Chapter Three
Bianca
“We are, Miss Morelli, but not the one you’re thinking of. It’s your brother’s other club.”
And the revelations continue, I thought bitterly as nerves twisted my insides into knots. “What?”
Mossimo seemed reluctant to share more. “Lussuria. It’s a sex club where people can indulge their fantasies.”
I wanted to puke from the hysteria trying to swallow me. “Romeo is a member?”
“He’s the owner. It’s off the books, and only a handful of his men know it belongs to him.”
Lorenzo is obviously one of them. “I don’t want to go in there,” I said softly.
“You won’t. Your brother would never allow it. You’re going to his office only,” Mossimo assured me.
“And you don’t know what this is about?”
“No, but he wouldn’t do this unless it was for your safety. Whatever has happened is big enough for him to expose this club’s existence to you.”
I flipped the temperature control from medium to high heat since I was cold and on the verge of panicking.
I only needed two more weeks. I could have been on tour and away from this place.
I would be blissfully unaware of the sex club my brother owned and that there was any kind of threat to me and my safety.
Mossimo turned into the parking lot of what looked to be a windowless warehouse, surrounded by a gate. A guard stopped us, and Mossimo lowered the window before handing a card over. The guard looked at it, then returned it to Mossimo before waving us in.
“It’s an abandoned warehouse?”
“No.” As we approached the building, a huge door opened, allowing us to drive into the warehouse.
There were several dozen cars already there, including one just like ours that Mossimo stopped beside.
“For privacy purposes, the basement and first floor are for parking. It helps confidentiality so nobody is worried about their secret proclivities being divulged to the world.”
I shuddered. What the fuck? “How dark does this go, Mossimo?” My mind rebelled at the thought of my brother and Lorenzo being involved in anything morally bankrupt.
Yeah, they did illegal shit, seeing as they were part of the Italian mafia, but there were some things I couldn’t stomach, and I hoped like hell they weren’t involved in those.
Mossimo must have gotten what I was hinting at. “No, Miss Morelli. Nothing like that. Anyone who enters is a consenting adult and wants to be here. Your brother has no desire to be a part of the skin trade. I wouldn’t be here if he did.”
I let out a relieved breath. “I knew that, but thank you for confirming.” I swallowed hard. “I’m nervous.” It was a difficult admission that I wasn’t entirely comfortable making.
“I know, but I’ll be outside the door, unless your brother invites me into the meeting, and there are at least three men in that building that would die before they let something happen to you. Your brother, Lorenzo, and I. You’ll be safe, Miss Morelli. For now. Here. You are safe.”
“Thank you.” I took a deep breath and got out when he opened the door for me, guiding me to a bank of elevators where he scanned a card. He repeated the process once the doors closed behind us and selected the third floor.
Upon reaching our destination, we exited into what looked like a hotel hallway. Thick plush burgundy carpet, off-white walls, and numerous rooms with keycard locks.
“I thought this was a sex club?” I whispered as we continued.
“These are private rooms that members can rent by the hour or night.”
“I thought you guys weren’t involved in the sex trade business.”
“We don’t employ whores. Nobody is paid for sex here.
The women and men who visit are looking to discreetly satisfy a need.
Sometimes that requires special equipment that you can’t buy at a local furniture shop, other people, or merely a safe place to explore fetishes and fantasies.
Lussuria provides all that.” We came to a stop at the end of the hall in front of a set of double doors.
“I’ll let your brother explain more if he so chooses, Miss Morelli. ”
Mossimo knocked, and it swung open to reveal Lorenzo looking incredible and menacing. His gaze swung toward Mossimo standing behind me, his hand on the small of my back. I could feel the heat emanating from Lorenzo.
“Costa.” Lorenzo’s voice was low and dangerous. He was terrifyingly beautiful, as always. The man made my heart race with equal parts anger and lust, a response that continually annoyed the shit out of me. It felt so wrong, yet so right.
Mossimo’s touch disappeared, and he took a step away from me. “Lorenzo. Do you and Romeo want me to stay or to wait out here?”
“Neither. You can leave, but do not return to the estate until we clear it. Go spend time with your girlfriend or fuck around in the club, but stay the hell away from the main house. You got me?”
“I told Miss Morelli I would remain in the hall.”
“Bianca is safe with me and her brother, Costa. Get gone.”
Mossimo nodded and sent me a look of apology because he couldn’t ignore an order from my brother’s right-hand man. Gino was my father’s consigliere, a position everyone knew Lorenzo would eventually fill when Romeo took over. That or underboss. My siblings considered Lorenzo their chosen family.
Lorenzo stepped back and gestured for me to enter. There was a large kitchen with an island, a sunken living room with plush couches, and a television.
