Page 87 of His Captive
“It was business,” he says, slapping her ass. “And if you drank the last bottle, you and I are going to be having atalklater.”
“I look forward to that,” she says, clearing her throat. “Anyway, our guest of honor! Eleanor!”
“L-Lea,” I say, even though I’ve told her that several times. “Nobody calls me Eleanor, really.”
“Maybe I’ll start calling you that, too,” Massimo growls, sneaking up on me like a shadow and wrapping his arms around my waist. “Eleanor.”
“Ah!” I stiffen, then relax in his arms, careful not to lean on his injured shoulder. “Please, don’t. If I’m the guest of honor, that’s my request. Don’t I get one of those?”
“Oh, she’s been reading up on the family traditions!” Salvatore says with some excitement in his voice. “That’s what I like to hear. But you’re going to waste your request on a name? Tonight? Some people wait decades before they come to the table to make it.”
“He’s not lying,” Massimo says. “You have a personal favor from the head of the Morandi family—or as your friend Sarah likes to call us, the Dirty Vegas Mafia.”
“I hate that fucking name,” Salvatore spits out and his wife consoles him with a gentle rub on his back.
“I can ask for anything?” I blink a couple of times. “I’ll be honest, I haven’t been reading up on the family traditions. Massimo justtold me I was going to be given a special request as the guest of honor.”
“It means a little more than that,” Salvatore says dryly. “And you’re not the only guest of honor tonight. Just the only one who has a wine named after her.”
“Hmm,” I say. “Okay, I guess I can live with everyone calling me Eleanor.”
Massimo lets go of me, and we continue talking for a while. I mostly listen, because I’m still getting used to being around such alivelycrowd.
Yes, I’m still in Las Vegas. Sarah’s here too. And Cadence. We’re the guests of honor at a party that nobody outside of the Morandi family knows about. Salvatore Morandi’s way of saying thank you for saving all three of his sons—and the wine, well, that might be because I’m not leaving.
Sarah and Cadence fly home tomorrow. Sarah’s been gambling at Massimo’s casino, and he’s been ignoring the fact she’s counting the cards. She’s smart enough to push her luck and thinks she’s getting away with it. Cadence stays in her room, doing something on her laptop. She swears it has nothing to do with the Morandi family, and we’re trusting her. A hacker weliterallydon’t know.
But she’s owed the same debt of gratitude, and this is how the Morandi family does things.
“Wow!” Sarah says, pulling me away from Massimo and his parents. “I’m just going to borrow the other guest of honor for a moment. Guest of honor—stuff!”
I glance at Massimo and shrug, then let Sarah lead me away. She pulls me toward the corner, where nobody else is.
“Can you believe this?” Sarah asks excitedly, then pulls her vape out of her purse and takes a tiny puff. “We’re at a Dirty Vegas Mafia party! And we’re the guests of honor!”
“Don’t you usually want all these people in prison?” I laugh nervously. “Isn’t that the whole point of your true crime obsession?”
“Maybe there’s been a tiny bit of Mafia fangirl in me,” she laughs. “Not, like, crazy fangirl or anything…”
“Fangirl enough to put their pictures on your wall,” I say.
“But seriously, isn’t this kind of awesome?” she asks, tilting her head slightly.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” I admit.
“You spent a week as a Mafia prince’s prisoner.” Sarah bats her eyelashes. “How can any ofthisbe overwhelming?”
“He’s not a Mafia prince,” I sigh.
“His father is the king of Las Vegas, right?” Sarah asks. “I mean, they even call it histhroneat the head of the table. So, what does that make Massimo?”
“A Mafia prince,” I relent. “But not like the ones from your podcast. He wasn’t hunted by the Mafia Prince Killer.”
That podcast put Sarah on the map in the true crime world. I listened to it, but I wasn’t obsessed with the killer like she was. I never imagined coming face-to-face with someone who could have been targeted by the killer. Thankfully, he’s in prison now.
“I know, but he’s still a Mafia prince, andyou’regoing to marry him,” Sarah says emphatically.
“Stop!” I say louder than I should and feel the heat in my cheeks. “It’s way too soon to talk about anything like that! I’m… staying in Las Vegas. I’m his guest.”
