Jack of Spades

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

Stefano

I walk through the Bellissimo like I’m king of the castle, f*****g proud of the place and what Nico’s built here.

I was with Nico when he talked our father into investing 1.2 million dollars to open a casino in Vegas. It wasn’t enough. Hell, the gambling license alone cost over thirty grand. But Nico was smart. He knew better than to involve any investors who weren’t family. Only Tacones were allowed to kick in and hold shares of the Bellissimo. And they did. He scraped together enough to get it open and built it from there.

Nico had the architects design the massive structure so it could be added onto in sections and he went classy right from the start: Italian tile, marble statues, beautiful rooms.

The first version of the Bellissimo was small, a boutique casino. Nothing cheesy about it—ever. And so it attracted high-end customers right from the start. Especially when word got out about the private games.

Nico had a business plan and a vision, and he convinced our family to invest. Still, I don’t think anyone expected it would turn out like this. Now, it’s a behemoth of a building—five different wings, twenty-eight stories high. Eight restaurants serve all kinds of food and it’s still the classiest joint in Vegas. And the money? It f*****g overflows.

Speaking of my stronzo brother, I’ve been in the Bellissimo for thirty-six hours and haven’t seen the bastard. First he was out of hand looking for his woman. Now he’s gone home to fix things. We’ve talked on the phone and already texted a dozen times, but he’s too irritable to give me any good direction.

I dial his phone and he answers with the same impatience. “What is it?”

“Nice to hear from you, too. Did you get things straightened out?”

“I’m working on it.”

Of course he’s not going to tell me anything. He’s not exactly a let’s talk about our feelings kind of guy.

“You talk to Dad?”

“On my way now. Sondra’s with me.”

Sondra. The woman I want to meet. “Ah yes. I had to find out her name from a lovely red haired croupier last night.”

“You met Corey.”

“Yes. I enticed her to cheat and she tried to slap my face.”

Nico snorts. “Sounds about right.”

“What about Corey?” I hear the pleasant timbre of a female voice.

“Are you in the car? Put me on speaker.”

“No—f**k off.”

“Sondra,” I raise my voice so she might hear me. “I met your cousin last night,” I tell her. “I’m in love.”

Her laugh is light and sweet. Nico must have put her on speaker because I hear her voice clearly. “I’m definitely hearing the Italian in you.”

“No, it’s true,” I insist, but she’s right—even before my six-month stint in Sicily with my great uncle, I’d adopted the over-the-top aggressive courting style of my parents’ country of origin.

“He already got himself slapped,” Nico fills in.

“Uh oh.”

“Almost slapped,” I correct. “She tried. I didn’t allow it. We came to an understanding.”

“She’s under my protection,” Nico grumbles, but he knows I don’t hurt women.

“Nothing to worry about. I told you—I’m already in love.” As in, I can’t wait to get those long legs wrapped around my waist so I can pound into her hard and dirty.

Would she like it that way?

Somehow I think she would. But she’s not the type to go down without a fight, and I don’t have the time or attention to spare. I’m already up to my ears in work. I can see why Nico needed help running things.

“Listen, Stefano.” Nico takes the phone off speaker. He’s got a serious tone to his voice.

“Yeah?”

“If things go sideways, I need you to take care of…”

I understand what he’s saying—all too well. I think chances are slim he’ll die, but you never know. Our father’s in prison and Junior, our oldest brother, is a d**k.

“I will protect what you love,” I say quietly, making the vow of it ring in my voice. I know that’s what he’s asking; he wants to know Sondra will be safe.

“Thank you.” Nico’s voice is gruff.

“Good luck, Nico. Let me know how it goes.”

“Yeah.” He hangs up and I shake my head.

My brother’s had a stupid marriage contract hanging over his head since we were kids. It was a way for our father to bind our family to another. Total stupidity, but signed in blood. Nico’s just been pretending it will never happen all these years, but now he’s in love. And she left him when she found out he had a fiancée.

Poor bastard. But if anyone can figure s**t out when he needs to, it’s Nico.

Look at what he did with this place.

It’s bizarre to think of my brother in a committed relationship. I sure as hell hope he finds happiness.

Me? I don’t do committed. Ever.

I’m a ladies man. I love s*x, but the rest of it? A relationship?

No thanks.