Page 15 of Wild Card

Giovanni

I find Lorenzo sitting outside on the back stoop.

“Hey kid,” he says, taking a drag of his cigarette.

I grab him by the shoulders and pull him to his feet.

“Don’t. I told you to leave her alone. Nonna told me she heard something. Thought you’d left your TV on.”

“I got carried away.” He waves the cigarette. “She’s fucking infuriating, Gio. You know I’m right. Nice punch though.” He laughs and points at his jaw.

Will I ever feel anything but loathing for this man now? I don’t see how it’s possible. My fingers twitch on the worn denim of his jacket. I could kill him. But that would kill Nonna. I let him go with a shove.

“She may be infuriating but that’s no excuse for what you did. What the hell is wrong with you, Lorenzo? Jesus, that poor girl. I never would’ve thought you’d be capable of something so fucking depraved.”

“I didn’t even cop a good feel.” He laughs and reaches into his pocket, handing me some shredded fabric. It’s some kind of purple lace.

“Her panties,” he says, blowing out a puff of smoke. “Oops.”

My vision goes white. My breath constricts in my lungs, and in this moment, I want nothing more than to smash my fist the rest of the way through his smug fucking face. Rip him apart with my bare hands. Leave nothing but the smallest shards of bone for Freddie to find. The terror on Catriona’s face and her fearful, shuddering sobs nearly broke me. It takes every bit of control I have to remember that sending her home would be worse.

“If it weren’t for Nonna, I swear I’d…” I don’t know how to finish the threat. Too many scenarios play out before me. The shredded lace of Catriona’s panties burns a hole in my hand, but I can’t just throw them on the ground for Nonna to find.

“You’d what?” He laughs again. “Come on, kid.”

I will make him pay for this. That’s a promise I’m going to keep. But for now I need him to calm the fuck down for Catriona’s sake, and for mine. I need space to think about alternative plans should Carney not pay up.

“I want you to show some restraint. Do you think Carney won’t find a way to destroy us if you rape his daughter? Bad enough they saw you slap the shit out of her.”

I doubt the text threatening the family came from James Carney himself, but it’s a threat I take seriously. It’s not a secret that his sons carry out his dirty work.

“Since when are you afraid of James Carney?” He takes a long drag, staring up at the clouds slowly rolling by.

A lazy attempt to bait me by a foolish, weak man who’d fall for less.

“I’m not afraid of him, but I’m not interested in drawing unnecessary attention, either. And when the fuck did you start using drugs again? You promised Papa you’d never go back to that. It’s making you do awful shit. If we don’t get that money from her father, you know damn well that Freddie will wipe us all off the map.”

He coughs and nods. “You’re probably right. About Freddie I mean.”

“How could you set me and Nonna up like that, Lorenzo? Help me understand.”

God, give me anything to help me control this toxic anger.

He flicks his eyes up at me. “I was out of options, kid. I’m sorry. It was a bad decision on top of bad decisions. But I’ll get the money. Has Carney responded yet?”

“No.”

“We’ll have her do another video tomorrow. She’ll have to do a better job convincing him. I have business tonight,” Lorenzo says, flicking his cigarette into the gutter. “You’ll watch her?”

“Lorenzo. You’re not to go near her again, not unless I’m there. I don’t trust you, and I won’t let you hurt her again. I won’t let you sully our family name by being a repulsive fucking rapist. You hurt her like that and you’re dead to me. I mean it.”

I have to hope that he’s never done something like this before and that it’s the stress of this situation and the drugs turning him into a base monster.

“Would you at least make sure they say a mass for me, kid?” He smiles ruefully at me.

“I appreciate what you did for my mother, but she’d feel the same way. So would Nonna and Papa.”

He nods. “You’ve made your point. But keep her in line, Gio.”

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