Page 1 of Elusive Enforcer

1

LORENZO

Ipull the binoculars away from my face and rub my temples, hoping to ward off the migraine blooming behind my eyes. I should be out on the streets collecting debts or giving a strong message to those who pose a threat to the Caparelli crime family.

Instead, I’m parked outside the Hanson & Hanson accounting firm. Watching. Just… watching. When do I get to throat-punch someone? That’s where my real talent shines through. As the top enforcer for the most prominent crime family here in Las Vegas, I’m not used to these low-level stakeout assignments. However, the Boss gets what he wants.

Right now, he wants me to do grunt work without complaining, so that's what I'm doing. Aurelio doesn't trust many people, and he trusts even fewer now that he thinks there's a mole in the family feeding information to the corrupt police department. I should consider myself lucky to be in his inner circle. Most days, I do. Today… not so much.

Taking a deep breath, I roll out the tension in my shoulders and try to focus on the task at hand. I already know about Mary Hanson and her son, Larry Hanson. Yes, their names rhyme. And that’s not even the most annoying thing about them. Larryalways matches his tie to his mother’s ever-present silk scarf around her neck. Oedipus complex, anyone?

Something catches my attention through the window of the gray, drab building I’ve been parked in front of for hours now. A flash of orangish-red hair enters my line of vision, illuminating everything around it like a flame. I reach for the binoculars to get a better look.

My heart thuds against my ribcage painfully and then I swear to god it stops beating for a second before going into overdrive. Who isthat?

The woman’s long, curly red hair flows down her back, ending a few inches above her ass… and Jesus, what an ass. I’m not looking. I’m not. But if I did, I’m sure it would be perfect like the rest of her. Curves for fucking days. Large breasts, thick thighs, and wide hips just begging me to wrap my hands around so I can…

Stop it. What the fuck is wrong with me today?

Even as I scold myself and go through all the reasons I shouldn’t be distracted right now, I can’t take my eyes off of her. The enchanting woman looks over her shoulder and I’m hit square in the chest with dazzling emerald eyes that steal the breath from my lungs. How they manage to sparkle even under the harsh fluorescent ceiling lights is a mystery, but I’m captivated.

She has earbuds in and I’m suddenly insanely curious what song she’s listening to. Whatever it is, the curvy goddess must love it. She mouths the lyrics to herself as she shuffles some papers in her hands and finds the appropriate spot for them in one of the dozens of filing cabinets lining the walls of the room.

When her hips start swaying to the beat of the music, I have to wrench the binoculars from my face. I can’t remember the last time my cock twitched to life, let alone after just a fewmoments of watching someone perform mundane office tasks. Again,what the fuck is wrong with me today?

I’m determined to wait until she leaves the room before resuming my stakeout duties. I set the binoculars and my phone down on the passenger’s seat next to me and take a sip of my coffee. It’s cold by now, making it taste extra bitter, but I don’t mind. At least it’s a momentary distraction from the redheaded siren who apparently works for the mother/son creep show that is Hanson & Hanson.

Does she know about their ties to organized crime and the shady-as-hell police force? My head screamsyesbut the rest of me rebels against the idea of such an innocent little lamb dirtying her hands with any of that shit.

I watch my hands move on their own, completely detached from what my brain is telling them to do. They grab the binoculars and put them up to my face, and try as I might to close my eyes or turn my head, I’m frozen. Completely at the mercy of whatever spell has been cast over me.

I follow the woman with my eyes as she waltzes around the room gracefully, filing random papers and continuing to sing to herself. My attention is drawn to her mouth, and I curse myself for not being a better lip reader. Maybe then I could look up the lyrics to the song she’s singing and… andwhat? Download it and listen to it a million times just to feel closer to her?

Ridiculous. Absolutely preposterous. Who the fuck do I think I am? Some hopelessly romantic fool who’s going to sweep the curvy little angel off her feet and ride off into the sunset? No. I’m a made man. I sold my soul to the mafia decades ago which means I’m in no position to bring anyone else into the life I chose. Certainly not someone like her.

The door on the other side of the filing room swings open, revealing Larry Hanson in a three-piece suit, complete with aroyal blue tie with golden accents. I'm sure Mary is wearing a scarf of the same color.

Larry steps up behind the curvy goddess and every muscle in my body tenses to the point of pain. Why is that close to her? Who the fuck does he think he is?

The woman doesn’t notice him at first, probably because she’s listening to music. When she startles, I grip the binoculars so hard I fear they may shatter in my hands.

Is she dating Larry? I shouldn’t care. Idon’tcare. Still, I’m more than a little pleased when she backs away from him and crosses her arms over her chest. The look in her bright green eyes tells me she finds him as annoying and pretentious as I do.

They share a few words and then Larry leaves, slamming the door behind him. The woman tilts her head back, looking at the ceiling and taking a deep breath.I want to massage her neck and take the weight of the world off her shoulders.

“Jesus H. Christ,” I mutter to myself. The sooner I can secure the documents, the sooner I can be done with this assignment and avoid laying eyes on the curvy little siren who somehow burrowed under my skin without even knowing I exist.

My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach at the thought of never seeing her bright red hair and magical green eyes, but I steel myself against the wave of emotion trying to take over. I haven’t let a woman distract me thus far, and I’m not about to make an exception now.

My phone rings, startling me enough to bang the binoculars against the window which in turn, smashes them against my eye sockets. I’m definitely getting a migraine after this.

The Boss is calling and I scramble to answer my phone before it rings again. Aurelio doesn’t like to be kept waiting.

“Boss,” I say once the phone is up to my ear.

"Lorenzo," he answers. "Any updates on those documents? We need to get our hands on them before Detective fucking Dirk and his merry band of assholes do."

“I’ve found the room where they keep records of a handful ofspecialaccounts and transactions. The fact that none of these documents were entered into their accounting software leads me to believe they don’t want a digital trail.”

---