Chapter 7
Matteo
“Are you fucking kidding me? What do you mean, my bail has been denied?”
Michael swallows thickly. “I’m sorry. I tried, but the judge denied it.”
Holy shit. This can’t be happening. I’ve only been arrested a handful of times over the years, but it’s never stuck. For the judge to deny me bail … this isn’t good.
“Be straight with me,” I say to my attorney. “Are the charges going to stick?”
“I don’t know,” he says, his left eye twitching. “But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they don’t.”
Michael has been our attorney since Andrey died and Dominick and Giuseppe cut ties with everyone connected to him, not wanting to risk any misplaced loyalty to Andrey or the people he associated with.
For the past five years, he’s been someone we can trust. He’s without a doubt one of the best attorneys I’ve ever seen in action, which is why Dominick and Lorenzo have him on retainer and pay him the money they do.
But as I assess him—his knee bouncing, making his body tremble, him refusing to make eye contact; his hands shaking slightly—something in my gut tells me not to trust him. And I always trust my gut because it has yet to steer me wrong.
After he’s done, I ask the guard I have in my pocket to get a message to my brother for me—I need my phone and a pair of earbuds ASAP—and then I head back out to the main area.
Most of the day is spent either in the gym or the recreation yard. The inmates serving long-term will also rotate between doing chores in the kitchen or the laundry room or doing maintenance to earn some money.
Wanting to see who I’m in here with, I head out to the recreation yard first. Generally, there’s a schedule, but since we have several of the guards on payroll, I can come and go as I wish.
Since we’re in county, the guys in here aren’t serving for hard shit, and many of them are men I’ve encountered over the years.
“Fuck!” a masculine voice barks.
I turn my head because no matter where you are, you gotta be aware of your surroundings. It’s Survival 101.
The first thing I notice is that a few of the inmates are surrounding another guy off to the side, and since it isn’t my business, I’m about to continue on my way, until I get a look at the guy they’re cornering—Lorenzo.
What the fuck is he doing in here? And why the hell didn’t Michael mention it?
Before I can make it over to them, the four guys jump Lorenzo, each kicking and punching the hell out of him. Based on the way the guards aren’t moving, they’ve been bribed to let it happen.
I grab the first guy by the back of his shirt and punch him in the face, knocking him on his ass. And then I grab the next guy, pulling him off Lorenzo. By the time I get to the last two guys, one sees who’s coming after him and immediately backs off, but the last guy swings at me.
He’s similar in size and build, but he doesn’t have the fighting background I have.
Too easily, I bring him to the ground, pushing my forearm against his throat to cut off his air supply.
I’m not going to kill him. I wouldn’t risk life in prison over this guy.
But I do it just enough to get his attention and make my threat clear.
“I don’t know who paid you to fuck with Lorenzo Russo, but if anybody touches him again, I’m adding you to my hit list. Got it?”
The guy under me nods emphatically, and I let him go, then look around at the other men watching.
“You guys heard me? Lorenzo is off-fucking-limits.”
They all nod.
I stand and walk over to Lorenzo, extending my hand and helping him to his feet. He’s got a bloody lip and a black eye forming, and I’m sure his ribs are screaming in pain, but he’s okay.
“Why the hell are you in here?” I ask low enough so nobody else can hear.
“It’s a damn mess,” he says, running his fingers through his hair.
We walk over to the picnic table, and I glare at a couple of guys, who get up to give us space.
Lorenzo chuckles and shakes his head. “I guess if I have to be in jail without bail, it’s good to have you with me. Speaking of which, why are you in here?”
“Money laundering.” I scoff. “Shit’s never going to stick. You?”
“Bribing a public official. They’re saying I bribed one of the councilmen to get the waterfront expansion approved.”
“And Michael couldn’t get you out on bail?”
“Nope.” He sighs. “And of course, as I was being arrested, my sister and her husband showed up. She had texted me last night, asking to meet early so I could show her around the office. She was beside herself, freaking out, but he almost seemed smug about it. I know she cares about him, but something feels off about him.”
