Chapter 33
LORENZO
I’m staring at the tracker on my phone. Lily hasn’t left her family's estate for the last two days. I’m waiting for Luca to storm into his home office any moment now. If I’m lucky, he’ll offer some parting words before putting a bullet in my head. If not, I still stand by my decision.
Although I was the first to call Luca and tell him the news of my killing Henrith Taylor, I’m certain he’s been bombarded with the gossip and more official statements about Henrith's alleged alcohol poisoning after stumbling home after having too many drinks and getting into a fight.
Luca most definitely asserted his influence to cover up a job I was meant to be cleaning up for him, and I don’t even want to think about who or how much he had to pay to create the narrative of the story.
The wooden doors open, and Tony shadows the extremely pissed-off Luca. I straighten, anticipating I’m about to get my ass handed to me. What I'm not expecting is for Ara to follow in behind him. Her expression is just as unreadable; she's growing further into the mafia boss's wife by the day.
“How could you be so stupid?” Luca begins. “I told you to make an agreement with Henrith Taylor, not fucking kill him.”
“Yes, sir.” I understand full well I fucked up, but it’s a decision I’ve made without regret. I glance at Ara, who bites at the tip of her nail, clearly agitated. Well, I suppose she now knows about her husband’s ulterior motives. I’m sure he endured a scathing lecture about it.
“That’s all you have to say for yourself? How can I trust you if you have your own objectives in mind? What the fuck were you thinking?”
“He hit her, sir,” I say. At its core, that’s my only reason. “I won't lie to you or twist it in any way to save my own ass. The moment he struck her, I lost control.”
“But then you went back.” Luca narrows his gaze on me, standing only a few feet away, hands in pockets.
Tony stands behind him, expression indifferent.
Although we get along, we both know our actions can lead to deadly consequences, ones that we might have to execute against one another.
Ara watches me from the corner of the room, her perfectly manicured nail now tapping on her crossed arms.
“I did. The same night.”
“And you still didn’t strike up a deal, despite his weakened state?”
I’m unsure how to word it. Everything I’ve worked hard for in my career is about to be taken away. This is the only life I've lived for over a decade, and now I’ve jeopardized it. “You put me in charge of protecting Lily Taylor. So, I did. That man was a danger to her, and—”
Luca clicks his tongue disapprovingly. “You said you weren’t going to twist it.”
I look him dead in those cold blue eyes. “I’ve served you loyally always and will continue to do so if you give me the chance. However, it would appear that the ray of sunshine has become something more to me than a target, sir.”
Luca’s gaze narrows. “Then you can’t be trusted at all.”
“Luca,” Ara warns.
He faces her. “I permit you in these meetings, dear, but if one of my men is compromised, then they have to be made an example of.”
She hauntingly laughs. “Compromised? He’s in love, you fucking idiot.”
Luca’s eyebrows furrow.
Ara then faces me. “And I, for one, am grateful. Coming in here, I thought we were going to kill you. I didn’t know that Luca had ulterior motives in this mission.
If I had known, I wouldn’t have allowed it.
But I certainly didn’t know that Henrith hit her.
” She then looks at Luca. “Did you not allow me to have my revenge to protect me? Give your men some slack.”
Luca scoffs. “Slack? This is how we run things here.”
“And what if a man had struck me, Luca?” She pins him with a glare.
“He would never have the chance,” Luca growls. I never thought it would be Ara coming to my defense, and I’m not entirely sure I’m worthy of it. Perhaps it’s because she’s the only woman in the room, and that makes her a better mediator.
Luca scowls at me. “You compromised the identity of one of the hounds.”
“I thought it would scare her having a man wearing a mask in her home while I investigated matters for the other part of the job.”
Luca’s eyes bulge in disbelief. “What the fuck happened to you while I was gone? You’re my best, and you’ve turned into…” He starts clicking his fingers. “What’s that term they use in those books? A cinnamon roll?”
Silence fills the air. I don’t need to point out to him that, of all people, he’s become the exact same fucking thing since rolling over for Ara.
I didn’t understand their relationship before, and I still don’t entirely understand it now. But I respect that love comes in different forms.
