by J. A. Coffey
"This is more than just a great opportunity for me, and Stanford isn't just any business school. It's one of the best," Davie explained. "Since I have bigger plans than to stay here, running this place, I need to be at the best."
She understood his need to be more than just the "bastard" son of Vegas's oldest crime family. But that didn't ease her selfish need for him to stay. She'd once overheard him refer to the pool hall-a place that had turned into their favorite hangout spot over the years-as just a "bone" his father tried to toss him just to keep him out of trouble. But Davie wasn't satisfied with just managing his father's downtown business. He was too ambitious for that.
His clear, gray eyes pierced into her. "Listen to me, Tena. This shit we do has an expiration date. You either choose to get out or someone will choose for you. Be the one to choose, okay?"
She nodded stiffly. He'd been saying that a lot lately, but she wasn't sure if that was even up to her. She and Anthony needed to survive, and she didn't see college or a tidy little office job in her future. She could only hope to finish high school and not be forced to drop out at seventeen like her brother had done in order to take care of them.
But Davie appeared pleased with her response, so she left it at that.
"Good. Now, can I get a smile? We're supposed to be celebrating tonight, but it makes me sad to see you sad."
Tena forced the corner of her lips to lift.
He shook his head at her lackluster attempt. "I was hoping you would be a little happier for me than that," he said. "I mean, it wasn't easy getting into that school."
She stared into his bright gray eyes. But I'm gonna miss you. With a small sigh, she silenced the grim thought and tried to stay positive. "I'm happy for you, Davie."
He burst out laughing and shook his head. "Yeah, I can tell. Come on, you can do better than that."
She rolled her eyes but smiled despite herself. "See," she said, pointing to her lips. "I'm happy."
"Nice. Keep it that way. I like you smiling."
"Like this?" She tilted her head to the side and bared all of her teeth, doing her best impression of that crazy fat cat in Alice's Wonderland.
He scoffed. "Yep, just like that." Then he reached out and tugged her skully down over her eyes. "You're such a pain in the ass," he muttered.
Giggling, she bumped him with her shoulder then pulled the cap back into place. "Am not."
"Are too."
She found his grin magnetic, but she had little time to admire it before the waitress came back with their shakes. Tena busied herself with the thick, icy drink, pretending not to notice the woman slipping Davie a small piece of paper. She also didn't miss the small smirk that spread across his lips as he tucked the note in his pocket. Tena forced the sweet, creamy shake down her tight throat as jealousy once again filled her.
"So, how long will you be up there?" she asked, wanting to bring his attention back to her.
He pulled his shake toward him. "Two years," he said. "But don't worry, I'll be back to see you and the guys during my breaks and stuff. You won't even notice I'm gone."
Yes, I will.
Suddenly, loud cheering came again from the pool tables, and they both turned again to find the small crowd had increased around the Acerras. Tena caught a glimpse of her brother in the crowd and was glad to see he hadn't gotten himself sucked into another card game.
"Until I get back, don't let those guys get you into too much trouble."
Tena beamed at that, the small command lifting her spirits some. Until I get back... It wasn't a matter of if, but when. She would hold out hope that he actually meant it and she would see him again.
"And who's gonna keep you out of trouble while you're away at college?"
His eyes sparkled. "It's grad school, sweets. I'm supposed to start a little trouble."
The loud cheering from the pool tables came again, and once again they turned to the noise.
"You know, those guys are having way too much fun."
Tena nodded. "I was thinking the same thing." She wasn't, but he didn't have to know that.
He turned back to her, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "Why don't we go steal some of it?"
"Okay," she said, adrenaline rushing through her at the thought of running one last hustle with him.
He gripped the hem of her sweatshirt and pulled her forward until her forehead was almost touching his. "You remember what I taught you?"
"Yeah," she murmured, sensing his growing excitement as well. She bit her lower lip barely able to contain her grin. "Never miss the money ball."
He flashed her a quick smile then grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the booth. "Let's go kick some ass."
Chapter One
Present day...
If she could kick her own ass, she would.
Athena Lewis wavered between walking out of the empty conference room, where she hid, and going back to Lucca Acerra to tell him where he could kiss it. Or keeping her ass right where she was and getting this job over with.
But damn, if she wasn't annoyed. This was not her life anymore and yet those bastards-her brother included-had forced her into deceiving the one man she never wanted to hurt. The guilt alone was killing her, but Anthony was in trouble and needed her to do this. And she would do whatever she could to get her brother out of the Acerras' debt.
Waiting in the empty office of Royal Court's North Tower, wearing a borrowed office cleaner uniform, was not one of her best ideas. But having been forced into doing this job only two short days ago, she'd done the best she could with what she had.
Athena sighed and continued watching him on the wide screen of her mini tablet. The small, dime-sized camera she'd hidden in his desk organizer that morning streamed in a live feed of his every move into her small mobile computer.
And he was clueless about it.
Though she didn't consider herself a voyeur, she found that she enjoyed watching him-enjoyed it too much. She pushed back her fake eyeglasses as she continued to ogle every dark-haired-inch of David Carrone.
