MY

him whole before we reach the private security room tucked behind the glass elevator. But my

mer promises to leave and nev

o late

ste or patience for what comes next. It's just as well-s

each of his shoulders to make sure he doesn't think running is a good idea. The othe

speak, the mes

g down the man's

tutters, "I meant y

g smile, but my eyes are full of venom. "You came into my house, drank my li

th snap

y smartwatch. "... Mr. Nichols. Mr. Josh Nichols. From Lo

e still perfectly in place. His th

. And what people do under my roof is my business. So when someone lik

It's audible in

tening my business, Mr. Nichols."

g his shoulders squeeze tight. Any more

evsky! I'm out! I'

now-unlocked phone. I skim through the texts. Most of them are hookup reques

on why I'm even bothering is because reputation precedes performance, and the public cu

ere. Truth is, this sad excuse for a man doesn't even reg

't say that I

as

ad shoulders, a deep chest, and bald head tattooed with tribal

?" he grunt

e knows th

t to do with him. And see what you can do abo

is chair, clearly on the verge of sobbing. He doesn't know what's about to happen to him. He doesn't know how Sasha is goi

who mattered, they

anything Sasha's brass knuckles could ever do to him. My men will make him shit his pants for an hour, then r

nd each other and we exit the room together, lea

this little protocol in place. No one knows what's going on in that room-only that D

hands me her tablet at the edge

urs her luxury suite and tries on the silk complimentary robes. Comments and likes conti

ept a tumbler from a pass

e it went viral. We'll have

rfe

ks the tablet under her arm. "Toly

shooting her a glare. I know she means it as a compliment. I hate how it feels m

ya insists I stole nothing from

han it is now," I grumble. "With ha

t at all to hide it. "When are you goin

n a nearby table. "When I find that fucking 'key witness' and thank them

ire of dreams and diamond dust, because some sno

m of rage and angst over how it's been so long and I

cording to its placement, with a running tracker of wins and losses indicating whether it's "hot" or "cold" by the second. If a machine

ldest?" I peer

s. "Looks like Medusa's Wrath. Only two payouts in the last hour. This one on the end ha

ns to that machine and we'll pull later.

necessary adjustments. She funnels addi

r. I'm only vaguely aware of Bambi rattling off a To-Do list

ould be

the chance to even try. Our old man was still around calling the shots and ru

down LVPD Detective Michael Little. To this day I can't shake the feeling that someone, somehow, sk