THE GAMBLER: a Mafia Romance (Bad Romance Book 3)

by Shanna Bell

  Excellent question that led to an even more interesting story. Sadly, it wasn’t one she was willing to share. Ever. There was no way she could explain to him that following her archnemesis’ trail had accidentally led her to Luciano Detta. Onyx wasn’t someone you could explain in an hour, or even a day. Tess had been following Onyx’s trail of destruction for over three years now. The black hat hacker had taken down head pieces of Big Pharma. He was also the reason Luciano Detta had gone down for tax fraud. It was only later that Tess had discovered the linking pin between him and Jazzy. Then she got curious.

  It’s true what they say—curiosity kills the cat.

  She had followed the breadcrumbs and discovered that Luciano Detta was innocent. Well, innocent of tax fraud, that is; who knew what else he had on his conscience. After all, the guy was filthy rich, and behind every big fortune, there was usually a crime. Still, she had poked and prodded, scourged the dark web, and before she knew it, she actually had a file on him that would, at the least, prove there was a reason for reasonable doubt.

  “Like I said, I’m a friend of Jazzy’s. I know that she was um… less than thrilled when your brother first hunted her butt down. But things worked out great for her in the end. When she told me about you, this idea formed in my head.”

  Which was partially true. Radical honesty didn’t mean she couldn’t omit a few truths, right? She inwardly winced when she saw her pops shake his head in disappointment.

  He leaned forward. “And is this what you think will happen—things working out great for us in the end—if you, as you boldly put it, ‘set me free’?”

  For a second, she was confused. She had made him an offer, at no cost or risk to him, which to her sounded like a pretty great deal, so why wasn’t he jumping at it? Then it dawned on her. He wanted to know if she would expect the same fairy tale ending Jazzy had.

  “Dude, you are so far off of being my type. I’d rather date a Stormtrooper before you. This is just a business proposition, not a marriage proposal. I have zero expectations from you.” There. She sounded all cool, collected, and businesslike.

  Feeling pretty proud of herself, she got up. Then honesty kicked in. “It hadn’t even crossed my mind to actually… keep you. Broody and bitter guys like you aren’t my thing. Also, I’m into blonds.”

  Once again, his eyes narrowed. “Are you always like this? Speaking whatever’s on your mind?”

  She nodded. “Yep. I was raised with radical honesty, look it up. You think I’m straightforward? You haven’t met my pops yet. He will blow your mind. And possibly blow up your house as well. Mind you, not on purpose—probably—but accidents sometimes happen when he’s reenacting the battle of Gettysburg or the D-Day landing. Anyway, I digress. There’s just one more thing. You can never ask me how I got the information that will prove your innocence. Do we have a deal?”

  He didn’t make her wait this time. “You get me out of here, and I will give you whatever you want.”

  “Whatever I want, being my father out of that shark’s clutches and his debt taken care of,” she stipulated their deal once more. “You will make it a priority. The first thing you do once you get out. The first thing.”

  “We have a deal.”

  CHAPTER 3

  LUCA

  Luca stared at his youngest and most analytical brother, Jackson. The one who had seemed to take it the hardest when he went to jail. While his other two brothers had been fuming and been out to wage a war to get Luca out, Jackson had been shocked to his lawyer core when the laws he worked by and respected hadn’t protected Luca for going to jail on a false claim. It had been one of the reasons Luca rarely agreed to see Jackson in prison, for it seemed that every time he paid him a visit, more of Jax’s faith in rules and regulations crumbled. And though Luca had developed a passionate hate for the system that put him behind bars, he knew his brother needed to believe in that same system. Mastering the art of handling rules and regulations was his calling.

  “I was surprised to get your call,” Jax said, as he took a seat at the table across from him.

  “I was surprised to make the call myself.”

