Page 1 of Sweet Possession
Chapter 1
Fox
Arnold Diaz was the biggest prick I’d ever had the misfortune ofmeeting.
Scratch that.
Myfatherwas the biggest prick I’d ever had the misfortune ofmeeting. Arnold Diaz came in a close second. He was an arrogant asshole, but an asshole who held a fair amount of power in the criminal underworld of Las Vegas.
I might not have liked him, but he was someone worth keeping onside if ever there came a time to call on his resources. After all, wasn’t there a saying about keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer?
Which was why I found myself sipping whiskey across from him inone of his meeting rooms at the back of a run-down poker hall on the outskirts of Vegas.Two of his drug runners had been caught trying to flog product inOnyx, the newest Carson-Fox casino, and I was here to politely ask him to refrain from selling his shit in our resorts.
I only hoped I didn’t have to ask a second time. If I did, I wouldn’t beas polite.
But as bad luck would have it, before I could move the conversationonto more important things than what we were talking about rightthen- his wife finding out about his latest mistress - two of Diaz’s enforcers barged in, unceremoniously dumping a middle-aged man in the center of the room.
“Found him trying to hitch a ride outta the city, boss,”one of themeatheads grumbled, cracking his knuckles.“Stupid cunteventried to put up a fight.”
The man, whoever he was, had clearly taken a beating from theenforcers. One eye was swollen shut, and a deep purple bruise was forming around the socket. A trail of blood streaked down one side of his face from a nasty gash on his forehead.
“Good work, boys,”Diaz replied, a menacing grin taking over his face.“Fox, do you mind if I deal with Freddy here before we continue our meeting? I’ve been looking for this piece of shit for the past three days, he owes me money, and a lot of it too.”
“Have at it,”I replied, intrigued to see how Diaz would deal with theman for not paying him back his money. It was evident from Freddy’s dirty clothes, stained teeth, and broken shoesthatthe man wouldn’t be able to pay up.
“Mr. Diaz,”Freddy whimpered. It looked like any minute he was goingto piss himself from the way Diaz was glaring daggers at him.“I know the deadline has passed, but I need a few more days to get the money. It’s coming, I promise.”
“I’ve given you plenty of time, Freddy. I warned you of theconsequences if you didn’t pay,”Diaz said, leaning back in his leather chair, and crossing one leg over the other. Gone was the relaxed man who’djustbeen talking to me as if I was an old friend, this was Arnold Diaz in work mode.
“I know, Mr. Diaz, and I will have your money. I need another fewdays for a deal to come together,”Freddy pleaded.
I rolled my eyes. I had no clue who Freddy was, but I didn’t need toknow him to know he was another idiot who’d fallen victim to the Vegas lifestyle. No doubt he’d blown all of Diaz’s money on poker games, telling himselfthatif he playedjustone moregame, he would win the jackpot and clear his debts.
“I’ve heard it before,”Diaz said, his tone cold.“You promised metwo weeks ago you’d have my money. But here we are, and I’m still waiting.”
“I know…but, but it’s different this time. Please, let me show you,”Freddy replied, wincing as he got to his feet, and pulling a small piece of paper from his pocket.
Diaz’s lips pursed but he nodded his head once. Why he wasentertaining the fool, I had no idea.
“It’s my daughter,”Freddy said, taking several steps to where Diazsat on his throne, acting as if he was the fucking king of the court.“I’ve…she’s…well-”
“Spit it out, Freddy,”Diaz barked, interrupting Freddy’s patheticstuttering.“What’s your daughter got to do with this?”
Freddy’s bloodshot eye flashed to me, the other still swollen shut.“She’s…I’ve given her to the Duke brothers.”
The hand holding my drink halfway to my mouth froze at Freddy’swords.EvenDiaz stilled.
As much as Nash and I had reputations for being clean-cut,law-abiding citizens, it wasn’t strictly true. Wejustmade sure any dealings we were involved inthatweren’t quite legal were kept under wraps.
The media would have had a field day if they found out half of the things we’d been involved in, like for instance, how Nash stalked and blackmailedhis wife, Savannah, into marrying him. Like how we both had a hand in the death of his brother and made it look like suicide.
But Nash and I had limits, and getting involved in the type oforganization Zach and Marvin Duke ran was something neither Nash nor I would ever consider getting involved in.
The skin trade.
Freddy had sold his daughter to the wolves, all so he could pay hisdebt.
I had no words. This was humanity at its lowest.
