Page 42 of Married With Lies

“I won’t be staying.”

“Oh.” Her confidence wavers an inch. She picks at a nonexistent piece of lint along the neckline of her dress, then checks to see if I’m looking. “Tell you what, Cale. Find me at the bar later if you change your mind and decide to stick around.”

As soon as the last word is dropped she turns and casually strolls away, sure that I’m watching her ass wink with each step. She’s got class and she’s a looker. Under different conditions I might have taken the opportunity to kill a few hours and get some exercise.

But things are what they are. I made a promise and extracted one in return. If I never need a reminder, I can just look at the ring on my left hand.

“Heads up,” says Vinny Tello one second before tossing a set of keys. “Mustang’s the best I could do. It’s parked on the roof of the garage. Cash has been counted and it’s in the trunk.”

I pocket the keys. “That’ll work.”

Vinny scopes out the scene with narrowed eyes. Twenty years ago he was a real mad dog. True, he’s lost a few steps but I’ll always trust an old hand like Vinny before one of the hyper young guns who have barely learned to shave.

Richie is always grumbling that the soldiers just aren’t made the same now. Richie might be right. The old neighborhoods are no longer teeming with kids dreaming of a Cosa Nostra future. Vinny has now brought two of his nephews into the family but they’re still wet behind the ears. It was my idea to invite them all to tag along on this trip. This way I can exit the first chance I get while the crew hangs out for the weekend to give the Bowler brothers a reminder that they’ll be watched.

“You sure you want to make the drive alone?” Vinny asks. “I can share the time behind the wheel. Or it’s not too late to grab a flight. The boys won’t mind staying here in Candyland without a chaperone.”

“Nah. You stay here, kick back, enjoy a short vacation. Maybe teach those kids a few life lessons.”

Vinny glances toward the casino, which is getting noisier by the second as the celebration begins to spread out. He frowns. “I have a feeling those two are gonna give me even more gray hairs. Saw them circling the blackjack table like wolves.”

Reaching for my wallet, I pull out my Amex black card and flick it Vinny’s way. “Let them have some fun. My treat.”

“They’ll make you sorry you said that.”

“I’ll live with the consequences.”

He snorts, then raises an eyebrow. “You planning to visit the wife during this trip?”

I’m careful with my response. Vinny is loyal but I would expect him to be far more loyal to Richie. It’s a narrow ledge I’ve been walking the past four months.

“I’ll see where things stand. Already warned Baines to expect me in Santa Fe by early tomorrow.”

Vinny scowls. “Yeah, I’d trust that fucking fossil as far as I’d trust a boa constrictor.”

“No shit. Which is why I’m going out there to remind him it’s in his best interest to accept Richie’s terms.”

The ‘terms’ being that Baines accepts a nice wire transfer to an offshore account, along with a suitcase full of cash in US currency in exchange for a small ownership interest he has in a hotel on the Jersey shore. Twenty years ago Baines fled the Hollywood scene on the heels of an embezzlement scandal. But he would have been aging in a prison cell for a while if the other studio execs hadn’t been persuaded it was healthier to let the matter go. Now all he has to do is relinquish something that Richie wants and he can go back to enjoying his retirement.

But that’s tomorrow’s chore. Right now I just want to get out of here and spend some quiet hours on the road. Every minute I spend in Vegas is a minute too long. Vegas has no charm for me anymore. It’s impossible to be in this city without thinking of Sadie in ways I’m not supposed to think about Sadie.

Like how she squeaked out a little noise of surprise when my lips landed on hers. And how she reeled from that kiss, as if she’d never really been kissed properly before. And how she looks in the morning light with her wild hair a mess and the long t-shirt she slept in hanging off one bare shoulder.

This is the type of thinking that will get me in trouble.

I didn’t touch that girl on our honeymoon and I won’t be taking a detour to Colorado to touch her now. My wife is a business partner. I don’t fuck business partners.

“I’m out of here,” I say to Vinny and scan the room for the men of the hour. Mike and Fred Bowler are schmoozing their way through the crowd but I can live without another limp handshake. “Can you make it a point to corner those two for a stern reminder who gets paid first when it’s time to disburse the profits?”

Vinny squints at the Bowlers. “Yeah, I’ll get the message across.”

“Don’t get too graphic.”

His dry lips bend into a grin. “Don’t worry. Old age has made me subtle.”

Unlikely. But even if Vinny makes the brothers crap their ugly blue suits it’s no big deal. We all have priorities and they need to understand what their new ones are. I’d hate to have to come back to this freaking place and remind them.

“I’ll be back in the city by Friday,” I tell Vinny.

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