Page 25 of The Players

“Damn right. I’m going to make him eat his fucking tongue.”

“Last time you did that, the guy passed out before he could finish,” Vince reminded him.

“Not gonna cut him up first this time. Makes them go soft on me.”

Only Sy would take it as an insult when his mark would pass out during torture.

“I feel for you,” Vince said, while eying the entrance.

Just as he was starting to think he’d miscalculated Morelli’s move, the guy showed up on Flux’s doorstep. With his wife.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

What the hell was he doing here with her on his arm? Everyone knew they were rarely seen together in public. Why tonight of all nights?

“Tell me Viking isn’t in the house tonight.” If he was, their power play situation had the potential to turn into a blood bath quickly.

“Why you ask?” Sy followed his gaze and then started cursing. He jumped up and hauled ass to the backroom.

Vince could only imagine what it would take to keep Viking off the floor. No doubt, the second Morelli had set foot inside the club, he’d been alerted. On a good day, it took a small army to hold Viking back. On a bad one? He didn’t want to find out. Not with Carmen in the building. He looked at his watch.

Before he could decide whether or not to go after Carmen, there was a subtle change in the atmosphere. He could have sworn it became instantly frosty. Next thing he knew, Viking was on the floor, striding toward Morelli’s table.

Judging by his scowl, time was up.

CHAPTER 9

CARMEN

Carmen sprinkled some cold water on her wrists. She was far too wound up and it was becoming increasingly warm inside. After drying her hands, she placed them on her neck. Looking into the mirror, she saw a woman she hadn’t seen in a long time: one with blushes on her cheeks, and in desperate need of some cooling down.

Admit it. Sy’s getting to you.

Dammit, if that weren’t true. Her eyes passed over the bathroom as if someone was going to hear her thoughts. Which was ridiculous because the bathroom was empty.

She didn’t know what it was about him, but he no longer scared her. Perhaps it was because if he’d wanted to hurt her, he would have done so already. Then again, some people showed their true colors when you least expected it.

A nasty memory popped up in her head, but she quickly shoved it away.

Don’t go there!

No, she had a feeling Sy was the kind of man who, had he wanted to abuse her, he would have told her upfront. In a way, he already did. He’d actually had the audacity to claim he was going to hurt her, and she would like it.

A warning she could have used from her late husband. Franco had shown his true face the second they had entered their bedroom. The sheet had been colored red from her virgin blood and tears. The walls had howled from her pleas for him to stop. No amount of begging had stopped Franco from using her body. What Sy said could never be true. Also, like all men, he had told her what he wanted from her: her casinos and her body. She’d handed over the casinos this morning after a call to her lawyer. Sy no longer needed her to stick it to Morelli.

Still, for some reason, he got to her, making her body buzz with heat and a strange need. A desire she had known only with one man before, a lifetime ago. Another topic she wouldn’t allow herself to think about. Nope, Sy would only be trouble. Because, just like all men, he would always place his own needs before hers and therefore could not be trusted.

The door opened and a woman stepped inside. Seeing her emerald green satin dress made Carmen feel a little less overdressed.

The woman walked up to the sink and grabbed a lipstick from her purse.

Carmen noticed something on the floor near the woman’s feet. She grabbed the picture from the floor. It was that of a teenage girl with white-blond hair.

“I think this just fell out of your purse.”

The woman stilled and put the photo back. “Yes, thank you.”

“Your daughter?” Carmen guessed. “She looks a bit of a tomboy. Reminds me of my sister in her teens. How old is she?”

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