“I’d like to speak to Lorenzo alone,” Ara boldly says, ignoring his previous statement with an eyeroll.
“You want me to remove myself from my own meeting?” Luca asks lethally.
“Luca, stop pissing on your belongings when you know he’ll still take a bullet for you, and give me a moment alone with him.”
Tony and I share a glance. Having Ara around definitely adds a bit of amusement.
At first, I saw Ara as someone who was trying to undermine her very powerful husband, but the longer she’s been with us, the more apparent it becomes that she’s just as ruthless as Luca.
He couldn’t have found himself a better partner.
Luca walks over to her and grabs her chin, his other hand immediately dropping to her stomach. “Your sharp tongue always seems to get you into trouble, my little viper. You’ve made a naughty habit of undermining me in front of my men.”
She reveals a cruel smile. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, dear. Next time you try to use one of my friends for your benefit, let me assure you I’ll be doing more than undermining you. I’ll be putting you in an early grave.”
He flashes a wicked grin, and I look away as Luca leans in and kisses her passionately. I know this isn’t the last of our conversation, but not having a bullet in my head is promising.
Tony follows Luca, throwing a quick glance and a nod my way. I do the same, respectfully. Tony is one of the few men under Luca’s employ who has a family of his own. I always thought having a family was a burden; it’s only recently that I've begun to realize it’s nice to have someone to go home to.
Ara comes to stand in front of me, and her open palm hits the side of my face. It's barely enough to make my head move, but it makes her point. I grind my jaw, readjusting it and trying to usher away its sting. “That’s for using Lily in the first place.”
I don’t remind her that it was on her husband's orders.
“How many times has her father hit her?” Ara asks carefully, her gaze narrowing.
Although Ara might be one of her closest friends, there’s clearly a wall between them, and Lily’s secrets will die with me unless she’s willing to voice them herself.
“If I might be so bold, Mrs. Armani, I think you should ask her yourself.” Ara’s eyebrows jump, and I continue to carefully explain.
“Her father has favored a bottle in his hand for as long as she can remember. I think right now, she doesn’t need me exposing her secrets. I think she needs a friend.”
Ara seems even more surprised as she looks me up and down, her hand coming to her stomach. “You really love her, don’t you? I didn’t think you’d have it in you.”
My gaze drops to the floor because there’s something loaded in Ara’s sincerity. It's uncomfortable having a woman provide an opportunity for us to articulate or express ourselves differently after being only us men for so long.
“She’s one of the kindest people I’ve met. Sometimes even someone like me can’t defend against that,” I say honestly.
“I’m sure you despised it at the start,” she says with a small smile.
“More than you’d ever know.”
She’s still smiling as she takes a seat on the sofa, rubbing her stomach adoringly.
“I understand it well. I thought it was all an act when I first met her, until I realized that’s just who she is as a person.
It’s strange to be blinded by that light when you’ve never been raised with it.
It’s a strength in itself, but her downside is she’s loyal to a fault, even to those who don’t deserve it. ”
I sigh, realizing perhaps Ara and I have more in common than I ever knew.
“If she could ever feel something for a monster like me, she certainly has plenty of room in her heart. If I’m being honest, I find that although I stand by my decision of preventing her father from ever being able to hurt her again, I also can’t stand the idea of anyone other than me being by her side. It makes me dislike her big heart.”
“I won’t argue that you’re not my first choice for her,” Ara says honestly. “But I’ve made plenty of my own mistakes. Where Luca and I are cut from the same cloth, you and Lily are on either sides of a coin. You need to make peace with this and also somehow make my husband happy with the outcome.”
“Shouldn’t you be warning me away?”
She shrugs. “I would if I thought it was the best thing for her, but only she can decide that. As long as you respect her decision, no matter what she decides,” Ara warns with an edge to her tone.
“I don’t want her unguarded until this is dealt with, whether she’s involved because of us or not.
She’s family to me, and I choose to look after family.
” She sears me with another pointed look.
It hits me then, the realization that Ara, for all her faults, has my back. I dip my head respectfully and quietly say, “Don’t ever tell the boss this, but I’ve come to enjoy how you raise hell for him.”
Her grin splits her face as I offer her a hand to help her stand up. “It can be our secret,” she replies with a wink.