Davie.
His features had roughened and matured over the years, but his olive skin, chiseled jaw, and narrow, aquiline nose were just as she remembered. She had always admired his dark Italian features, which were prominent against his pale gray eyes. As a young girl, she'd always been fascinated with him, and despite the fourteen years that were thrust between them, her attraction to him was still very strong.
Athena watched as he prepared his things to leave for the evening only to stop and focus his brilliant gray eyes on the small screen of his cell phone. She waited-not very patiently-to see what he would do next. She needed to get to his laptop. But first, she needed him out of the office. It was after business hours and the executive floor was fairly empty, but she waited out of sight, lugging around the cleaning cart to make herself forgettable. People tended to ignore the help.
He swiped his thumbs over the cell phone, the corner of his sensual lips curving up. That small expression was breathtaking, and Athena took a moment to appreciate the striking image that was David Carrone.
My Davie.
She scoffed at herself. So much time had passed between them, she wondered if he even remembered who she was. Just because she had spent all these years thinking about him-and the last seven months cyber stalking him after the money-laundering story broke-didn't mean he had spared her a thought.
From the way he reclined in his executive chair, an easy, self-confident smile gracing his lips, he certainly wasn't thinking about the baggy-clothes-wearing girl he had left behind. No, it was highly likely that he was messaging back and forth with the woman he'd been speaking with earlier.
His tone had turned sensual and playful when he'd been confirming their "date" tonight. Athena figured the woman on the other line must be an airhead to fall for those syrupy lines he'd been drizzling her with.
But Athena didn't have time to waste ogling. Just like she didn't have time to let her guilt get in the way of
doing what had to be done. She needed to move fast and ignore everything else, including her heavy conscience.
The Acerras were waiting.
When Davie finally rose from his desk, he quickly packed his things and left the office-with the laptop.
Athena's heart sank.
She needed that hard drive, but it was casually leaving with him, nestled in his computer bag.
Athena shoved aside her annoyance. Since she was never short on back-up plans, she wouldn't wallow in that small setback. His business partner was in town, so his hard drive would have to do.
She pushed the cart down the hall, stopping periodically to empty a few trash bins. If she'd timed it correctly, the cameras should now be going out, which left her only a few minutes before security caught on and investigated.
She stopped by Davie's office, glad to see there was no one sitting at the executive assistant's desk. As she neared his office, she was surprised by the sense of pride that once again filled her at the sight of his name etched on the wall beside the door.
David Carrone. Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer.
He had certainly achieved what he had set out to do. His casino resort was the epitome of greatness, and he was at its helm. His office was also impressive, and she took in the expanse of space that surrounded her and the sight from the large windows behind his desk. The view of the city stretched before her, and she couldn't remember Las Vegas looking so beautiful. For a moment, she forgot what her purpose was and just took in the grandeur before her.
You don't have time to waste, she scolded herself.
Pulling herself back to her task, Athena grabbed the mini spy camera from its secret spot on the large, mahogany desk and stuffed it into her pocket. The equipment was expensive. No way was she leaving it behind.
After a quick exit of the large office, she was halfway down the long hall, pulling up a mental image of the floor plan. As she neared his partner's office, she kept her steps deliberately unhurried.
The area appeared vacant. The doors to the neighboring offices were closed and none had name plates. Pushing her bulky cleaning cart along, she continued toward the back office. She parked the cart beside a padded bench then quietly eased the office door open.
A woman sat behind the large desk, and Athena froze. The woman slammed the phone down, and they stared at each other for a heartbeat before Athena collected herself.
"Sorry, miss," she began, "I thought this office was empty."
The woman sprang to her feet. For a second, she thought Red Skirt would stop her-or at the very least, call her out on her cleaning-lady disguise-and Athena readied herself with a lie. Red Skirt, however, did neither.
"It's okay," she said, coming from behind the desk. "I was just heading out."
"No, no," Athena politely but firmly reassured her as she backed out of the office. "You take your time. I can come back later."
Yeah, right.
There was no way Athena planned to come back to these offices. This was a one-shot deal, and it was blown.
Pushing the cleaning cart down the hall, she hurried toward the exit. She would just have to find another way to get the Acerras what they wanted. That meant thinking up her next plan, which included getting closer to David Carrone than she dared.
Much closer.
Fuck.
*****
"This is gonna be tight, but I think you can handle it."
"I know I can handle it. But if you gave me more time, this could go a lot smoother."
Athena watched as Lucca Acerra lounged back in the plush seats of his empty nightclub, the Ace of Clubs. They sat on the second floor of the multi-level nightclub, where private lounge seats lined the walls. The doors would soon open for the Monday night crowd, but before they did, she had the frustrating task of explaining to him why she didn't have his damn package.
"Time is not something we have, Tena," he said, regarding her with cool, light brown eyes. "I need that package. And I needed it yesterday."
