Roses, Bullets and Knives

LAS VEGAS

THE STRIP

"Darius, are you sure about this?" Gia asked with a shaky voice. "Going in there unarmed sounds very irresponsible to me and stupid too."

"Trust me. No one will hurt you. I won't let them," he replied seriously.

"I am not a damsel in distress," she rolled her eyes. "How can you protect me without any weapons? What if things don't go as planned?"

"How thirsty are you for revenge? Don't you want to catch the man that tried to kill you?"

"Well if you put it that way then I'm willing to go through with this."

Darius smiled at her, "Good. I just need you to distract Alvan for a few minutes and I'll get Jenkins. Got it?"

She bobbed her head.

"Good. Alvan will have eyes on us from the moment we set foot on the ground so try to act normal. Be yourself okay? Just like any other day at home."

Darius stepped out of the driver's seat of his black Maybach and a small gust of the night wind tousled through his dusty brown hair. The streets were quite busy but not on this side. This part of town was heavily guarded by the Grey Cobras. He looked around as his door slowly came to a close. He put the first button of his tuxedo as his eyes swept through his surrounding in one last glance.

Two ladies walking towards the pub stumbled as they watched the handsome man.

His chiseled face and muscular physique perfectly fitted in a black two piece suit.

He completely ignored them and went to the passenger's door to hold the door.

Gia slipped on her mask and looked at him.

"Oh sweet Darius. Don't you look dashing in a tuxedo," Gia smiled sweetly as she took his hand. She loved to tease him to no end.

"I see you're enjoying this way more than you should," he stated drily and helped her out of the car. He tossed the key to a valet and led Gia to the entrance of the pub. The place was owned by the Martinellis and was named 'The Strip.'

Gia held on to his arm.

"Oh my God! It's them," someone whispered in shock and excitement just as they were near the entrance.

They heard the shutter sound of a camera and light flash. Neither of them said a word or did anything about that. Being part of a mafia family meant being in the limelight and they were used to it.

The pub was loud. A music band was having a live performance at the stage and a throng of people were cheering and dancing to the music.

Darius took a left turn and led her to a more quiet section. They were there to meet a client and make meth sales for their father. In reality, they had other plans.

"Nice of you to join us, Darius," Demitri extended his hand for a handshake.

The man was in his late forties. He usually bought meth and drugs in large quantities and sold them on the black market. He was quite popular in the mafia community.

"Demitri," Darius smiled marginally as he took the man's hand.

Demitri's lustful eyes fell on Gia who was wearing a long emerald satin dress with a slit that reached her thighs. Her thick mass of fiery hair fell into waves that cascaded down her bare back. She was a very attractive redhead. Her unmistakable grey eyes could be seen behind the mask that hid the upper half of her face.

"Eyes on me, Demitri," Darius said with a hint of warning in his voice. He hated the predatory look in Demitri's eyes. 

Demitri offered them a couch to sit on.

That side of the pub was fairly quiet. It was mostly the sound of the mini concert that could be heard. 

On one side, a long row of c-shaped sofas were arranged for guests. On the central row were several tables for two and most of them sat in pairs. The right side had a pretty spacious bar which had about four bartenders.Next to the bar was a display of all kinds of dinners. Between the left side and the middle row was a long aisle that led to the convenience.

The pub had minimal lighting; not bright but not too dim either. It was a pretty big pub and this was only one side of it.

While Darius discussed business, Gia was just there for the drinks. She subtly studied her environment and was on the look out for Bubba Jenkins, the man her father asked them to trail.

"So where's meth?" Demitri asked.

"In my car," Darius said casually and fully relaxed his back against the couch.

"It's not there," Demitri stated.

Darius' lips twitched in amusement. He didn't miss the Iron Fist tattoo that peaked out from the collar of the valets shirt. He had anticipated such.

Darius held Gia's glass of wine as it neared her lips, "That's enough."

Gia groaned in distaste and whined, "Don't be such a party pooper."

"About the meth?" Demitri asked impatiently.

"My diamond," Darius dragged his eyes from his sister and rested them on Demitri. He still had her wine glass in his hand.

"Once I get my meth, I'll have someone check the authenticity of the diamond."

