The morning glare stings my eyes as I step outside and onto the Strip. The blue, cloudless sky and warm air do nothing to lift my mood.
“Which way are you headed?”
I squint into the sun’s rays to see Vinny Markizo leaning against the back passenger door of a black Lincoln.
The sleeves of his white shirt are rolled up over his curving forearms, and his pecs twitch under the buttons.
“I-I’m so sorry about what happened in there, Mr. Markizo. I shouldn’t have—”
“Vinny.”
“Excuse me?”
“You don’t work for me anymore, Ms. Collins. Call me Vinny.” He lifts himself away from the car and opens the door to the backseat. “Where are you heading? I’ll accompany you.”
“Oh, no, really, that’s quite all right. I have to get halfway across town.”
“Halfway across town in which direction?” Vinny removes his shades and slips them into his shirt’s top pocket.
“Erm.”
A bead of sweat rolls down his temple, then down his thick, muscular neck. I find it hard to swallow the lump in my throat.
“Erm, Sunrise. I need to get changed.”
He ushers me inside the car again. “Changed for what? It’s the middle of the day.”
“I have a shift later today at a diner out on the highway toward Boulder City.”
“Then to Sunrise we go, followed by Boulder City. No strings attached, just a ride.”
“How do I know you won’t take me out to the desert and bury me?”
“I have people who do that for me.”
His smile is subtle. I can’t tell if he’s joking.
At last, I accept the offer of his hand.
His fingers are rough. I imagine them around some poor man’s neck. I imagine them around my waist… I let him guide me into the car. The air-con gives me instant relief.
After closing the door behind him, Vinny presses a button on the ceiling. “Frank, head to Sunrise.”
As if operated by a robot, the car starts pulling into the traffic.
Vinny settles into his seat. “What happened on the floor today, Ms. Collins?”
“Sidney.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“If you’re going to insist on me calling you Vinny, then I insist you call me Sidney.” My voice doesn’t waver, and I feel strangely proud of how I jut my chin out at him.
Vinny smiles. “Sidney it is. What happened with Carlos?”
“He…” I decide it’s best not to bad-mouth someone with any kind of authority in a Markizo family business. Even if Vinny fired the guy, they might make up again tomorrow.
“It was my fault. I was tired from working so much and I fell asleep. I understand if you’re not gonna pay me for my last day.”
Vinny waves his hand at me as if dismissing my words. “Don’t worry about that. But don’t lie to me either. What did he do? Tell me the truth.”
I swallow. “He…he likes to touch me, any chance he gets. He’s been propositioning me ever since my interview. To be honest, I was surprised he gave me the job after I turned down his advances.”
Vinny stares at me unblinkingly for a moment. After a few tense moments, he smiles again. “That’s because he wasn’t the one who hired you. It was me. I insisted on hiring you.”
“W-why? Sorry, I mean, thank you for the job, but why me?”
Vinny leans forward and moves his hand from his bouncing knee to my still one. Even with the denim of my jeans separating our skin contact, I feel a rush of blood up my thigh.
“How many jobs do you have, Sidney?”
“Um, four. Well, three now.”
“What are they?” He seems genuinely curious. Despite his size, there is a softness in his eyes.
“Well, I tutor kids, bartend, and I’m a waitress at the diner I mentioned.”
“And why do you work so much? You seem too smart to need to work paycheck to paycheck.”
I laugh. “Well, you know, Vegas is an expensive city. And salaries don’t really match the rents around here.”
Vinny tilts his head and frowns. He knows more than he’s saying.
“Erm, okay,” I continue. “Well, it’s because of my dad.”
“He’s a loser?”
“What? No! Well, he doesn’t mean to be. He…” I close my eyes and inhale through my nostrils. “He used to be a great dad. Worked hard, loved me, loved my mom.”
“But then, Mom started working more, taking business trips. She and Dad began arguing. He couldn’t understand why a secretary needed to travel so much, and it didn’t help that she was so beautiful.
“She left when I was fifteen, and I haven’t heard from her since. Dad’s downward spiral started, and he hasn’t been able to find himself since.”
Vinny leans in. He smells so good. He smells like power, sure, but also like warmth. Security. “Sidney, let me level with you. Your dad, whom you support, has been gambling your hard-earned money.”
I wipe a tear away before it can stain my cheek. “I-I know. But how do you—?”
“I know because he’s been gambling it at my casinos. And now, well, let’s just say he owes me…a lot.”
My eyes snap to his, and the realization hits me like a truck. “You hired me so you always have a bargaining chip if he ever runs away without paying.”
I guess I missed a tear because Vinny wipes one from my cheek.
“Like I said,” he says with a sad smile, “you’re smart.”
