Kincaid who is really hot," she sighs, as the car pulls up, ignoring the last comment. "The uncle. Jake."

"Isn't he old?" I ask, wrinkling my nose.

"Sophisticated," she holds up a finger. "The patriarch."

"So really entrenched in being a crazy criminal?" I flip my hair over my shoulder as the car stops next to us, the driver getting out to open the door for us to climb in the back seat.

Jess goes first, sliding across the leather bench seat. I climb in after, my movements slower, as I sit next to my sister. "I don't understand you sometimes."

"I know." Jess would love to marry into one of the other families that make up Vegas's underworld. She doesn't seem to have a problem with the crime. All she cares about, as far as I can tell, is the lifestyle.

Then again, I'm sensitive on the topic of this lifestyle.

But I need one ally, so I don't say anymore as the car starts down the drive. And I don't want to hurt her either. I wish I could be more content sometimes. More trusting. Maybe I would have been if I hadn't learned the truth and my father hadn't turned on me in the cruelest way possible.

Silence settles for a few minutes, but my sister is never quiet for long. "You know that Russian, Mickael, that I met last week?"

"Yeah?"

"We've got another date," she whispers so the driver doesn't hear.

"How do you do it?" I ask, my eyes growing wide. "How do you get out of the house?" Because, honestly, I really want to know. This is precisely what I need Jess's help for. She is so much better at skirting around the rules than I am.

She leans in really close, whispering in my ear. "One of the guards lets me out when the cameras are turned away."

"How?" I mouth, meaning, how do you get him to do it?

She knows exactly what I'm talking about. "I blow him on the regular," she answers so softly I barely hear her. Which is why she starts pressing her tongue against her cheek, pushing the skin out to mimic a blowjob. It's on the side of her face the driver can't see, but my gaze still darts to him .

Our father, if you want to call him that, has a strict no-dating policy for both me and Jess. Though, he's way more casual with her than he is with me.

Everyone thinks it's because she's older. Or because I'm considered the beauty. And his favorite. But I know the truth.

One night when my father was fall-down drunk, he told me that he's made some arranged match for me. Barbaric.

But basically, he's planning to sell me to some distant Italian relative in marriage. Not only will he get a giant infusion of cash to save his failing business, but I will live on the other side of the Atlantic.

Basically, a whole country and an entire ocean away. For him, it's a win-win.

And I'd be out from under his power and his fists.

But I'd be some guy's trophy wife who is the same kind of criminal my dad is. No thanks.

I have no idea when this is happening, but considering that the Diamond is about to be seized by the Kincaids, I'm guessing it's very soon.

We pull into the casino, our friends waiting just outside the doors, already looking wilted in the sun.

The Vegas heat hits me full in the face and we all rush into the dark air conditioning of the lobby at the Diamond.

I hate this place.

It's all flashing lights and perfumed air that barely covers the smell of cigarette smoke.

The other girls make a beeline for the bar, ready to start drinking, and I follow behind, taking a seat at the bar with them in the last chair available.

I'm not much of a drinker and the bartender knows, pouring me a sparkling water with a lime so that it looks like a real drink. He gives me a wink to let me know this is our secret.

With a nod in return, I take a sip, settling in to listen to the ladies talk about who they're dating and who they really want to be dating, when the hair on the back of my neck stands at attention .

I turn, sweeping my gaze over the restaurant, searching for the cause.

My gaze locks with a man half hidden in the shadows. I can only see half his face, but that half makes me gasp. The piercing stare of his eyes make a jolt of electricity zing down my body.

Am I scared or excited?

It's not just that he's handsome. He is. But something in that stare is…dangerous.

I still, my fingers gripping the back of my chair as my lips open and close. What am I even trying to say? He won't hear whatever it is, he's on the other side of a crowded room.

"Hello, gorgeous," a different man says just to my right. His accent is posh and British. And then he steps in front of me, breaking the spell between me and the predator in the shadows.

I blink a few times, trying to adjust my eyes. As I take this new guy in, my brow furrows. He looks more like a Ken doll than any man I've ever seen.

I frown, just a little, weirdly irritated by the interruption. And I already know I'm not interested in this Brit. Even if I could date, his kind of classic good looks don't do it for me. Despite my complete lack of experience, I've already figured out I like dark with a healthy side of danger. This guy is all sunshine and rainbows. No thanks.

"Oh my God," Jess squeals next to me. "You're Gris Smith."

"At your service," he gives a little bow, his hands folding, one in front of his stomach and the other behind his back, like he's bowing for a king.

I automatically paste a polite smile on my face, trained since birth to be well-mannered, but as Jess makes gooey eyes at the Ken doll, I realize this might be my chance…

I need Jess's support to sneak out. And if there is one thing she'd support, it's me dating a guy like this.

Because he is part of the British invasion here in Vegas. They are buying up casinos and aligning with the Kincaids to make themselves even more powerful.

If my father can't pay the note on the Diamond, they are first in line to buy the place. I quickly reset my mouth into a softer smile. "Nice to meet you, Gris."

"I'm Jess," my sister volunteers. "And this is Nia."

"Nia," he repeats, cocking one of his perfectly arched brows. "A beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

It takes everything in me not to gnash my teeth. How corny. But I give him an even brighter smile instead. "Thank you."

"May I join you ladies?" he says, his hand resting on the back of the chair right next to mine.

I cock my head. I know I'm attractive, but this guy likely dates super models and I am not that. I may have been trained to be the perfect lady but inside, I've got a brain, a decent one. Which is why, I start quickly doing some math. I've got way more curves than the average Vegas stick figure. In other words, I'm no Barbie. Why did he seek me out? Intel? An in with my father?

Either way, if he's hoping to use me, I have every intention of using him right back.

He makes polite conversation for twenty minutes before he leans over and whispers in my ear. "Any chance I can get your number, beautiful?"

I do my best to bat my eyelashes, knowing I likely look ridiculous. But I take his phone, typing in my digits.

Jess is leaning over me, her cleavage on display as she gushes. "You know, we come here this time every week."

He cocks that brow again. "Really? So if I were to come here next week with some friends, we could all make a night of it?"

I nod, genuinely enthusiastic this time. A group date is perfect. I can hang all over him without too much worry, and then I'll convince Jess to help me sneak out for a real date.

She'll agree.

But I have no intention of actually going out with him.

No. That's my moment, and I'm going to use it to leave Vegas and never return.

I'm running away. And Gris Smith is my ticket out.