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“Lorenzo,” I whispered, wincing at the dryness in my throat. His body didn’t twitch, his head hanging forward. I couldn’t see his face—I needed to see his face. “Lorenzo,” I said, a little louder but not too loud to alert anyone that I was awake. He still didn’t move, and I could feel my panic rising. I had no idea where we were, no idea what was—
The sound of a ship horn blared out, so thunderous that it sounded like it was right beside me. I jumped, a gasp escaping and echoing around the warehouse we were in. I blinked. A ship? I pulled in a deep breath, feeling the burn of it against my chest, but it was all I needed to figure out that we were down at the docks. We weren’t far from the city. This was good. This meant we could be found…right?
Footsteps echoed closer, and the sound of metal scraping against metal ricocheted around the otherwise empty space. Instinctively, I slammed my eyes closed and let my head drop forward in the same way Lorenzo’s was. No one knew I was awake, so I’d play like I was still asleep, at least until I figured out where I was…or until Lorenzo woke up.
Heels clicked against the floor, a woman’s voice made my ears perk up, and then a man’s joined in with hers.
“He said he’d be here in an hour,” the man said. “Once he arrives, we can make a plan moving forward.”
“No.” My breath stammered as I recognized the voice. Rage mixed with confusion slammed through me. Veev. What the hell was she doing here? “I get to have my fun before he gets here.”
“He won’t be happy,” the man warned as the woman’s footsteps got closer.
“I don’t care,” she snapped back, and I opened my eyes, just about able to see her legs in front of me. They weren’t pointed my way, though. Th
ey were directed toward Lorenzo. They took another step, and then one went out of view.
“What are you doing?” the man asked, and I was wondering the exact same thing.
“Having fun.” She laughed, the sound so much louder in the warehouse. “Loosen up, Pedro.”
Her other leg lifted off the floor, and I knew in my gut what she was doing. I should have kept my head down and played like I had no idea what was going on, but as I lifted just enough to see that she had climbed onto Lorenzo’s lap, I saw red.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I ground out, keeping deathly still. I’d already tugged at the ropes wrapped around me and knew there was no way out of them, not yet anyway.
She turned her head, her long, wavy hair moving off her shoulder as her gaze met mine. “Oh, good, you’re awake.” She smirked, pushing her chest closer to Lorenzo’s head. “I didn’t want you to miss the show.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her what show, but I kept it in, not willing to entertain her. That was what she wanted. She wanted my attention on her. I bared my teeth to her, the only part of my body I was able to move. I may have kept my gaze on her, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of my voice. It was a small thing, one she probably didn’t care about, but it was the only thing I could control.
“You’re no fun,” she moaned, pushing out her bottom lip in the exact same way Vida did when she wanted something from you. The difference was that Vida was a child, and Veev was a grown-ass woman. “Lorenzo used to be fun.” She winked. “With me anyway.” She licked her bottom lip, her hand trailing over his chest and down to his groin. I growled louder, trying to get out of these damn ropes, but it was no use. I wasn’t going anywhere, and the smirk on her face told me she knew that.
“Veev,” the guy who came in with her said, shuffling on the spot. I turned to face him, recognizing his face from somewhere. I couldn’t place it though, he just looked…familiar. “He won’t be happy.”
Veev rolled her eyes at him, rocking her hips on Lorenzo’s lap. “He’s not here, so what do I care?”
“You’ll care because you’re disobeying orders,” a new voice said, this one laced in an accent. Veev froze to the spot but didn’t make a move to get off of Lorenzo. The longer she was touching him, the more my anger built. I’d threatened to kill her at the gates of the mansion when she’d tried to get inside, and there was no doubt I was going to follow through with that, especially now.
“Awww, come on, I should get to have some fun.” Veev’s head tilted to the side, her attention focusing on the new man, but I didn’t look at him, too afraid of what I’d see. I was trying to tell myself that I was fine—that we were fine—but that wasn’t the reality. We were tied up—I squirmed, testing the binds again—with no way out.
I kept my full attention on Lorenzo, silently begging him to wake up. He’d know what to do. He’d know how to get us out of this. And if all that failed, at least I wouldn’t be alone.
“This isn’t about fun,” the new voice whipped out, his footsteps echoing across the concrete ground. Several more followed him, but still, I couldn’t look over. I just kept staring at Lorenzo, narrowing my eyes on Veev as she stayed put in his lap. “This is about me taking what is rightfully mine.”
“Ours,” Veev tacked on. “Taking what is ours, Papa.”
My eyes widened at her words. Papa? This man was her dad? What the hell was going on? And what did they think was rightfully theirs? I was in a vortex, aware of my surroundings but with a singular focus on Lorenzo.
“Yes, yes,” he replied, and I imagined him waving his hand in the air, shooing the notion away, and I realized that she was just a pawn in his game—whoever he was. “I hope you haven’t killed him—”
The footsteps paused, the atmosphere in the warehouse dropping to icy cold levels. “What is she doing here?”
“She was in the car with him,” Veev said, pushing her chest forward into Lorenzo’s head. I grunted, jerking forward, but it was no use. I was trapped. Trapped with no way out. Frustrated tears leaked from my eyes, my rage trying to break free in the only way that was possible.
“So, you brought her here instead of killing her?” The man tutted. “I thought I’d taught you better than that.” Veev looked down, her lashes fluttering against her cheeks. She was ashamed, the first time I’d see her look anything but undignified. “Get rid of her.” My eyes widened as footsteps neared, my breaths halting in my chest, too scared to move a single inch.
Lorenzo’s head snapped up, his gaze clashing with mine right away. My heart skipped a beat, hope rising in my chest at the sight of him. Dried blood covered half of his face, a bruise forming on the side of his head and part of his eye. “Touch her.” He paused, his head slowly turning to look at the man. “And I’ll kill you.” His lip curled up into a sneer. “Uncle Paolo.”
My face dropped, my head spinning to look at the man for the first time. I should have put the accented voice to the name, but I was too occupied with Veev, who was still planted firmly on Lorenzo’s lap.
