Page 102 of Casino King

Vinny still comes here on occasion whenever our cousins from Miami or New York visit, but even he takes his job seriously now that it’s just us.

Reaching those already here, I reluctantly let go of Tessa’s hand so she can wish Katarina a happy birthday and hug Aria, Gia, and Mia, too. Vinny thought Mia was too young to come tonight, but she’s 18 now, and it’s not like any of us are going to let her drink or ever have her out of our sites.

“Hey, sis. Happy birthday.” I hug my little sister and kiss her cheek.

“Thanks, Alec.” She smiles wide, her happiness written all over her face. “And thank you for doing this for me.”

“Anything for you,” I tell her seriously. “You know that.”

“I know.” She smiles again, her eyes glassy. “But don’t make me get emotional on my birthday. I want to have fun tonight.”

“Not too much fun.”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t start, Alec. Just go enjoy Tessa. I like her. She’s really great. You’re lucky she tolerates you.”

“I know.” I nod, looking past Katarina to see Tessa smiling and laughing with my cousins. She’s so fucking beautiful.

Patting my arm, Katarina walks over to the bar and orders a drink while I go over to my brothers.

“She’s going to give us nothing but trouble, you realize that, right?” I say to Leo and Luca about Katarina.

“I know,” Leo groans, rubbing his temples. “She’s testing my patience more and more. She just doesn’t understand the risks of what she’s asking. She wants to travel, move out of mom’s, and date.” He snarls on that last one.

“She doesn’t understand that she’s vulnerable out there,” Luca says. “There are people who won’t hesitate to use her to get to us. Look at what happened with Tessa.”

I know he’s right, but at the mention of what happened only a week ago, my anger flares.

“Sorry, Alec,” Luca says. “I know it just happened, but it’s the truth.”

“I know,” I force through my clenched jaw.

“We’ll let her have fun tonight and worry about everything else tomorrow.” Luca shrugs, sipping his drink.

I leave them to go grab a drink for myself and Tessa, and then sneak up behind her to hand her a glass of whiskey.

“Are you trying to get me drunk, Alec? Because if you are, this is a good start.” She smirks, taking a sip. “The quickest way, too.”

“I’m just looking forward to the moment you let me test how far you’ll let me go with you up here.”

With a smile that has the power to make me do anything she wants, she finishes the drink in two gulps and hands me the empty tumbler.

“I’ll take another.”

Staring down at her, I capture her lips with mine, licking the whiskey from her lips. “Coming right up.”

The night goes on, and I spend most of it sitting with Leo, discussing the fallout of the Triads in the week following our takeout of their leaders while Luca is off with Nico, Vinny, Stefano, Marco, and Gabriel down below, choosing the women they want to spend the night with.

Leo is the only one content to sit with me as Tessa dances with Katarina and the other girls up here in VIP. There’s no fucking way in hell we’re letting them go downstairs where men will put their hands all over them.

“The Russians are taking over a lot of the Triads territory while they scramble to try and rebuild what they had without a leader. But they’re no match for the Bychkovs. Those fuckers will annihilate whatever Triads get in their way now that they can’t protect themselves. I mean–” he abruptly cuts off, his face turning to stone.

“Leo, what’s–” His eyes go dark, murderous, and I follow his line of site to the woman who just walked in with Nico.

She smiles at something Nico says and he puts his hand on her lower back. That’s when Leo growls low next to me, a snarling sound that resembles what a lion would make before attacking its enemy.

The woman is quite beautiful, and when she looks our way, her eyes pass over mine and land on Leo’s. She freezes mid-step, her eyes widening in surprise. Nico stops short with her and looks down to see what made her pause. His eyes follow hers, and then he drops his hand from her and steps away, seeing the look on Leo’s face.

Leo stands, but with the first step he takes toward her, it’s like she snaps out of the stupor she was in and turns on her heel, practically running back out the way she came.

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