Vincent (Made Men Book 2) Page 12

  “While I was listening and trying not to picture some very sick, fucked-up shit, I look out the window to see if I could get the fuck out of there, and I see Lake bent over the fucking car. You were experiencing every man’s wet dream, and there I was, trying to distract your sister for you so you could have it. You get the image of her sweet ass tonight when you fall asleep, while I’ll be having a goddamn fucking nightmare about your sister fucking a green Escalade!” Amo finished by finally managing to open his car door through his frustration.

  Vincent tried not to choke on his laughter. “No one’s more sick and twisted in a bedroom than you, Amo. You’ll find something to make you forget.”

  “You fucking owe me something for that, Vince, so why don’t you go find it for me?” Amo yelled before slamming the door shut.

  What the fuck!? For the second time today, he had to dodge out of the way to avoid being run over.

  I probably deserved that one, he thought, smiling as he remembered how stiff he had gotten from staring at Lake in those tiny Daisy Dukes. He’d had to try hard to get her to bend over the hood just enough to where the swell of the bottom of her ass cheeks popped out, but it had been one hundred percent worth it. He could no longer resist his urge to touch her, his hand already itching to do it again. He had thought her hand was soft. But damn, her legs and ass are the smoothest fucking things I’ve ever felt.

  He had touched many women but none had felt like her, and he had no clue how the hell that was possible.

  Maybe she has a disease where she can only grow hair on her head? Wondering if that disease even existed made him curious as to exactly how smooth she was in other places. Of course, that made him totally want to keep his conscience hidden forever and go back on swearing off Lake when he had only done it not even five minutes before. Sure, we would crash and burn together, but it would feel so fucking good, his sinister voice whispered to him.

  “I really am sick and fucked-up,” he told himself.

  * * *

  Lake tried to muster the courage to walk through the front door. She had already been through a lot and didn’t know how much more she could take.

  Turning the knob, she entered the house of horrors.

  “There’s my baby who’s all grown up!” Her mother ran to her, giving her a hug. “I am so sorry I couldn’t make it, but I got you something to make up for it.”

  “Oh, thanks, Mom.” She tried to sound as enthusiastic as she could.

  As her mother dragged her into the kitchen, she saw John and Ashley sitting at the table, eating Chinese food while they shot her disgusted looks behind her mom’s back.

  After her mother gave her a big gift bag off the kitchen counter, Lake watched her mother practically burst at the seams in anticipation for her to open it.

  She was going to have to act really excited for whatever was in the bag. Pulling out the tissue paper, she could see the contents. It literally killed her to have to pull it out of the bag and reveal it to John and Ashley.

  Grabbing the straps from the very expensive, very big designer purse, she pulled it out.

  “Mom, this is too much. Thank you.” She smiled as big as she could while giving her a hug.

  Looking over at John’s warped face, she feared the coming storm.

  “You’re welcome, honey. I know you don’t like backpacks, and I thought you could put your books in it for college. Congratulations!” Her mother gave her another big hug.

  “Well, it’s perfect. Thank you.” She needed to wrap this up and get the hell out of there. Ashley wasn’t even trying to hide her disgust and jealousy at that point.

  “John?” her mother nudged.

  “Congrats.” He licked his front teeth. “They forgot my spare ribs again. I need you to go back out and get them.”

  Shit, shit, shit. She had to think of something.

  “Okay, I’ll be right back, honey,” her mother told her.

  “Actually, I have to get back. Dad’s back home, waiting on me.” She tried to make sure John understood by emphasizing the dad part. He wasn’t going to be able to hold her up and torture her that night because her father was expecting her, but she was certain he was going to make her pay tenfold for it by the look on his face.

  “That’s fine, honey. You can tell me all about graduation on Friday.”

  Lake let out an unnoticeable sigh of relief as she put the purse back into the gift bag.

  “Tr—Why don’t you go take that to your room. That way, it’ll stay nice and new for when the semester starts,” John told her.

