Reign (The Vendetta Series Book 2)

by Kris Anne Dean

  I’m lost in my own thoughts, reliving the way I ravaged Brie’s body earlier today when Vinny laughs. My face is flush, my palms are sweaty and I almost missed the glass beer bottle the bartender slid across the length of the bar toward me. I reach up and grab it before it flies off the edge of the bar and crashes to the floor. I take a drink and swallow hard, letting the cold beer flow down my throat and cool the heat rising through me at the thought of her body.

  “Son, pull yourself together, we have business to do.” Vinny says picking up his beer bottle and crossing to the entrance with a wide grin spread across his face.

  I follow behind pretending I heard what he said. He stops in front of a couple and shakes the hand of a tall slender woman with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. “Ms. Callahan, I presume.”

  “Yes, and you must be Vincent Carracci.”

  “I am and this is my partner Cal Carracci.” Her soft voice penetrates my ears and pulls me from my thoughts. When I shake her hand, I momentarily let my eyes follow the long line of her body. Her tight red dress hugs every curve. My eyes linger a moment too long on the curve of her breast under the low-cut neckline and the man behind her growls. His lip twitches and his dark eyes narrow at my indiscretion. I quickly shift my gaze upward and motion toward a table.

  The woman follows Vinny and I further into the bar, with the man hovering close behind. Vinny pulls a chair out for her before sitting next to me on the opposite side of the table. I glance over at Brie, who's struggling to hiding her emotions. Jealousy shows all over her innocent face, in the crease of her brow and the down curve of her lips. I give her a smile and wink meant to reassure her, but she lets out a low huff and returns to the papers in front of her.

  “Mr. Carracci, I am here today on behalf of my employer.” She raises her hand and the bangle bracelets around her wrist clang. She snaps her fingers decorated in an array of gold rings with glittering gemstones and the man standing behind her sets a briefcase on the table between us. She flips the locks and spins it around, lifting it open just wide enough for Vinny and I to see it’s full of cash. “Your reputation precedes you and my employer is interested in staking your games.”

  Vinny leans forward to inspect the contents of the briefcase. His hand trails across the fine Italian leather, grazing her fingers and the man standing behind her growls, pounding his fist down forcing the briefcase closed. She lets out a gasp but her hand remains steady on the briefcase while Vinny pulls his back. “Easy Damos. They can see what is being offered before they decide.”

  “Ms. Callahan, while I appreciate your flattery, I agreed to this meeting as a courtesy to a mutual friend of ours. However, my nephew now runs this operation. I’m here to make introductions and consult but he chooses who he does business with.”

  She shifts her focus in my direction. “My employer believes the underground poker scene is a profitable business. He’s interested in making a substantial investment.”

  “If your employer is so eager to do business with us, why didn’t he meet with us himself?”

  “Mr. Carracci, Cal if I may, my employer wishes to remain anonymous but let me reassure you he is not a threat. In fact, he is a powerful ally that will prove beneficial in your move against the Bianchi family.”

  “We’re not making a move. There’s no longer a truce between our families so we took back our territory.” I cross my arms in front of my chest and lean back in my chair. “The vendetta with Deluca is a separate issue.”

  As soon as the words exit my mouth, I realize how territorial I sound. I don’t know these people and I’m hesitant to trust an outsider with orchestrating my revenge. Angelo Deluca put us through hell. Even jail won’t protect him from what’s coming.

  Her blue eyes widen at my outburst and she pauses for a moment as if she was considering her next words. “Still, it never hurts to have someone of influence in your corner, if you ever need it.”

  Vinny shifts in his seat and leans into the table. “How much of an investment?”

  She shifts her eyes from mine to Vinny and a satisfied smile tugs at the corners of her lips. “One hundred thousand dollars. You should find that more than enough to front your startup, comp players, dole out loans. You’re free to do what you wish. All that he asks is a twenty-five percent rake in all games.”

