Page 18 of Checkmate

I chuckle and make my way around to the other side. The engine is already roaring to go. I’m barely able to get my seat belt on before Vivianna starts maneuvering through the parked cars. I hold my breath while hoping for the best. Once we reach the gates of the estate without any incident, I take a deep breath. Surprisingly enough, she’s a pretty good driver. “You want some music?” She nods her head yes. I lean over and turn on the radio.Luke Bryancomes on singing about stripping it down. I have a moment where I want to change it because considering the position we were in earlier it seems a little odd to listen to this song, but I notice the small smile on Vivianna’s face, so I leave it playing.

She weaves in and out of traffic as she takes us to our unknown destination. The car ride is quiet, but comfortable, as country music is playing over the speakers and Vivianna humming softly, even though I doubt she knows the words to any of the songs. Up ahead, I spot the Giordano casino and hotel. Vivianna pulls onto the side street and parks in the back parking lot which is designated for workers. I look over at her and I know I look confused. This was the last place I expected her to bring us. I mean, this is the place where Leo was killed.

“It may seem morbid in theory, but it was the last place I saw him, and it was our favorite spot,” her tone is sad, as she gets out of the car. I get out and walk around to her. Her arms are wrapped around her abdomen like she’s trying to hold herself together. I follow her line of sight and see she’s staring at the building.

“We can go somewhere else,” I offer.

She shakes her head while biting down on her bottom lip. “No, there’s no better view in the city.” She takes a deep breath before making her way toward the hotel. I follow behind her. I’m not sure what the plan is, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be just another day to her. She goes to the side of the alley where the ladder that leads to the roof is. There’s a metal gate over it and locked with a padlock. I guess it shouldn’t shock me when she pulls the last bobby pin from her hair and begins to pick the lock. I have to bite back the laugh that threatens to come from me. I’m beginning to think even firecracker isn’t a strong enough term to describe her.The lock pops open and she pulls it off before pulling back the metal gate away from the ladder. I watch as she starts to climb the ladder. She looks over her shoulder and asks, “Are you coming, Handsome?”

When she calls me, it creates a heat in my body that I can’t even begin to understand. I walk over and start to climb using one hand while juggling the two bottles in the other and the bag of chips between my teeth. Once I reach the top, Vivianna reaches out and takes the chips and bottles from me. I follow her to the ledge of the building that overlooks the strip and I see what she meant by the view. It’s amazing. It’s so easy to get lost in the chaos of life and forget that you’re not the only person in the world. Looking out and seeing all those lights is a reminder that we are far from alone. “I get why you wanted to come here,” I tell her.

She looks up at me and smiles. “It’s the best place in Vegas. You want to open one of these?” She hands me a bottle of champagne and despite thinking this is a bad idea, I go ahead and open it for her. She takes the bottle from my hands and takes a big swig. Maybe this is her way of dealing with her loss and who am I to judge that. She passes it to me, but I just hold it because one of us needs to be sober, so we can get back to the estate. She opens the chips and pulls out a spicy nacho cheese Dorito. I scrunch up my nose and she asks, “What?”

I shake my head. “That can’t be a good mixture.”

She shrugs. “I don’t know, but they are my favorite, aside from chocolate, which wasn’t in the kitchen, and the alcohol is needed at the moment.”

She turns around and places her hands on the ledge before pulling herself up to sit on it. “So, you wanna tell me how you know how to hotwire cars and pick locks?”

She laughs. “Well, this may come as a shock to you, but I got into a bit of trouble growing up. I’d often sneak out after everyone was asleep and one of the staff would notice the door unlocked, so they’d run over and lock it. I had to get back in, so I learned how to pick the lock. And luckily, I knew the code to the alarm system.” The smile she gives me is victorious.

“So, no one ever knew you were gone?”

“Well, Leo did. He used to follow me. That’s how I learned to pick the lock, he taught me,” she says.

“Really?” I’m shocked to hear that because Leo was so different once I met him, but then again, I guess we all have a past.

She laughs. “Yeah, so back when I first started dating Matteo and just thought I was madly in love with him, I’d sneak out. Well, the first time I got locked out and ended up staying out in the pool house until the next morning. I guess that might have tipped Leo off, so the next time I snuck out I just automatically went down to the pool house, and who do I find sitting in the darkened corner with his headphones on? My brother. Scared the freaking hell out of me. He lectured me and I expected him to rat me out to our father, but he didn’t. He took me back to the house and showed me how to pick a lock with a bobby pin.