  She swallowed down the lump in her throat, “O-Okay. Be right back, Mom. We can walk out together.”

  As soon as Lake excited the kitchen, she walked as fast as she could without breaking into a full run. Quickly, she went up the steps and down the hallway. She jumped up to retrieve the string, but only the tips of her fingers could reach.

  “I thought you needed the extra workout. You were getting too good at it from what I saw the last time,” Ashley said, coming up behind her.

  She turned around and held out the bag. “Just go ahead and take it.”

  “It’s not very fun when you just give it to me.”

  Lake put the bag back to her side when Ashley wouldn’t take it. The moment she did, Ashley snatched it out of her hands.

  “Actually, it is, bitch.” Ashley began laughing. “Good luck getting into your shitty room now.”

  Lake watched her walk off happily to her own room with her present in hand. She had known she wasn’t going to be able to keep it, and the truth was she didn’t even want it. Presents made everyone else in the world so happy, but to her, they only caused fear. The better the gift, the more scared she was.

  That time she decided to run, not caring if anyone was going to hear. She needed to get downstairs before her mom left.

  When Lake reached the top of the staircase, she knew she was too late. John was waiting for her at the bottom. If she didn’t have to work, she would have turned back around and locked herself in her attic.

  Not having a choice, she slowly walked down the steps. About four up from John, she stopped moving and began to pray silently in her head.

  “I have plans for you this weekend; big piles of shit only trailer trash scum can clean up. I own you, and you will find out how much I fucking own you in a few days. I’m going to make up for all the time I’ll lose when you go to college. The only thing which is going to help you get through it is the thought of what your piece of shit father would do to your mother if he found out how you were treated. What do you think those animals who think their shit don’t stink would do to her? I know you’re a retarded inbred, but I’m sure you understand me, don’t you?” He slowed the last part down as if he was talking to a baby.

  Lake was reminded of why she had to put up with John torturing her and why she had to keep it a secret all these years. John was right; if she told her father or Adalyn, the mafia would come for her mother and kill her. There was no doubt about it. Her mom was her family, her flesh and blood, and she would do what she needed to do to keep her family safe.

  She looked down at the ground in defeat. “Yes, John.” Lake had tried often to get out of those ‘Nightmare on Fourth Street’ weekends, but all her excuses would be shot to Hell whenever her mother called her father to complain. That always raised questions on why she didn’t want to go, questions she could never answer.

  He stared at her a moment longer to instill the fear of what was to come before stepping to the side.

  Once he moved, it didn’t take Lake two seconds to run as fast as she could down the steps and out the door. Fumbling with the car door handle, she finally managed to get in and lock the doors behind her.

  Putting her face in her hands, she began to sob, asking God, Why me? Why me…?

  “Why, God?” Lake quietly cried to herself as she scrubbed the toilet.

  Hearing the door to the bathroom open behind her, she snapped her head back to see John.

&
nbsp; “Because you’re fucking nothing; that’s why. Now quit fucking crying. God isn’t going to help you.”

  She covered her mouth, trying to stifle the cry about to come out from his hurtful words.

  John went over to the bathroom counter and slammed his hands down as hard as he could, scaring Lake so badly she went dead-silent. “Get the fuck upstairs. This is exactly why I made you move into the attic. I’m sick of hearing and looking at nothing but a piece of shit. Go!” he yelled at her.

  Getting up and running as fast as she could, she went down the hall, stopping only when she noticed Ashley on a stepladder from the garage. Slowly walking down, she watched Ashley use scissors to cut at the white string which was used to pull the attic stairs down to her new bedroom.

  Ashley finally took notice of her and held out the string, showing her how much she had cut off. “I thought it was a bit too long. What do you think now?”

  Lake wiped away at the tears which were sliding down her cheek without giving her an answer.

