Chapter 24
Lorenzo
“All three were tapped and being tracked,” Eddy says as he hands me Vanessa’s devices. “I’ve cleaned them out, and they’re good to go.”
“Thanks, man.” I shake Eddy’s hand, thankful we have him on retainer.
“Always.”
He takes off, and as soon as he’s gone, Matteo drives his fist into the wall of my office.
“Fuck,” he barks. “I can’t fucking believe I didn’t consider that. I assumed Leysa had found her because she was following one of us, not because Vanessa was being tracked.”
“You can’t think of everything,” I say to my best friend, hating that he puts everything on his shoulders. “But we should probably have Nicole’s devices wiped, too, since she’s around the women so often.”
Matteo nods in agreement, his jaw ticcing in frustration.
“Do you have a fight coming up?”
His background is in boxing, but since he was eighteen, he’s been fighting underground. It helps regulate his emotions and relieve the pent-up aggression that builds within him.
“No.” He sighs and drops into the visitor seat.
“Dani said she doesn’t want me fighting until after that psycho bitch is found.
” He scrubs his hand over his face. “My guys and I have been searching everywhere for her. For someone who knows where we can find her. According to Kaleb, when he went to Colombia to question the mom and sister, they had no clue that she was alive, and we don’t want to tip them off because if they reach out to her, they could become an ally.
The less people helping her, the better. ”
“How is she bankrolling this?”
“Her grandfather left her everything. From what we’ve been able to gather, they were close, and he brainwashed her into believing it was okay to traffic women. It was how he made his living, so when Dominick cut Carlos off, shit went south, and he lost a huge source of income.”
He leans forward and sighs, looking exhausted. I hate that all of this is falling on him, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin trying to help him find her.
“Camilo, Leysa’s father, refused to carry the grudge or follow in his father’s footsteps,” he continues.
“He made a decent living, but it was nothing like what they’d made from trafficking.
My guess is that Leysa is using the money from her grandfather to come after us in hopes of gaining access to the port so she can continue in her grandfather’s footsteps. ”
“Why not find another port?” I question, knowing their port isn’t the only one in South Florida capable of doing what she needs.
“Times have changed.” He shrugs. “Connections have been severed. At this point, I think she’s doing this just to avenge her grandfather’s death.
She doesn’t have the balls to kill us, so she was hoping to push us out, and when that didn’t work, she decided to fuck with us.
She’s a little girl, playing adult games. ”
I open my mouth to respond when Matteo’s alarm for Dani goes off, alerting him to her leaving, which makes me think … with everything going on, I should put a tracker on Vanessa. Dominick, Matteo, and Kane have them in their wives’ wedding bands.
“Where’s my wife?” he barks into the phone.
He’s quiet for several beats, and then his gaze goes to me. “Okay, I’m on my way.”
He hangs up. “Bri was hanging out with Dani, and her water broke.”
“Isn’t it a bit early?” I ask.
“Four weeks, so not too early,” he says, standing. “But Dani’s on the way to the hospital with her, not wanting to leave her alone.”
“Keep me updated.”
Once he’s gone, I spend the next few hours working on several projects that we have going on, stopping when I get a text from Kane in our group chat.
Kane
Princess Polina Amira Morgan is here. Mom and baby are doing great. She was born naturally, and we’ll be home tomorrow if anyone wants to stop by.
Dominic
I love that you named her after our grandmother. She’s beautiful. Let Brielle know we’ll be by in a little while. Peyton isn’t waiting until you’re home.
Matteo
She’s fucking beautiful … doesn’t look anything like you, man.
I snort out a laugh. Matteo might’ve accepted Kane into the family, but he never passes up an opportunity to fuck with him.
Kane
I’ll take that as a compliment, asshole.
Dani
Matteo, be nice! She’s perfect!
Peyton
This makes me want another baby
Dominick
Say the word, and I’ll make it happen, Peaches.
Lorenzo
She’s beautiful. Congrats!
Vanessa
She’s absolutely precious. Congrats to both of you.
Nicole
Aww, I can’t wait to meet my goddaughter!
“Please tell me we can leave to go see that adorable little girl,” Vanessa says when I walk through the door after work. “I made her the cutest outfit.”
“Hello to you too.” I give Vanessa a kiss. “And, yes, of course we can go. Though we should probably wait until they get home. It’s safer at their house.”
“Dada!” Leo squeals.
“Hey there, Monkey,” I say, having started using the nickname Vanessa dubbed him with. “You having a good day?”
I move to pick him up when he pulls himself up on the edge of the couch and then turns, acting like he’s going to walk to me.
He’s been attempting to walk for months now.
Loving to push the furniture around. And we had to lower his crib because he almost climbed over the side.
But he’s yet to take any successful steps.
I stop in my place, waiting to see if he’ll do it, when he lets go of the couch and sloppily takes one step and then another.
“Oh shit,” I breathe. “He’s walking.”
With his brows furrowed in concentration, he takes one more step before he stops, wobbles slightly, and then moves forward two more steps, straight into my arms.
“Holy shit,” I murmur, picking him up and kissing his temple. “Did you see that, Vanessa? He walked.”
“I not only saw it, but I recorded it.”
I whip my head around to look at her and find her with her phone aimed at us.
“You walked, Monkey!” she cheers, making him giggle. “Can you do it again?”
She sits on the floor where he was, and I set him down.
“Come on,” she coaxes. “You can do it.”
Like the cutest drunken sailor, Leo wobbles one step at a time until he gets to Vanessa, and just like she did, I pull my phone out and record. When he makes it into her arms, she peppers kisses all over his face, telling him that he’s amazing.
“Want to walk back to Daddy?” she says, setting him down.
