Page 55 of Dante
She really, really, really didn’t want to walk down the dark hallway she was faced with, but Maria began dragging her toward a door that was waiting at the end. Listening to the girl’sstilettos hit the floor, she walked down, arm-in-arm with her, not knowing what to fucking do.
Dante’s offspring were not only turning out to be more good-looking than him but were quite honestly terrifying. She was sure she would rather take on The Boogieman again than this psychotic princess.
Sensing her nerves, Maria spoke but continued dragging her along. “I was so jealous I couldn’t join you on the yacht last weekend …”
“Uh-huh,” Nadia said, glancing back at the elevator … for it to already be gone.How the fuck do I always end up in these situations?
“But, you know, I’m married, and my husband and I haven’t even been apart for a day since.”
It was everything Nadia could do to stay polite and calm as Maria flashed her huge diamond ring.
“I-It’s beautiful.”
Christ, if Regina George was fucking real, she was with the thing that fucking spawned her.
“Thanks.” She smiled so sweetly before banging on the door like she was a prison guard bringing in a prisoner.
To think that One-Shot was going to be the one to take her out was a joke. It was the fucking Victoria Secret model who was going to be the one to brutally murder her.
The door flung open, and a big, suited guy stood on the other side, not looking happy to see Maria, but he moved to the side nonetheless for her to enter.
Nadia couldn’t believe what she was looking at. It was another casino full of tables and risqué-dressed women all over. This casino, she was sure, was the best kept secret in all of Kansas City.
Still holding her arm, Maria said hi to the passing lingerie-clad women as if she was on a first name basis with them all. Asshe sat them at an empty blackjack table, Nadia could see she had no reason to fear for her life at all with the woman. She was the friendliest girl she had possibly ever met—
“You wish.” Maria flashed her left hand and shiny rock, practically taking a man’s eye out when he leaned too closely to her so he could whisper in her ear.
When his eyes drifted over to Nadia, then, her next words came out as a hiss, “Does she look familiar? Or did you happen to miss yesterday’s paper.”
Realization hit the man like a Mack truck.
The blonde’s pouty lips lifted into a wicked smile. “Unluckily for you, you happen to not only hit on his girlfriend, but his daughter in one fell swoop.”
Now the man looked like he was going to shit himself. “I-I’m sorry. Please tell your fath—I mean, Mr. Caruso—I apologize.”
“Hmm …” Maria tapped her chin with a manicured nude nail. “I’ll think about it.”
Correction: Maria eats men for breakfast.
Nadia would have a reason to fear for her life if she were a man, but luckily for her, she wasn’t.This poor sucker, however, wasn’t as lucky.
“That’s your cue to leave,” came from a female voice.
When the man scurried off, Nadia turned to see the woman who now stood on the dealer side of the table. Snickering with Maria, she was a different kind of a man’s dream of a woman than Maria was. Where the blonde bombshell was a tall, legged, sophisticated woman, fit for a runway, the dealer was every horndog’s wet dream—short, curvy for days, and had a pair of tits on her that Hugh Hefner would have wanted plastered on the cover of the next issue ofPlayboy. It would undoubtedly be a bestseller, too, and Nadia herself would purchase it.
“I’m Sadie, the pit boss,” she introduced herself with a fast shuffle of the deck. “But for Maria, I go back to dealing just for her.”
Watching Sadie take several hundred-dollar chips out of the tray to place in front of the blonde, she didn’t want to hold them up. “I’m sorry. I don’t have anything on me. I lost my purse the other day, and I didn’t think I’d be gambling when I came here.”
“Oh no, you will not be paying to gamble in my father’s casino,” Maria said, halving her chips and placing them in front of Nadia. “He owes you a lot more than this for getting you plastered on the front page ofThe Kansas City Tribune.”
“That’s right.” Sadie nodded firmly in agreement before giving her a wink. “Plus, what good is it to be the boss’ new girlfriend if it doesn’t come with perks?”
“Oh … I’m not …” Nadia couldn’t even say the words, knowing a one-night stand with the man was far from being called his girlfriend.
“Honey, weallsaw the picture.” Sadie’s tone matched a mother’s telling her daughter that she knew everything there was about love. “If he’s not asked you to be his girl, he will soon.”
Maria simply bobbed her head in agreement, like the best friend who was telling her that her mother was, in fact, right.
