Page 6 of Bastard Prince
Looking to change the subject, I brought up the question that had been bugging me. “So, seriously. There are, like, a thousand churches in the area. How exactly did you guys manage to find me?”
Enzo frowned, Antonio smiled, but it was Vinnie that broke. “We had Lexi track your phone.”
Well, shit. I should have thought of that.
“Don’t be mad at her, though,” he was quick to add. “She didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t until Mr. Argenti told her about the hit that she finally gave in.”
Sweet, sweet Vinnie.
“I’m not mad, Vin. Not at all. But I would like to get out of the sun.” Turning to my brother, I asked, “Do you have somewhere to stay? The apartment only has one room, but you could take the couch for the night and then we can sort something out tomorrow.” I didn’t want to say it, but I was reluctant to let him get too far from me. Now that I had him back, I felt like the whole thing was a dream, and he’d be gone again when I woke up.
“I don’t want to put you out, sis,” he replied. “I can find a room in the area. I mean, it’s Vegas; that’s kind of how it works here.”
I looked to Enzo. “Do you think there are any apartments in your building available? Maybe I should ask Arnold.” I was sure the concierge man would be less than thrilled to assist me, but I’d help him see reason.
“Actually,” Enzo said slowly, looking decidedly uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I, uh, think I have another option.”
Well, wasn’t that ominous?
* * * *
“You havegotto be kidding me.”
Enzo didn’t reply as we drove through the gates, the long winding road lined with towering palm trees looking very inviting, despite the growing tension in my stomach.
We had driven about thirty minutes east of the city, Antonio in the passenger seat and Vinnie in the back with me, none of us saying all that much. For a while, I thought we were headed to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam, but Enzo—who was looking way too comfortable behind the wheel of my SUV—had taken a sudden left off the highway, and we now found ourselves meandering through the well-manicured streets of a...suburb.
Granted, it was a high-class suburb, as the very chic sign announcing our arrival atLake Las Vegasimplied, but still.
“What the hell, Enzo?”
He glanced at me quickly in the rearview mirror, but still didn’t respond, instead making several more turns through the rabbit warren of streets before pulling into the driveway of a very large, very modern looking house.
Although, house was too simple a word for the structure I was looking at.
The place was huge—probably over four thousand square feet—with a gray and tan color scheme that looked like something you would see on the cover of an architecture magazine. The desert style landscaping looked low-maintenance, and there were more windows than I cared to count.
Putting the SUV in park and turning off the engine, Enzo exited the vehicle and the rest of us followed, standing slack-jawed as we stared at the monstrosity crouching before us on the desert hill.
“So,” Enzo started, turning to look at me, chagrin clear on his face, “this is, ah, my house.”
For a moment I said nothing, simply enjoying the look on his face as he revealed his secret to me in front of Vinnie and Antonio. Then I burst out laughing, all three men staring at me in shock.
“You really thought I was gonna be a gold-digging psychopath, didn’t you?” I chuckled as my laughter died down.
“I mean,” Enzo said, a small smile creeping across his face. “How was I supposed to know? A Mafia Princess comes with certain expectations, you know?”
“Well,” I began, moving over to him and nudging him with my elbow. “You can rest assured that I am not a gold digger.”
I made to walk away, but Enzo shot his arm out quickly and wrapped his large hand around the back of my neck, spinning me around and pulling me close. “What about the psychopath part?”
I grinned at him. “That’s one of my best personality traits, thank you very much.”
“You’re damn right it is...” he growled, leaning down to press his nose into my hair, inhaling me. The move took me by surprise, sending a shiver down my spine, and I closed my eyes and leaned into him.
“Well, as much fun as this is,” my brother said, his teasing voice coming from behind us. “Do you think we could go inside now? Maybe you can finish groping my sister later.”
“It’s my fuckin’ house,” Enzo shot back, but his words held no malice. “I’ll do as I please.” And with that, he smacked his palm against my ass before moving to the front door.
