Page 8 of The Players

“We could teach her.”

“Fuck no. It’s too soon. You get anywhere near her and she will have your balls.”

Sy chuckled. He had every intention of handing her his balls, though not in the way Vince meant.

“I disagree. She’ll bend and crumble.”

Vince shook his head. “That would be because of fear, not desire. She was married to Franco. You know what an abusive, sick pervert he was. Carmen’s damaged, Sy.”

“We’re all damaged.”

And if history had taught him anything, it was that it was better to be damaged together than alone.

“Also, she hates my guts.”

“Well, how about that. A woman who hates you more than me. Guess there really is a first time for everything.”

“She thinks I betrayed her.”

Now, that just couldn’t be right. Vince was a Detta, and they came as loyal as could be. Over the years, they’d had each other’s back, and Vince had saved his hide a time or two. To hear him say he was being accused of betraying someone was odd, to say the least. Yet, there was something in his voice…

“And? Did you?”

A vein pulsed at Vince’s jaw. “In the worst possible way.”

“Hell.”

“Doesn’t matter though.” A familiar determination crept into Vince’s voice. “Whether Carmen wants to admit it or not, she needs my help. And I’m gonna give it to her.”

Interesting. “That woman ain’t gonna accept shit from you.”

Vince looked over at the dead body. “I wasn’t going to ask.”

“Didn’t think you would. And I don’t think she’s gonna mind us getting rid of a guy who was blackmailing her, but that still won’t get you into her good graces.” He’d just met her and already knew Vince was on her shit list.

“Blackmailing her?”

Sy shrugged. “All I know is that she thought I was in on it too, hence the slashing and dashing.”

Vince cursed. “Morelli and Keegan are after her casinos. It must have something to do with those pricks.”

“Morelli,” Sy growled. “Hell will freeze over before I let that shit stain get those casinos.”

“He won’t,” Vince assured him. “Not if everything goes according to plan.”

Yep, that sounded more like the Vince he knew, always plotting and planning. But first, he had to know.

“You and her. You two have history.”

“It was a long time ago.” Vince sat down with a sigh. “Long story short, when push came to shove, I chose my brothers. We were just about to make a name for ourselves. Gio was working day and night to provide for us, starting Detta Corp. You know how it goes. The world is brutal when you have a cross behind your name. It took a long while before he got out of our father’s shadow. And even today, there’s still a hint of disdain at the thought of the Detta name. I knew back then, if I wanted us to succeed, I couldn’t have anything or anyone holding me back. Carmen would have been a weakness. So… I let her go.”

There was more to it. Sy was certain of that. But he wouldn’t ask. Not today. Not when Vince obviously wasn’t ready to talk yet.

“So, now what? You want a second chance? Thinking of keeping her this time?”

“I’m going to own her.” Vince looked up, straight into his eyes. “We both are. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

They’d talked about this. Yeah, they shared women but to him, it was just that. He would take her body, enjoy it, give her pleasure in return, but it wouldn’t be anything more than that. There wasn’t a woman alive that would put up with him for a long time.

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