  I study Vinny’s expression and it’s obvious he’s interested in a deal but I’m not sold yet. “Ms. Callahan, I’m afraid your employer is mistaking me for someone who holds money in high regard. I believe in honor and loyalty and I’m not looking for a partner. I won’t be in anyone’s debt or tie myself or this family to someone I know nothing about. This venture only works if our players know who they’re dealing with and the risks, off the table, are minimal. Frankly, Ms. Callahan you haven’t given me enough to base a decision on.”

  “I assure you this is strictly a financial investment. No partnership required.” She clicks the locks on the briefcase closed motioning for her lap dog to pick it up. “I appreciate your hesitance but unfortunately I can’t offer you any more information than this.” She slaps a business card on the table and stands. “You have my number if you change your mind.”

  I pick up the card, twisting it between my fingers, and watch as she turns to leave with the man stalking behind her. There’s an arrogance behind her slow amble that tempts me to dig further into the information she left behind.

  Chapter 6- Angelo

  My massive body thrashes against the thin mattress and the hard coils underneath dig into my back. My ankles hang over the railing as I stretch myself out on a bed smaller than I am and fold my arms behind my head. I lay silent, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, it’s been months since I felt the warmth of a woman.

  Months... more like seven months, although I can’t be sure of that. The days all blur together in here. Not that long ago I had my choice of women to take to bed, including Brie Morgan. That was before Cal Carracci. How he survived my blade I’ll never understand. When I get out of here, the joke will be on him, he will never find Brie or my baby.

  I try to remember the last night Brie and I spent together, our wedding night. A cloud hangs over my memories of that night, like I was on drugs. Fleeting images flash through my mind and then fade as quick as they rush in. The only thing I remember is the bloody shootout at my home and comforting Ava after I shot the armed intruder holding her hostage.

  Ava… now that pussy is clear in my mind. She can’t compare to Brie even on her best day but that woman can work a cock. My cock hardens in response and I slide my hand down the front of my pants to relieve the pressure.

  Ava was the last piece of ass I had. I was inside for almost a month when Ava visited. As soon as I heard her name over the loudspeaker, I offered the guard a small bribe to give Ava and I privacy. A dime of coke and hundred dollars from my commissary funds was a fair trade.

  I watch as the locked metal door separating the visitor's lounge from the waiting area open in front of her. The woman walking toward me, was not the Ava I knew. She wore her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail instead of bouncing on top of her shoulders. Her face looks the same except her lips are missing her signature crimson red lipstick. The one that leaves a red ring around the base of my cock when it’s in her mouth. She wasn’t wearing the sexy clothes I spent a fortune on, instead she’s in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt hiding the slender frame of her body. I heard she had a rough time after my incarceration. The FBI kept her sitting in some backwoods jail cell for a few days out of spite when they couldn’t turn her into a witness. When they finally released her, she returned to New York to find all my assets, including my home and business seized. She’s temporarily out of a job and a place to live. Luckily for me, she found it in her best interest to stay in my good graces. Ava isn’t just a lay, she’s my personal assistant and on some level important enough to keep around. She knows more about my business dealings than most of my men and even though she plays innocent her hands are as dirty as mine. />
  I cross the floor toward her and motion to the guard standing off to the side of the room. He opens a door letting us pass into a private area. Ava leans on the edge of the conference table and drones on and on about how the guards refused to let her enter. Something about her dress and open-toed shoes exposing too much skin. How they even made her remove her jewelry.

  “Luckily, I had gym clothes in the trunk of my car but now I look like a homeless person, when all I wanted to do was look pretty for you,” Ava whines, “Then I had to complete their forms, show my ID and submit to a search before they allowed me to see you, Now visiting hours are almost over.”

  I raise my finger to her lips to stop her from talking. Summoning the image of Ava in black thong panties and a lacy see through bra. I need pussy, no matter how frumpy she looks and there’s not much time.