  After this Tess person had left yesterday, he told himself she was crazy. He was used to crazy inside these walls. Women all over the country sent him nude pics or came up with conspiracy theories on how he was framed. Others promised to dedicate their lives to get him free. The old him would have rejoiced at that attention. He would have believed that it was a form of love and devotion, that he’d earned it. The new him knew better. There was no such thing as a loyal woman. The kind that, when the going got tough, she walked beside you, never to let go. Still, despite his skepticism, he’d called his brother. After all, what did he have to lose? Tomorrow, it would be two years that he’d been locked up. Two long years that would have been hellish if he hadn’t been a Detta. Guess he was lucky the way most inmates weren’t. Not everyone’s ass was protected by the Bratva. Didn’t mean he wouldn’t give his right arm to get out and taste the sweet scent of freedom again.

  “How are you doing?”

  Luca sighed. “Can we not do this?”

  Jax frowned. “Do what?”

  “This feeling shit. I’m in jail. It sucks. It did on the first day I got here, it does today, and it still will tomorrow.”

  His brother seemed to muse over this for a second. “You know you have an alternative.”

  Damn, even Jax seemed to be on the bandwagon of breaking him out now. For his most levelheaded brother to join Gio and Vince on that path must mean his situation looked really grim. His prospects of an appeal were probably slim to none. Guess they both knew the truth—Luca wasn’t getting out anytime soon. Not in a legal way anyway.

  “You know how I feel of that… alternative.”

  Jax nodded. “Part of me admires you for it while another part screams that it is your right. You’re innocent, Luca. You don’t deserve to be in here.”

  Except he wasn’t totally innocent. He might be on the tax fraud charges, but he had blood on his hands, like all his brothers, save for Jax. Building an empire with wolves yapping at your feet didn’t go without breaking a few legs and cracking a few skulls. In a way, he was doing time for something else.

  “I’m not getting into this with you right now. Tell me about Tess Gibson.”

  “Ah, yes, Ms. Gibson.” Jax’ voice immediately turned businesslike. “I have no idea if she can actually deliver on her promise. I know she’s a close friend to our sister-in-law, and that a few years back, she quit college to take care of her grandfather. The guy is an old vet and had some health issues, so she stepped in. Her mother has passed away and she has a father, this Rufus you mentioned. The guy is bad news, a con artist that has scammed so many people that I’m surprised he’s still alive. Tess is an only child that was practically raised by her grandfather on her mother’s side. From what I’ve heard, and what Gio and Hector have experienced, the girl is hell on wheels once she’s got access to an internet connection.”

  “Where does she work?”

  “Oddly, she works at a computer help desk. Saying she’s overqualified for that job is probably an understatement.”

  So, she could actually have the means to get him out. Question was how she had stumbled upon classified information that could get him out of jail while his brothers and their extensive resources couldn’t. Who went out to search to prove his innocence just because her friend had told her once about her brother-in-law? There was something fishy about that. And if she thought he would let her get away with keeping that info from him, she had another think coming.

  “What about the loan shark?”

  Jax sighed. “Ah… Mick. He’s part of Irish Brian’s crew. They control a big amount of the gambling activities on the West Coast. Hector had an incident with him a while back.”

  “How so?”

  Hector, who was like a brother to him, wasn’t a gambler. In fact, the guy was as straight as an arrow since he’d started his own security fi
rm. Last he’d heard, he’d even gotten married. Another family moment he had missed since he had been stuck here.

  “It’s a long story, but Hector ended up in a cage fight with Mick.” Jax smirked. “Suffice to say, Mick didn’t come out of it unscathed. When it comes to Tess, her story checks out. Apparently, Mick is holding her father in lieu of the money. He’s extorting the girl.”

  “Tell me you haven’t told Gio about her offer.”

  Jax gave him a look. “What do you think? If I had, he’d have her lifted out of her apartment in no time.”

  Yeah, big brother was ruthless like that. Unreasonable when it came to protecting his family. Gio would hogtie and intimidate Tess to release whatever evidence she had to get Luca free. Which was proof that the girl was a bit naive. He doubted she’d even contemplated the second she made him that proposal, he could have taken her out. Even from jail.

  “Nah, she would get Jazzy on his ass.”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time.” Jax smiled. “She’s a spitfire, that sister-in-law of ours.”

