Page 19 of Devil of Vegas

“She didn’t. She knows you were lying.”

“But then why?—”

“Madame Durant has a complicated past,” I say ambiguously. “An acquaintance from my past. I guess you could loosely call usold friends.”

Isla wrinkles her nose at me. “I doubt that.”

“After she lost her daughter, she?—“

“Wait, what? I didn’t even know that Madame Duranthada daughter,” she interrupts.

I instantly regret having said anything. It’s not a topic that I want to think about or discuss, especially not here and not tonight. But before I can shut it down, we’re interrupted by a man who will soon come to regret having accepted my invitation to this event.

“Isla Hart, the prima ballerina, isn’t it?” a man in the crowd asks as he steps toward her. “I have to say, you’re even more attractive in street clothes than you are up on stage.”

Instantly, my protective nature kicks into overdrive, and I step in to shut this guy down.

“It’s uncustomary and rather rude to make a pass on a woman who’s holding onto another man’s arm,” I say as I flash him a charming warning smile. “I’m sure there are plenty of other lovey ladies for you to hit on insidemycasino.”

I’m a gentleman outside work, despite what many think. That said, I have my limits.

“Yes, of course,” he laughs. His unflappable demeanor is suspicious. “I just assumed that since she’s soyoungthat she might not be yoursyet.”

With that, I slide my arm out from Isla’s and stand her behind me. With a snap of my fingers, Junior is here to keep an eye on her for me while I deal with this arrogant prick.

“You don’t look familiar to me, friend,” I say to the man who now realizes he’s crossed a line and pissed me off. “But let me help you understand how much it displeases me to be insulted inside my own club.”

I roll up the cuff of my sleeve, revealing a forearm with every inch covered in ink. I ball my hand into a clenched fist.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it,” he says as the glass in his hand shakes. “I was merely complimenting the lady on her?—”

I lift my arm to throw the punch before he’s done talking. But before I can land it squarely on his jaw, Alonzo intervenes and pulls me back.

“Whoa, boss, hold on!” he says, stepping in before things get out of hand, much to this guy’s relief. He turns to the man and apologizes before sending him to the bar for a complimentary drink on the house.

I shake Alonzo’s grip off of me. “You’d better have a really fucking good reason for having done that,” I growl at him as I try not to make a scene at my event.

“Yeah, I do. That guy was one of our new business partners, an ally. You almost clocked a new client. Maybe you should take a walk and try to calm down a bit, Vincent. Your obsession with this girl threatens to weaken our business deals if you keep up like this.”

I want to shoot back at him, but I know Alonzo is right in this instance. So, I simply turn around and grab Isla back by the arm again.

“We’re leaving now,” I say to her as I walk toward the exit.

“Sir,” Junior says from behind me. “What would you like me to tell your guests?”

“Thank them for coming. Tell them I havebusinessto attend to. Just handle it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Elevator doors closing, I released Isla’s arm, composing myself. But instead of standing there quietly, she presses me on what just happened.

“What the hell was that about?” she asks with fire in her eyes. “I didn’t need you to come to my rescue. That guy was harmless, and I was finally enjoying being out of that god-awful prison for a moment. Why did you ruin it? I was doing what you told me to do.”

“That prick wasnotharmless, trust me,” I say, still combating the adrenaline rushing through my veins. “And it wasn’t about you.”

“What was it about then?”

“Don’t worry about it.” I turn to look at the elevator keypad. Wishing that the ride to the penthouse would hurry so that I can get out of this enclosed box with Isla looking like temptation personified.

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