Athena glared at the dark-haired man sitting across from her. She liked nothing about this situation. A mission like this required planning, and it wasn't smart to rush it. But Luke was giving her until tomorrow night to complete a job she didn't even want.
But it was a job she had no choice but to get done.
She didn't want to see Anthony hurt again because of unpaid loans. The last time she hadn't helped him when he'd needed her, he'd ended up in the hospital. Even now, her panic and fear from that night was vivid.
Athena shook the memory away, ready to demand an explanation for the sudden rush, but lost her words when a large, muscular man came walking toward them through the dimly lit club. She couldn't make out the man's features in the orange glow of the wall lamps, but it was obvious he wasn't an Acerra. All five Acerra brothers had a full head of short, ink-black, wavy hair. This guy had a buzz cut.
"Who's he?"
The large man fell into an empty seat at their table without saying a word. She couldn't help but follow the sharp, black lines of the intricate tattoo on his left arm. It crept up from his wrists up into his black shirt. A few lines peeked out of his collar and slightly curved up his broad neck.
"This here's Jay," Luke said.
The man lifted his chin slightly in acknowledgment, but said nothing.
"He'll be working with you to make sure everything goes smoothly and that I get my shit," Luke added.
Athena ignored his pointed jibe at tonight's screw-up. Seemed like Lucca Acerra didn't trust any of them. That was fine by her because she had little trust in anyone, too. And since she didn't know this guy, she would keep her information sharing at a minimum.
"I don't need a babysitter, Luke," she said, staring directly at Jay, mirroring his indifference. The man was as cool as ice water. For a moment, she wondered if he knew what he was picking up-or if he even cared-since Luke made it a point to refer to the hard drive as his "package." Of course, coming right out and demanding David Carrone's hard drive wouldn't be smart-for any of them. She eventually turned away from him and faced Luke. "I told you I got this."
Luke snorted, exasperation flashing in his brown eyes. "I thought you did, too. You're supposed to be good at this kind of stuff. Guess you've been out of the game too long." Then he quickly peeked down at her chest for the third time that night, his lips curving into a sneer. "I can't risk you screwing this up again, money tits."
Her palm itched to smack the smug look from his face, but only the unknown consequences kept her from doing just that. She had witnessed Luke's dangerous and unpredictable nature over the years, so she clenched her fists together and glared at him instead. But damn, did she hate when he called her that. He was part of the reason she had spent most of her teen years doubling up on sports bras, trying to conceal her too-large breasts. Now that she was older, she didn't feel the need to conceal her femininity anymore, but she sure as shit didn't want him eyeing her goods through her black, button-down shirt.
"Just because I've retired from this shit doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing," Tena reminded him calmly.
Luke smirked. "No one retires from the life, babe. We just find ways to be...creative. Like you and those fancy computer skills you're letting go to waste."
Athena gave him a level stare, also hating that he knew so much about her, thanks to her talkative brother who insisted on remaining friends with them.
"Well I'm through and so is Anthony," she said, enunciating each word. She wouldn't let this asshole tell her how to live her life. "After this job, I want you to lose our number."
Luke laughed at her sharp retort. "As long as you get what I want, we're good. Just make sure your punk ass brother keeps his head down, and you won't be hearing from me."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why don't you let me worry about Anthony and you worry about Rome."
Anger flashed in his eyes at the mention of his twin brother, and the muscles in his jaw flexed. She steeled herself against his anger, but as
quickly as it flared, it was replaced by cool detachment.
She was playing with fire mentioning his incarcerated brother, but he needed to know that she could be just as protective of her only brother as he was of his four.
"Anthony owes us a hundred grand, babe, so you can't afford to make any more mistakes."
Athena hid her shock with a deep frown, but inside she was reeling. A hundred thousand dollars! She knew her brother had been in deep with the Acerras but not by that much.
What the hell did Anthony need with that kind of money?
She silently prayed he wasn't gambling again.
"Like I said," she snapped. "I know what I'm doing." Today had just been bad luck. Despite the little time allotted her, she was already running through her next plan. It was an audacious plan, but one she believed would work.
And one that left knots in her stomach.
Luke regarded her evenly, and to her annoyance, he pointed out what she had been considering since she'd left Royal Courts.
"Tomorrow is your last shot, Tena. Once David finds out you've been snooping around, that place will be guarded like a damn prison." He paused. "Unless that's what you wanted to happen."
Athena brows pulled together. "And how would that help me?"
He shrugged. "You tell me. We all know you've always had a thing for Davie," he mocked.
She glared at him, though her cheeks warmed at his blatant reminder. She might still have her girlhood feelings for Davie but she had her brother to worry about. Getting Anthony out of this mess with the Acerras was her priority. "I'll get your damn package tomorrow night."
He leaned over the table toward her, his eyes probing. "I hope, for Anthony's sake, you do."
Athena stared at his hard face, unblinking. His threat was not lost on her. Anger and anxiety settled deep within her, but she couldn't let Luke see it. And she certainly couldn't let that cloud her mind right now. She had to mentally-and emotionally-prepare for the scariest heist of her life.
