Troublemaker (The Men of Matiz 2)

"I need the break." His eyes drift over my face. "I feel like I'm suffocating in New York. A week in Vegas will give me the perspective I need."

It's cryptic. I can't tell if it's directed at me or not.

"Take care of this one, Ad." He kisses the top of Ellie's head. "That's my godson she's hauling around."

Mine too.

"I always do," I say softly. "Take care of yourself."

"That's the plan." He holds my gaze for a beat before he leaves the room to talk to Nolan.

I've never missed him when he's left on any of the countless trips he's taken before. I can still hear his voice in the kitchen, so why does it feel like he's already a million miles away?

Chapter 8

Crew

There are three things I can count on when I'm in Las Vegas. I'll win at the poker table. I owe that to my mom and two brothers. We spent every Saturday night when I was a kid around our kitchen table playing Texas Hold'em for a pot of nickels and dimes.

I have no doubt when I'm here that I'll eat well. That's because I own a stake in one of the best restaurants in Nevada. It's located in the most exclusive resort on the strip. I'm a silent partner, but when I sit down to indulge in a delicious dinner, I'm anything but quiet. I love a good meal, and I let the server, the chef and anyone within earshot know it.

The last sure thing is a good time with Lucia Turin. An exotic, brown-haired beauty with a mind for business; she's a constant during my visits to Sin City. I met her two years ago when she was standing outside her club.

We talked, had a drink and an hour-and-a-half later, I was between her legs, balls deep inside of her and ready to negotiate a deal that would give me controlling interest in that club.

She held out on the club, not the sex. She never holds out on the sex.

That is as true tonight as it was the first time I laid eyes on her. It was the same night I met Adley, but she blurred into the background back then. She stood on the sidelines as I hammered out a deal with Ellie outside the club. I wanted her to move to New York to take on the job as head security officer at our flagship store on Fifth Avenue. She was working as a casino security guard at the time, and I watched her take down a man twice her size with ease. I knew I needed Ellie on the Matiz team. I had no idea back then that she'd end up marrying Nolan.

Ad stood in the shadows that night, watching me negotiating with her best friend. I caught her eye once, but I was oblivious to what was right in front of me. I wanted the same thing I always did and that was a tall woman with a mane of dark hair and a thin frame.

"You're still dressed." Lucia enters the main living area of the massive hotel suite I call home when I'm here. I can see her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling windows now that night has settled over the city and the lights of the strip guide the way to a multitude of sins.

I don't need to leave my suite for that. Lucia is already naked.

We'd shared a meal in my restaurant and then two hours in our club. It felt familiar, comfortable and when she suggested we come up to my suite, I didn't see a reason not to.

I do now.

While she was freshening in the washroom, I sent Adley a text message.

I've been here for four days and I've held out reaching out until now. I needed room to breathe and clear my head.

I couldn't shake the vision of Hale's hand on her bare shoulder at the burger place. Eventually, that morphed into mental images of the two of them in his bed.

I couldn't be close when that happens. I had to bolt. I thought if I got out of the city I could handle the envy. I was dead wrong. I doubt like hell that a trip to the moon would ease what keeps rolling through my gut. Jealousy is a miserable beast, especially when you envy a man who has something that's been within your reach for years.

I pull my gaze from Lucia's nude body to look down at my phone again.

I miss you.

Those were the three words in the text message I sent to Adley in haste.

I miss you too.

Those were the four words she sent back that felt like I'd been given a gift.

They don't hold the promise of anything. They're simple words between two close friends, but I've been craving them for days, even if I didn't realize it until now.