Chapter 6: A Feather Promise

HAYLEY

She knew what was coming when his fingers touched her cheek, when he brushed aside the loose curl that covered her face. She knew what his intentions were when she felt him pull her closer.

And oh, how a part of her wanted to be stupid and free.

But she wasn’t that girl. No, she was scarred, ~damaged~. The only man she’d ever loved had left her without so much as a goodbye. And she hadn’t been with a guy since.

Luca Marcello was not the hero she needed. He wouldn’t be the healer of her heart, but the devil who ruined her.

So she stepped back. “I won’t let you touch me. Not unless I’m wearing a feather. Goodbye, Luca.”

She left him standing by the car on the sidewalk.

***

Hayley sighed as all the feather girls got dressed and ready around her.

She’d managed not to think about Luca Marcello for the rest of the day—until this moment, that is. She was trying to forget the sound of those gunshots, of him killing those three men.

Was trying to forget how he’d almost kissed her. How she’d almost let him.

A part of her—a reckless part—had wanted him. Still wanted him. She couldn’t have him, but she knew staying away from him was going to be next to impossible.

A knock at the door caused a little stir, but no one rushed to cover themselves.

Hayley watched the door in her mirror as she finished applying her lipstick and saw Ava open it. On the other side was a man in a suit holding a huge bouquet of roses in a crystal vase.

“Hayley!”

Ava carried the flowers over, and Hayley turned on her cushioned backless stool to face her friend, who handed her the vase before taking a seat at the dressing table beside hers.

Honestly, Ava seemed more intrigued by the flowers than she was, and even some of the other feather girls came over to look at the massive display.

It wasn’t unusual for Venetian girls to be given stuff—in fact, guys showered them with gifts all the time. But this was common only for feather girls, the ones who actually did the kind of things that made guys feel appreciative.

Hayley didn’t get flowers.

She placed the vase on her dressing table and picked up the white envelope. Her name was written in gold calligraphy on the front. She opened it and took out the card.

~Hayley,~

~I’m sorry for earlier. You should not have had to witness what happened at the poker game. Also, I respect you, so until you wear a feather, you are not to be touched.~

~Yours,~

~Luca Marcello~

The note was simple and very formal, yet it had her heart beating like a drum. This was a man who probably never said sorry, and respect was something he demanded, not something he dished out.

“Who are they from?” Ava asked as she donned her red feathered mask.

Hayley slipped the note into the hidden pocket in her corset alongside her trusty switchblade.

“Luca Marcello.” She tried to suppress her smile as she admired the exquisite flowers. “They’re a thank-you for being his waitress earlier.”

Ava’s mouth hit the floor, along with a couple of others—including Arianna, who glared at Hayley and the roses.

“Luca brought you these? Did you fuck him?” Ava asked, and Hayley shook her head with a little laugh.

But her core ached at the thought of how close she’d come to letting him kiss her, which was a huge step for her.

Arianna looked Hayley over and sneered. “Luca wouldn’t fuck this frigid bitch. Not when he has me.” She pushed her boobs up in her black lacy bra and flounced out of the room.

“Don’t listen to her,” Ava said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “She’s just jealous that Luca’s never sent her flowers.”

Hayley gave Ava a grateful smile, then put on her mask and adjusted her corset before leaving the dressing room with her friend.

The club was in full swing, and Ben was already behind the bar. Hayley joined him, and Ava took her place on the podium and began to dance.

Hayley loved it when the place was packed, and tonight it was crazy. It seemed like the entire New York underworld was in the Venetian.

LUCA

She hadn’t noticed him yet, but he’d certainly noticed her.

Luca watched as she served her customers, smiling and looking gorgeous for a girl who’d pulled a double shift with a bit of day drinking in between. He chuckled as he recalled how she thought he’d poisoned her.

“Fucking Jackson,” Nic said as he ended the call he’d been on.

Luca glanced at his cousin. He knew Nic would tell him what the problem was eventually.

“Jackson claims to be short again.”

Luca let out a low growl as he thought about the man Nic had just mentioned. Neil Jackson was a Texan asshole who’d fucked him over one too many times. He needed to be taught a lesson—a lesson Luca was all too happy to teach him.

