16
Tommy
Lorenzo’s home office is covered in dark wood paneling that covers the ceiling and matches the floors. It feels like being inside a coffin, and I take a deep breath, allowing two of his men to drag me into the room.
Lorenzo’s desk stretches between us like a barricade. He sits behind it, jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up, a tumbler of scotch and ice sweating onto the wood. He doesn’t acknowledge me when I’m shoved into the chair across from him, his men stationing themselves behind me like stone gargoyles.
A full minute passes before I can no longer take the silence. “I’m not here to fight, Lorenzo. I’m here to get Giovanna back.”
He raises his eyes at that, slow, bored, like I’m a salesman. “Then you’re wasting both our time.”
I expected hostility, but it still makes me want to throw him into the wall.
Forcing my voice level, I clench my fists. “Aurelio’s planning to hit Luminous & Co. He’s going to gut it and use the money to destroy you.”
“What do you expect me to do about that? I couldn’t even stop him from kidnapping my daughter.”
Interesting. So he knows it wasn’t me at least. That’s a start. But he doesn’t seem to understand the power he holds. “Sir, if you were to start laundering Demonio funds again, Aurelio would return Giovanna.”
Lorenzo looks up at me sharply and sneers. “So much for being a boy genius. You’re a fucking idiot if you think that’s true.”
I frown. “He would. I’ve spent the last few weeks with him, and that’s what he wants.”
Lorenzo’s sneer turns vicious. “You’ve been with the man who’s holding my daughter captive—the so-called love of your life—and yet he’s still breathing and she’s not here? Get the fuck out of my office.”
His men move forward and grip my shoulders, but I shake them off. “If I killed him, she would die next. I won’t take that risk with her life.”
“You were more than willing to risk her life when it meant you could get your dick wet. If you’d just stayed the fuck away from her, none of this would have happened.”
“If you’d kept laundering Aurelio’s money, none of this would have happened.”
We glare at each other.
“If you don’t start laundering the money again, Aurelio is going to burn Luminous to the ground, take all the assets, and then who knows what will happen to Giovanna? You have all the codes. You know where everything is. Work with me to protect the assets and hide them from Aurelio so that he gets none of it.”
Lorenzo chuckles. “If you think that won’t lead Aurelio to kill her faster—or me—you have no idea who your father is.”
“He believes he’s going to war with my brothers and I—”
“Isn’t he?”
“—and his focus is resources. The only leverage he’ll have if we remove the option of Luminous & Co. assets is to return Giovanna to you on the condition that you return to laundering funds.”
“At which point, you will resume fucking my daughter, and we’ll be back at square one. Not an acceptable outcome.” He sits back in his chair and rubs his chin. “The way I see it, the only viable option is for you and your brothers to fuck off, which includes you never touching my daughter again. The end.”
“It looks to me like your chosen option is to do nothing.” I lean over the desk, heat rising in my chest. “Give me the codes. We’ll do the work. You don’t have to lift a finger.”
He smiles without his eyes. “You think this is about work? You’re delusional. Aurelio isn’t holding her because of the money. He’s holding her to punish me. He’s done it before.”
My gut twists. “He’s done this before?”
He doesn’t answer. Just takes a swallow of scotch, the icing tinkling in the glass, and stares at me.
I slam my palm against the desk. “Then work with me. He’s going to take your business down. He’s going to take her down with it. Let me—”
“What have I ever done to make you think that I would trust you with one penny of my daughter’s legacy? I don’t believe for a single minute that you and your brothers won’t drain every cent from this place for your war, leaving my daughter with nothing.”
“Sir, if you help us do this, you have my word that we will protect your investments, and keep only the Demonio assets that are wrapped up in this place. That is primarily what Aurelio wants, and that’s all that we want. Your investment is minimalcomparatively, and there’s no way I would take anything from Giovanna. On the contrary, I’m doing all this to get her back and give her the life I’ve worked hard to—”