  All Luca could do was take his word for it. He hadn’t met her yet. Refused to see her when she wanted to come by. He didn’t ever want her to see him in an orange jumpsuit.

  “What about Cruz? Any news on him?” His former partner that had screwed him over was the number one visit on his list when he got out, be it because Tess came through or otherwise.

  Jackson leaned closer, a frown marring his face. “We kept eyes on him as you requested. Thing is, he disappeared a few days ago. I did some digging and it seems that his company is in bad weather. He put some pills on the market that weren’t FDA-approved. The papers of the approval turned out to be falsified and there were some casualties. If they catch him, he’s looking at life.”

  Damn fucker. Two years ago, Cruz had been pushing him to invest in a pharmaceutical deal. Luca had agreed, even though he’d had his doubts. What else had Cruz been up to? How many more lives was he going to ruin?

  “What are you saying, Jax? That he can’t be found, even with the help of a hacker?”

  “I’m saying you shouldn’t want to find him. Cruz is gonna end up in jail anyway. Just focus on getting out and let the law do the rest.”

  Like hell he would. The only one putting a noose around Cruz’s neck would be him. There was one place that backstabber would be going, and that was six feet under. Shit. He had to get to Cruz before the authorities found him.

  “Let Tess know I accept her deal. Set it up the way she wants.”

  “How much did you agree on? What’s her cut? I can have it transferred to her as soon as she gives me the file that’s supposed to set you free.”

  “Oddly, she didn’t ask anything for herself. She just wants me to pay off her father’s debt.” He didn’t even know a creature like her existed—a woman who could ask him the world and wasn’t using that leverage to gain herself some shiny jewelry.

  Still, something was off. If he’d learned one thing, it was to never easily trust anyone again. The second thing was to always have a back-up plan. If Tess Gibson could really deliver on her word, his next step would be to gain leverage over her. After all, he’d vowed three things in prison.

  To take revenge.

  To keep control over his life.

  And to never trust a woman again.

  CHAPTER 4

  LUCA

  Luca looked in the bathroom mirror, his eyes pinned on the ragged scar close to his heart. He’d been a free man and staying at his brother Gio’s house for two days now, but his mind was still partly in lock-up. His eyes stayed focused on the spot that had nearly cost him his life. No amount of silk shirts his eldest brother had provided him with was going to cover up that scar. It was always there for him to see, a reminder of what he’d been through.

  He picked up a shirt from the bed. In the last forty-eight hours, he’d been smothered by family. They meant well but he needed his own space. Watching Gio having settled down in married bliss was a strange concept. Even more, seeing Hector, a man he considered his honorary brother, doting on his wife and kids, had been an eye-opener. It had caused an ache in his heart that had nothing to do with the scar tissue.

  Odd, how once he had been the one about to get married, to start a family. His brothers avoided marriage or any kind of commitment to a woman like the plague. They used to have one single thing in mind—avenge the death of their parents. Luca hadn’t been there when they had found the culprits and toasted on exacting vengeance. Funny, how things had changed in two years, and yet again, hadn’t changed at all. Not to him. He was still living and breathing vengeance.

  Grace.

  Cruz.

  His former PA and partner, the two people who had screwed him over. He repeated the names three more times, like he’d been doing every day since he ended up behind bars.

  He’d just put an arm through the sleeve of his shirt when he detected a movement behind him.

  “Fuck.” Gio was standing behind him, watching his scar through the mirror.

  “Morning to you too.”

  His brother’s eyes were burning in a steel blue retribution. Another subject they were going to have to discuss soon. Luca wasn’t his baby brother anymore. No one was going to stand in the way of his revenge. Not even his overprotective eldest brother who had a knack for trying to micromanage everyone’s life.

  “You never told me.” There was a familiar anguish in Gio’s voice. A sound Luca hated. His brother had no business carrying a guilt over his wrongful incarceration.

  “There was no point in telling you.”

  “I didn’t pay Kristoff for this.”

