After that call, I sat at my desk and stewed in my anger until I thought I might fucking explode with it. This shit was happening in my absence, when I wasn’t there to protect my people. If I’d been there, the Russians never would’ve attempted this bullshit, but I wasn’t, and they were taking advantage. Fully and completely.
This distance made everything harder. I was forced to delegate when I am a hands-on leader.
Still, another fire was put out, and that shit should’ve felt good. Instead, I held my breath and waited for the next one.
When it didn’t come, I held my phone in my hand and stared at Ren’s name on the screen. I wanted to call her, badly. So fucking badly I could already hear her melodic voice, the smile she couldn’t help when she said my name.
Luckily, the phone lit up with my Aunt Valentina’s name before I could let myself be distracted. I hesitated on the first ring. I inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly on the second. On the third ring, I answered.
“I heard about the fish plant,” she said without preamble, her deep smoker’s voice clear and loud in my ear.
I braced myself and waited.
“I’m not calling to tell you how to do your job, Lorenzo,” she continued. “You have enough on your plate. I just wanted to remind you that Grapevine Enterprises owns the boxing gym, the pop-up restaurant space, and the art lofts surrounding that facility.” She paused for effect and then spoke again. “They all have cameras.”
“Cameras,” I repeated the word as if it was new to me.
“Yes, cameras,” she said, her voice slightly amused. “For insurance purposes,” she explained.
I smiled despite myself. “You know, you should have headed this family, Valentina.”
She laughed. “I have contributed in many ways, and I am proud of everything I’ve done for this family.”
“You have,” I agreed.
“And for what it’s worth, you’re doing a damn fine job, Lorenzo. I always knew you would.” She ended the call after a quick farewell, and I sat back in my chair, mentally and physically exhausted.
With my mind tired and distracted, my thoughts drifted back to Ren. I wanted to talk to her, to hear her voice. Hell, I wanted to see her beautiful face and hold her body against mine. Anything to blot out the day.
That wasn’t my life, distracting myself from the harsh realities of my life. No. This was my life. Strategy. War. Bloodshed.
I stood, shoving my phone in my pocket before I made my way to see my son.
Chapter 17
Serenity
The thirtieth day felt heavier than it should have when it arrived. It was supposed to be an end point—a line in the sand. Thirty days with Enzo and Mattie, and then reassess. Thirty days and I would decide what came next. Except it didn’t feel like a decision; it felt a lot like an inevitability. I’d made the decision to stay, yet I still felt reluctant.
I packed everything I would need to put in a full day at ENS, which mostly consisted of files, my laptop, and notes I’d scribbled over the past thirty days of things I wanted to accomplish. I’d stayed on top of social media, job postings, and training memos. I was ready to get back to my normal life, even if only for one day.
Enzo insisted on joining me—not as security, he’d made that abundantly clear—because he didn’t want to be separated from Mattie, and Mattie wanted to see my office.
I didn’t argue because what would be the point? Enzo would still end up where he wanted to be. So we all piled into his SUV and drove to the city together, listening to Mattie as he happily chattered in the backseat. He gave a detailed summary of his new favorite book, his voice bright and unbothered, exactly howit should have been. I envied children and their ability to exist fully in the moment, to be shielded from outside dangers. It was a blessing he deserved and one I wished for, more these days than ever before.
At the office, I put Enzo and Mattie in one of my two conference rooms, shutting the door behind them. It was odd, the two different parts of my life intersecting so visibly. Seeing Enzo there in my space, his tall, broad-shouldered body so out of place in the sleek, utterly feminine decor, was jarring. It was such a clear contrast, such a blaring siren screaming at me that he didn’t belong here.
Not here in the existential sense, but just that anyone who was watching would notice how much he stood out.Let’s just hope that no one is watching.Before I could process that thought further, a knock sounded on my office door and Toni strolled in.
“Good morning, boss lady.” She grinned and her brows wiggled as she took the seat across the desk from me. “So. Are we pretending nothing interesting happened while you were gone, or?—”
I cut her off with a look.
She sobered instantly, but her lips still smirked. “Okay. Notnothing, but we’re not talking about it.”
“I’m staying on,” I said quietly. It was best to just say the words quickly and let them hang in the air.
Her eyes widened. “Staying…staying?”
