Page 23 of Devil of Vegas

“See what?” Alonzo barks at him.

“Her.”

The cop walks toward me, introducing himself before he reaches me. “Hello, Ms. Hart. I’m Detective Hale Monroe. How are you?”

I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to answer. How does one, who is a captive of a mafia don, respond to a question like that from a cop?

“You look nervous,” he says when I don’t answer. “Perhaps you’d be more comfortable talking with me down at the station?”

“Like hell,” Zara says as she comes to stand beside me. “She isn’t going anywhere with you. You’d better leave, Monroe, before Vincent hears that you’ve snuck your way up into his penthouse. He doesn’t take kindly to bad cops who play both sides, especially not ones who are stupid enough to cross him.”

Zara is feisty, and it seems to back the detective off. Even though his attitude shows no signs of simmering down.

“Badcop? Come on, sweetheart. You know that there’s no good or bad, just who wins and who loses.”

Marco reaches to grab his arm and escort him out, but Detective Monroe is already out the door. “What was that all about?” I ask once he’s gone.

“Nothing,” Alonzo snaps at me before following them out the door. “The dirty bastard just wanted to set eyes on you, is all. He’s always looking for an angle to leverage against Vincent. He’ll learn to stop poking his nose into things when someone bites it off.”

That imagery isn’t something that I wanted to picture in my head.

When Marco returns to check on me, he seems annoyed but unworried now that the cop is gone. “You alright?” he asks. His protective affection for me is sweet. I think even Zara finds it endearing.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s not like he did anything egregious.”

“But you could have gone with him, Isla,” he says with confusion. “Why didn’t you say anything about being kept prisoner here?”

“I don’t really know,” I shrug. “It just didn’t feel like a good idea to go with that guy.”

“You’re a good judge of character,” Marco says. “Hal isn’t the kind of cop who prioritizes helping people. He’s the kind that seeks to enrich himself and further his own goals. You were right not to go with him, and don’t worry—I’ll keep you safe here.”

“Thank you, Marco,” I smile at him. “You’re one of the good ones.”

I can see the same sort of complicated expression on his face that Zara sometimes gets. It must be a difficult position for them both to be in—torn between befriending me and staying loyal to Vincent.

“I’m not so sure about that, Ms. Hart,” he chuckles as he shakes his head. A hint of regret shows in his eyes. “I protect people who don’t always deserve it. But you—you deserve better than this.”

I reach out my hand to his shoulder and give him a gentle smile. “It’s justIsla, remember?”

Marco returns my smile before going back to watch the door.

“Are you leaving now, too?” I ask when I see Zara follow him out.

“Yeah, I need to work on some otherbusinessmatters.”

It strikes me that I don’t really know what Vincent and his entourage actuallydo, aside from being part of this city’s powerful, underground mafia syndicate.

“Zara, can I ask you a question before you go? I realize you might not be able to answer me, but whatareVincent’s business dealings?”

“Casinos,” she answers, as a student might dutifully provide the correct answer the teacher instructed them to give. “He owns a whole slew of them, not just the grand one downstairs.”

“Yes, I know that part,” I say with a knowing look. “But whatotherbusiness does he engage in? I assume it’s something like drug dealing and protection rackets. Isn’t that what the mafia is infamously known for?”

She looks a bit stunned that I’ve said that out loud. But it works to get her to answer me at least a little bit.

“Thefamily businessesare all rooted in a niche market,” she says quietly. “Take the Barones, for example, they’re empire is mostly built on drug and arms trafficking. And the Conti family has a foothold in stolen art and antiquities, along with some channels in the trafficking of rare jewels. It’s common for families in this line of work to have their hands tainted with blood from hits and protection schemes.”

She thinks before continuing. Her voice fills with an audible respect for the man she works for. “You know, Vincent has helped me more than anyone else in my life. The empire that he built, although it might have been built on violence and questionable character, is an admirable accomplishment that has lifted many of us alongside him.”

---