Page 19 of Crime Lord's Paradise

“I should kill Carmen,” he said as his hand slipped beneath her shirt.

She took great pleasure in throwing his words back in his face. “Oh, Gavin, don’t be so dramatic.”

“You should stop seeing her,” he said as he cupped her breast.

“As if that would ever happen. She’s my best friend.”

His expression was inscrutable as he murmured, “Sounds like Blade’s your best friend.”

“Blade is … I don’t know what he is, but he’s a part of us now.” Blade wasn’t necessarily a brother to her. He was caught somewhere between best guy friend and disapproving uncle.

He rested his forehead against hers as his hands continued to stroke her skin beneath her shirt. She looped her arms around his neck and closed her eyes as he cherished her without saying a word. There had been a lot of these moments in the past three months. Both of them knew how close they’d been to death. She drank him in, cupping his face before letting her fingers trace the strong line of his throat and then coming to rest over his heart.

“Are you happy?” she murmured, feeling drunk from his petting.

“You have doubts?”

I did things to him you wouldn’t agree with.Manny’s voice echoed in her mind as she opened her eyes and stared into his. “Just checking.”

He raised her chin so he could kiss her slow and sweet. She arched against him as he teased her. When their lips parted, he surveyed her with heavy lidded eyes.

“I have you and Nora. I don’t care about anything else.”

To him, it was that simple. This man battled to keep her at his side and bonded her to him so tightly, she couldn’t imagine life without him.

“I love you,” she said.

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed deep.

“Whatever you want, Lyla, it’s yours,” he said gruffly.

She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. “I have what I want.” How could she not love this psycho?

“I’m going to give you more,” he vowed.

“You can’t give me more than you have already.”

He placed his lips on her ear as he said, “Watch me.”

5

One Month Later

Gavin surveyedhis cousin who sat on the opposite side of his desk. Three months as the crime lord of Las Vegas had taken a toll on Angel Roman. The smile on his face no longer reached his blue eyes. His hair was wet from a recent shower since he arrived in a blood-stained suit. Angel was forced to put on jeans and a shirt, a staple of his that Gavin could see didn’t sit well with him anymore. He understood the feeling. Crime lords had an image to maintain, and the suit was a part of it. It became their uniform and a symbol of wealth, dominance, and authority. It didn’t hurt that it concealed weapons and bloodstains. Suits were so versatile.

“Trouble?” he asked.

“A minor inconvenience,” Angel said.

He was itching for action. Angel didn’t betray himself by fidgeting or letting his attention wander restlessly around the office, but Gavin sensed it. The high of power and violence was a drug he was well acquainted with. It was what drove him to Hell and infidelity. The darkness of the underworld was making an impact on his younger cousin. Angel was handling it well, but if he didn’t find an outlet, it would drag him under.

Angel had adapted amazingly well. While he sneered at New York underworld traditions and politics, there was something to be said for having protocols in place. Las Vegas had turned into Gotham—lawless, pitiless, and brutal. Angel was morphing into his own brand of crime lord. He was deceptively accommodating until crossed. His methods to gain compliance were inspired. Word was spreading through the underworld of its new master.

He worked hand in hand with his cousin, adding his influence when necessary to solidify Angel’s reign. He had to admit Angel was the best man for the job and kept Raul apprised of his brother’s progress. Raul wasn’t surprised by his younger brother’s success. Resigned was more like it.

“Progress with the Black Vipers?” Gavin asked.

Angel overplayed his hand and barely survived a murder attempt. They had left a staggering number of bodies in the wake of that incident to make a statement. Any opposition would be removed. Since Raul sent reinforcements from New York, there hadn’t been anymore close calls.

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