“Does he know I counted the shipment myself, and that only you had contact from here to Texas?” Luca asked his cousin calmly while keeping his eyes on the bella who had enchanted him.

He watched as she moved fluidly behind the tiny bar, her hips moving seductively to the rhythm of the music.

“No, he doesn’t,” Nic said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.

Luca turned to face Nic and could see the devilish glint in his eyes, a look he’d had since he was a kid.

“He doesn’t even know I’m your blood cousin,” Nic said before he took a sip of his drink.

Luca chuckled darkly.

“What are you planning, Boss?”

Luca looked back at Hayley, just in time to see her scoot past Ben. Jealousy burned in his chest when she touched his back so she could get to the cash register. Resisting her was going to be the hardest thing he ever had to do.

“I think we should invite him to a casino night,” he replied.

To someone who didn’t know him, his words would sound innocent enough, but his cousin knew the dark and deadly connotations behind those words.

“If he has something to hide,” Luca continued, “he won’t show up, or he’s too stupid and turns up anyway.”

Nic shrugged. “We could do with having a casino party anyway, flush out any disloyal associates. Shall we invite the usuals—cops, judges, government officials?”

Luca agreed with a firm nod. He knew he could trust Nic to organize everything.

He returned to watching Hayley and caught her eyes on him. She smiled up at him until a customer claimed her attention.

“Make it a theme—1920s old-school gangsters.” Luca laughed as he imagined Hayley in one of those flapper dresses. His mind was running away with him.

Frankie came up the stairs, and it was obvious he’d just had a private session with one of the feather girls.

“Had fun, Frankie?” Luca asked, and his friend gave a dirty, knowing laugh.

“Sorry, Boss, I was just giving my little man a little loving. Well, I wasn’t, but Rebecca was happy to help.” Frankie chuckled as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Have I missed much?”

Luca told Nic to fill in what Frankie had missed, then went in search of the person who held his attention.

HAYLEY

Hayley kept catching Luca’s eyes on her as he stood looking over the Venetian and speaking to Nic. It was distracting.

When it was time for her break, she took her usual spot perched on a box by the exit, which was open because some staff members were out having a smoke.

“Did you like the flowers?”

His deep, smooth voice made her jump up from the box.

While she waited for her heart to settle, she took a moment to truly admire him. He was wearing a custom-tailored suit, a different one than he’d been wearing earlier, and his thick hair was impeccably styled.

Reminding herself firmly that he was just a well-dressed devil with a stunningly handsome face, she replied, “I did, thank you.”

“You shouldn’t have, though,” she said as he moved a little closer. She knew she should step back but remained on the spot, frozen by his presence.

He shrugged. “I wanted to.”

She put her hands on her hips and laughed. “And Luca Marcello always gets what he wants?”

“Always.” His smile was like the devil’s—wicked, yet she could see the charm behind it.

“Did you mean what you wrote?” she asked, pulling out the note that he sent with the flowers.

Luca stepped closer and took the note, then nodded before handing it back to her and briefly clasping her hands.

“You’re not a feather girl, so I won’t touch you. Not until you wear a feather.” He took a step back, and she sighed.

“You’ll have a long wait,” she admitted.

He nodded at her. “I’m not normally a patient man, but sometimes dessert is sweeter when you have to earn it.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

***

Hayley arrived at the Venetian around noon the next day to work another extra shift.

Dimitri was propping up her bar as usual, sipping vodka and keeping her occupied with small talk.

When Luca walked in with a couple of men, he glanced at her briefly, but his face was serious and most of the men walked past her bar without even a side look in her direction.

All except Frankie, who broke off from the group and came up to her bar, an annoyingly charming smile on his face. “Hayley, can you please come to Meeting Room One? Georgia will cover down here.”

She felt the blood drain from her face at the thought of going back in that room—she could hear the echoes of the gunshots.

“I…I don’t—” She didn’t want a repeat of what happened yesterday. She didn’t want to be part of that again.

“Hayley,” Frankie said gently. “Today isn’t like yesterday, I promise. This is just the boss talking to his employees. No guns and no tricky card games.”

His words only calmed her a little, but when she saw Georgia approaching the bar, she realized she had very little choice in where she worked today.

So she followed Frankie up to the VIP balcony and through the staff-only door to Meeting Room One, where eight men were sitting around the table.