“Fuck, Russo. You didn’t see my text?” I scrub my hands over my face. “Henry Thomas is a dead man … literally. And the man your sister married had stolen his identity.”
“What the fuck?!” He reaches into his pocket and then curses again. “I forgot … the officers confiscated my phone. Does she know? Did you tell her?”
“How the hell would I tell her? I don’t even have her number. I texted you, but then I was arrested, and I’m guessing you didn’t get it because you were being arrested at the same time. It’s almost as if …” Holy shit.
“What?” Lorenzo prompts.
“It’s almost as if someone wanted both of us behind bars. It can’t be a coincidence. Your sister comes home, bringing some guy we don’t know, using a fake identity, and we’re both arrested on the same day?”
“Shit. But why? If it was this Henry guy’s doing, I could understand having me arrested. I’m her brother, but why you?”
I snort out a laugh. I love my best friend, but sometimes, the guy is oblivious.
“Russo … think hard. Why would someone want me behind bars?”
He swallows thickly, and then his eyes lock with mine. “Because if you’re in here, you can’t do shit out there.”
“Ding, ding, ding. And we both know, if I were out there right now, I’d be doing whatever was necessary to take care of whoever put you in here.”
“So, what do we do? If it is Henry, he’s out there—with my damn sister. And Hillary too. She was a mess when I was arrested, in tears. What if he gets to her too?”
I don’t give a fuck about Hillary, but I don’t tell him that because regardless of how I feel about his gold-digging fiancée, Lorenzo cares about her.
“We don’t know it was him,” I say, trying to calm him. “But the guard is going to get me a phone from Dominick soon, and I’ll relay all this to him. If it is her husband who put this shit in motion, we’ll handle it.”
“Antonov,” the guard yells, nodding for me to go over there. “Special delivery.”
He hands me the phone, earbuds, and a charger, and I nod my thanks.
“Can you try to text my sister?” Lorenzo asks.
“Yeah.”
He types in her number and hits Send, but after several seconds, the message bubble switches from blue to green.
“Her phone is off.”
“Fuck!” he barks. “I need to get out of here. What if he’s done something to her?”
“We’ll handle it,” I promise him.
I shoot a text to Dominick, voicing it so Lorenzo can hear and because it’s always easier.
Hey, Lorenzo is in here with me for bribing an official.
Both of us got denied bail. I need you to do a couple of things for me: Look into Michael.
I think he’s been compromised. And get Daniella away from her husband.
“Do you know where they’re living?” I ask Lorenzo.
He shakes his head. “She said it was in North Harbor Point, but I didn’t get the specifics.”
Dominick: Daniella is married?
Me: You’ve been a little busy breeding. I must’ve forgotten to mention that.
Dominick: Glad to know you still have your humor behind bars.
Me: She married a Henry Thomas, but Eddy said he’s using a fake name, so we have no idea who this guy is or what he’s up to. I think he might be behind our arrests.
Dominick: On it.
I glance up at Lorenzo. “Dominick is taking care of it.”
Dominick: We have a problem. I figured out where Daniella is living, but when we got there, no one was there. Their shit is there, and I posted a guy to keep a lookout, but he hasn’t seen any movement from them.
Fuck! This isn’t good.
“Is there anywhere else your sister might be?” I ask Lorenzo. “Dominick found their house, but neither of them has shown up.”
We’re in the gym, working out, since there’s nothing else to do. It’s been twenty-four hours, and we’re no closer to getting out of this shithole. I was waiting to hear from Dominick, but this isn’t the news I was hoping for.
“I don’t know,” Lorenzo says. “She hasn’t been here in years. Henry mentioned having family in Harbor Point, but since we don’t know who he really is, I don’t know what’s true or not.”
Me: We need to find out who this guy is. Have Eddy shut the house down in case there are any cameras and see if Henry left anything revealing his identity.
Dominick: Got it.
Next, I send a message to Ian. He’s been working the streets with me for years, and he knows everything about everyone.
Me: I need you to get a location on Daniella Russo, Lorenzo’s sister. Just moved to North Harbor Point with Henry Thomas. If you find them, make sure she’s secure and take out the garbage.
Ian: On it.