Page 43 of The Boss

“This is bad, very bad,” I admit. “Nothing we’ve done has worked, and I’m scared, terrified. I’ve tried old contacts; I’ve tried negotiating with them. Gabe has been made, so he’s coming back. But Lorenzo keeps finding ways to evade us. If we don’t get him back soon, Vanessa is going to have those kids without their father around. And I don’t think I can live with myself if he’s not here. I know you’ve told me this isn’t my fault, and I haven’t failed anyone. But Lorenzo clearly has a personal issue with me. I get that he’s pissed about the raid, but there’s more to it. There has to be.”

“Gino, he could just be an asshole and is taking this opportunity to get his own piece of the pie. I’ve looked over everything; that's all it is. He’s not set to inherit much; he's not the oldest son,” she says.

“You’re probably right, but how do we get him back?” I ask.

“We do what we do best, which is using our brains, not your guns or your fists.”

“That sounds like a very good plan.” I smile at her.

She smiles back. “I’ll see if Drew or Ryan has anything I haven’t looked over.”

Then she leaves the office, and I know Mateo was right years ago that Juliet is going to run this place better than any of us can.

NINETEEN

JULIET

Gino has never, in all the years I’ve known him, admitted defeat in any way, and he just did. Finding Mateo is becoming the one thing he can’t figure out. But he’s someone who doesn’t back down. I know asking for help is hard, especially for him.

I know I need to take more off his plate so he can focus on Mateo.

Walking into my office, I sit down and open my laptop. This mystery person, or persons, still lingers, but they’ve backed off. Both of them have. And I think both for the same reason: they know we’re on to them. Sending the flowers set a lot into motion. Ryan has been all over the city looking for any associates of Lorenzo and hasn’t found a single one with any information. Which tells us Lorenzo is really doing this on his own and not telling anyone within his family about it.

The security footage and the flower shop yielded nothing; the shop owner and the teenager working there that day don’t remember much about the person. Our theory is that someone who has no idea what’s happening was sent to send the flowers to throw us off and scare me.

Jake has been a little more violent in his search. He’s been going into different businesses with any association to the Russo family and threatening them to give up anything they have.

But nothing has given us what we want: a name and how it helps us get Mateo back.

I look over the new financial documents Drew has gotten a hold of. We haven’t gone full force on the hacking front, considering that it could cause more damage.

The documents I’m looking over are about any properties Lorenzo owns and the deals on how he got them. Everything seems to be in order and legit, but the question is, how did he get the money for it?

I keep staring and looking at them, hoping the issue jumps at me. But nothing. I’m about to give up when my phone pings.

Unknown

The violence is unnecessary. Tell your men to back off or else.

Curiosity gets the better of me, so I respond.

Juliet

Or else what?

Unknown

Your man dies.

There it is. I knew it. Whoever this is is working with Lorenzo.

I send a message to Drew to get to my office asap.

Juliet

Do you know where he is?

Unknown