Page 81 of Vegas Daddies

Is he still that person now?

I scratch my head. Say Russians outed me to the public, exposed my crimes and pitted me against the whole community—would Peter still back me?

His secret is one that could outshine mine, remove me from the spotlight, but I don’t think I’d ever report it to the press. I couldn’t do it. Things have changed, and Bratva interventions have set him on an entirely different path, but to me he’ll always be the Peter from Summerlin who used to wear GAP hoodies and nylon shorts, and play baseball with me in the garden.

But that white-picket-fence life is no more. It receded into the distance the moment I left for college on my bike, and for Peter, it disappeared the moment Vlad answered his phone call.

All there is left to do now is fix things.

How, I don’t know.

But me sticking a diamond ring on his daughter’s finger and watching the butt plug wink between her ass cheeks as we fuck sure has complicated matters.

I return to the keypad on my phone and type out a message.

Me: I know, sweetheart, but you can’t tell him that you know.

Me: He already feels guilty enough.

Me: And also, he’ll know that I told you.

The typing bubbles ripple.

Alice: Does he know I’m staying with you and the boys?

Me: Yeah, we told him it’s to keep you safe

Me: How is he?

Me: Fine for now. I’ll speak to you later <3

I pocket my phone and get back to the floor for a distraction. God, she’s so fucking hot. If I’m not buried deep inside of her, I’m thinking about it. Last night in the shower felt like more than sex, though. It was deeper than that, like together we were operating as one. I felt myself molding into her. My chest felt swollen—like, I physically felt it enlarging. Words can’t pinpoint the feeling because I don’t think there is one in the English language to describe The Alice Effect. It’s like my entire life I’ve been searching for something. Previously when I fucked other women, I felt unfulfilled afterward. Like I’d lost something.

Fucking Alice last night made me feel like I gained something. Like my soul had grown a pair of wings.

I didn’t know it was possible to feel weightless.

It’s given me a reason to fight. Who cares what silly Russians throw at me? Their ridiculous accents and threats can fuck off, because my career means nothing if Alice’s safety is on the line.

Which it still is.

Bile swirls around my stomach. What if her kidnapper hadn’t stormed in and escorted her out of the hotel room? What if he’d abandoned her in there, and the three fuckers did more than scroll their starved eyes up and down her perfect body? Maybe next time, if she’s caught again, something worse will unfold. Clearly, she’s valuable to them. An asset that could, judging from the amount of dollar bills stashed in her G-string, increase their daily earnings by thousands.

Dread squeezes my gut.

Could she be more than just a ransom to them now?

My phone buzzes.

Peter.

“How’s she doing?” The monotone suggests that he’s still not pleased she’s staying with my outlaw friends for the foreseeable future.

“She’s doing good. She finished her shift and made it back to Brander’s.”

“I don’t like that she’s staying with him, you know.”

“Yes, but it’s for her own safety,” I say. “The Russians know where you live and could show up at your place at any time. How safe would she be then?”

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