AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In a moment of desperation, he approached her general contractor, Jared. He noted the two coworkers were close, going out on Fridays after work for happy hour and such. Jared was his best bet for getting answers. He asked her friend why she wouldn’t give him a shot, and Jared’s response was a sucker punch to the gut.
“Because you remind her of her ex.”
Fanculo!“Can you elaborate?”
Jared answered with a deadpan face. “You’re a man of power who uses it to your advantage, and you don’t care who you step on to rise to the top.”
Lorenzo scratched his jaw, mulling it over. What Jared said was true, but Lorenzo wasn’t following. Was she scared he was a mob boss? By how fast she snatched up the job and openly communicated with him on the project, he found it hard to believe. He looked at her coworker, deciding there must be a backstory. “What did thecoglionedo to her?”
“They worked in the same design firm. Jo did all the work, and Jacob swiped it out from under her. He got the promotion, expecting Jo to work under him after his betrayal.”
Jared braved a step closer to him. “Jo’s not a pretty thing you use to your advantage and keep under your thumb. She could give a rat’s ass about how much you have in your accounts. She has more respect for a man who works with his hands, than a man calling the shot wearing the fancy suit. Jo’s her own woman and doesn’t need anyone in her life dictating her decisions. If you’re looking for arm candy, she’s not your girl.”
Annoyance festered in Lorenzo. How could this beautiful woman prefer blue-collar? If she were given the opportunity to be more, why wouldn’t she?
Of course, she would because that’s smart business. If she had the right man to guide her and set her path, she would surely be running her own firm and not this start-up company.
But between Pina and Jared, one thing was made clear. She needed time to get over her ex. Her relating Lorenzo to her past boyfriend would never bode well for him. Time would lessen the comparison, he hoped.
Lorenzo sighs as he comes out of his daydreaming. He blames himself for not keeping a closer eye on her—he was too focused on his new business endeavors, assuming she would come to him when she was ready. Perhaps he could have prevented the relationship from forming between her and the biker swine had he paid more attention.
Pina didn’t date clients, but he claimed her anyways, like a Neanderthal.Filthy bastard!There’s no doubt in Lorenzo’s mind Atlas forced his way into her life, giving her no escape but to yield.
His poor sweet Pina, subjected to the likes of Atlas’s lot—president of a motorcycle gang consisting of vigilante rebels. It made Lorenzo irate.
Lorenzo could kill the dirty biker for putting his hands on his woman. He certainly strategized all the ways to end Atlas’s life, practically salivating over it. However, Atlas has deep connections to the military and the FBI. There would be no way of ending him without it coming back to bite Lorenzo in the ass.
Giuseppinamay wear Atlas’s ring, but she is all Lorenzo’s. The sooner he could convince her to choose him, the sooner he’d be able to lock her away and keep her safe—preferably to his bed where he can stuff her full of his cock every hour of the day.
He could take her, it would be easy, but Lorenzo is not a man who needs to force a woman. He isn’t her ex, nor will he give her reason to assume he is anything like the vile man. It’s pertinent she comes to him willingly.She has to.
Lorenzo winces, recalling how she was abducted while under the care of one of his bodyguards. What could drive a man to such measures to take a woman against her will?
Pina’sface flashes in his mind, and the answer is obvious. A man desperate to possess her could be driven to do anything—a man like him.
It’s difficult for Lorenzo to not feel guilty for what happened. It’s not an emotion he thought he possessed. He sacked Tiny Tony for his incompetence in protecting Pina, but refrained from following through with a hit. Had Giuseppina not shown an attachment to the brute, he would be floating down the Cache la Poudre River.
Instead, Lorenzo banished Tony from the family. In mob life, it’s the biggest disgrace for a member, but oddly, Tony looked relieved, which made no sense to Lorenzo.
As big of a failure as Tony was, Atlas was equally at fault. He was there, present for the whole fucking show, and he still let her bastard ex nab her. Atlas should have watched her closer. He should have done more.
Atlas is the most at fault and the reason for her current mental state. Lorenzo’s sources informed him that her counseling sessions had not been helping lately. Had Atlas done his damn job, Pina wouldn’t be suffering like this.
Lorenzo clenches his fist, his nails cutting into his skin. The woman needs to be kept in a gilded cage; only let out when extreme precautions are taken. He knows he can do a better job of protecting her than the asshole she’s engaged to. Shit, if she were any tinier, he would’ve tucked her in his coat pocket and carry her around with him at all times.
His eyes catch the sight of a long ashen braid and skinny jean-clad legs. Why she insists on slumming with her workers, he’ll never understand. A woman like her should be wearing the finest silks and polished to perfection—not dressed in tattered rags and doing manual labor.
Did she honestly prefer blue-collar? Is this why she chose Atlas? Does the biker truly accept her the way she is when she could be so much more?
Pina moves around the site, shouting over the noise, and giving instructions. Lorenzo’s heart races from seeing her hard at work, doing what she can to make her business flourish. He admires her dedication. Jared said she’s not to be used for his advancing, but he’ll make sure to utilize her talents while she stands by his side expanding his empire—theirempire.
A roar of a hideous Harley Davidson approaching the property catches Lorenzo’s attention. There’s no mistaking who sits upon it. Atlas has returned from wherever he disappeared. He’s been gone three nights, and it appears Pina isn’t pleased to see him.
Where was he the last few days?It’s not like Atlas to stay away from Giuseppina for any length of time, especially after her attack. Lorenzo’s sources informed him Esteban Moreno is in South America and not in his safe house in the state, meaning Atlas wasn’t tracking him. What could have possibly been so important to have him leave thebellezzain the hands of his men?
He’s not sure, but he’ll find out. He wraps his knuckles on the partition in the back of the semi cab where he sits, informing the delivery driver to roll out. With one last look at the woman who will share his future, he smirks.
A man in his position always enjoys a good challenge.
