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“Marco?” I ask. He nods in confirmation as I remember what I deduced when I was being… I can’t think of it without shuddering. “Why would he tell you? I know you sell drugs together.”
Lorenzo snorts. “By force, more than anything. Santi and I, at least. Our dads… well, I need to start from the beginning. We—”
“Why didn’t you tell me your dad runs the Groves Shores branch?” I interrupt accusingly.
“I told you as little as possible for a reason. I shouldn’t have gotten close to you at all, but secrecy wassomeform of protection.”
“Well, look where that landed us,” I snap spitefully.
His expression turns solemn and he picks at the bed sheets. So many questions go through my mind but I focus on the pertinent ones. “How did you know where I was? Why would Marco tell you?”
“Our fathers—Rowan and Marco—have suspected that we’ve been under watch for a long time. They suspected inside work.”
“We? So you are with them? Running drugs? What—”
He places a hand on my arm and squeezes, quieting me with his touch. This is nothing like the peace I felt when he carried me. It’s scary because I don’t know if he should be trusted, but I also love the feeling of it.
“Please just let me explain,” he says, his eyes pleading with mine. I nod, despite myself. He catches me up on what he and Santi explained to Char regarding Marco and Rowan’s roots and how they ended up in business for fentanyl distribution.
“That’s why it’s a front!” I exclaim.
“How do you know about that?” Lorenzo’s eyes pierce mine.
I don’t trust his level of involvement, so I fish instead of admitting what I know. “It’s Rentals, isn’t it?”
Lorenzo’s brows shoot up, but he nods. “Yeah. Why do you think they give a twenty percent discount on cash transactions?”
“That’s what I pieced together.”
“They try to keep that department under wraps. But they provide housing for a supposedly low price. They’re only charging the renters half of what it’s actually worth. Then, they change the paperwork and put in their own cash to cover the rest. They pocket the profits, anyway. No harm, no foul.”
The audit ding…
“That’s why Rowan was so pissed about the audit ding.”
“Ohhh, he waslivid. Carter and D got chewed the fuck out for that mistake.”
“So they’re involved, too? All of your friends?”
“Well, hold on. Carter and D don’t know about the money laundering. What they weren’t supposed to do was turn in the paperwork. Rowan or Marco normally head the audits. They’re in charge of that small department, and for all intents and purposes, that is intentional. The less hands that touch it, the better.”
That’s why he wouldn’t let Jasmine run it.
“But the auditor emailed the general inbox for Rentals, not Rowan, like they were supposed to. Carter and D took it upon themselves to send the information. Not that they knew they were doing something wrong. On the contrary, they thought they were helping.”
“So they sent in paperwork… with the wrong rental amount?”
“Right. Renters are told they only have to pay fifteen-hundred dollars. But Marco and Rowan filter in their own fifteen-hundred and change the documentation to reflect a rent amount of three thousand.”
“But don’t these renters question why the rents are so low?”
Lorenzo laughs. “You would think they should. But nah, they’re usually just content to be able to get a nice place that’s affordable for them. If anyone ever asks, they’re told there’s a grant program that covers the rest. But how many times have you fully read a contract?” He pauses, and when I stare at him blankly, he continues. “Exactly. They don’t care enough to look into it. They’re happy to pay less, so they don’t ask more.
“The money is there. And most of the time, in cash, because then the renters get the 20% off. That allows Marco and Rowan to keep less of a paper trail.”
“That doesn’t seem to be enough to cover everything they make?”
“Oh, it’s not. They have offshore accounts, keep some of it in lump cash. And now we know, they stashed it in hotel rooms. Somethingyoudiscovered.”
