“Business isn’t going that badly.” Yet. “I mean, they’re all lined up for a visit to The Grotto. I thought you might want to have a little fun with them first.” Her eyes grow wide, and she scans the room as if seeing it in a new light. “Seriously?” She steps closer and drops her voice to a theatrical whisper. “You’re telling me I can swindle anyone in here?” “Swindle the shit out of them, baby.” “But I’ve gone straight.” I laugh in disbelief. “There’s nothing straight about you. Never has been, never will be.” She stares at me, her shock shifting into excitement. “But what if…” “Not going to happen.” Although I haven’t seen Gabe since he hobbled out of the church, his men are here in full force. With their scars and tattoos and menacing scowls, they’re doing an awful job of blending in with the marks, but they’re here nonetheless. I’ll also be watching her like a hawk, of course. I won’t have much to worry about—I’ve had the gamblers all vetted. They’re the millionaire chancers, not career criminals. They’ve tried their luck in one of our casinos because they thought they could get away with it, not because they thought they could hold their own if they got caught. “I can’t believe you did this,” she squeals, slinging her arms around my shoulders and pushing me further into the alcove. She kisses my throat, working her way up to my jaw
and to my mouth. The feeling of her soft body against mine is enough to give me a school-boy boner. “I love you,” she whispers when she reaches my ear. And that? That’s enough to set my skin on fucking fire. Besides me, Angelo shifts in his seat. He lifts his whiskey to his lips, but sets it back down without taking a sip. “Fuck’s sake.” Belmarsh, the lawyer chewing his ear off on the other side of him, flinches. Nico’s amused gaze heats my cheek. We’ve got a bet going—how long it’ll take until Angelo loses his cool and pistol-whips the guy Rory’s playing blackjack with. “Anything else for you, Mr. Visconti?” I glance up to meet Laurie’s sickly sweet smile. With a lazy swoop of my wrist, I signal for another round. “You not liking the new workplace, Laurie?” She snatches up my empty glass and sets it on her tray. “I like it just fine. It’s on land, after all. What I don’t like, is being two servers down.” She pauses, cocking her head. “Even if they were nasty little bitches.”
She’s talking about Anna and Claudia—Penny wanted them gone, so I didn’t think twice about firing them. “I’ll get you new servers,” I say. “Even better ones.” “Get me five. This joint is going to get real busy in summer.” A squeal rips my attention to the other side of the room. It’s Rory, jumping to her feet and celebrating a win. When she skips over, fanning her winnings, Angelo jumps up too. “No more,” he growls, planting a possessive kiss on her lips. “Sit.” “Ah, this must be your lovely wife,” Belmarsh says, rising to greet her. Rory pauses. Curls her top lip in disgust. Then she shoves Angelo away and cries, “You have a wife?” There’s a ripple of snickers around our table. Angelo pinches his nose, shaking his head. “Fucking hell. I knew I should have stayed home and watched the game.” With a squeeze of Rory’s ass and a dark utterance in her ear, he heads to a more civilized corner of the room, where Cas and some of his business buddies smoke Cubans. Belmarsh makes his awkward excuses and leaves, while Rory slides into her husband’s seat. “How long have you been waiting to use that one?” “Since I walked down the aisle.” I rub my amusement away with the back of my hand. “I’m impressed. And I’m impressed with your new-found swindling skills, too.”
Laughing, she holds out her hands, showing there’s a slight tremble to them. “It’s not for me. I get way too nervous.” She sighs. “I don’t know how Miss Artful Dodger does it.” My gaze snaps to Penny, who’s at the bar with Tayce. They’ve got their heads together, their eyes shifting around the room. Penny talks in a low murmur while Tayce frowns, listening intently, no doubt taking in whatever tips she’s giving her. It’s ironic—I fucking hate cheats. Yet here I am, hosting an event set up especially for my thieving, sticky-fingered girl to cheat anyone she pleases. I guess I’ve broken every rule and moral code I set in place for myself, anyway. There’s one more I’m dying to break. “Make her marry me,” I blurt out. A server comes over with the drinks we ordered, plus a white-wine spritzer for Rory. She takes a sip, doing a crappy job at hiding her amusement. “Chill out; it’s been, like, a month.” “You married my brother after a month.” “Yeah, but only because he begged.” I stare at her. “What?” “Oh, swan. Don’t tell him I told you that. He’s peeved with me already.” I say nothing. We both know it’ll come out the second Angelo pisses me off.
