His Kingdom (Owning Vegas Book 1)

“How the fuck did someone get a gun into my casino?” My voice echoes off the walls of the hospital hallway. There’s no one here, bar the doctors and nurses surrounding Charlotte.

My wife. One fucking day with my last name attached, and I’ve already failed her. It’s my job to keep her safe, and she was shot in my own fucking house.

“He was a dealer,” Carlo says, looking over a shoulder to where Jazzy is sitting on one of the shitty plastic chairs. He put a pair of noise canceling headphones on the kid and gave her an iPad. Judging by the way she doesn’t budge at my outburst, I’d say she can’t hear shit right now.

“A dealer.” I shake my head. “Everyone’s been vetted.” How could this happen? With one of my own staff?noveldrama

“He was related to that Greggory fuck. Cousins, from what I hear.”

“Who the fuck is Greggory?” I grunt.

“The kid we offed last week, the one Justin squealed to about the drop spot,” Sammie says.

I run my hands through my hair. “Where the fuck is Emmanuel?” I haven’t seen or heard from him since yesterday.

“No idea.” Carlo shrugs. “He’s gone off the grid.”

“Fucking hell. We’re supposed to be collecting a shipment in three hours.” I can’t leave this hospital. I can’t leave her. What if she wakes up and I’m not fucking here?

“I got it,” Sammie tells me.

“You can’t go without backup,” I remind him. “Especially when we don’t know if this fucking asshole was working alone. What else do we know about Greggory?”

“Nothing. He had no links to any known family. He was just a street thug.”

“We’re missing something. Find it,” I hiss. “And take the kid home. She shouldn’t be stuck here.”

I sigh, looking towards the glass that separates us from my wife’s lifeless body. Sprawled out on the hospital bed. The doctors assured me she’d pull through. They got the bullet out, and they said it missed anything vital. Which means she should be waking the fuck up.

“I’ll come with you to the drop,” I tell Sammie. I can’t let him go alone. “I want this whole fucking hospital surrounded. I want ten men in this hallway, and I want them all warned that if anything happens to her, it’s their lives they’ll pay with.”

The doors open and Emmanuel walks in. “She okay?”

“Where the fuck have you been?” I grunt.

Was it him? Did he have something to do with that kid pulling the trigger? A bullet that was supposed to be aimed for me and not my wife.

“I went to track down a contact. I heard what happened and came back,” he says.

The doors push open again and Charlotte’s friend comes running down the hall. The same one who was supposed to be on a flight out of here. “Where is she?” Evie screams. “What the hell did you do?” Her fists slam against my chest the moment she reaches me.

Emmanuel grabs her around the waist and pulls her back. “Whoa, it wasn’t him,” he tells her.

“If it weren’t for him, nothing would have happened to her. Where is…” Evie stops short when she spots Charlotte through the window. “No!”

“She’s going to be okay,” I tell her. “She’s going to wake up.”

Evie glares at me, shakes out of Emmanuel’s hold, and walks into the hospital room.

“Tracking down a contact or stalking an unsuspecting woman?” Sammie muses.

“Shut the fuck up,” Emmanuel hisses at him.

“We’ve got a shipment coming in. I need to go and get it,” I tell Emmanuel. “You gonna stick around?”

“I’ll go. You stay,” he says. “I know what you think. But it wasn’t fucking me, Louie. You really need to get over your hangups. I’m not out to fucking shoot you in the back. We both know I’d do it while you were looking right at me.”

“My wife is lying unconscious in a fucking hospital bed. Forgive me for not trusting you!” I yell at him.

“Remember, that’s your wife’s best friend. You can’t kill her.” He smirks. “I’ll be back. Let’s go, Sammie.”

“You know it’s pretty fucked up, you collecting your own product,” Sammie replies.

“You know what else is fucked up? The sound of your fucking voice,” Emmanuel throws back at him as they walk out.

“Uncle Louie, when my mama was in the hospital, I used to play music for her. It would always make her happy. Maybe you can play music for Charlotte.” Jazzy’s little voice has me looking down.

“Your mama was in the hospital?” I ask, and the little girl nods her head. Carlo hasn’t been able to get anything out of the kid about her mother. It’s fucking weird. Most kids would at least slip and say a name or something. “Well, thanks for the tip. I’ll have to try it.”

“I’m going to take her home.” Carlo looks to me. “You gonna be good here?”

“Yep, dig into the asshole. I want to know if he was working alone or not,” I tell him.

“On it,” he says, scooping Jazzy up and walking out.

