Page 19 of The Players

“For now.”

Damon looked at Viking, who was slouched over in his chair. “Good thinking. You’d be crazy to claim one for life.”

“Don’t I know it,” Sy agreed and walked toward the door. Now what would sweet, little Carmen have for business here?

Vince was adamant about protecting her. He’d stated she was supposed to be their guest, not their sub, which Sy found a stupid arrangement. He knew himself. There was no way he was living underneath one roof with that bouncy ass and not tapping it. And what he wanted, he always got.

Same went for Vince, and he didn’t get why his friend was pussyfooting around this one. Women were all the same, with the exception of Katya, of course. No woman was like the niece of his heart. Other than her, they basically served one purpose—to cook, clean, and get fucked.

On his way through the hallway, his phone rang. When he saw it was his mother, he let it go to voicemail. Not today, of all days.

As Angel had said, Carmen stood on their doorstep. Her face was pale, making her dark curls look even darker.

“How did you find this place?”

A blush appeared on her cheeks. “I… um, had some help from a friend. She located your phone.”

Of course. Tessa Gibson. Who else would dare to hack into systems to determine his whereabouts. Carmen must be really desperate if she’d gone to these measures to track him down.

He went back inside, toward a room where they could talk in private. On their way over, they passed the round table. His brother was on his ninth drink and threw another glass against the wall.

“Is he okay?” she asked, watching Viking from the corner of her eye.

He was about to tell her Viking would be fine, that it was just a phase, when he reconsidered. It was the perfect story. This way, if she accepted their proposal after all, she would know exactly what she was getting herself into. He had to toughen her up, because she reminded him of this abused pup he’d once saved. The little ball of fur had been terrified of any human contact at first. So much so that it would have rather starved than take food from his hand.

Little by little, he’d drawn him out though. Patience was the key. It was his best, and perhaps only, redeeming quality. No one could out-patience him. He could wait for his mark for days, no matter the circumstances. He’d wait for Carmen too. Until she was used to his presence. Until her body yielded to him. Then, and only when he got his fill, he’d let her go.

“No, Carmen, my brother’s not okay.”

She blinked, then connected the dots. “Of course. I should have seen the resemblance.”

Yeah, they were both tall, bulky, and had blond, almost white shoulder-length hair. “That’s only skin deep, doll. See, one day a year, my brother wallows in misery for the woman who betrayed him. Elena fucking Morelli.”

Her eyes grew. “I assume she’s related to the same Morelli that has been pestering me about my casinos.”

“She’s the wife of the one and only bastard. Back in the day, Morelli and Viking were upcoming in the game, both making a name for themselves. Then, one day, the day after my brother was released from custody, Elena marries Morelli. See, I would have killed them both. Expected my brother to do the same. We went up to this little church and took a place on the rooftop across the street.” He didn’t tell her that for a sniper with his set of skills, it was hardly a challenge. “She betrayed my brother, so I was going to snipe her. Simple. But Viking called the hit off.” To this day, Sy still didn’t understand.

“He showed mercy,” she said softly.

His brother hadn’t shown mercy to anyone, ever before. When Sy had kept his rifle pointed at Elena—figuring his brother would come to his senses—Viking almost broke his face. Sheer. Fucking. Madness.

He pointed toward the room where his brother sat. “That man over there is the strongest man I know. Yet, that one day, he showed mercy, which is a sign of weakness.” He looked her dead in the eye. “Never mistake me for my brother. I got a feeling that I know why you’re here. So, I’m gonna tell you how it is. Vince is the nice one. Me? I will take you out if you ever betray me.”

A faint smile colored her lips. “Funny. How you think you are so different from your brother. Sometimes killing someoneisan act of mercy. Over the years, I’ve wished many times that Franco would just get it over with. See, I’m too weak, or too strong—depends on how you see it—to end my life. I figured that God has a plan with me, like he does with everyone. It’s up to me to make something of my life despite of the people I have to deal with. The night Franco died, I vowed I will never surrender to a man again.” She pricked a dainty finger in his chest, surprising him. “So, let me tellyouhow it is as well. Just because I’m desperate enough to accept your protection doesn’t mean I’m going to knuckle under.”

And just like that, she gained his respect. Maybe she wasn’t a scared little ankle biter after all. Didn’t mean he wasn’t right on the reason for her being here part though.

“Why are you here?”

“Keegan’s men almost abducted me in broad daylight.” Her eyes cast down, looking a tad ashamed. “I’ve put my friend in danger. I can’t stop thinking about what might have happened if they tried to do that while Tess was there…”

Touching Luca Detta’s woman would have started a war.

“You came to me instead of going to Vince. Why?” They both knew why. He just wanted her to admit it.

“Does it really matter?”

He hated it when his question got answered with a damn question. “Let’s get something straight. I’m not Vince. I don’t do the nice talk, trying to get you all comfortable. I say it as I see and don’t like you being all evasive on me.”

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