  He started buttoning up his shirt. “Don’t go telling Kristoff off. Not even the great Kristoff Romanov can control everything that happens between the walls of a prison, no matter how many people he pays off. A fight broke out between the Russians and the Armenians. Shit like that happens. The Bratva guy who had my back was worse off. He was turned into shish kebab.”

  There wasn’t enough protection money in the world to protect you when things went south in prison.

  Gio was silent for a beat. “I came to tell you dinner is ready.”

  Sure he was. “Since when are you the get guy when dinner is being served?” He had, like, a dozen people working in his huge mansion.

  “I’m not,” Gio admitted. “But I wanted to talk to you before you leave.”

  “Leave? You kicking me out?”

  Gio gave him an impassive look. Then he took out a set of keys from his pocket. “Like we both don’t know that you want your own place. I can see it on your face, you know.”

  “Yeah well, there’s only so much domestic bliss a man can take.” He put out his hand to receive the keys. “These look like the keys from my old condo.”

  A place he had carefully chosen for its location. A home he had spent a fortune on to have it decorated according to the latest trends. A place worthy of his former fiancée, Natasha. The love of his life. What a joke.

  “They are. I bought the building. Consider it a ‘nice to have you back from jail’ gift. Hector got you some wheels as well. I opted for your old Ferrari, but he said you needed a more robust car. So, it’s a Jeep.”

  Apparently, Hector knew him better than he thought. Then again, the former Marine would know what it felt like to have your life turned upside down. While the big guy hadn’t been to jail, he had served his country in the shittiest hellholes on earth. Who knew how many times he’d been caught by enemy fire, ending up with a desire to feel safe in every aspect of his life.

  He held up the car key. “Thank him for the car.”

  “Why don’t you thank me yourself?”

  Luca turned to see Hector leaning against the doorframe. “Thanks, brother.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. It has a tracker in it, and it’s connected to Diaz security.”

  “I don’t want—”

  “It’s the best I can do,” Hector interrupted him. “Don’t think we don’t know w
hat you’re up to. You want to go at this alone? Fine. Do I think it’s stupid? Yeah, I do. But I can get a man wanting to take revenge on the motherfuckers who put him in jail. Doesn’t mean we don’t worry about your ass out in the world again. So, take the fucking car. If you don’t, I’m gonna put a few of my men on you for around-the-clock surveillance.”

  His brother’s stony face told him it really was the best he was gonna get. It was going to be even more difficult to keep Vince at bay. They were the closest and he was just glad that Vince had been called to his club because of some business. It would make leaving Casa Detta easier.

  “Fine,” he conceded and eyed the file in Hector’s hand. “What else you got for me?”

  Hector put the manila envelope on the bed. “All you need to know about your former partner, Cruz. The asshole who testified that you knew about the falsified tax returns has gone off the grid. Got intel on your former PA as well. Grace is missing too, by the way. Quite a coincidence, don’t you think?”

  “Fuck. She’s missing too?”

  “Yeah, as of this morning. I would suspect shortly after the press conference announcing your surprise release.”

  Luca reined in his rage. It would do no good to have a fit over this. His former PA, his most trusted employee, had turned on him during the trial. She could run but she couldn’t hide. He was going to get answers if it was the last thing he did.

  “What about Tess Gibson?”

  A funny thing happened when he mentioned her name. Both his brothers looked uncomfortable.

  “Don’t go there, Luca.” Hector’s tone held a warning.

  “Why the hell not? She’s the one who got me out. Clearly, she has the skills to find people. You want to help me out? Help me by locating her. I’m going to find her one way or another anyway.”

  Hector scratched his cheek. “I don’t think you really know who you’re dealing with here. I’ve seen her once during girls’ night. She looks all nice and geeky with her ripped jeans and leather cuffs, but I’ve heard the stories. You don’t want to get on her bad side. If you’ve promised to leave her alone after she got you free, leave her the fuck alone. You need me for anything else, give me a call. For the record, I was not here when you mentioned going after Tess.”