Kissing Maddie is all I think about. The memories haunts me in my dreams when I’m with her and away from her. Twenty-four fucking seven, she’s the forbidden fruit I want to taste over and over again. It took all the willpower in the goddamn universe to stop because I was two seconds away from carrying her into my bedroom and taking that pesky V-card she’s always complaining about.
But that can’t happen. It can never happen.
That kiss was the final goodbye.
“Now where are you going?”
Speak of the devil. I glance at Maddie, who’s wearing skintight leggings and a tank with a small crop top over it. My imagination goes crazy, thinking about my hands roaming over her curves and my mouth sucking on the soft skin of her neck.
As I continue stuffing clothes into my bag, she leans against the doorframe of my bedroom, looking irresistible as always.
“Gotta head out for work,” I tell her flatly. “Fugitive in SoCal.”
Maddie narrows her eyes, but I look away to avoid her stare down. I know she doesn’t believe me, but I’m not going to give her any more reason to doubt me.
“When will you be back?”
I shrug, zipping up my bag. “Few days probably.”
“I’ll keep Glee warm for ya then,” she teases, and when I look back at her, she’s wearing her infamous Maddie grin. The one I fucking adore.
“I want all the highlight reels on the hot cheerleaders,” I taunt, and she rolls her eyes just as I knew she would.
“Of course you do.” She groans, and when I swing my duffel bag over my shoulder, she straightens and looks at me with sadness on her face.
“Stay out of trouble, okay? Stick with friends, and don’t go anywhere sketchy. Don’t make me worry,” I tell her when I’m in front of her.
Maddie crosses her arms, pushing her tits up higher, and then clears her throat when she catches me staring. “And what kinda trouble am I supposed to stay away from, Hulk?”
“If it were up to me, you’d stay home and let me put a GPS tracker on you, but since I know you’d only defy me on purpose if I did that, just be careful. Okay?”
She pokes a finger into my chest and sighs. “You know you’re the most confusing person on the planet?”
The corner of my lips tilts up at her sassy tone. “Yeah, Mads. I know.” Flashing her a wink, I lean down and kiss her cheek. “See you in a few days.”
Being back in Vegas only brings bad memories to the surface, which is saying a lot, considering how much I used to love being here. The flashy lights, the sounds of the casinos, and the endless number of women are what brought me here before the gambling sucked me in.
Now, I’d rather be anyplace than here and am counting down the minutes until I fly home.
Victoria: Parked outside baggage claim. Meet me here.
Liam: Got it. Be there in five.
Once I make it through the crowd, I walk outside and immediately notice the black stretch limo.
Fucking great.
A large man in a fancy as hell tux and sunglasses opens the door, and she steps out. Victoria’s wearing at least six-inch heels, a glittery black dress, and bright red lipstick. She looks like a million bucks—Las Vegas royalty, to be exact. I should’ve expected as much, considering who her father is.
“Well hello, darling,” she muses, raising a brow at my attire. Jeans and a T-shirt with Converse shoes.
“Hey,” I grunt, walking toward her. “What’s with the flashy ride?”
The guy grabs my bag and tilts his head for me to get moving.
“Let’s talk inside,” she says, and I follow her back to the limo.
After my bag is placed in the trunk, we take off, and my gut clenches. I don’t have a good feeling about this, but I have no other choice.
Johnny had a gun to my head, and if it wasn’t for Victoria barging in at the very last possible second, my brain would’ve been splattered all over that hotel room. It’s all I can think about, and it’s haunted my every waking moment since. I owe her my life, but that doesn’t mean the trade-off is a hell of a lot better. It isn’t.
“Wait!”
“Victoria…” Johnny looked up, shocked to see her here. As far as I knew, she didn’t get involved in the dirty work of the “business,” but she wasn’t dense enough not to understand what her father did. “What are you doing here?”
I risked a look over my shoulder and saw her standing there with red-rimmed eyes. Tears fell down her cheeks.
“Daddy, please! Don’t hurt him. I love him!”
I blinked hard, glancing at Johnny and watching his face distort.
Huh?
What’d she just say?
Johnny lowered his weapon, and I finally released a breath.
“What? You know him?” I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or if that was just his natural expression.