Page 11 of Once A Crime Lord

He grunted. “I don’t want him to think he’s family.”

“You trust him with your business and money, why not your family?”

Gavin didn’t answer.

Marcus settled Nora on his hip and raked Carmen from head to heels while the nightclub manager she spoke to grinned like a fool. Marcus’s normally expressive face revealed nothing of what he was thinking.

“Oh my gosh! You’re here!”

Alice, wearing purple slacks and an unflattering blouse with large flowers, embraced Lyla and then backed away, clapping her hands. “You look great! Where’s the baby?”

Before she could answer, Alice spotted Nora in Marcus’s arms. She rushed over and talked to Nora who flapped her arms and smiled so wide that her pacifier dropped. Like Gavin, Marcus didn’t relinquish his hold on Nora. Alice was disappointed, but she wasn’t about to play tug of war with a baby or snap at her boss.

“He’s hogging her,” Alice complained and then bounced on her toes, eyes lighting up as she remembered something. “Are you able to volunteer at the hospital next week? Carmen said she’d talk to you about it.”

“I’m not sure,” she said as Gavin gripped the back of her coat.

“I’m on my way to a meeting with Janice to discuss the event. It’s going to be our largest to date!” Alice eyed Gavin uncertainly, clearly uneasy about addressing him directly. “Are you coming, Mr. Pyre?”

“No,” he said shortly.

Alice didn’t bother to hide her relief. It was clear she wasn’t comfortable around her boss. She turned back to Lyla. “You want to come to the meeting?”

She looked up at Gavin. His jaw was locked. Clearly, he didn’t want her out of his sight, but she was curious about the event and felt bad for not participating. Before Nora was born, she had been extremely active in the Pyre Foundation and enjoyed volunteering.

“Lyla?” Alice prompted.

She went on tiptoe and kissed Gavin’s bristly jaw. “I’ll be back.” She glanced at Marcus who presented Nora to the casino workers as if she were his. “You’ll keep an eye on Nora?”

“Of course. Blade,” Gavin bit out, and Blade materialized by her side. “Bring her right back to me.”

“Yes, sir,” Blade said.

She slipped away from Gavin to kiss Nora on the cheek. She looked around for Carmen, but she was gone. She tamped down her alarm. Carmen could take care of herself. Alice waved tentatively at Blade who regarded her impassively. Four guards joined him.

“Did I miss something?” Alice asked out of the side of her mouth. “I thought we haven’t seen you because of Nora. Is something else going on?”

“That’s just Gavin being Gavin,” she said dismissively.

Revealing anything about the attacks wasn’t an option. Alice might keel over from the shock. Alice was a Utah native, a state known for its strict religion and conservative views. She never asked Alice what prompted her to come to Las Vegas, but was glad to have her as a friend. Alice was a beam of light in an otherwise dark city filled with greed and lust.

“You look great,” Alice said admiringly as they walked through the casino.

“Thank you. I’m starting to feel... better.”

Seeing Nora being fawned over by Marcus and the other employees made her feel as if she was a part of a community rather than a lone ranger. For the first time in months, she wasn’t worrying about Gavin in the underworld or Nora’s future. She could live in the moment as she walked arm in arm with Alice through a casino teeming with people.

“What are your plans today?” Alice asked.

“I’m not sure. Gavin said you and Janice have been asking about Nora, so I thought we’d visit. Carmen came too, but I don’t know where she’s gone off to.”

“Oh, I should have invited her to the meeting.” Alice waved her hand. “Well, she’s been involved from the beginning, so she knows everything anyway.”

Carmen had been in on the plans for the hospital event? How? She hadn’t left the house.

Alice steered her into a conference room where Janice was holding court. Gavin’s Public Relations Coordinator was a force to be reckoned with. Janice single-handedly pulled Gavin’s tattered image out of the trash after Gavin went to jail for money laundering and Manny’s grisly murder was splashed across the news. Between Alice and Janice, the Pyre name had become a beacon of hope in the communities that badly needed a benefactor.

“You’re back!” Janice exclaimed, running forward in spiked heels and a tailored suit. She gave Lyla a fierce hug and then looked at Blade, the only guard who entered the room. “Where’s the baby?”

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