  It took some coercion but her willpower was never a match for my charm. “Ava darling, we don’t have time to waste. I could tell you they’ve blown this out of proportion. That the Feds aren’t interested in me. That they trumped-up charges to pressure me into turning on my grandfather and that wouldn’t be a complete lie.” Because the Feds had offered me a plea deal to turn on the family but I stood my ground. “Except you know better than that. Let’s not pretend you don’t know who I am or what I’m capable of. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve been blind to the one woman always by my side. We’re both flawed but together we’re perfection.”

  I lower my finger from her mouth and press my lips to hers before she can speak. I trail the tip of my tongue across her soft lips, teasing them open. Her whispered moan vibrates my mouth. My tongue slips through seeking hers. The warmth of our breaths mix as she melts into my arms. Our tongues collide in a burst of heat, twisting around each other in a desperate need. I hoist her onto the table and she spreads her long legs around my waist. My hard cock presses against her as I slide my hand under her shirt, pinching her firm nipples between my fingers. A loud moan escapes her lips and my cock twitches in my pants. I trail my hand down her stomach and under the waistband of her soaking wet panties. She’s mine for the taking. I pull my hand out and force her back until she’s lying across the table. I yank her pants off and push her panties to the side. There’s no time for foreplay, my cock is seconds from exploding when I plunge inside her. I grip her hips and pull her forward. Balancing her ass on the edge of the table, I drive deep inside. Guiding her hips harder down on me, my cock glides in and out with ease, slicked with her wetness. Heat rises through my body when she screams my name and she clamps down on my throbbing cock. I squeeze her hips and pull her hard against me holding her there, growling loudly when I explode inside of her. She lays still on the table panting when I pull out of her red, swollen pussy and pull up my pants.

  She jumps off the table scrambling to put her pants on when the guard knocks on the door, startling her. The door swings open and the Warden bursts in. Fury burning in his eyes. The guard escorts her out and another returns me to my cell. The Warden fired the guard and revoked Ava’s visiting rights.

  A booming voice pulls me from the memory. “Inmate 7229, on your feet. You have a visitor Deluca, hands behind your back.”

  I stand, nose against the wall like he expects and place my hands behind my back. The guard approaches and tightens the cuffs around my wrists escorting me out of my cell. We walk down the corridor toward the visitor's lounge and into a private meeting room. My attorney sits across the oak table and my grandfather, Carmine Bianchi is standing in the corner. The guard removes the handcuffs and waits outside the door.

  I pull out the chair across from them and sit. “Tell me there’s good news.”

  “The Court notified my office yesterday that they set a trial date, two weeks from now.” My attorney fidgets in his seat and toys with the pen in his hand.

  “What the fuck? I thought you were taking care of this. There’s not supposed to be a trial.” My temper is threatening to explode and he trembles. He knows if I lose control, he’ll be on the receiving end.

  He stutters for words when Carmine speaks, “The Attorney General won’t budge on the charges but I’ve gotten Judge Winehold assigned to the case. The trial’s all smoke and mirrors, you’ll be free soon and then we can focus on putting the Carracci’s back in their place.

  Chapter 7- Brie

  I busy myself at the end of the bar, eyeing a woman mingling around the guest. For two hours I watch her leave with a different man and return alone, a short time later. The woman catches my attention because she’s here every night, wearing the same tiny, blue dress that now has a crumpled look, like she dug it out of a pile of laundry. She may be aiming for sultry but her dress hangs off her skinny frame, her makeup is smudged and her nose blotchy. I watch her snuggle up to an older gentleman. She plasters a fake smile across her face and runs her trembling fingers down his arms, squeezing his biceps in what I assume is flirtation. He motions to the bartender who pours her a drink without asking what she wants. The man’s eyes grow wide and his mouth gaps open when she whispers in his ear. They down their drinks and he pulls a crisp fifty-dollar bill out of his wallet, placing it under his glass before leading her out of the bar.