  “You’re right, bitch. It needs just a little more taken off. You’re fucking nice and tall; you can do it.” Ashley sounded crazed when she said ‘nice and tall’ as she cut off another inch. “Perfect.”

  She watched Ashley climb back down the ladder and move it out of the way.

  “Go on, I want to see how high you can jump.” An evil sneer appeared on her face.

  Lake merely stood there. She wasn’t going to let Ashley watch.

  “Do you want me to call for my fucking dad? I’m sure he would love to watch this, too.” When Lake didn’t move again, she started to scream, “Da—”

  Lake quickly moved toward the string, not wanting John to watch her, as well.

  More tears flowed from her as she jumped to retrieve the string. She failed the first several times, making it even harder on her to grasp it after it started swinging back and forth at each failed attempt.

  Ashley’s sadistic laugh rang in her ears along with the words, “Higher. Jump higher, bitch…”

  Lake wiped her tear-stained face using the backs of her hands, coming to the realization that reminiscing about her past tortures wasn’t going to help her stop crying, and crying wasn’t going to solve any of her problems.

  She had to work that night and pull herself together if she was going to solve her biggest problem.

  For an eighteen-year-old girl, it was sad to think that the only way she could save her and her father’s lives was to work in a sexed-up casino. Sometimes, life just wasn’t fair.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Was It A Mother or Daughter This Time? Or Fuck, Was It Both?

  The second day of work wasn’t any easier than the first. Her feet were still sore from the day before, and coming out from behind the curtain dressed like a playboy bunny still scared the shit out of her. It took her until halfway through her shift before she became used to the whole thing again.

  Making her rounds, she went to a poker table. Holding her pad and pen, she wrote down orders of the men as she quickly went around the table.

  “Can I get you anything?” she asked the man at the end while she jotted down the last one’s order. Usually, she didn’t have to ask when it was at a poker table; they quickly spit out what they wanted, and she never even had to look up.

  “So, it’s true. I have to say, when I heard what happened, I didn’t believe you’d have the balls to work down here.”

  She didn’t even need to look up from her paper to know whose scary, dark voice it was. Stunned, she didn’t know what to say as she looked into the terrifying blue-green eyes.

  “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m just as shocked as you,” Lucca said, looking at her transformation.

  Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious of her revealing outfit, she wanted to get away. “C-Can I get you anything?”

  Lucca looked back at his cards then slid a huge pile of chips in the middle of the table. “I’ll take some Jack, darlin’.”

  Going to the bar, her heart began to race, wondering who all knew about her debt. Who else knows? What if Adalyn finds out?

  Trying to calm her nerves, she grabbed the huge tray of drinks. Don’t spill it! She was shaking so badly the liquids were sloshing wildly in their glasses.

  Taking a huge, deep breath, she went back to the poker table and handed out the drinks. As she set down the dark liquid in front of Lucca, he didn’t even look up from his game. Thank you. Running off, she went to her next table.

  The night continued and every time she visited Lucca’s poker game, he paid her no attention. The only words he spoke to her were to order a new glass of Jack, but not once did he look at her. She was beyond grateful for this and after the first few times, she paid him no mind, as well, forgetting the fact that she knew him as the underboss. Hell, she never would have thought it, but she preferred serving him over everyone else since he never stared at her ass or tits.

  Going once again back to the poker table, she noticed how huge Lucca’s pile of chips had gotten.

  “Would you like some more to drink?”

  “No, thanks, darlin’,” he said, standing up. Reaching into the back pocket of his dark jeans, he pulled out a wad of cash held in a silver money clip.

  Lake stared at him in shock as he peeled off five one hundred dollar bills from the clip. She didn’t know how to take it. No one had given her a tip that big yet, especially not someone who had only drunk a bottle of Jack.

  “Take it, darlin’,” he said, bringing it closer to her. When she finally took the bills, he stopped her. “And you don’t need to stuff it in your tits. That’s not why I’m giving you the money.”

  “Thank you,” she said in disbelief as he started packing up his chips.

