The stranger had clearly paid a great deal of money to have his clothing tailored to fit his large muscular frame because theyfit him like a glove. And if being friends with Felix had taught Levi anything, it was that nothing off the rack fit like that. Nothing.
On the surface, everything screamed high-powered attorney. The thousand-dollar haircut, the expensive shoes, the tailored clothes, the Gucci work bag. All of it. But the anomalies were too large to ignore. What kind of lawyer had multiple piercings in his ears? What kind of lawyer was covered in ink?
If this man was Lorenzo Conti, he spent just as many hours under a tattoo machine as he did at the gym. His tattoos started just below his chin, covering his neck and chest before disappearing beneath his shirt, only to reappear on his muscular forearms, going all the way down to the tips of his fingers on both hands. He also wore no less than four rings on his right hand. Big, gaudy rings. Rings that would cause a lot of damage should you come into contact with them at a high velocity.
The man tapped the papers on the woman’s desk, leaving them with her, before crossing to the conference room. Oh, fuck.Here we go.The moment Shiloh caught sight of him, he audibly gasped, clutching Levi’s thigh. Seven’s head jerked up at Shiloh’s reaction just as the man entered the conference room.
Seven tipped his head to peek out from under his oversized hood, giving the stranger a lascivious look, before clicking his tongue and purring, “Hey, Daddy.”
Levi slammed his hand on the conference table, startling Shiloh and the stranger, but it was Seven’s attention Levi needed. When his friend turned his lazy gaze towards him, Levi made his eyes wide and his expression sour, hoping his hostile look conveyed how much he needed Seven to not Seven right now. When he saw nobody looked in his direction but his friend, he mouthed,Shut the fuck up.
Seven rolled his eyes, then returned to ogling the man in the most unsubtle manner possible. The other man didn’t seemto mind, a small smirk playing at his lips, even though he said nothing.
Levi wanted to crawl under the conference room table. This was why Jericho never wanted them at Atticus’s fancy functions. They didn’t know how to act right.
As if to prove his point, Seven stared at the man’s ass as he walked towards them, licking his lips like a cartoon dog thirsting over a steak. The stranger caught the whole thing in the window’s reflection, chuckling at Seven’s antics but, again, choosing to ignore them. Thank God.
He stopped in front of the two of them. “My name is Lorenzo Conti. You can call me Enzo. Which one of you is Shiloh?”
“Me,” Shiloh said meekly, taking Enzo’s hand when offered. Levi watched Shiloh’s tiny fist get swallowed in the man’s grip.
“So, you must be Levi?” Enzo asked.
They shook hands as Levi said, “Yes.”
Enzo’s gaze traveled to Seven at the end of the table, snorting when he gave him his most dazzling grin, showing off his snowy white teeth. “And who’s this?”
“That’s Seven. He drove us here. Ignore him,” Levi said, deadpan.
Enzo did not ignore him, his gaze crawling languidly up Seven’s body like he wondered what he was hiding underneath those clothes. Fuck. They didn’t have time for this. They were there for a lawyer, not Daddy shopping.
Levi cleared his throat and Enzo turned his attention back to them. “I’m assuming I can speak freely in front of your…driver?” Shiloh and Levi both nodded. “Well, I’ve reviewed your brother’s case on the way over and I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?”
“The bad,” Shiloh mumbled, looking like he might dissolve into tears at any moment.
It broke Levi’s heart that Shiloh wanted the worst parts first. It just drove home how traumatized he was. The bad news was always so much easier to believe. Sometimes, it even felt better. Waiting for the other shoe to drop all the time was exhausting, but when it finally did, no matter how badly it sucked, at least the dread had disappeared.
“The bad news is, your brother, Micah, did a great job framing your other brother. At least, on paper.”
Shiloh’s lip wobbled, but he clenched his jaw, nodding. Some small part of Levi had hoped Micah was a moron. That he was as sloppy as he was mean. But it was clearly not going to be as easy as that.
“And the good news?” Levi asked.
“You have me as your attorney, pro bono,” he said, without even a shred of humor in his voice. “And I never lose.”
“You never lose,” Shiloh repeated, voice dull.
“Never,” Enzo repeated.
Seven scoffed. “So, how are you going to help Shiloh’s brother, Mr. Big Shot Lawyer?”
Enzo answered Seven’s question but directed it at Shiloh. “Well, first, I’m going to get him out on bail.”
Shiloh’s mouth fell open. He opened and closed it a few times like he wanted to say something but didn’t know where to start. Finally, he said, “How? His bail is seven hundred thousand dollars. Even bonded, there’s no way we could do it. I don’t have seventy thousand dollars lying around and I certainly don’t have anything worth almost a million dollars to use as collateral,” Shiloh said, his pitch climbing as he spoke until Levi covered his hand and squeezed it.
“Let me worry about that,” Enzo said, like it was nothing.
Levi’s stomach dropped. Every time Thomas Mulvaney was involved in something, money appeared to no longer be a factor.But Levi hated it. He didn’t want to feel indebted to anyone. Even someone as caring as Thomas Mulvaney.
