Vincent (Made Men 2)

Vincent cut in, “She’s not for sale.”

“She can speak for herself. Now listen, not one of my girls has been hurt or felt threatened in any way, because I have great fucking security. At least, I did before you. Are you her boyfriend? Because we do not allow the girls to have them in or near the casino. I have fired many girls over jealous assholes.”

Lake put her hand on his chest. “Nope, he’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a concerned friend is all.” She looked him in the eyes to plead with him. “He won’t cause any more trouble, because he knows I depend on this job, right, Vincent?”

It took him a moment before he nodded reluctantly.

Sadie went to exit the dressing room. “Good. Now I want you to take a break and clear your head, and don’t come back till you’re positive you won’t do that again. Keep your hands off her, playboy. I better not catch you dragging her away from a customer again. You’ll ruin their fantasies of being the one to pop her cherry.”

“Bitch—”

Lake struggled to hold a fighting Vincent back.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Good Kind is More Dangerous Than The Bad

When Lake went back to work after the changing room encounter, Vincent went upstairs to talk to his dad.

He sat in the oversized, leather chair in the dark surveillance room. I wish they would fucking hurry. I need to get back downstairs.

When the door finally opened, he quickly stood. His face showed he wasn’t happy to see the man in front of him.

“How’s the job?” Lucca smiled at him as he passed.

Fuck you.

“It’s great. Thanks,” he gritted out the words.

Vincent went through the office door and was met by Dante and his father, the two men he hated most at the moment.

“What do you want, son?” Vinny asked.

“I need to speak with you.” He made it clear it was a blood family discussion.

Dante stood. “You can talk in here. I have some business I need to take care of. I’ll be gone for an hour, so take as long as you need.”

“Thanks,” Vincent said before Dante walked out the door.

He continued to stand and stare at his father.

After a moment, his father raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to just fucking stand there?”

“Why the hell is Lake working down there?”

“How did you find out?” Vinny looked at him curiously.

“Lucca put us on security.” Vincent rubbed his eyes, on the verge of a headache.

“He did?”

“Yes. Now, why is she down there?” He didn’t have time for the bullshit.

“Because Lake was stupid enough to walk through that door.” Vinny pointed to the one he had just come through.

“Goddammit,” he mumbled to himself.

“I had just gotten here because Dante wanted to make sure whatever decision he made was fair. So Dante, Paul, and me are here and in fucking walks Lake. She literally walked up to Joe and asked to see the boss. That girl isn’t very bright.”

Jesus Christ. Lucca had warned him about her mouth. Vincent was going to have to teach Lake a thing or two.

“What happened then?”

“She told Dante she would work for him to pay off her father’s debt, so I suggested she work down there.”

“Tell me why the fuck you thought it was okay to do that! She’s my sister’s best friend. Would you have done that to Adalyn, too, and not even fucking told me about it?”

He hated how calm his father always was, never once showing emotion or caring about anything in particular. His job was to be the voice of reason without taking sides or being partial to anything or anyone. That time, his impartial judgment had gone too far. He should have cared a little about Lake.

Vinny’s tone changed. “What did you want me to do, son? Put her life in the hands of Dante? Paul had been borrowing money from him for years. You know the family loves Paul as if he was made, but he owed him fifty grand. Then, when he gets in a poker game and wins enough to pay Dante back, he decides to go all-in. Dante had the right to do as he pleased with Paul—it was his fucking money. Her walking in here made a bad situation worse, so she had to be placed where she was going to be the most beneficial to him.

“I can pull any girl off the street to answer calls or clean piss stains off the hotel sheets. Not to mention, those jobs are minimum wage and would take him too long to collect his money. The only chance that girl had for living was that job. She’s young and pretty, which will keep his customers happy and his pockets full. Lake is fucking lucky that job was available and I was here to even suggest he give her a shot.”

Vincent ran his hands through his hair and finally had to take a seat. “Okay, so she owes him fifty.”

“No, she owes him thirty.”

He quickly turned his head to look at him. “What?”

Vinny shook his head. “She fucking dropped twenty grand in front of Dante like it was nothing and said it was her whole college fund.”

“Fuck!” Quickly, he stood, going to the door. “I need to go.”

“You want her, don’t you, son?”

Vincent squeezed the door knob, unaware of how to answer his father’s question.

In their line of work, they started to think it was best and safest to not have someone you cared about more than the family.

Vinny gave his son a warning. “She’s the good kind of trouble, and the good kind is more dangerous than the bad.”

Opening the door, he started to go through before saying, “Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Vincent shut the door behind him and headed straight toward the elevator. Once there, he held down the code to reach the underground casino. When the doors closed, he let out a deep breath.

She’s fucking scared of the family enough to leave yet not enough to keep her from trying to save a dead man’s life. He didn’t think Lake valued her life, and he was going to make fucking sure that changed.