Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Gris

My time in the gym is my sacred time…everyone in my family knows not to interrupt.

So when my phone rings for the third time, I'm naturally pissed.

I swear, all this Vegas sunshine makes me grumpy.

Who knew? I didn't think I'd miss London's rain, but there it's expected you'll just be a fucking prick.

Here in the states there is some expectation to be as happy as the weather. Americans.

Then again, I have more reason than usual to be miserable. Some of our major plans with the Kincaids are falling to shit….

Which is what causes me to finally pick up my ringing phone.

My brother Tris's name flashes on the screen, which only deepens my impending dread. I hit the call button. "Tris."

"Gris," he answers back. "Sorry to interrupt your workout time."

I don't answer. There is no need. He wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important. "I've got news on the Kincaid front," he starts with a sigh .

My stomach tightens. "I'm sure I already know what you're going to say?—"

"Did you talk to Roman?"

"Roman?" I stare down at the phone. What the fuck is he talking about? "I thought you said you knew. Why would I have spoken to Roman?"

Tris is silent. "I think we'd both better start talking."

"Go," I answer. "You called me so it must be important."

"Toni Carcetti is dead."

"Fuck," Yeah, that is important. "How?"

"Jake Kincaid shot him in self-defense."

My eyes close as I sit down on the weight bench behind me. "Tell me more."

In clipped tones my brother explains how Toni attempted to kill his own daughter, the daughter I sent to the Kincaids, and how Jake defended her, not once but twice.

"He's marrying her, Gris."

My stomach clenches. "Who is marrying whom?" I already know, but it's bad enough that my head falls into my hand.

"Jake is marrying Nia. Can you believe that? From kidnap victim to queen."

Fuck. Me.

"Any chance we can break them up?" I know it's a shit thing to say but I am the man who set Nia up. I played her like a fucking pawn and now she's the queen on the board, free to come at me with whatever moves she chooses.

"I heard them fuck on the plane. You'd have to kill Jake and then the rest of the Kincaids would take all their might and power to come after you, after us."

I draw in a deep breath of air, trying to clear my head. Think. "So…what happens next?"

"Fuck if I know," Tris sounds as tired as I feel. "But she's really pissed, and she claims that Jake has paid his debt to her, but you…"

I stare down at the phone. "And what about Mason? He's going to let her dictate these kinds of things? "

"Yeah. She's delivering the entire Italian empire to him without a single law broken or another drop of blood spilled, from what I can tell. She's far more useful than us, honestly, and I could hear in Jake's voice that even if she wasn't, he'll back her to the death."

"Fuck," I rumble out, my fist driving into the padded bench I sit on.

"You hand-delivered a beautiful woman, a mafia princess, into the arms of the Kincaids. You had to know this was a move that could backfire. She used her God-given gifts to outplay you, Gris."

He's not wrong. Nia is a looker, and unlike her sister, Nia's clear blue eyes shine with intelligence and fire.

"So what is she demanding?"

"I don't know yet, but if I were to guess, I'd say castration of one kind or another."

I punch the bench again, my fingers near breaking as pain shoots up my arm.

Then I draw in another long gulp of air. Because this game isn't over yet… "Ready for my news?"

"You don't want to keep talking about Nia?"

"Roman and Luke are missing."

"What?" he rumbles out into the phone. "You can't be serious?"

"I am. Serious. Last anyone heard, they had gone to this vacant lot that they were trying to purchase for their tunnel project. They need the piece of land for ventilation."

"When was that?"

"Wee hours of the morning," I answer. "The car was there when the sun came up, but both men are gone."

"Dead?" he asks, and I hear him run his hand over his scruff.

"I don't know." I hope not. I like them both. But I might hate Vegas. For all the talk of being a shiny, happy place, the filth runs deep.

"So…are the Kincaids about to implode?"

I don't answer right away. Mason is the brains and Leo is the muscle. Jake is the old-school gangster who keeps them just enough in the gray. Can the three of them do this on their own? "I doubt it. Mason, Leo, and Jake have got what it takes. "

"So we help…" Tris answers. "And we win back their good grace."

We help.

Rolling my shoulders I stand up from the bench. My uncle is the Duke of Highgrove. But we're born from a time when our family participated in every illegal vice known to Britain to fight and claw our way to the top of society.

It's a fact that usually disappears from a family's memory, but not in our case.

And it's something that the Kincaids couldn't possibly understand.

When it comes to being a gangster, we are the originals.

And it's time to fight dirty…

OH MY GOD…. Is anyone as excited as I am for the next installment of the "Lords of Las Vegas?"

Obviously, Roman and Luke are next. Keep reading if you want a sneak peek of where they are and how their stories are going to begin.

King of Ruin and King of Pain will be launching in late 2024 and early 2025.

But just in case you were wondering, the "Lords of Las Vegas" does not end with Roman and Luke. The Smiths will be the next family to be featured beginning with Gris and Tris. So buckle up…these Dukes are revving their engines!

Coming starting in 2025!!!

Duke of Depravity

Duke of Deception

Duke of Daring

Duke of Damnation

Duke of Desire