"No diamond. No meth. Simple," Darius stated and swirled the content of the glass. He subtly inhaled the drink before taking a sip.

"Boy are you messing with me? Does your father know that you're here? I don't have the luxury of time to play with you," Demitri said in annoyance.

Gia giggled drunkenly, "Oh yes he does. Trust me, he knows."

And took a large swing from Darius' glass.

Darius smirked at Demitri and watched as the man almost exploded with anger.

One of Demitri's men came and whispered something to him. He glared at Darius and left without a word.

"What did you do to the guy?" Gia tilted her empty glass to the side and studied the inside with one eye open, the other one closed.

"Are you drunk?" Darius worriedly asked his sister.

"Pfft! Six shots of tequila is not enough to get me drunk," Gia scoffed at him.

"Says a lightweight," he muttered.

"Hey! I heard that!" she drunkenly pointed a finger at him.

Alvan watched the scene from a couch in the pub where he was seated with a few men from his mafia.

Gia had caught his eye the moment she stepped in with the Salvatore boy. She seemed really excited to be in the pub. She drank every single thing her brother drank and even more. 

Alvan was pretty much aware of who the guy was but he wasn't sure who the mystery lady was, though he saw the features of a certain someone that he had known a long time ago. These two were fools to come to a place like this and have the guts to consume just about anything they were offered. He wondered if they knew how much of a risk their lives were in right now.

"Dar, leave me alone," Gia whined.

He had a hunch that they weren't there for Demitri. Demitri was just an excuse to be there. They were up to something and it was certainly nothing good. His eyes searched for anyone around that could possibly be their target but the options were too many and he just gave up. Or maybe they were there for him.

"Can you go with me to the loo?" she asked sweetly.

Darius scowled at her, "No! Now go before you pee on yourself. Hurry up. Theo is waiting for us."

She giggled at his words and drunkenly stumbled away to find the restroom.

She found her way to the restroom, did her business and opened the door to the cubicle to leave. She saw a man standing in front of her and shrieked in fright. She was stunned for a while, it was the first she was seeing him up close since Prague.

She pouted and glared at him, "You are in the wrong restroom."

He just glared at her.

She wasn't the slightest bit intimidated by him. She continued playing drunk. "Are you too drunk to speak?" she giggled.

"I know you are not drunk. Who the fuck are you?" Alvan asked impatiently.

He was tough on the outside but stunned on the inside by her beauty. 

"What do you want, prince?" she called the last part mockingly and dragged a perfectly manicured nail across his chest. He just stood there watching her. She was so close to him that if he bent down a little more, they would be kissing.

Her breath smelled of apple juice. She had doe eyes paired with long dark lashes, a button nose dusted with freckles that dotted the bridge and two dark dots in her left eye and luscious pink lips. She looked so dainty yet so feisty. The unmistakable features of a girl he met five years ago.

"Dana," he breathed out in surprise and confusion. He snatched the mask from her face and took few paces back. "What the fuck, Dana!"

She stared at him in panic then quickly turned around and walked away. He wasn't done with her yet.

He grabbed her hand but she swiftly turned around and cut on his wrist with a dagger.

"Shit!" he groaned and she was out of sight before he knew it. Leaving him with a bleeding wrist. 

He was trying to wrap his head around what just happened. He felt the hate and resentment for her build up in his chest again. But his body and heart missed her.

* * *

"Did I distract him long enough?" Gia asked as she walked out of The Strip with Darius.

"You did good," Darius said as they both entered the car and sped off before anyone noticed anything off.

"I'm not sure about good," Gia muttered.

Darius glanced at her, "What's that about?"

"I might have used a blade on him. I was so angsty and when he tried to hold my wrist, I cut him on instinct. It was just a small cut. Nothing serious. I hope," she said the last part under her breath.

"Why am I not surprised? You carry your bad luck with you everywhere you go," he said casually.

"My bad luck? Dar, you are the trouble magnet. Did I tell you that you give off bad vibes? I'm sure that Theo will agree with me."

"Of course."

The car was silent for a while each of them lost in their own thoughts for a few minutes.

"When he tried to hold your wrist _"

"Dar, I'm fine," she cut him off.