Page 15 of Game of Love
“I don’t like to think about the negative. We just have to try.”
Try… Jesus. This didn’t feel as simple as just trying.
But I’d do it.
“Alright… I’ll do it.”
Ethan nodded his gratitude. “It’s not gonna be easy but it’s a window of a chance I want us to take. It means we can fix things before they get more out of control.”
“Yeah, I get it.” I sighed.
“One last thing.” He flicked the slide and the next image made everything fade from my mind.
The image before us was of a beautiful young woman.
Very beautiful.
White blond hair adorned her head in long graceful waves and piercing blue eyes looked at me with what I could only label as desperation. I wasn’t sure why I saw that. I was pretty certain most guys would be enchanted by her beauty and stop with that before they started reading into any emotions. To me though… that was what I saw.
Maybe it was because I’d lived my life feeling nothing but that.
Desperation and desolation.
“Who is she?” Wes asked. It was the first he’d spoken all evening.
“That is Jia Marchesi, age twenty six, art graduate turned hotel manager,” Ethan answered. “She’s the boss’ daughter.”
“Didn’t know he had a daughter,” I stated.
“Like most mobsters, they keep women out of business. She works at The Grand Marchesi and she is always within his sight. She is not involved in this and is to remain so. Uninvolved. We’re only giving you the heads up because she is his weakness. The innocent on the playground that may get caught in the crossfire. Giovanni takes her wherever he goes. Although realistically, they stay central to Vegas. We need to keep her out of this as much as possible. Innocent though she may be, she belongs to him and may become a threat.”
The beauty’s image was removed from the screen but not from my mind.
I doubted that any man could look at her and forget.
“You’ll get the brief with full details on everybody. We need you in tomorrow. There’s an audition for the replacement positions. Giovanni wants them filled with the best guys, which means the worst kind for us. You ready?”
It sounded like a challenge.
“I’m more than ready. I’ll get the job and take this son of a bitch down.” I promised.
Wes nodded at me and smiled that smile that assured me he was in. I needed that because this looked like one hell of a job I might be a loner on for most of the time.
But here was the chance to get some help in my pursuit for Balthazar. Then maybe, just maybe I’d get my life back.
I just needed to do this.
First things first though, I’d do some scouting around tonight. My style. My way of checking things out.
Checking out the battlefield and the players before launching into battle.
One hour later Wes and I parked up outside The Grand Marchesi.
The first thing you noticed when you got to Vegas was the glorious array of luminous lights lining the strip. A cascade of red, gold, yellow, blue, green, purple and every color in between splashed against the night sky. As busy in the heavens as the streets were with people heading out to experience the adventure Sin City had to offer them .
As like the other high-end The Grand Marchesi stood out in all its glory like a fortress. World famous for its elegance the luxury hotel and casino was on par with the Bellagio which was only a street away. Its multi-level building itself looked like a small island of neon and fluorescent flashing lights. White, solid walls and high ceilings supported by columns that looked like they’d been hand-picked from the finest architecture in Europe were just the start of what was to be admired.
The Bellagio had the famous water fountain most people compared to a stage show. Giovanni had a fountain too. But it didn’t have water. He used fire.
