Page 53 of Tainted Princess
I was moving before I even thought about it, leaving Jerry sitting at the table alone as I pushed through the crowd toward her. As I approached, I noticed that she was with Lexi and that guy from the parking garage, Vinnie or whatever she said his name was.
Was she fuckin’ him?
The anger I felt at that thought would have surprised me if I was thinking rationally, which I obviously wasn’t.
Lexi saw me first, her eyes going huge before she leaned down to whisper in Francesca’s ear. I stepped right up behind her, almost close enough to feel that ass I had just been staring at against my surprisingly hard cock in my pants. But I didn’t want to think about that right now.
“What the fuck are you doin’ here?”
I saw her shoulders stiffen for a second before she squared them like she’d done in the church, and then turned to face me.
It occurred to me then that I had never seen her with her hair down. Looking at her now, the thick dark waves framing her face as the club lights pulsed around us, I was struck by just how beautiful Francesca truly was. Her large golden eyes and full lips that, when I had first seen her, made me think she looked like a doll were now done up with heavier make up, transforming her face from innocent to vixen.
She blinked at me, covering her shock rather quickly considering I had just snuck up on her. I watched as she schooled her features, taking a sip of her drink to buy some time, and I simply waited, wondering how she was going to explain this.
“I think a better question is what are you doing here?” she said, her voice raised against the music.
“I own the fucking club, Francesca. If anyone has a right to be here, it’s me.” The shock on her face seemed genuine, and the glare she shot Lexi most definitely was.
“Well,” Francesca said, scowling at her friend, “that information would have been good to have an hour ago.” For her part, Lexi at least tried to look contrite, but she didn’t really pull it off. “I had no idea you owned this place, Enzo,” she said, turning back to me. “We were just looking for a night out. We can go somewhere else.”
“You’ll go home, that’s where you’ll go.”
Her eyes went huge before they narrowed at me. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Francesca. Go. Home. I won’t have my wife tramping around Las Vegas dressed like a whore.”
The hurt that flashed across her face cut me. I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth, but my pride wouldn’t let me take them back. I watched as Francesca looked down at herself, the tight jeans and the sexy boots, the top that was seductive without being too revealing. If I was being honest, she looked incredible, but for some reason, the apology I knew she deserved stayed lodged in my throat.
Francesca took a step back, putting her closer to Vinnie than me, and I hated that. I hated that she felt safe with him and threatened by me, but I just couldn’t fuckin’ open my mouth to change it. So I watched as Francesca changed instead, her vulnerable, pained eyes turning hard, shielding herself from any further damage my words might inflict.
“Alright, Enzo,” she said, and I had to strain to hear her over the music. “I’ll go.”
I nodded. “Good.”
“But, before I leave, you should know that your Russian problem is still a problem.”
Now it was my turn to stare. “What?”
“I said your—”
“I heard what you said, Francesca. What the fuck do you know about it?”
There was no way she was right. I had met with Anton just this morning. He assured me that there was no way his guys were dealing in my clubs. He swore on his daughter that whatever had happened had nothing to do with the Belikov family or any of their associates.
What I wanted to know was how the fuck Francesca knew anything about any of it.
“I don’t know about it. Just what I heard in the car.” I scowled. That’d teach me to talk openly. “But, what I do know is that you have a man at the bar who bears a striking resemblance to Ivan Drogo pushing pills for cash. So, unless he’s yours, and your organization is branching out to drug dealing in your own legal establishments, then I would say that you have a Russian problem.”
I glanced around, looking at all the men lined up at the bar, and finally found the guy she had described. He was tall and blonde and that was about it. As I watched, he did nothing to indicate that he was any kind of a threat, and I turned back to Francesca with a glare.
“You hassling my customers now, Francesca?” Her mouth opened to protest, but I cut her off. “No. Listen to me. Go home. This is no place for you, Francesca. I got shit to take care of tonight, and the last thing I need is my wife causing drama and startin’ shit.” When she tried to speak again, I grabbed her, using her upper arm to haul her close to me.
Vinnie reacted fast, placing a hand on my shoulder and staring me down with his cold blue eyes. How was this kid a waiter just two days ago? He looked like a stone-cold killer but fuck if I was scared. Kid had nothin’ on me.
“You got a problem, boy?”
“Hands off,” he said evenly.
