His Kingdom (Owning Vegas Book 1)

I watch the footage of Charlotte being grabbed around her arm. And not for the first time. I keep hitting replay and I’m not sure why, seeing as all it does is get me more worked up. “I want to know where the fuck he is. Now!” I yell out.

“I’m on it. Scanning his face through every hotel CCTV. Wherever he’s staying, we’ll know about it soon,” Carlo says.

I want this cocksucker’s head on a spike. I want his hands boxed up and sent to his mother. I want to burn his remains in a shallow fucking grave out in the desert.

“This is a lot of effort for someone who, in your words, isn’t important,” Emmanuel says from where he’s seated in a wingback chair, his posture relaxed as he observes me with a close eye.

“Denial is a common theme in this city,” Sammie adds.

“Fuck off. I don’t care what any of you say. I want this fucker’s head, and if I have to do it myself, I will. I don’t need your help,” I tell all three of them.

“What? And let you have all the fun?” Carlo shrugs. “Besides, I happen to like her.”

“Me too, even if she does scare the fuck out of me,” Sammie says.

“I think I need to meet this Charlotte.” Emmanuel looks directly at me. The fucker wants me to know that he knows her name. I’ve made it a point not to mention it in front of him. And Sammie and Carlo haven’t either.

I shake my head. “Sure, when hell freezes over,” I tell him.

“She doesn’t know,” Sammie says casually.

“Doesn’t know what?” Emmanuel’s interest is piqued. I don’t think that’s a good thing.

“That the boss here is… Well, she doesn’t know what he does. What any of us do.”

“What does she think you do, then?” Emmanuel prods.

“Business,” I tell him. “And I plan to keep it that way.” At least for a while. I don’t want to lie to Charlotte, but I do want to keep her around long enough to make it harder for her to leave.

“It’s not an easy secret to keep from the woman who is warming your bed every night,” Emmanuel states.

“She knows what she needs to know. I don’t need her being implicated in anything.” I’m not a fucking idiot. I know I can’t hide this part of my life from her forever, but I will for as long as I can. For her benefit, not mine.

“Your life, man. What’s the game plan here?” Emmanuel asks me. “You know I’m down for anything. I don’t give a fuck who this asshole is. You, though, you need to think with your head, not your rage.” He points at me.

“I want his fucking head rolling down the goddamn strip.” My fists clench and unclench as I try to rein in my anger.

“I hear that. I do. However, it’s not smart. This cop is connected to your girl. He goes missing after coming looking for her, and the first person they’re going to focus on is the ex,” Emmanuel says. “You want your girl dragged into a station for questioning?”

I don’t say anything. I don’t need to. I will not let this come back on Charlotte. I also don’t need no fucking dirty cops looking her way. “Fine. We do this clean.”

“Got him,” Carlo says. “He’s staying at the Norge.”

“Cheap fuck,” I grunt. The Norge is one of those pay-by-the-hour joints. Known for street walkers and junkies. “Get me five grams and a syringe.” I can’t make him bleed or hurt like I’d prefer, not if I don’t want this shit to fall back on Charlotte.

“Got it,” Sammie says. “I’ll meet you there.”

With a curt nod, I stand, pick up my wallet, and swallow the last of my whiskey. “Let’s go show this fucker what happens when someone touches something that belongs to me.”

“Car’s waiting.” Carlo pushes up from his seat before buttoning his jacket.

“One less pig around here is a brighter world, if you ask me.” Emmanuel chuckles as he stands and follows us out of my office.

As we make our way through the casino floor, I’m stopped by a few guests that I exchange quick, polite conversation with before promising to catch up with them later.

I look to my left the moment I step outside. That’s where she was standing. Right in front of my own casino. No one should have touched her, especially in my fucking house. In my fucking town.

Maybe I need to make it public knowledge that Charlotte belongs to me. Of course, no one here knows she’s mine, which explains why not a single fucking person stepped in to help her when that asshole cornered her. I’m going to fix that, though. Tomorrow night, I’m taking her out and then every fucker will know just how off-limits she is.

“You know, getting wifed up is the best way to put a target on your back,” Emmanuel says from where he’s seated beside me in the town car, as Carlo climbs into the front passenger seat. “It’s announcing to the world that you have a weakness.”

I glare at him. “You planning to exploit that weakness?” We might be friends, in a way, but I will put a bullet in this motherfucker’s head without blinking if he threatens Charlotte.

“Fucking hell, man, you really need to relax. I ain’t gonna touch your girl.” He shakes his head.

By the time we get to the motel, Sammie is already waiting out front. He waves a key in our direction. “Room sixty-nine.” He smirks.

I slip my hands into a pair of leather gloves and shake my head. “Grow up,” I say before snatching the key from him. “No marks. No bruises.” I wait for each of them to nod.

“You know, this is just like old times,” Carlo says. “The four of us, lurking around in the dark of the night, primed and ready to teach some asshole a lesson.”

“Good times,” Sammie tells Carlo.

“We were poor and fighting for survival. Not sure I’d classify that as good times,” I mutter under my breath.noveldrama

“You three were poor. I was loaded,” Emmanuel says, pointing to himself. “Son of a cartel leader.”

“Remind me… what was it that happened to your father?” I ask Emmanuel.

His face doesn’t change. No emotion whatsoever. “He got what he deserved.”

“Right.” I suspect that he killed the old man himself. He’d be fucking stupid to admit that aloud to anyone, though, and Emmanuel is anything but stupid.

I put the key into the door and push it open before rushing into the room. Owen startles but doesn’t get up off the crappy plastic chair he’s sitting on. “Room’s occupied,” he calls out, his words slurred.

There’s an almost-empty bottle of vodka on the table in front of him. Perfect. The door behind me shuts, and Carlo and Sammie walk up to Owen. Grabbing him by each arm and dragging him onto the bed. The fucker doesn’t even fight. He has no sense of self-preservation.

“I got him.” Emmanuel replaces Sammie. “You get the shit.”

Sammie walks back over to the table, where he pulls out a rock and a spoon and prepares the syringe before handing it to me.

I refocus my attention on Owen as I kneel on the bed. He eyes the syringe, and something must finally register in his head. “What are you doing?” he asks.

“Sending you to hell. This is for Charlotte. You shouldn’t have put your filthy hands on her,” I reply.

“What the fuck? She’s my fucking fiancée, asshole!” he hisses, and the fact that he thinks he has some sort of claim on her has me seeing fucking red.

“Yeah, well, she belongs to me now,” I tell him as I push the needle into his outstretched arm. He thrashes around, trying to break free but he ain’t going anywhere with my guys on him. “See you in hell, motherfucker.”

I’m careful to keep the syringe hanging out of his arm as I watch the drugs take effect. Then I nod at Carlo and Emmanuel. I don’t need to wait around to watch the finale. No one can survive the amount of blow I pushed into the fucker’s system.

“Let’s go.” I head out the door without looking back.