Two slow knocks come back from the other side, and I feel every muscle in my body relax. Rather than give our rapid knock response, I close my eyes and whisper, “I love you, Giovanna.”
**
Vin and I stride with purpose through the lobby of One Pearl Park Plaza, the building that houses Luminous & Co., and ride the elevator up in silence. Vin is locked in, and I’m trying to stop fixating on Giovanna, why she locked herself in the bathroom instead of our room if all she needed was space, why she needs space in the first place, if she’s still going to keep me at arm’s length when I get back to her.
A text from Matti comes through:
Me and Siena are in the
back office with Lorenzo.
I steel myself, gripping the empty suitcases I’m carrying more tightly, as I move quickly through the jewelry showroom with Vin, ignoring the hostess who is trying to stop us.
When she grabs Vin’s arm, he hits her on the back of the head with the muzzle of his gun, and she crumples like a cheap suit on the floor.
I raise an eyebrow at him, and he shrugs. Two guards step forward to defend her, and I drop the suitcases as Vin and I make short work of them. Throwing their guns out of reach behind the counter, we tie them up, turning to go.
One the guards decides to mouth off. “Hey, Vin, you taking your daddy issues out on women now? Fucking asshole.”
I shake my head and pick up the empty suitcases, waiting while Vin turns on him, snarling.
“Nah, I’m taking them out on you, you prick.” He slams his gun into the guy’s head until he passes out, then points it at the other guard, who just shakes his head.
“Smart man,” Vin says, following me to the back hallway toward Lorenzo’s office.
When we reach the right door, Vin levels his gun at Lorenzo’s head.
“Mr. Marino, my apologies for interrupting your day like this,” I say, adopting the pleasant demeanor I use for political events and people I have zero interest in talking to.
“Fuck you, Tommy,” Lorenzo snarls. “You have my fucking daughter locked away somewhere and that’s all you have to say to me?”
I put the suitcases down. “I’m going to need you to stand up and walk over to the key pad for me, please, sir.”
Vin positions himself behind Lorenzo and taps him on the back of the head with his gun.
“Don’t kiss his ass, Tommy,” Vin growls. “This is as much his fault as anyone else’s. When you work with Aurelio, you get burned.”
Lorenzo glares at me as Vin pushes him across the office. Matti stands and trains his gun on Lorenzo as Vin steps back into the hallway, standing watch. Siena sticks close to Matti’s side, nervous.
It makes me miss Gi.
I place a hand on Lorenzo’s shoulder. “Sir, if you don’t mind, please enter the code and press your hand to the pad on the panel.”
He tries to shake me off, but I grab his wrist and pull his fingers back, forcing his palm to the sensor pad. It blinks red then green, and the code pad lights up.
“Enter the code, please.”
“You know you’re stealing from my daughter, too,” Lorenzo snaps at me, entering the code with an angry stabbing motion until the door unlocks and opens with a whoosh of air.
I push Lorenzo through the door into the room-sized vault inside. “Please enter the codes.”
Lorenzo glares at me. “No.”
“If Giovanna’s long-term safety is your goal—”
“My daughter is only safe if she’s far away from you.”
Internally, I wince at the words as Vin shoves past me and knocks him out with the butt of his gun. I shake my head at him. “How many times are you going to do that?”
