Page 131 of Blood & Lace
How much longer?
"You're no fun, you're telling me being surrounded by all this, you're not tempted to have fun?" Régis rearranged his cards. “If that’s the case, you’re a better man than me, Damian Marino.”
When Damian didn't confirm or deny, Régis took that to keep talking.
"Maybe you're into something else?" His question had the fine hairs on my arms raising. He took more sips of his drink as they went back and forth with the game and started another.
Damian tossed in four black chips, still not answering Régis. For some reason, it made the older man laugh even more. He was relaxed like tonight was the best night of his life.
Poker wasn’t something I was remotely into. I discreetly looked around, seeking out only one person. When I didn't see Onyx right away, nerves began to bounce around in my stomach.
"That's the fourth hand you've lost," Régis said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were losing on purpose." He finished off his drink and his gaze was glassed over, pupils blown as it swept over each of us. "Any of you know how to play?" He grinned at me like we were the best of friends. "Well, I doubt you know how." He glanced back at the bodyguards he brought with him, and the man not fixated on Elia laughed along with him like he'd told the best joke.
Damian lit a cigarette and took a drag before leaning forward and putting it out on Régis’s hand. The smell of tobacco mixed with burning flesh was oddly sweet. The aroma was unmistakable as it filled the air. It wasn't a scent I normally would have been happy to breathe in. At the moment, that shit could have been bottled along with Régis’s shout, and I would've paid top fucking dollar for it.
"The hell?" Régis slurred. He stared at his hand like it wasn’t real.
I was on the other side of the table in two easy steps. All my pent-up frustration came to the forefront, and I slammed my fist into the guard's face. The crunch of cartilage in his nose was drowned out by the music playing in the background. I punched him again just for shits and giggles. He dropped down like a box of rocks.
Elia was next to me, his guy on the ground in a choke hold, his face turning a creepy shade of blue. My little brother sported the smile of a lunatic as he tightened his hold even as the body twitched.
Régis shot up and stumbled back. “The fuck. What is this?” He wavered, catching himself on the table before he could fall. His breathing was labored as he held his head. “What did you do?”
Prince grabbed the guy I knocked out and shouldered one side of him before passing him to one of our guys. “Take him downstairs. Elia, you done?”
“Yep.” Elia slithered from under the bodyguard and fixed his dress like it was a regular evening. And in truth, it was when you were a part of this family.
The crowd had thinned significantly over the night; it had to be gradual not to tip off Régis’s guards, and luckily, it had worked. The people that remained were either so deep in our pockets or worked for us. Their attention was on their own stuff and not on us. They were now being more quickly ushered out.
Régis groaned, shook his head, and tried to stand on his own. Once more he stumbled, but this time, he crashed down to his knees. He pulled the tablecloths off the table, taking the chips along with him.
"Shit, what did your husband give him?" Prince asked.
"No clue, but I know it won't kill him. That would be too easy," I said, knowing Onyx way too well. He’d want to end Régis’s life personally.
Damian still sat at the table, staring down at Régis like he was a bug barely worth squashing. “I warned you. Did I not, Régis?”
The older man blinked rapidly, trying to keep his head up to meet Damian’s gaze. “What? I—fuck, what did you give me?”
“He didn’t give you shit. I did,” Onyx said. Gone was the disguise and back was my breathtaking bella. He was still wearing the fitted short red dress.
Régis crashed, his eyes closing as his breathing evened out.
“He’ll be out for thirty minutes. I diluted that dose. I don't want to stretch this out,” Onyx said.
Damian nodded, stood up, and headed toward the stairs in the back that led to the basement. Onyx looked down at his father, and for a second, I thought he was going to just go in for the kill. No one would blame him, and I was certain my family would take care of everything. But he rolled his shoulders back and followed my brother.
“I wanted to watch your man do his thing down there, but I better stay up here with Prince just in case something happens,” Elia said.
Nash grunted, going for Régis. “Help me.”
“We could just drag him down the stairs.” I went for his feet instead and Nash punched me in the arm.
“Stop playing.”
No one ever lets me have fun.
We carried the soon-to-be-dead fucker down the stairs. Nash led us to the second room, and there, we found Damian and a pacing Onyx. I held back from calling out to him; the determination on Onyx’s face gave me pause. He was fully concentrating, and I needed to be here to support, not to get in the way.
