TWENTY-THREE

Walking beside Luca through Casino Italia in a low-cut Donna Karan dress that draped over her breasts and hugged her hips so tight she’d had trouble hiding her weapon, Gabrielle was fairly certain they were being watched. Not by the cameras or casino staff, but by someone who made her skin prickle and the hair on her neck stand on end.

“Maybe we should go to a different casino.” She pulled on Luca’s sleeve, trying to make him stop. The expensive fabric of his tuxedo hugged his body to perfection, highlighting his broad chest, wide shoulders, and powerful thighs. And yet the slight curl to his hair, the thick, rebellious waves that didn’t sit just right, hinted that he wasn’t quite what he seemed.

“We need the money to come from a legitimate source,” he said. “You never know who is watching. And we won’t get better odds anywhere than here.”

Gabrielle shook her head wondering yet again why she had agreed to Luca’s crazy plan. She was thinking as a police officer, he’d said when she gave him more information to review. Why waste time reading notes and going over files in the hopes of finding something that might lead them to Garcia, when they could buy an audience with the big man himself for only half a million dollars? How hard could it be to come up with the money when they lived in the city where dreams came true? He just needed one hundred thousand dollars up front and they would be good to go.

He clasped her hand and gave it a squeeze as they made their way to the entrance of the high-limit gaming room. “Don’t worry. After Gina died, I spent a year playing craps, trying to lose myself and forget how I’d failed her. It became an addiction. I would still be playing now if my friends hadn’t pulled me out, slapped some sense into me, and got me…” He hesitated. “Working again.”

She now knew his “work” involved much more than running the restaurant, but she was glad not to know the details. It was safer for him, and no doubt safer for her.

They walked through the high-limit room, looking for Nicole and Cissy. Luca had suggested inviting them to keep her company while he played so they could all have a bit of fun. She had reluctantly agreed to call them, knowing that Cissy, in particular, was going to rake her over the coals for giving Luca all the money she’d received from the sale of David’s house as a buy-in, although he’d matched her fifty thousand with his own.

“There they are.” She waved to her friends, who were sipping drinks in the fancy lounge, all dressed up and ready to party.

“Oooh. You look amazing.” Nicole gave Gabrielle a hug. “This is so exciting. I’ve never been in a high-limit room, not even at work.” She spun around, showing off her navy floral bodycon dress. “Do I look like I belong?”

“Bellissima.” Luca kissed Nicole’s cheeks and she blushed.

“I have to say, I do like the whole Italian thing,” Cissy whispered to Gabrielle. Her sleeveless black lace appliqué cocktail dress was more conservative, but suited her style.

Luca ordered a round of drinks and left them to watch the action at the tables. Although the atmosphere in the high-limit room was more subdued than on the main casino floor, the undercurrent of energy and excitement lifted Gabrielle’s spirits and took the edge off her reservations about Luca’s plan.

“He’s so into you,” Cissy said. “He didn’t take his eyes off you. Not even when that Sophia Loren lookalike walked in the door. How was your weekend?”

“Um…” She decided to skip finding out he might have killed the two men who shot up her house, discovering the body in the meat freezer, throwing up in Luca’s bathroom, her visit to a Mafia clubhouse, and filthy morning sex interspersed with divulging confidential information about the Garcia case. “I met his son, we went to church, and he introduced me to his mother and family.”

“It’s serious when they bring a girl to meet the mother,” Nicole said. “Very—”

“Wait.” Cissy waved a hand, cutting Nicole off. “Who cares about his mother? He has a son? How did you forget to mention that to us? Give us the details.”

Gabrielle shrugged. “His son is six and lives with his mom. She’s very traditional, an amazing cook, and still does Luca’s laundry. I think she hated me, but she introduced me to her friend Josie who was in a … similar situation to me.” Josie had been understandably reluctant to speak to her, but she had given Gabrielle hope that there was a way for a good girl and a bad boy to be together without anyone dying or winding up in jail.

Nicole groaned and leaned back in her chair. “Of course, she hated you. He’s a mama’s boy, and you’re trying to take her son away.”

