Page 31 of Devil of Vegas

When Isla first talks about her childhood, she starts out sounding quiet and reserved. She tells me about her mother’s death, the upheaval of her formative years as she was tossed into group homes and foster care. But by the time she talks about her teen years, her tone has changed to one of anger and fierce determination. Her drive to secure a dance scholarship and her resolve to never need anyone again in order to survive on her own are beyond impressive. Her story also triggers something else in me—a deep, potent protective urge to keep her safe.

“No one will ever hurt you again,” I tell her when she finishes detailing the account of her past and opening up her most private wounds to me. “I will make sure of it.”

Isla looks at me, and I feel swallowed whole by her innocence. Nothing and no one will ever touch her again, besides me. It’s no longer just a promise, but my sheer obsession to ensure that she remains protected at my side.

Sure, I have a million other things to take care of too, mainly putting down Angelo Barone and his crew. My life has taken an unexpected turn, and a ballerina is now my most importantpossession. We both take one last long look back at the canyon before leaving. Isla breathes in the air deeply and closes her eyes as if committing the colors at the edges of the sky in the late afternoon to memory.

On the drive home, Isla stares out the window quietly and I wonder what she’s thinking about. Upon returning home, I will have tasks to complete and may need to visit one of my casinos. It will depend on whether I need to meet Gabriel Reyes in person or if Luc has any useful information. Then, I’ll need to figure out what the hell I’m going to do about?—

“Vincent, look out!” Isla screams as a car comes careening across the median from the other direction and heads straight toward us.

I yank the steering wheel, and the tires squeal as I try to get us clear of the impact. I’m able to avoid a head-on collision, but the other vehicle still hits us. It barrels into my driver’s side door, momentarily stunning me, pinning me against the metal and trapping me inside the car.

“Are you alright?” I ask Isla, reaching over to make sure she’s okay, and grimacing when I twist my shoulder.

“Yes, I am—” The passenger door flies open, and a man wrenches her from the car, cutting her statement short. “Vincent!” Her scream for help cracks my heart in two as I reach for my gun and fire at the men who are holding onto her arms and pulling her back toward the car that hit us.

“Let her go!” I shout as I fire. “Let her go, you motherfuckers, before I kill every one of you!”

I wrestle against the car, but I’m pinned too tightly. I can’t even turn all the way around to get a clear shot once they walk aroundthe car. For fear of hitting Isla, I stopped shooting. Instantly, the car sped past, allowing me a clear view of its driver. Barone’s capo.

“Fuck!” I shout inside the empty car as I strain to reach for my cell phone that flew across the dashboard on impact. As soon as I have it in my hand, I call Luc. And before he can even say hello, I holler into the phone.

“They’ve taken her!” I shout. “They orchestrated a crash when Isla and I were leaving the canyon. My car is a mangled mess that has me pinned beneath the crunched driver’s side door, but they pulled Isla out of the car and took her. I couldn’t shoot them because I couldn’t get a clear shot.”

“Slow down, Vincent,” Luc says. “Whotook her?”

“The Barones,” I growl. “I saw the driver as he sped off with her in the back—three men in total—and I recognized the one driving. It was one of Angelo’s capos. You’ve got to come get me out of this car, and I’ve got to go after them and get Isla back.”

“On my way,” Luc says. I can hear the urgency in his voice and the sound of his car engine starting. “Was she hurt or injured at all in the crash?”

“No, not that I could tell. But they’ve got her now, Luc. And she saw mekillone of Angelo’s informants at the theatre,” I remind him. “Angelo knows that she’s my weakness, that’s why he took her. I know it, and you know what that will mean for her.”

“Yeah, I do,” he sighs. “It means that she won’t be unharmed for long.”

“Hurry,” I say before hanging up.

Ineedto get to Isla. And I swear to God that if Angelo Barone or any of his men lays a finger on her, I will tear them apart limb from limb with my bare hands.

When Luc arrives, he brings Marco along, and they both attempt to open the car door from the outside. I’ve already torn up my hands trying to get it open, and I’m pretty sure I dislocated my shoulder in the accident. But as soon as I’m finally free from the car, I grab my gun, my phone, and tell them we need to go.

“There’s no time to waste,” I say as Luc grabs my arm and pops my shoulder back in. “I’ve got to get her back.”

“How are you going to do that?” Marco asks as the three of us get in his car and race back toward the strip. “If Angelo knows he can use Isla as leverage against you, he will use every bit of advantage out of holding her in his possession for as long as possible.”

“You need to be strategic,” Luc advises. “Think this through before you fly off the handle and do something that you can’t rein in.”

It’s much too late for that. I’ve already flown off the handle the moment that I watched Isla being pulled away from me.

“I’m not worried about being able to rein anything back in,” I say as rage consumes me. “It’s Angelo Barone who should be worried about what I’m going to do now.”

CHAPTER 15

ISLA

Iwake with a throbbing headache, either caused by the car accident or the blow I received to the back of the head by my kidnappers. Either could have easily knocked me unconscious. The last thing that I remember is being pulled from the car with Vincent calling my name frantically. I remember seeing him pinned between the crushed car door and the steering wheel, unable to free himself and help me. Two men dragging me away. They forced me into the backseat and then sped away, and suddenly, everything turned black.

I try to move, but quickly find out that I can’t. Someone has tied my hands behind my back and tethered my ankles to the legs of the chair I’m sitting in. Already, I can tell that I might not make it out of this alive.

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