  I wrestle with my thoughts, teetering between disbelief and anger when Victoria approaches me. “You’ve been unpacking the same box for an hour now. What’s up with you?”

  “Have you noticed the woman with short bleach blonde hair and blue dress?”

  “She’s hard to miss. The struggle is real but we might not want to let hookers pick up Johns here, if we want to keep a low profile.”

  “So you agree that’s what she’s doing?”

  “Most definitely.”

  Victoria helps me unload the case of beer into the cooler. “I feel bad for women like that. I don’t know if Cal told you, but I dabbled in porn for a while. My ex, Ian, gambled at Vinny’s poker room in Boston and got in over his head. He convinced me I was helping him out of debt but it never seemed like enough.”

  I’m not Victoria’s biggest fan, but it occurs to me I know nothing about her. “No, he didn’t mention it. How did you get out?”

  She lets out a heavy sigh and a hint of tears well up in her eyes. “Cal made a deal with us, last summer to help with the Angelo situation. Cal was the only man who ever told me I was smart and could do more with my life. Something clicked. It just took me awhile to get the courage to leave Ian behind. He was furious, I wouldn’t work anymore and started gambling with low-life’s until they threatened to break his legs and collect his debt by forcing me into prostitution. That was the last straw. I left before they could do more than threaten and came looking for Cal.”

  A sadness comes over me. “I’m sorry, If I knew all that I might not have been so hard on you.”

  Her laughter eases the emotions flowing through me. “Sure you would have. Cal is fucking gorgeous and if I had a man like him, I wouldn’t want some slut hanging around either.”

  “You're not a slut, just misguided. If we’re going to work together, we need to find you a man of your own,” I laugh.

  Our conversation halts when we spot the same woman walking by us, heading to the bathroom.

  “That’s it. We need to do something about this. Get her to admit she’s using this place to turn tricks and then I’ll figure out how to get her out of here.”

  I walk into the bathroom first and fight the anger welling up inside when I catch the woman bent over the sink, snorting a line of coke. I walk into a stall and listen as Victoria comes in a few steps behind me. Victoria’s heels click against the tile floor and come to stop before the stalls.

  “Did you score that here? I’ve been looking for a hook-up all night. A girl needs a little something to pretend she’s turned on by fat, bald men,” Victoria engages the women.

  After a long pause the woman responds, “Are you a new girl? I haven’t seen you around here before.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Don’t tell Ninez, but if you charge m
ore and give Augusto a cut, he’ll hook you up. Try to find Johns that smell like cologne and not sweat and stale beer, they pay better.”

  “Sweet, which one is Augusto again?”

  “He’s the one in the back, with the brown hair and a scar on his cheek. Whatever you do, don’t ask him about it. He can be temperamental.”

  “Thanks. I better get back to work.”

  “One more piece of advice, the other girls aren’t as nice as I am. They don’t like fresh meat. Especially ones that look like you. Deluca wants his money and doesn’t care if there’s not enough dick for everyone to suck.”

  The sound of his name sends me over the edge. I burst out of my hiding spot slamming the door against the next stall. The woman jumps and drops the straw up her nose. I grab her by her hair and yank her head back until she can see me. Her eyes are wide, sunk back in her hollow face. “Take your skanky whore ass somewhere else. This bar is off limits to anyone who works for that piece of shit.”

  Still holding onto her hair, I drag her out of the bathroom and across the floor. I’m too angry to care about the gasps from the shocked customers. The only thing stopping me from kicking her ass, is the baby in my stomach between us. I could kill this woman but protecting my child is more important.

  A mean-looking man with greasy brown hair and a scar on his cheek knocks his chair over when he jumps from his seat. Victoria steps to my side and holds her arms out as the man, who must be Augusto, rushes toward us. Before he can tackle her and take us both down, Cal appears out of nowhere.