All of a sudden, I no longer feel like I’m in a fancy car, being treated kindly by a sympathetic boss before he lets me go.
I feel like I’m trapped with a gangster. With Vinny Markizo, eldest son of the notorious Markizo family, and one of the most dangerous men in Las Vegas.
I notice the shift immediately. The taut muscles, the shallow breathing, the beads of sweat building at her temples. She’s panicking.
“Hey, hey.” I try to touch her knee again—it felt so good the last time—but quickly acknowledge my mistake when she flinches, so I pull back. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Sidney just looks at me, her eyes wide and shaking, looking like a fox when it’s cornered by a pack of dogs.
“Sidney, I promise you, neither I nor any of my people are going to cause you any harm.”
She stops pawing at her jeans for a moment and seems to settle back in the car seat. “T-then, why am I here? W-what do you want?”
“Do you know where your dad is?” I try to keep my voice as soft as possible. It’s difficult. Normally, when I’m interrogating someone, I leave Theo to play good-cop while I play bad-cop.
She shakes her head. I believe her.
“When did you last see him?”
“Erm, about a week ago? He’s disappeared before. I figured I’d keep everything going until he gets back. Those are the moments he needs me the most.”
“W-what is all this about? What are you going to do to me?”
She might sound scared, but I can’t help but admire how she’s keeping herself from having a full-blown panic attack. I’ve seen grown men wail and beg after less.
I venture to put my hand on her knee again. This time, she doesn’t flinch. I feel the same sparks I felt the first time.
“First of all, you’re not going home to your shitty apartment anymore. You’re coming to stay with me.”
“S-so you can keep an eye on me, right?”
“You…” She clears her throat. “You want to take care of me?”
I nod without even thinking.
“Does this mean…” She steadies her breathing.
“Does this mean I can keep my job?”
I pull back and can’t help the look of derision that crosses my face. “What? You want to keep working for Carlos?”
“I…I thought…”
“Oh, yeah, don’t worry, that prick is fired for good. Never liked the guy. But he works for another family, and it can be a bit of a balancing act keeping everyone happy.
“But seriously, why continue with that job?”
Sidney squints a little, and I feel like I’ve offended her.
“The money, Vinny. I need the money.”
I take her hand in mine. It’s warm, it’s soft. I want to lift her fingers to my face, put them on my bare chest.
“No, Sidney, I’m not going to let you keep your job.”
The tears pool in her eyes again. “Please, Mr. Markizo. Please—”
I raise a finger to her soft, plump bottom lip. “That’s the other reason you’re coming home with me today. You’re mine.”
A smile forms on my face.
Instead of returning it, I see furrowed brows and eyes that are shaking with rage.
“What the fuck?! What the hell was that? Let me out of this car right now!”
“Don’t you tell me to wait! What the fuck do you mean I’m yours? You don’t own me! I’m not some object! What, you think just because you’re some bigshot that you can get into my pants?”
The speaker in the car’s ceiling crackles. “Boss, we’re arriving at the gal’s apartment.”
“Sidney, Sidney, I’m sorry, okay? You’re right. I’m used to getting what I want, when I want. I hired you to use you against your dad if I needed it.
“But the truth is, I’ve been watching you on the floor for a while.”
The crease in her brow eases a little. “You…you have?”
“I’m sorry you had to work under that asshole. But I didn’t want to risk you being moved to another table where I couldn’t keep an eye on you.”
I risk her wrath and take her chin between my thumb and finger to pull her face up to look at me. “You’ve noticed me, too, right? I’ve seen you, looking up at the security window.”
Sidney’s cheeks turn a deeper shade of red. “You were really watching me?”
I laugh. “I sure was. You’re a terrible employee by the way! If you’re not falling asleep on your feet, you’re messing up everyone’s bets.”
She hides her face behind her hands. “Oh god, I can’t believe someone was watching me all that time.”
The car comes to a stop.
“Look, I’m sorry for my clumsy words, okay?” I exhale slightly when she nods. “Just know that you’re not in any danger, and for as long as you stay with me, I’m going to take care of you.
“Don’t worry about anything for now. Just go inside and pack a small bag of anything you want to bring. You’re not coming back here.”
She looks at me quizzically. “What, you mean like ever? But what about my dad?”
“Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of. Just pack the basics. I’ll meet you back here in fifteen minutes.”
I move to open the car door when I feel her delicate fingers snake around my wrist.
“Where are you going?”
I smile back at her. “I’m going to have a little chat with that landlord of yours. He’s another Carlos, right? A total creep?”
She takes a moment to think but eventually mumbles her agreement.
“Well, I’m gonna go and have a chat with Mr. Total Creep and keep him off your back for good.”
