“You son of a--” Nick roared as he lunged toward Domenico.
“Stop,” I cut him off as I threw an arm out in front of him to stop him. “He’s just trying to get a rise out of you. Ignore him.”
“You should listen to him,” Domenico taunted. “And stay the hell away from the Taverna and Colletta from now on, too.”
“Who exactly do you think you are,” Nick snarled as he pushed past me to get in Domenico’s face, “to try to give me orders?”
Domenico’s face went red as it twisted into an expression of absolute rage.
“You really think you have any kind of authority anymore?” he roared. “You’re nothing but a stupid little brat! You’d be dead right now if it wasn’t for the boss!”
He reared back as if to punch Nick, and I tensed. As a federal agent, it wasn’t a good look for me to be getting into bar fights, but I wasn’t about to stand by and let my friend fight alone, either. Before I could even lift my fists, though, Nick rushed forward. In the blink of an eye, he had dodged Domenico’s fist and punched the other man squarely in the sternum.
Domenico wheezed as the hit knocked the air out of him, but still reached around with his other hand to grab Nick’s arm. Nick twisted out of his grip smoothly and took a firm hold of Domenico’s wrist with one hand before sharply thrusting up against the back of his elbow with the other. In a flash, Nick was standing behind Domenico, one arm around his neck and the other twisting Domenico’s right arm behind his back at a painful angle.
“Stop!” Domenico screamed as Nick applied pressure to his arm at the elbow, threatening to snap the bone at any moment. “Let go!”
“Hmm?” Nick smirked behind him as he applied more pressure. “What was that? I can’t hear you?”
I was honestly in shock as I watched the scene unfold before my eyes. Nick had always been hesitant when it came to provoking the mafia, but now it seemed as though he was outright taunting Domenico.
“You little--” Domenico wheezed as he attempted to pull Nick’s arm away from his neck with his free hand. He was starting to turn an alarming shade of purple, and I wondered if I should step in. I was a law enforcement officer, after all.
“Sorry, what was that?” Nick jeered as he tightened his grip around Domenico’s neck. “Was that ‘I’m sorry’ I heard?”
“Go to hell!” Domenico croaked as he flailed his free arm uselessly backward toward Nick. By now, half the people in the bar had stopped to watch the confrontation, and it was so obvious who had the upper hand that it was almost comical. The girls we’d been talking to earlier were even giggling as they watched the scene.
“No, that’s not the magic word,” Nick sighed dramatically as he twisted Domenico’s arm further behind his back.
“Fine!” Domenico howled with pain. “Fine. I’m sorry. Let go!”
Nick let go and stepped away without warning, causing Domenico to lose his balance and fall backward onto the ground.
“See?” Nick smirked. “That wasn’t so hard, right?”
“You’re going to pay for this!” Domenico growled as he cradled his arm to his chest.
“Yeah, I’m sure I will,” Nick scoffed as he wound his arm around the blonde woman’s waist. “Come on, let’s go do something else.”
Just like that, everyone in the bar returned to their own business. It was a divey enough place that fights weren’t that uncommon, and now that that show was over, no one really cared about what would happen next.
“Come on,” Mandy, the girl with the tattoos, said as she clung to my arm and pulled me toward the entrance. “We should split before the big guy gets up.”
“Where to now?” the blond girl asked once we were outside of the bar.
“Well, we’re in Miami, right?” Nick grinned. “Let’s hit a casino.”
The girls cheered with excitement, and I did my best to react with enthusiasm to his suggestion. Honestly, after that fight, I was feeling a little drained and ready to go home, but Nick and the girls seemed so pumped at the idea that I couldn’t bring myself to rain on their parade. After all, it was likely to be fun.
“All right.” I agreed. “Which one, though?”
“Just follow me,” Nick replied slyly. He had a conniving look on his face, and I felt a surge of apprehension over whatever he might be thinking.
15
Nick
The casino I headed to was one connected to a large and luxurious hotel situated right on the beach. It was the kind that had no windows or clocks, and that always smelled faintly of cigarette smoke. You couldn’t walk anywhere without being assaulted by bright flashing lights, loud beeping sounds, and women in tight, skimpy dresses that walked the floor offering clients free drinks. After all, the drunker they got, and the longer they stayed, the more money they would end up losing.
“Whoa, this place is legit,” the girl with tattoos gasped as we stepped into the casino. She’d been hanging off of Jase since we’d met at the bar, but I had a feeling Jase was more into Kat, the one with the long brown hair. I made a mental note to give them a chance to talk later in the night.
“Yeah, it is,” Jase mumbled pensively as he looked around the casino. He shot me a confused look, and I grinned back.
“What should we try first?” Erica, the blonde girl I was with, asked eagerly.
“Poker,” I answered immediately. I was confident I could win, and it would be our safest bet for winning something before getting kicked out.
“Hey,” Jase hissed as he sidled up to walk next to me as we approached the poker table. “Isn’t this casino owned by… you know?” he asked me cautiously as he tossed a glance at the trio of girls chattering away in front of us.
“By the Family, you
