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“Avery,” he greeted me, giving me a small smile.
“Oh, ah, hey,” I said, trying not to shuffle my feet.
“Avery, Lorenzo Costa, Lorenzo, Avery.”
“I’m so sor—“ I started, but he waved in the air.
“None of that shit. It’s actually less of a headache than most of the women bring into the Family,” he said, and something about the warmth in his eyes told me he was being honest.
I made a mental note to have Emilio tell me those stories when we had some time.
“We are just waiting for—“ Emilio said, but stopped when there was a knock at the door. “Renzo,” he said, reaching out to give my hip a squeeze as he moved past.
Lorenzo went out next, and I followed last, hanging back, feeling caught between the two worlds.
The door opened.
And there was Renzo.
Two of his men were by the car at the street. And two more of Lorenzo’s men were on either side of the front steps.
“Kid,” Renzo greeted me before looking at Emilio and Lorenzo. “Let’s get this shit over with,” he said, moving into the space like he belonged.
Everyone moved into the dining room, and I was last to make my way in, not sure where the hell I was supposed to sit until Emilio reached out, and waited for me to sit beside him.
“Figure she told you the deal,” Renzo said.
“She did,” Lorenzo said. “And I’m left wondering why the fuck you used an innocent woman instead of coming to me.”
“Yeah,” Renzo said with a chuckle. “Because discussions between us have gone so well in the past.”
“Fair enough,” Lorenzo agreed. “Before we can move forward, we need to know why the Irish want this contract so badly.”
“Fuck, I dunno, maybe because they got five bodies buried under the foundation, and they don’t want that shit coming back to bite them in the ass.”
“No shit?” Emilio asked, brows raised.
“No shit.”
“How do you know that?” Lorenzo asked.
“I was a nosy-ass kid. Figured knowing shit was its own kind of currency. So I stuck my nose in everyone’s business. No one looks twice at some stupid-ass street kid. Not even a couple of Irish enforcers dragging bodies out of a black van, then working all night to pour the concrete before the real construction could get going.”
“Why would they care after this long?” Lorenzo asked.
“Figure because it’s not just any stupid old fucks. But the five highest up members of that organization.”
“Wait… what?”
“Don’t have much reason to keep your eye on the Irish, huh?” Renzo asked. “They’re all up in our neighborhoods in Brooklyn, so we keep a closer eye. Everyone just up and disappeared over a decade back. Cops had no clue. Neither did anyone left in the organization. The only people who knew were the ones in on it. Because the current boss made them do it.”
“How did the place get in our hands in the first place then?” Lorenzo asked.
“Imagine the fuck who owed you money didn’t let the Irish know that little fact. Shit got tight. You must have leaned on him. He panicked, signed it over. And…” Renzo said, waving a hand out.
The rest is history.
“We give them the paper, what then?” Lorenzo asked. “Gotta be a reason you were willing to give it to them instead of handling them a different way.”
“Doesn’t help that they have one of ours.”
“Who—sorry Avery—by all accounts is a loose cannon and pain in the ass.”
“He is,” Renzo agreed. “But his name matters,” Renzo said, meaning, I figured, their last name. “Can’t have the fucking Irish, of all people, going around saying that they took out one of ours. Better to get Cage out, then handle it.”
“We don’t want shit to do with that,” Lorenzo said. “We got our own problems.”
“Wasn’t asking you to be a part of it.”
“Yet you put someone in one of our houses to spy on us, to steal from us…” Lorenzo said.
“Looks like that shit ended up fine,” Renzo said, looking between me and Emilio.
“That’s not the point, and you know it,” Lorenzo said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Renzo said, shrugging. “But it’s done. You gonna hand over the paperwork? You ain’t doing shit with the property anyway.”
“Can’t have shit for free,” Lorenzo said, shaking his head. “That’s not how shit stands between our Families.”
“Got some real estate to trade you. Probably worth a little less. Needs work. But it’s legit. Closer to your neck of the woods than mine,” Renzo said, then passed his phone toward Lorenzo. To, I imagine, look at the place.
“You’re willing to lose a building, no strings?” Lorenzo asked, dubious. “You’re not getting this Irish building…”
“No. But I get this fucking shitstorm over with,” Renzo said. “It’s been too much of a headache already. Need to get that fucker free, so I can whip his ass into shape.”
“Really?” I asked, then winced, very aware that it wasn’t my place to be discussing these things.
