AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stared blindly at the page before him, unsure what to make of the thoughts ricocheting around his head. He didn’t want to. But maybe if they could be honest and open even about this, they could tiptoe around the pitfalls together.
“Enzo?”
He sighed again. “Yes. I plan to, when we have more than my thirty-minute lunch break at our disposal.”
“Good.” His eyes flew to hers. She offered that cheeky grin again. “It’s only through testing that love is proven—or disproven. I’m anxious to see what her reaction is when she realizes she has competition. I’ll bet you a dinner date it won’t be what you want it to be.”
“I’m afraid I’m not a betting man.” Which was a good thing, because that was a bet he wouldn’t have wanted to take.
Obviously reading his mind, Helen chuckled. She offered nothing more, so Lorenzo tried to focus on the papers in front of him again. He got through another paragraph before a knock sounded on the open door.
His breath eased out in a near-moan when he looked up. “O’Reilly. What do you want now?”
The agent’s expression had been sour, but at the testiness in Lorenzo’s tone, he grinned. Blast it.
Helen put down a file and stood up, and O’Reilly directed his grin toward her. “Afternoon, Miss Gregory. You’re looking lovely today.”
Helen glowered at him. “Save the charm for your next conquest. Or—oh, wait. You don’t much need it with your current girl, do you? Not much of a conquest when you can rent her company by the hour.” Chin high and eyes sparking, she strode to the door, pausing beside him and smiling up into his slack-jawed face. “Have a nice day, Mr. O’Reilly.”
O’Reilly pivoted to let his eyes follow her out the door. “How did she—?”
Unfazed by both the fact of her knowledge and its implications, Lorenzo smiled. “Miss Gregory is a fount of information about other people’s business. I’ve given up wondering how she comes by it.”
“Hm.” O’Reilly leaned back out into the hall and called after her, “If you want a job where you can use those investigative skills, just let me know.”
Helen replied with a short, rude recommendation of what he could do with his offer.
O’Reilly chuckled and stepped into the conference room, shaking his head. “Spitfire, isn’t she? Well, what’s all this?” He craned his head around to take in the mountain of paperwork.
Lorenzo closed the folder in his hands. “Nothing to do with you. And as a matter of fact, it looks as though none of my work will have to do with you anymore. I trust you got the message that the bootlegging charges have waved goodbye as well?”
“Actually, I got the message that you’d be hearing back this afternoon and figured I’d stop by to find out the news. Somehow,” he said with a hard smile, “I’m not surprised. And that’s okay. There are always more allegations to look into.”
The arrogance didn’t just annoy Lorenzo—it alarmed him. “O’Reilly, what are you doing now?” Not waiting for an answer, he pushed himself to his feet. “Don’t you realize you’re playing with fire every day you don’t let this drop? Keep asking questions about things you’re not supposed to, and no one’s going to care what they promised me—they’re going to take you for a ride.”
O’Reilly pulled out a chair and plopped into it. “So you admit to the illegal tendencies of certain parties? Can I get that in writing?”
Lorenzo stared at the man across from him for a long moment. “Six months undercover, and you apparently learned nothing. Mess with the Mafia, O’Reilly, and you’ll make more enemies than you bargained for. The gangsters may be more than happy to take out each other, but they’re not going to stand for letting you do it.”
O’Reilly splayed a hand across his heart. “I’m touched by your concern. Really. And while I’m sure you’re right, I think I’ll take my chances. I haven’t run into any danger thus far.” He dropped his hand and narrowed his eyes. “What promises, out of curiosity?”
Lorenzo braced his hands on the edge of the table and kept his gaze on O’Reilly’s. “I told you last week I’d do all I could to see you got out of Chicago alive. That would be much easier if you’d leave before you get yourself in more trouble.”
The idiot shook his head, perhaps in incredulity or perhaps in denial. “You really are righteous, aren’t you?”
“You make that sound like an insult.”
“Maybe because I can see how little good it does. It sure didn’t keep your girl from falling for me.” Lorenzo clenched his jaw, but O’Reilly just grinned. “Face it, Capecce. It’s that holier-than-thou attitude of yours that lost you Sabina. She wanted a little excitement. If you’re looking for a girl who’ll praise you for all those pious thoughts, maybe you should have gone for Prudence instead.”
Though he had opened his mouth to retort to the first part, Lorenzo had to stop and try to process the last. “Who is Prudence?”
O’Reilly made a distasteful face and waved a hand. “You know—what’s-her-name. Mary’s sister.”
In spite of himself, Lorenzo’s lips quirked up. “That would be Isadora.”
“Right. Perfect woman for you.”
He rolled the smile off his mouth. “Maybe, if she hadn’t been the perfect woman for my brother first.”