  When he didn’t say anything else, she headed back to the bar. What the hell just happened?

  * * *

  Vincent went into Lucca’s office, wondering why he had asked him there.

  Walking in, he saw Nero and Amo were already there. This is either going to be really good or really fucking bad.

  “Did you take fucking long enough?” Lucca asked as he lit up a cigarette.

  “Sorry, I was busy.”

  Lucca looked at his wet hair. “Yeah, I can see that. Was it a mother or daughter this time? Or fuck, was it both?”

  Vincent took a seat and smiled at him. “This one didn’t have a mother or father; she had some real parent issues.”

  Nero and Amo merely shook their heads.

  “Let me guess, you helped solve her problems in ten minutes?” Lucca tapped his ashes in an ashtray.

  More like an hour.

  “What about Lake’s issues? You solved hers yet?” he continued.

  “Yeah, he fixed her car, right after he stared at her ass while she tried to fix it. You still owe me for that.” Amo was clearly still mad at him.

  “I told you last time, Lucca; Lake isn’t mine. She’ll be gone in a couple months, and you won’t have to listen to her mouth anymore. It’s not like you ever see her, anyways.” Vincent was getting aggravated, not understanding why Lucca cared so much.

  “That’s going to be a fucking shame. I was hoping her car would break down again. Do you think you could get Elle to ask her to go shopping again?” Amo asked Nero.

  Nero looked at him stupidly. “Did you really just ask me to get Elle to go shopping in hopes you’ll get lucky that her car breaks down again?”

  Amo shrugged. “I mean, with that car it was pretty much a given, but I was going to make sure it happened.”

  Vincent squeezed the arms of the chair, making his knuckles go white. He grew angrier listening to Amo; however, he couldn’t wring his neck in front of Lucca, no matter how much he wanted to. If he did, it would have seemed like he had feelings for Lake. The only feeling I have for her is wanting to fuck her.

  It was Thursday night and after he had fixed her car on Monday, he had successfully avoided listening to his conscience for days. He didn’t plan on going back on it, either. H
e knew what the reasonable voice in his head was going to say. Lake, Lake, Lake, Lake, and my other head is already saying it enough.

  Once he got his dick under control, he would see what shit Lake was into with her family. Something deep down had scared him into waiting because he feared, once he found out the truth, getting her out of his head wasn’t going to work. Lately, he had become a sucker for helpless girls, and he blamed Nero for that. He needed to do this strategically, and by that he needed to keep fucking Lake out of his mind then take care of her problems behind her back. He didn’t need to involve her, see her, or talk to her.

  Lucca sucked down one last hit and put out his cigarette. “I’m going to give you all a new job to do since you two clearly like to look at ass all day.” He nodded to Vincent and Amo. “Consider this a graduation present. Meet me tomorrow at the casino, and I’ll fill you in there.”

  Vincent, Nero, and Amo all left his office and went into the living room of the Caruso home.

  Looking at Nero, Vincent sensed his distress. “You don’t look very happy.”

  Nero shook his head. “It doesn’t seem right to me. My brother is fucking planning something.”

  “I think he really meant what he said, and I would be fucking grateful to look at some hot ass all day,” Amo said.

  Vincent smiled, looking forward to whatever was to come. He genuinely enjoyed taking on new jobs.

  “He did say it’s a graduation present, man.”

  “I don’t fucking like it,” Nero grumbled.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  There Were Truly Some Things You Could Not Un-see.

  Vincent opened the door leading to Heaven itself. His mouth dropped open upon seeing all the women in sexy lingerie. There was nothing like sexy-ass chicks and thousands of dollars being thrown around.

  “Holy fucking shit, is this real?” Amo said in awe.

  “I think I’m in Heaven. Do you think this is where family men go to die?” Vincent asked, watching a woman swing down a pole.

  “This is fucking Hell; that’s what this is. I still don’t fucking like it.” Nero sounded pissed.