I can’t help but laugh. “Wait, why didn’t you just use a key?”

“Well, we weren’t supposed to be out after a certain time. Our father would lock up our keys and the garage to try and keep us safe,” she explains with a shrug.

“I guess that makes sense.” Silence falls between us for a few moments and we munch on a few of her chips, which are as addicting as she said they were. “So, what about hot wiring a car?”

She laughs. “Well, that’s my catty bitch side coming out to play. There was this girl that tormented me after my mother passed away. She was from another family, and they were our enemy at the time, so she tried to make my life a living hell. She even almost got me expelled from the private school we attended. She cornered me in the girl’s bathroom with her two friends, because you know three against one is really fair.” Her tone is sarcastic, and she rolls her eyes. “Anyways, we got into it, but she actually threw the first slap. I just finished it, but of course, when she went running outside and found a teacher, I was the one who started it and her friends, of course, made sure to agree with her story. So, I had to take the fall. Anyways, this girl was always hanging out here at the casino with her fake ID. She wasn’t supposed to because her family had their very own casino and nightclub, but Giordano’s was the place to be. So, one night while I was sitting up here, I spotted her car in the very spot where yours is parked now. She always made sure to park around back, so her father would never know she was actually in the enemy's lair. Anyways, I had watched some of my father’s guys hot wire a car and I thought I could do it, so I climbed down and went out there. She was so dumb she left her Mercedes unlocked, lucky me. Anyways, I climbed in and messed with the wires, and it started, so I drove it around and made sure to have valet park it in the very front of the line so that everyone could see it. When her father spotted it, all hell broke loose.”

Wow, is all I can think as I listen to the story. I can’t say I blame her for the tactics she took, but they do shock me. Then something else dawns on me. “Wait, the only other family that has a casino and a nightclub is the Colombo’s.”

“Yep, Lana Colombo.” She gives me a wicked smile that shouldn’t be nearly as hot as it is.

“Damn, Firecracker, you just keep surprising me.”

Twenty

Vivianna

Why am I telling Luca all about my teenage antics? I shake my head at how spoiled and petty I must sound in these stories. I’m certainly not painting myself in a very good light, but for some reason, he makes me feel comfortable. He makes me feel like he won’t judge me based on my past decisions. Maybe, it’s because he didn’t actually know me then or maybe it’s because he was so close to Leo before he died. Either way, there is something about Luca that makes me let my defensive guard down and that’s something that rarely happens.

When Luca tells me that I keep surprising him, there’s an odd sense of satisfaction that shoots through my body. It’s unexpected and I’m not sure why, but I like the feeling of it. It almost feels as if he’s trying to compliment me or maybe he isn’t, and I literally just can’t tell the difference anymore. I study him as he stands beside me. The moonlight making the angles of his face stronger and more pronounced. Luca Lombardi makes me feel alive. I didn’t realize it had been missing in my life until I nearly fell flat on my face on the way back to the house. I live my life by a rulebook, and I don’t stray from it. I like my rules. I like to say who, where, and when, but being around Luca makes me miss the spontaneity that is life.

I shrug at Luca. “Well, great things come in small packages.” Wow, really Vieve, that’s your comeback? You really are rusty as hell.

Luca chuckles and looks my way. “You want some music?”

“Always.”

Luca taps the screen of his phone a few times, before the sound finally starts to come out. He turns back and looks out over the city, his hands pushed into the pockets of his pants. He stares at Vegas while I stare at him, and just the music and a bottle of champagne between us. My blood heats. Luca looks over at me and he gives me a smirk that I’m sure has many women gasping for air, but I don’t think he even realizes it. A song comes on and instantly, I like the beat of it. Luca watches as I sway to the music for a few seconds, before he holds out his hand to me. “Do you want to dance?” For a moment, I want to laugh. It’s what I’d normally do when a guy tries to put a move on me, because if I don’t start the flirt fest then it’s not happening, but once again, Luca is different. Before I even have time to weigh my options, my hand is in his because my body is a traitor. He helps me off the ledge of the building before pulling me into his body as he leads us into a sway that is in rhythm with the music. I sigh as his arms wrap around my waist. The safety that I feel right now is so unknown to me.

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