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“Damn techies,” Benny grumbles. “No point in sneaking, is there.” Before I can answer, he kicks in the front door, angry that we have to spend our time doing this when we could be sleeping after dealing with Greg’s sorry ass.
No rest for the wicked and all that, I guess.
I follow in behind Benny, and Paul stays outside, scoping the perimeter in case Lance is in there and decides to make a run for it. The birds aren’t even awake yet. They’re smarter than I am tonight.
Each room in the ranch-style home is searched, with no sign of Lance. It’s not until I hear Lance’s voice that I have any hope of finding him here.
“Searching for me at my listed address? You should know better than that, Giovanni.”
My head whips around, but I don’t see Lance.
Benny does the same, moving toward the voice until his shoulders droop. He points to a smart device on the counter, which lights up when Lance’s voice booms through the kitchen. “Hide and seek, is it? Let’s see if I can’t get this information to the police before you find me. A click of a button, really, but it’s getting it to the right detective that’ll force the Moretti family to their knees.”
I pocket my piece and fold my arms across my chest. “The fuck, Lance? Can you hear me?”
Lance’s high-pitched chuckle crooks the corner of my top lip into a sneer. “I can hear you, Giovanni. I can see you, too. In fact, I saw you bust in on my girlfriend. I heard her say all sorts of things about me. Then I saw you leave with her.” Lance’s voice drops. “I saw the way you looked at her, too. Careful, Giovanni. You can have all the strippers your family pays for, but you can’t have my Melissa.”
A chill rolls through my spine. “What do you want, Lance? You know our family doesn’t tolerate terrorizing women. That shit’s for the Torros. You work for us, so you abide by Brunello’s rules.”
“So sanctimonious,” Lance replies. “You want to pretend to be the good guys, but I know how the money works. I know how high the body count gets for you to move the gems and art you all trade in. Do you know how hard I work for your family? How hard it is to set up a drop? I coordinate the ships. I make sure to do proper surveillance so none of you are made. I work my ass off for the family. Do you think I have time to go out and meet someone? And the one time I do, so what if she takes her time coming around to seeing how much she wants me? Melissa doesn’t know how much she needs me, but I do. The one time I take something for myself, the family has a problem with the treasure I want? If she was a diamond, you wouldn’t blink twice.”
Rage boils under the surface of my skin. Melissa’s name shouldn’t be on his tongue. No part of her should be near him. She’s my girlfriend. She’s my woman.
She’s my queen.
And she knows it. She knows I’m going to take Lance down because he scared her. I’m not the kind of man who tolerates his woman being in danger.
“What do you want, Lance?” Benny articulates when words have deserted me.
“Melissa. I want Melissa in exchange for the thumb drive of everything that might sink your family. I have it, and you need it.”
I shake my head. “You could have copied it. Giving us the thumb drive isn’t good enough.”
I can hear the grin in Lance’s reply as the device lights up with his voice. “You know I’ve got copies. Multiple ones. But I don’t intend to do a thing about it if I have what you stole. Melissa is mine, Giovanni. Wherever you stashed her, hand her over, and you have my word that you won’t hear from me again.”
Benny answers for me once more, because I have reached a level of rage that keeps me from speaking. “Where and when?”
I can hear the satisfaction in Lance’s tone. He has to know the family doesn’t negotiate. He’s been with us for a handful of years. “Good boy.” He rattles off an address that Benny takes down, warning us that we’ll meet him there at noon, or the thumb drive will be sent to the authorities.
Benny corrals me out of the house, motioning for me to get into his car. He relays the information to Paul while he drives us toward the city proper, where I just came from. “You alright, Boss?” Benny asks me like a good man.
I choose my words carefully because I am still on the edge of rage. “Not quite. I need to make sure Melissa is safe. If my brothers decide to trade her for the thumb drive…” I can’t bring myself to finish that sentence.
Benny drops me a block from the hotel in case the car is being tracked by Lance. I walk with my head down until I finally reach her room.
Melissa is a sight for sore eyes. Though she has clothing of her own, she is wearing my white dress shirt, creasing it in all the right places.
Fuck, she’s even more beautiful than I remembered.
I hold up a finger in lieu of a greeting. “It’s not done yet, doll. I have to call my brothers. Is everything okay here?”
She nods. “It’s been quiet. Are you alright?” She migrates to me, kissing my cheek as if I’m the kind of man who comes home to a contented and safe woman. My arm goes around her, resting atop the curve of her ass while I pull out my phone and call Antonio. Then I put him on hold and get Brunello on the phone for a conference call, plus Domani. The four of us need to move on this, but I’ll need my brothers to help me if I’m going to keep my woman safe.
I turn the volume on speaker so Melissa can hear everything.
“Everyone here?” I ask my brothers.
They each make a grunt. I can tell them apart easily with the smallest sound. “Lance got in touch remotely. He knew we would search his listed addresses. He was waiting for us. Lance wants to trade the thumb drive with the incriminating information for the woman he’s been stalking.”