“He’s not a mama’s boy.” Gabrielle gritted her teeth in annoyance. “He’s very loving and respectful to her, but he made it clear he does what he wants to do. She didn’t like the fact I’m not Italian, and in the nicest and most respectful way, he told her he didn’t care.”

But Nicole was right. She was trying to take Luca away. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted. They worked well together, complemented each other. Although they approached things in different ways, they always seemed to be able to find a middle ground. They were stronger together than apart. Not only that, she could be herself with him, whether it was wearing heels and lace panties or waving a gun around.

“I didn’t think I could care for anyone after David, and I almost feel like I’m betraying him having feelings for someone else. But Luca is different, exciting…”

“Maybe David was who you needed when you met him,” Cissy said to Gabrielle. “Someone stable and caring who could give you the love and attention you never got after your mom died and everyone was focused on Patrick’s addiction. But Luca is who you need now. Someone wild and exciting who makes you want to live life to the fullest because you know just how short it can be.” Cissy sipped her drink and frowned when she caught Nicole and Gabrielle staring. “What?”

“Where did that come from?” Nicole asked. “Have you been hiding a psychology degree in your pocket?”

Cissy blushed and made a dismissive gesture. “I must have read it somewhere. So what’s going on tonight? I don’t usually party on a Tuesday night, but I’ve got a bit of down time between trials and when you said ‘exciting casino night,’ I couldn’t resist.”

“I could resist.” Nicole sighed. “Every night is an ‘exciting casino night’ for me. My new idea of fun is sitting in a dark room in absolute silence.”

“But you came.” Gabrielle gave her a warm smile. “You’re always there for me.”

Nicole grinned. “It’s because I’m such an awesome friend.”

Gabrielle looked around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard and beckoned them close. “Luca is trying to help me raise half a million dollars to get an audience with the drug lord who killed David. He says he can make that much playing craps in one night with a one hundred thousand dollar buy-in. So we get to watch him turn one hundred thousand dollars into half a million.”

“That’s a lot of money to gamble with.” Nicole frowned. “His restaurant must be doing very well.”

For a moment, Gabrielle considered lying to her friends, but she couldn’t do it. Not to the two women who had pulled her out of the darkness that had almost claimed her life. “I cashed in the bonds I bought after selling David’s house and gave him fifty and he’s put up the rest.”

Cissy choked on her drink. “You gave him fifty thousand dollars to gamble with? Are you crazy?”

Gabrielle’s smile faded. “No, I’m not crazy. This is what I’ve wanted since David died. And since I was pulled off the case, this is my only option. Luca has the connections to get the drug lord’s attention. We just need the money to show him we’re serious.”

“There are so many things wrong with what you just said, I don’t know where to start.” Cissy thumped her drink down on the table. “First, what connections does he have that could get you an audience with a drug lord? Second, what the hell are you thinking trying to meet with a drug lord anyway? Wasn’t that the same guy who brutally killed David, shot you and arranged to have two guys shoot up your house? And third, how well do you really know Luca? What if he runs off with your money or loses it? It happens all the time. Rich widow is seduced by charismatic, charming, handsome young man. He convinces her to give him her money and POOF he disappears.”

“It’s his money, too,” she said defensively, now regretting her decision to tell Cissy and Nicole her plan. Without knowing about Luca’s mob connections, there was no way they could understand that the risk wasn’t as high as it appeared to be. “And we’re going to meet him together. Luca knows his way around a weapon. As for connections, he knows people who know people. He’s not into drugs.”

Nicole shook her head. “I see this every day. Desperate people putting up their life savings, or the last of their money, thinking they are going to win big and all their problems will be solved. And guess what happens? They lose. This is a casino like every other casino. It doesn’t matter how badly you want it or need it or if the stars are aligned or your horoscope says it’s your lucky day. It doesn’t matter if you have a lucky rabbit’s foot in your pocket or even if your life is in the toilet and you deserve a break. It’s a mathematical fact that unless you cheat, the odds are against you. What if he loses it all, Gabrielle? What will you do?”

