Page 34 of Devil of Vegas

Instead of backing down as he usually does, Alonzo takes a step toward me. “You’ve forgotten who we are, boss. And you’ve replaced your loyalty to this family with loyalty to a woman. Blood isn’t love. Blood is survival.”

“I don’t think we have time for this,” Luc says as he tries to de-escalate the situation. He puts his hand on Alonzo’s shoulder and steps in as myactualadvisor to help me figure out what to do. “Vincent, I spoke to Gabriel like you asked.”

“And?” I ask impatiently. This had better have something useful to do with getting Isla back.

“And he said that he hears pretty much every secret in the city but that he hasn’t heard of anything having to do with Angelo planning a kidnapping of the ballerina.”

“Maybe he needs to be pressed a bit more then.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Luc is quick to retort. “Gabriel tells me everything he knows each time I ask him about something. He’s a trusted confidant, especially withme. If he had heard any indication that this was going to happen, he would have told me.”

“What do you mean,especially with you?” I ask. “I thought the bartender was pretty chummy with the entire crew.”

“He is,” Luc says quickly. The nervousness in his darting eyes as they struggle to maintain eye contact with mine donotgo unnoticed by me. “I just meant that I talk to him more frequently than some of the other guys and that he’s not shy about his street-smarts. I’d know if he was keeping something secret.”

For a second, I question Luc’s seemingly very close relationship with my casino’s bartender, but I’m much too distracted bygetting Isla back to think too deeply about it. I brush it off almost instantly and get back to thinking about a plan to rescue Isla when the door to the club opens, and I see Celeste Durant standing there.

“What are you doing here? The casino isn’t even open yet,” I say. I refrain from throwing her out immediately only on the whim that she might have some rare insight to offer. Thankfully, it would seem that she does.

“I know where Isla is,” she says, to my surprise.

Instantly, she garners the attention of everyone in the room.

“How can you possibly know that?” Alonzo asks, already suspicious. Skepticism and mistrust are his default characteristics. As an underboss, his skepticism and mistrust benefit him, at least until he directs that skepticism at me. “I received a message from her. Natalia Barone asked me to deliver it directly to you, Vincent.”

Luc raises a brow at the old dance instructor. “Natalia Barone? Are you two friends these days?”

“Come on, gentlemen,” Celeste says, clearly not wishing to waste any more time while her dancer is in trouble. “We all know that I have had ties to almost every mafia family that has been in this city. I’ve been around a long time, boys, I’ve endured a lot, and I’ve learned a lot. One thing that I’ve learned is never to rely too heavily on any singular alliance. Diversification of interests is an asset not to be underrated.”

“What’s the message? Where is Isla?” I ask, superseding the hesitation of my men.

“Isla is okay, for now,” she says. “But she’s being kept hostage inside the basement of Angelo Barone‘s newest business endeavor.”

“The casino?” I’m reminded that he’s trying to encroach on my business territories.

“It’s not actually a casino,” she says. “According to his wife, it’s simply another front for him to use for his sex-trafficking operations. He’s not doing any sort of illicit gambling. The casino itself will be legit. In the basement is where he plans to commit the real crimes. Unspeakable crimes against women, the kind that I would like to prevent Isla from having to endure.”

My anger burns with a refreshed need to make Angelo Barone pay for this. I know where the casino is. I just didn’t think he’d keep her there in such an easily accessible location, but a hidden basement makes sense. Unfortunately, for him, there isn’t a hidden room in the city that I can’t break into.

“I suppose you want me to return Isla to you in exchange for this information and your help in the matter,” I say. “It’s not going to happen, Celeste. She stays with me.”

“Isla is a grown woman, and although I had hoped she would dance with my troupe for her entire career, I have no intention of forcing her back. I realized the last time I saw the two of you together that she’schoosingto stay with you, Vincent. I do not know why a woman with her talent would throw it all away for a man like you, unless it’s forlove. Even I can’t impede that.”

Celeste pauses and looks thoughtful before continuing.

“Did you know I had a daughter once?” she asks in a quiet voice that the other men strain to hear. “To this day, I regret not being able to protect my daughter more from the fate that she metwith. But I trust you will protect Isla better than I could have ever protected her.”

“What makes you so sure that you can trust me not to hurt her?” I ask.

“My daughter, God rest her soul, knew your sister. They were quite good friends, actually. And she seemed to think that you were a good man somewhere deep within your soul. I’d like to think that’s true.”

For a second, I’m surprised and shocked by the revelation of a connection between my sister and Madame Durant’s daughter. But I don’t have time to delve into this further right now. I need to save Isla before Angelo has the chance to hurt her.

“Alright,” Marco says after Celeste takes her leave upon delivering her message. “How do you want to handle this? Do you want me to lead some men into Angelo’s casino and try to shake them down first? I’d imagine that any lower levels are heavily guarded, especially now that he has a hostage inside—a hostage of high importance.”

“I’m sure he does,” I nod. “But no, I want to try a different approach first. I don’t want to risk him executing Isla if he feels boxed in. I also don’t want her getting caught in any sort of crossfire.”

“So, what does that mean?” Luc asks. “What do you want to do?”

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