“What is this place?”
“Your brother’s secret apartment.”
“Where’s Rome, and what’s going on?”
“We’ll wait for him to finish a call. Are you thirsty?” Lorenzo asked as he removed my bag and set it on a counter.
“Yes.”
“There’s water in there.” Lorenzo nodded to the stainless steel refrigerator. “Help yourself.”
When he began extracting items from my bag, including the now dirty underwear I’d worn during practice, I tried to stop him. “Um, what are you doing?”
His chilling look had me freezing in place. “Back off. Get some water and have a seat. It’s not like I haven’t seen yours before.”
I gasped. “What?”
He rolled his eyes. “We grew up in the same house. Do you really think in all that time I never once saw them?”
“Yes,” I screeched. “I never saw yours.”
He smirked, “That’s because I don’t wear any.”
My eyes moved to the front of his black jeans without my permission.
It was instinct, and I blushed when our gazes clashed, and his smirk grew to a grin.
“You suck,” I muttered and got the water as instructed.
I needed something to keep my hands and mind busy.
I honestly avoided Lorenzo as much as possible because he set me on edge.
I opened the fridge and discovered there wasn’t much by way of food, but there was anything you could want to drink.
The chill from the appliance helped cool me off, but the heat from Lorenzo’s body as he came up behind me had me stiffening and my nipples tightening, immediately undoing the slight reprieve.
“Careful, Bianca. You don’t want me to show you how much I don’t suck and how quickly I can get you to.” His voice was low and raspy as he whispered against my hair.
I shivered but hid it by slamming the door to the fridge shut, turning my hips slightly, and bumping my hip into his groin. Lorenzo grunted, and I smiled, enjoying his discomfort. “Only in your dreams, Lorenzo.”
My body was on fire as I walked away from him. I twisted off the cap and drank quickly, trying to calm my overheated body. Lorenzo was chuckling, but I ignored him. It was either that or strangle him.
“I need your phone,” Lorenzo said after shoving everything back into my gym bag.
“Why?”
“Because I do,” he demanded again.
“That’s not an answer.”
He pushed off the island and took the two steps into the living room to stand right in front of me. My brain was short-circuiting, but I held strong while he attempted to intimidate me.
“It’s the only answer you’re going to get for now. Give me your phone before I take it from you.”
I shook my head. “No.” He liked barking orders at me, and each time he did, I wanted to defy them. It was a long-standing back-and-forth between us.
“Give him your phone, little sis. We don’t have time for you guys to start arguing.” Romeo’s voice broke the stare-down we’d been engaged in. Huffing, I grabbed it from my pocket and handed it over.
He turned it off before taking it to the far wall and placing it in a safe.
“Rome.” I went to my brother and hugged him. “What’s going on? This is all freaking me out.”
“I know, sis. Sit down because this will be a lot to take in.” I did, with him taking the seat beside me. Lorenzo chose one across from us, but didn’t say a word as Romeo started to talk, laying out everything about the shitstorm I was suddenly in the middle of.
“You want me to do what?” I screeched after learning how he was going to protect me.
“Easy, Bianca,” Romeo said, trying to placate me.
My father wanted to sell me to a freaking cartel boss. Who could relax hearing that? “I’m so close to getting out–getting away from all this.” I crossed my arms over my stomach, fighting the urge to throw up. “Why would he do this?”
“I don’t know his motives, Bea, but we have to keep you safe from this marriage while I make my move.”
“What move?” I sucked in a breath, attempting to hide the fear and anxiety churning in my gut.
“The less you know, the better. Just leave it as I'm going to do what I need to do to keep you, Giana, and Nicoletta safe. Something he’s never been too concerned about.”
“Clearly,” I muttered. “So your plan to protect me from a marriage I don’t want is to put me in a marriage I don’t want?”
“Yes, only until I take power. It would be someone I trust, and someone you know. After Dad’s no longer in charge, you can file for divorce or an annulment, as it would be in name only.
This would give you a level of protection against him selling you off to the highest bidder or as part of a business deal with the devil. ”
“And just who am I supposed to be marrying?” I wanted to stamp my foot, scream, rail against both of them, but mostly, I wanted to do all those things to my sorry excuse for a father.
“There are only four men I would entrust your safety to, Bea.”
“Whatever man you choose will have to know he will face backlash from Father. He’ll try to have him killed for going behind his back when he has other plans for me and my future.”
“I know.” Romeo hesitated. “That’s why this person needs to be close to the family, including Father. It has to be someone believable who’s been there a long time.”
Lorenzo was no longer looking bored. His dark eyes were trained on me, intense and possessive. Mossimo compared me to a lioness earlier, but again, I felt like the zebra ready to be devoured by the true predator sitting across from me.