“No, Mama!” He hooks his arms around her neck, and my heart clenches in my chest as her eyes go wide with shock.
“I didn’t …” She shakes her head. “I haven’t called myself …”
“I know,” I assure her. “You’re with him every day, and he hears the other kids call the other women their mom. He’s little, and he doesn’t really know what it means.”
She nods in understanding, then glances at Leo with unshed tears pooling in her eyes. “I’m not your mama,” she murmurs to him. “But if I were, I’d be the luckiest woman in the world.”
Then she stands and brings him over to me. “I … I just need a minute, please.”
Without waiting for me to respond, she disappears down the hall and into her room.
“Mama!” Leo yells, scrambling to get down and go after her.
“No, little man, that’s Vanessa,” I mutter, giving him a kiss on his temple. “But I wish she were your mom.”
Vanessa spends the rest of the evening by herself. At one point, I hear her go up to her sewing room, but since I don’t know what the hell to say, like the coward I am, I give her some space.
I’m surprised when she doesn’t join us for Leo’s bedtime routine, but I don’t let it get to me.
She didn’t ask for this life. She has goals and dreams, and they don’t involve becoming someone’s stepmom.
She’s still young, and she has her entire life ahead of her.
She might treat my son like her own, but he’s not hers, and tomorrow, I’ll make it clear to her that I would never put that on her. Just her being in our lives is enough.
I’ve just finished answering some emails, and I’m stepping into the shower when Vanessa appears in my bathroom.
“Can I join you?” she asks softly, hesitantly, as if there’s a chance I’d ever push her away.
“You never have to ask.”
She takes off her clothes, and when she steps into the shower, I’m shocked when she walks straight into my arms, her head resting on my chest.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “I was caught up in the moment, and then he called me Mama, and I … I freaked.”
I lift her into my arms and carry her over to the shower bench, sitting on it with her straddling my lap and the water spraying around us.
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I tell her, cupping her face in my hands. “Leo has a lot of good people in his life, and that includes you, but you’re not his mom, and I would never ask you to be.”
She nods in understanding, and my heart cracks because even though I can see a future with her, I know I can’t hold her back. Vanessa is meant to fly, and I won’t clip her wings.
“I love him, Lorenzo. I love him so much,” she chokes out.
“I know you do.” I softly kiss her lips. “And when the time comes for you to go back to school, we’ll always be here, cheering you on and rooting for you to follow your dreams. And you’ll always be welcome in Leo’s life.”
Another nod and another crack in my heart.
“Now,” I say, not wanting the time we have together to be tainted, “how about we put this showerhead to use?”
I waggle my brows, and she glances at it in confusion.
“You want to clean me?” she asks. “I think you’re taking this single-dad persona a bit far. I’m capable of cleaning myself.”
I bark out a laugh and grab one of the two showerheads, turning it to the pulse setting.
“No, baby,” I say, kneeling in front of her and spreading her legs. “I’m not about to clean you … I’m about to dirty you up.”
Her brows kiss her forehead, but before she can respond, I lift her off the bench and turn her around so she’s leaning against the bench on her elbows and knees with her ass in the air.
“Has anyone ever played with your ass?” I ask her, taking the showerhead and placing it between her legs so the water hits her clit at an angle.
“Holy shit!” she hisses. “That feels so good.”
“Oh, it’s about to get even better. Now, answer me.”
“No, nobody has touched my butt.”
“Good.” I grin. “Another first.”
“What?” she shrieks.
I’m sure she’s ready to argue, but I press the showerhead against her clit harder, and she moans.
“Tell me I can play with your ass,” I say, moving the head so the stream hits her nipples.
“You can do whatever you want,” she rasps. “Just make me come.”
I chuckle at the desperation in her tone.
“Good girl. Now take the showerhead. Rub it against your pussy, let it massage your clit. Do whatever feels good.”
She takes it from me, and with my hands free, I spread her ass cheeks and circle my tongue around her hole.
She moans in pleasure, telling me she’s not going to take long to come. So, I don’t waste any time, licking her ass until she’s grinding against me. Once her hole is nice and worked up, I push a finger into it, and she gasps.
“Oh my God, Lorenzo. Do that again. It feels so good.”
Reaching around her, I pinch one of her nipples while I finger her ass.
She turns feral, moaning and cursing and begging me for more.
So, I add another digit, watching as her ass takes them.
In and out, I fuck her tight hole, not stopping until she’s coming hard around my fingers.
I apply pressure to her nipple, and it increases her orgasm, causing her to scream out in pleasure.
“Jesus, baby,” I murmur, leaning over and giving her ass cheek a quick bite. “You should see the way your ass is taking my fingers. One day, it’ll be my cock being crammed into that tight hole.”
“Oh God,” she whimpers. “Do it now. Please.”
“Not today.” I chuckle, pulling my fingers out and taking the showerhead from her. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She turns around and slides onto the bench, spreading her legs. “Fine, but at least fuck me then. I need more.”
Because I’m too tall to get a good angle like this, I lift her into my arms and pin her against the shower wall, and then I fuck her until she’s coming around my cock.
Just as I’m about to let go, I remember that I’m fucking her raw, so I pull out, drop her onto the ground, and stroke my dick, planning to let it wash down the drain.
But my little minx has other plans. She drops onto her knees, takes my shaft in her hand, and strokes it until I’m coming all over her face and neck.
And as she presses a soft kiss to the head of my cock, I selfishly wish Matteo never finds that psycho bitch because once he does, I’m going to have to let Vanessa go.
And I have no idea how I’m going to move forward without her.
But more than that, I don’t want to.
And I have no clue what to do about it.