Rory swirls the ice cubes in her drink. “Buy her the right ring, and she might just say yes.” My laugh is bitter. “I’ve bought her so many rings, when she wears them together she looks like Mr. T.” I settle into my seat, not really listening to my sister-in-law as she preaches about the value of patience. I’m too busy admiring the view of Penny at the bar. Truth is, despite my caveman instinct to get a ring on her finger so the world and their mamas know she’s mine, the logical part of me can respect her not wanting to tie the knot yet. She spent so long trying to figure out what she wants in life; now she’s found it, she wants to enjoy it as Penny Price for a while. And that’s okay. I like her being Penny Price too. The night is dark and bitter. A fog has rolled in over the parking lot, reducing the figures filtering out of the bar to distorted shadows. I switch on the car engine, turn on Penny’s heated seat, then lean against the trunk while I wait for her to emerge.
As always, it’s her loud-ass laugh that alerts me to her presence. She wobbles into the glow of a streetlamp, arms linked with Rory and Wren, with Tayce on Wren’s other side. It’s Rory that spots me first. “Rafe!” she yells. “Are we still on for Sunday?” Nodding, I give her a thumbs up. “Good. I’ve picked up more of those watermelon thingies, and— ouch!” Her heel buckles underneath her, but my brother swoops out of the shadows and grabs her by the waist. “Jesus, Magpie. You need water and a burger. Come on.” He scoops her up and carries her to a waiting car. Rory waves at her friends over his shoulder. “Call me tomorrow!” I watch in amusement as Penny says her goodbyes to Tayce and Wren, then strides over to me. She’s concentrating on the ground, clearly determined not to meet the same fate as my sister-in-law. “Hello handsome,” she says sweetly, sliding into the passenger seat. I slam the door shut behind her and round the car. Once I’m behind the wheel, I shift sideways to get a good look at her. “Good night?” She bites her bottom lip, looking up at me through those thick lashes. “The best. Look!” She dumps her bag out onto her lap, and all her stolen goods fall out. Money she won, wallets she lifted, watches
she stole. She holds up a Rolex to the light of the moon and squints at it. “Although, I’m not sure this one is real.” Shaking my head, I cup her jaw and steal a quick kiss. “You’re a dirty little thief; you know that?” Her grin grows wider. “I do indeed.” She stares at me for a beat too long. When her gaze starts to heat and warm the air inside of the car, my eyes narrow. “What?” “Nothing.” “Don’t ‘nothing’ me, Queenie. I thought you’d have learned that lesson last week.” Last time she’d ‘nothing’ed me, I bent her over my knee until she told me what the ‘nothing’ was. She focuses on her haul, slowly putting the items back in her purse. “Fine. I got you a gift.” “Better not be a second-hand watch.” I’m surprised that her laugh sounds so nervous. “It’s not. Here,” she dips her hand in the passenger door pocket, and pulls out a small jewelry box. It sits on the console between us, and I stare down at it, irritation grating on my chest. “I’m not into any of this new-era shit, Pen. If you’re proposing to me, I’ll throw the fucking ring out the window, and maybe you with it—” “Jesus Christ, shut up and open it.” I steel my jaw. Give her one last warning look, then flick the box open.
Immediately, my blood runs cold. Something thickens in my throat, and I can’t seem to get any words out, let alone in order. Eventually, I manage a strangled, “You’re not wearing it.” I can’t believe I didn’t notice she’s not wearing it. Her hand flies to her chest. “I’m lucky, with or without the necklace,” she says quietly. “I have you, I have friends, I have the best job. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.” Her fingers slide over mine, and she takes the box from me. “My socks didn’t work for you, nor did you taking your mama’s advice about believing you’re lucky. So maybe this will.” The four-leaf clover pendant winks as she lifts it off the cushion and dangles it in the space between us. “I had it put on a new chain, so it’s a little longer. More manly, too.” She chokes out an awkward laugh. “Here, let me put it on you.” I don’t say anything as her soft hands reach around my neck. Can’t. Can’t seem to fucking think about anything other than how I’m stupidly obsessed with this woman. “There.” She slides the chain under my shirt collar and pats my chest, then looks up into my eyes. I stare back at her for a beat, while my heart bursts into flames. My fist finds the back of her hair, and my lips find her mouth. My heart has caught fire, and I’m in love with the Queen who lit the match.
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SINNERS ANONYMOUS SERIES Sinners Anonymous Sinners Condemned Sinners Consumed Sinners Atone (Coming soon) OceanofPDF.com
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