Vegas Virgin (Nevada Bad Boys 1)

“Is this stolen—you know what, I don’t want to know. Thank you so much. It’s gorgeous. I will definitely think of you every time I wear it.” I let the pendant fall against my chest and snuggled next to him.

I FELT MY HEART ACHING when Vincent had to go. The harsh reality was that I would only see him one more time before I boarded the plane to head back home. I had fallen for a man I hardly knew and while it wasn’t the kind of love that would end in marriage, it was still something very real that I knew I would miss. Fiona returned and we didn’t talk about Vincent, but she immediately noticed the necklace. I could tell she was choosing her words carefully as she tried to avoid directly saying he probably stole it. I knew that was probably the case as well, but there was still something exciting about the fact he stole it for me. Perhaps there was a part of Vincent that was rubbing off on me. It would actually go very well with my ensemble for the Celine Dion concert. I put on my dress and when I stepped in front of the mirror, I actually looked elegant. The necklace sparkled and was something that would instantly draw attention as it accentuated my outfit perfectly.

“Okay, let’s go.” I turned around in front of the mirror and made sure there were no creases in my dress.

“We’ve still got an hour.” Fiona sat down on the side of the bed.

“Why don’t we hit up the casino? We haven’t won yet...” I slid my foot into my heels.

“Sounds good.” Fiona nodded and started putting on her shoes.

We walked into the casino and I felt like a supermodel when I walked to the table with my elegant dress pressed perfectly to my form and my beautiful necklace sparkling in the lights. I noticed a few people look at me, and some were even whispering. I started to wonder if the necklace was even more expensive than I thought it was when a couple of guys lingered near the table—either that or they were about to ask the two of us out. Fiona noticed as well, and she looked at me with an uncomfortable stare.

When they didn’t approach us, I actually started to get nervous about the way they were looking at us. Even when I won a couple of hands of Blackjack, I wasn’t excited because their eyes were still lingering at the edge of the room. We played a few more hands and lost most of the chips we had won and the ones we bought before deciding it was time to head to the concert.

“Fiona, I think those guys liked you.” I nudged her in the ribs.

“I don’t think so. They were kind of creepy.” She shuddered and pointed towards the front desk. “Want me to ask for a shuttle?”

“No, we can walk. It isn’t far.” I started towards the door and she followed behind me.

The night air was refreshing when we stepped outside. It had cooled off considerably since our morning excursion and I started to feel excitement when I saw Celine Dion’s face on one of the lit up screens nearby. Fiona and I had been talking about seeing her play in Vegas ever since we found my mom’s Titanic DVD when we were kids. We walked fast and our heels echoed on the pavement. It wasn’t quite as busy as it normally was, but there were still people around. A loud noise caught my attention and then tires screeched to a halt beside us. I stopped walking, as did Fiona. Our attention was drawn to the black van that had come to an abrupt stop. The side door opened and two men jumped out—it took me a second to realize that it was the two men from the casino—and another second to spot the gun that the first one was holding. The crowd noticed them, but they didn’t seem to care. They pointed their guns directly at the two of us and one of them grabbed me by the arm. He had jet black hair that was slicked back and piercing ey

es.

“Let’s go!” His words had an angry tone.

“No! Leave me alone!” I pulled out of his grasp and my purse went flying off my arm.

“Help!” Fiona was able to yell, but the other guy clamped his hand over her mouth and started dragging her towards the van.

“You’re coming with us.” The man reached out for me again as I tried to turn. I turned to run, but I felt his hand around my waist.

“No! Let me go!” Before I could say anything else, he put his hand over my mouth and started dragging me towards the van.

Chapter 12: Vincent

M y brief relationship with Peoria ended with no warning at all. She seemed so excited about the necklace and I thought I would get to see her again, but it didn’t seem to be the case. I woke up rather early and sent her a text message to let her know I was thinking about her, but there was no response. I sent a couple more messages throughout the day, but when noon passed with no response, I realized her silence was intentional. I dropped my phone on the coffee table and walked into the bathroom. The video and a picture that she hid her face in was the only thing I had besides the memories. I stepped into the shower and let the water run down my face. A million thoughts started running through my head, but the only thing I could think of that would have changed anything was the necklace. It was a stupid idea—I shouldn’t have given it to her. It was the only thing that could have scared her off. Either she was more upset than she let on that I could have possibly stolen it, or she didn’t like the fact I gave it to her in the first place. I sighed angrily and hit the wall before I turned off the water and reached for my towel.

At least I didn’t give her the diamond ring—that would have definitely confused her.

“Fuck...” I stared at the mirror and wiped away the condensation. As I stood there staring at my reflection and contemplating a shave, my phone started to ring.

Peoria

“Hello?” I picked up the phone and immediately swiped my finger across the screen so I could answer it.

“Vincent?” A raspy voice sounded in my ear.

“What? Who is this?” I pulled the phone away and looked at the screen. It wasn’t Peoria’s number.

“My name is Detective John Rogers. I’d like to ask you some questions. Can you come to the station?” He spoke fast, but as I heard his words, my heart sank into my stomach.

Oh shit.

“The police station?” I tried to stall, just asking anything I could think of. I ran to my closet and threw my duffel bag on the bed.

“Yes—can you come right away? I need to speak with you about a Ms. Peoria Talbot.” His voice stopped me in my tracks.