“What if he wins?” Gabrielle bit out, losing her patience. Luca had assured her over and over again that he would win, although he couldn’t tell her why. But listening to Nicole she wondered if he was just saying the words every gambler said before entering a casino.

“He won’t.”

“I’m willing to take the risk,” she said finally. “And if he does lose it, so what? I’m happy where I am. I have David’s pension, his life insurance, my savings, and my job. I don’t need designer clothes or handbags. I’d rather lose that money and feel that I did everything I could to avenge David than spend the rest of my life regretting that I didn’t take this chance.”

“Why don’t you let David go?” Cissy said quietly. “You’ve changed since you met Luca. It’s like you came out of your shell. You sparkle. You smile. You laugh. You take risks. You have fun. I’ve known you forever, and I’ve never seen you as happy. You’ve met a great guy who adores you and makes you laugh. Isn’t that enough? Why don’t you give up the quest for revenge and grab your happily ever after? With all the work you did on that case, you know the drug lord will eventually be caught. Meantime, you can get on with the business of living your life, which you haven’t really done since David died. Take that money and invest in the future. If you go after that drug lord, you might not have a future at all.”

“For the last two years, revenge is all I’ve lived for.” Gabrielle curled her hand around her glass so her friends wouldn’t see her trembling fingers. “It was the reason I got out of bed in the morning. It pulled me out of a depression that almost cost me my life. I feel like I have to pay it back. I have to finish what I started. I promised David I would avenge him.”

“You know he wouldn’t want that,” Cissy said softly. “He was good man. He would want you to be happy. And we can both see that Luca makes you happy. You just need to see it, too.”

Gabrielle looked away, trying to hide how much Cissy’s words had shaken her. Not once had she ever second-guessed her goal. But was revenge really worth losing the love she had never imagined she could have again—the love she had just found?

“It’s time,” Luca said, coming up to them. “The table is clear. Let’s go have some fun. I need my angel by my side to blow on the dice and bring me luck.”

“I’m not a lucky person, Luca,” she said, following him to the craps tables.

“You’re the luckiest woman on the earth.” He looked over his shoulder and gave her a cocky grin. “You caught me.”

Luca joined a rowdy table and bought a stack of chips. As soon as he hit his point number, everyone began to bet. The game moved so fast that Gabrielle couldn’t keep up, even with her fledgling knowledge of the rules. Luca rolled double sixes, hard fours, snake eyes, and every possible winning combination of the dice. Some people called out requests, and he managed to fulfill them. Players from the high-limit slot machines and blackjack tables came over to watch, and then came the casino executives, men and women with stern faces and dark suits.

“Why are there so many?” Gabrielle whispered.

Luca barely spared them a look. “They’re looking for controlled shooting. They think I’m setting the dice.” He rolled another double six and the crowd cheered.

“Are you?”

He gave her a sideways glance. “Let’s add that one to the questions-that-shouldn’t-be-asked-because-they-won’t-be-answered category.”

She felt a disturbance in the air, a ripple of breath. The crowds behind Cissy and Nicole parted and the man she now knew as Nico appeared behind them. Every inch the mobster, he wore a dark suit, crisp white shirt, and red tie. He spoke briefly to a few of the casino executives and Gabrielle frowned.

“He acts like he runs the place.”

“He does. This is his casino.”

Suddenly it all made sense. Luca’s insistence that he had to play at Casino Italia, his confidence that he would win big tonight … Whatever Luca was up to, Nico was in on it, and she was just along for the ride.

Gabrielle glared at Nico and fought back the urge to slap that smug expression off his face. Despite his involvement in their plan, he had intended to hurt Luca, and she would never forgive him for that.

“Stop scowling at him, bella, or you’ll make him laugh.”

“I’ll give him something to laugh at.” She curled her hand into a fist. “If he still plans to go through with that beating, he’ll have to get through me.”

Luca threaded his hand through her hair and angled her head back for the searing heat of his kiss. “He’s given me a pass until we deal with Garcia. And yes, it will happen. I broke the rules and I have to pay. Now, stop threatening him under your breath because it’s turning me on and I can’t concentrate.” He nipped her earlobe in warning and gave a soft growl.