I push into the room and sit next to Charlotte. I pull out my phone. I want to play her something and I have no fucking idea what music she likes. “Fuck!”

My fist clenches. She’s my wife. I should know what kind of fucking music she likes. Why didn’t I ask her more questions?

“Are you okay?” Evie says.

“My wife was shot. So, no, I’m not fucking okay,” I grunt at her.

“What happened?”

“She jumped in front of a bullet that was meant for me.” It was supposed to be me.

“She loves you.” Evie nods. “You would have done the same thing… if you were the one who saw it coming. Right?”

“Of course I would have.” My hands run through my hair. “I don’t know what music she likes. I need to play her music and I don’t know what kind she likes.”

“Charlotte, if you don’t wake up, I’m going to tell him you love Tay-Tay and that’s all you’re going to hear until you wake up,” Evie says to Charlotte, who doesn’t fucking budge. Evie looks at me again. “Why isn’t she waking up?”

“They said she will, in her own time.”

“Well, that time could be now.” Evie nods, like it’s a done deal. Even though we both know it’s not. “She likes country. Just put on any country mix and she will love it.”

Fucking country. Great. I hate country. But I’ll listen to it until my ears bleed if it means she’ll wake up.

“You think she can hear us?” I ask Evie.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know…”

Four hours later, Evie steps out of the room to get coffee. I can’t leave. My hand grips Charlotte’s tighter. I put her wedding rings back on after they brought her out of surgery. I wasn’t having all these doctors and nurses standing around, thinking she’s not married. I should have let Paulie put that tattoo on her. Maybe I’ll do it myself when she wakes up.

Charlottes fingers move. My head snaps up and my eyes connect with hers. “You’re awake.” I sigh out a breath of relief. “Thank fuck. I was so fucking scared,” I tell her, leaning down to press my lips to the center of her forehead. “I’m so sorry.”

“Am I still dreaming?” Charlotte asks, her face full of confusion.

“No, sweetheart. You’re not dreaming unless I am.”

“I had a dream. I married someone. You. But that’s not real. Men like you don’t fall for girls like me, so I’m definitely still dreaming.” She smiles at me.

“I didn’t just fall for you, Mrs. Giuliani. I jumped over that cliff without a rope. There’s no undoing it. I love you.”

“I love you,” she says. “Are you okay? You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“I’ve aged at least fifty years from the worry. Don’t ever do that again. You are not allowed to risk yourself for anyone,” I tell her.

“Mmm, you’re not my dad. You can’t tell me what to do,” she says. “I need…”

“What? What do you need?” Shit! I press the call button for the nurses or doctors or whoever. They should know she’s awake.

“Water,” Charlotte rasps out, and I immediately reach for a plastic cup. I fill it with some ice water from the pitcher and drop a straw inside before I hold the whole thing up to her mouth.

“Don’t move,” I tell her.

Charlotte sips at the straw until the room is rushed by a crowd of doctors and nurses. And I am forced to step aside while they all fuss over her.

Evie comes back in shortly after. “Oh my god, you’re awake. Why didn’t you tell me she woke up?” She glares at me. I’m guessing I’m not making the woman’s Christmas card list anytime soon. I also don’t give a shit. Which is why I don’t answer her.

“What are you doing here? You went home,” Charlotte asks Evie.

“I… ah… ran into a little obstacle. We’ll talk about it later. I’m just so glad you’re awake. You scared the crap out of me. Don’t do that again,” Evie tells her.

The doctor leaves after giving Charlotte strict orders not to move from the bed. She looks to me as soon as the door clicks closed again. “What happened? To the guy?”

“Security got him seconds after he fired the shot,” I tell her.

“Why was he trying to shoot you, though?”

“I don’t know. We’re looking into it.”

“Okay. But you’re going to be safe, right? No one is actively trying to kill you?” Charlotte stares at me pleadingly.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I assure her.

Charlotte nods before turning to Evie. “Now, you. Why are you back?”

“Shit, it’s my mom. I gotta take this.” Evie waves at her phone, which isn’t even ringing, and runs out the door.

“Emmanuel brought her here,” I explain.

“Louie?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to go home,” Charlotte says.

“I’m going to take you home, as soon as the doctor says I can,” I promise her.

“Will you stay with me?” she asks.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you.” She smiles and yawns.

“Thank you. You literally saved my life today, sweetheart, but don’t do it again.”

“It’s what wives do,” she says, her eyes fluttering closed. “I like being your wife.”