Page 24 of Elusive Enforcer

“What if I’m… too much? Too sad, too broken, too–”

“You’re perfect. Everything about you. We haven’t known each other for very long, but I already know I’m going to love each new thing I discover about you, angel. I can’t imagine my life without you in it.” She blushes and wraps her arms around me. I hold her close and kiss the top of her head. “Ready to meet the Boss?” She nods once and untangles herself from my embrace.

I knock on Aurelio’s office door and take a grounding breath, knowing we have a lot of shit to discuss. Not just what to do with the damning documents, but also the traitor who gave up our location. I know it wasn’t the Boss, which only leaves one other person.

The door swings open, revealing not just Aurelio, but Enrico, the underboss, and fuckingMarco. I can’t stand the sight of him, especially with Florence right next to me. He put her in danger. He ratted us out to the cops, who promptly swarmed the safe house property this morning.

I lunge at Marco, needing to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze the life out of him. Enrico grabs my right arm, wrenching me away from Marco, who takes a few steps back.

“What has gotten into you?” Aurelio yells in his booming voice. Florence flinches slightly, though she recovers quickly and maintains her composure.

"Marco is the rat," I explain, my eyes never leaving the traitor. I thought we had an understanding yesterday, butapparently, my judgment was way off. "He was the only other person who knew our location."

Marco furrows his brow, opening and closing his mouth as he searches for something to say.

“Did something happen? What the fuck is going on?” Enrico asks, tightening his grip on my arm. I shake him off, but I know he won’t hesitate to tackle me if I lose my temper again.

“Yeah, something happened. I woke up this morning to three cops poking around the property of the safe house. I know Aurelio didn’t give up our location, and Marco was the only other one who knew. What the fuck? Why would you do this?”

Marco looks genuinely confused, his eyes darting between me and Florence. “I swear I didn’t tell anyone… oh, fuck,” he says, his normally dark olive complexion turning white. “Jagger.”

“You said he didn’t know the address,” I counter.

“He didn’t. I never gave him specifics, I just told him I was going to meet up with you…”

Everyone in the room comes to the same conclusion simultaneously.

“Enrico, check Marco’s car for a tracking device,” Aurelio commands. The underboss nods once and then dashes out of the office, eager to get to the bottom of everything. “You’re sure you weren’t followed?” he asks, turning his attention toward me.

“Positive.” I keep my eyes on Marco, still not sure he’s completely innocent in all of this.

“Notably, Jagger isn’t here,” Aurelio muses. “I called him in as soon as I knew you were on your way.”

Enrico comes back with a GPS tracking device in his hand. “It was installed behind the back right wheel,” he informs us.

“Mother fucker,” Marco spits out. He looks at Florence, sincerity etched in his features. “I’m truly sorry I put you at risk,”he says. The rage drains from my body - at least the rage I was directing at Marco. Jagger, on the other hand…

“We’ll deal with him later. Jagger knows the consequences of betrayal. By this time tomorrow, he won’t be a problem for anyone anymore,” the Boss says, directing our attention to the real reason for this meeting. “I assume you’re ready to hand the documents over, Lorenzo?”

I spread my hand out over Florence’s lower back, encouraging her to step forward. “It’s up to Florence and what she wants to do.”

Aurelio’s face is priceless. If I weren’t somewhat concerned about what he’s going to say next, I’d laugh at the shocked look overtaking his features. It’s not often the Boss is caught by surprise. Then again, I sure as hell wasn’t expecting a force like Florence either.

“Okay then,” he finally says. “Florence, do you understand the importance of the file you have in your possession?”

“I do, sir. I’ve been pouring over the numbers for days now and I know this is enough evidence to put a lot of cops away for life. That’s my goal. I want all of them to suffer.”

Aurelio raises an eyebrow, clearly impressed and interested in what she has to say. “We have similar goals,” he replies.

“So then you agree the best thing to do is take this to the public.”

“I didn’t say that.” Before Florence can protest, he continues. “Trust me, these documents will be used to serve justice. The men responsible for laundering money from pensions, local businesses, and god knows where else, will pay the price. Do you trust me to take care of them?”

Florence stands her ground, weighing her options. "I'll give you the hard copy of the file," she says after a minute of silence. "But I'm keeping the digital copy I made and have saved on a thumb drive. You'll have your leverage, and I'll have mine. If youdon't make good on your promise to eradicate the dirty cops, I'll still have the option to publish the damning documents however I see fit."

Aurelio stares at her for a long, drawn-out moment, assessing whether or not it's a fair deal. He looks at me, and I nod as I wrap my arm around my woman's waist, tucking her into my side. When he understands our connection, he nods his head once.

“Deal. But you have to tell Lorenzo if and when you decide to use the digital copy. We need to be prepared for the backlash.”

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