“Luca!” Embarrassed by his very overt display of affection, she pulled away.

“Shhh. It’s time you understood what it means to be mine.”

“It means I get ravaged in public?” she muttered, while Cissy and Nicole shot her amused glances from the other side the table.

“You get ravaged all the time.” He held the dice under her lips. “Blow, sexy girl in her sexy dress that I’m going to tear off as soon as we get out of here.”

Mollified by his sweet words, Gabrielle blew on the dice for the luck Luca didn’t need.

Maybe Cissy was right. She’d been on this path so long she couldn’t see the exit sign staring her in the face. She hadn’t had anything to live for when she vowed to avenge David. But now she’d found Luca and in opening herself up to him, she’d found herself. Was revenge worth losing everything?

She glanced down at the pile of chips in front of him. “Are you close to making the target? Maybe we should just call it quits.”

Luca laughed and pulled her into his arms. “We have everything we need. The last fifteen rolls have been for fun. Let’s go cash out.”

He was right. She had everything she needed, right here in her arms. In her darkest despair, she’d never imagined her salvation would come in the form of a high-rolling mobster with a sensual smile. As soon as they were alone, she would tell him she didn’t want to go through with the plan. She wanted a life unburdened by revenge. A future with the man she loved.

The casino manager and a hospitality executive escorted them to the cashier where Luca cashed out his chips, and took his winnings in cash in a complimentary black leather bag. They returned to the high-limit room where they enjoyed champagne with Cissy and Nicole while Nico talked nearby with his casino manager.

Gabrielle glared at Nico from beneath her lashes to Luca’s obvious amusement. When she muttered something quietly under her breath about betraying friends, Luca leaned down and quieted her with a soul-searing kiss.

“We’ll go to my restaurant after we’re done,” he said quietly. “I’ll put the money in the safe, and then I have something to show you in the kitchen. A new dish.”

“What dish?”

“Gabrielle à la mode.”

She laughed, but her smile faded when three dark-haired uniformed police officers appeared in the doorway. One of them talked to the security guard and he pointed in their direction.

“We’re looking for Luca Rizzoli,” the tallest police officer said, walking toward them.

Nico moved to stand in front of Luca while the casino manager ushered the curious crowd away. “I’m the owner of Casino Italia. We didn’t call for the police.”

“Someone did.” An officer with short jet-black hair and a round face pulled a set of handcuffs from his belt and pointed at Luca. “Are you Luca Rizzoli?”

“Yes.” Luca stepped out from behind Nico, his face an expressionless mask.

“Hands behind your back. You’re coming with us.”

Gabrielle’s police training finally overrode her shock and her brain kicked into gear. “I’m Detective Fawkes from the Theft Bureau of the LVPD.” She pulled her badge from her purse and held it up as the officer started to read the Miranda Warning. “What are you charging him with?”

The tall officer laughed as if she’d make a joke. “You should know, Detective Fawkes. You called it in.”

“Jesus Christ.” Nico’s face twisted in anger. “You set him up?”

She stared at him aghast. “No. Of course not. I had nothing to do with this.”

“Did you want to get him out of the way so you could make the arrest yourself?” Nico snarled. “Was it about the glory? Or was it the money you were after? Or did you want to see him behind bars all along? Was he your target from the beginning?”

“No.” She stared at him in horror. “I didn’t call anyone. I promise.”

“Get her out of here.” Nico gestured to one of his security guards. “Her friends, too.”

“No.” She tried to twist away when one of the guards grabbed her arm. “Wait. Let me talk to the police officers again. I need to understand what’s going on. I want to help sort this out.”

“You’ve done enough,” Nico spat out. “Now go.”

“Luca.” Gabrielle called out as the police officers led him away. “I’ll come down to the station. I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

He hadn’t said anything since the police arrived, and he didn’t even turn when she called. She felt sick at the thought that he might believe she had betrayed him, and even worse about the niggle in her mind that maybe he had actually done something wrong. She had never asked him about the bodies of the two Albanians who had shot up her house or about the work he did outside the restaurant.

He was in the Mafia.

She was a police officer.

They were, and would always be, on opposite sides of the law.