Page 17 of Lorenzo & Lily

Eddie glanced at the door. “Does he have clearance?”

Lorenzo barely held back an eye roll. “Yes, he’s got clearance. He’s also fucking efficient, so don’t give him any shit.” He knocked back the rest of his shake in three long gulps before wiping his mouth and reaching for his coffee. “I’m going down to the docks later. If Alex arrives and wants to go with me, he’s welcome to.”

Nate gestured between the brothers. “One of us could go with you.”

“You could, but the dock workers will respond better to Alex as long as we go low-key.”

“He’s acting king,” Marcello reminded him. “He’s got to have a team with him. One of us will go.”

“They don’t like you. Is Ethan still in Valentia? He’d be good to go with me.” Their youngest sibling, Ethan, was a doctor in the Vallerian Royal Navy. He’d been given leave to spend a few months with their sister Arianna, who’d had a difficult birth, and their father while they recovered.

“Ethan’s shipping out soon. Why don’t they like me?” Marcello asked.

“You’re a spy, for one. They trust you to do your job, but they don’t necessarily trustyou.”

Marcello’s mustache twitched as his lips pursed. “I’m not a spy.”

“Says the man who went on an undercover mission barely a year ago and almost got himself killed. Not to mention the fact that even if your spying days are behind you, you still manage all of Valleria’s spies.”

“I don’t manage spies,” Nate said. “I can go with you.”

Lorenzo slugged back the rest of his coffee, the searing liquid leaving his tongue and throat burning. “Nope. Ethan or no one. I don’t need any of you to handle this.”

His brothers glanced at each other before Marcello nodded and pulled out his phone. “I’ll let Ethan know. It will still take him a few hours to get here.”

“The drive’s two hours, if that. Besides, I’ve got a full schedule until then, anyway.”

“We have more to discuss,” Nate said.

“Not right now we don’t. We’ll regroup after Ethan and I visit the docks.”

“We’ll talk over dinner,” Eddie said.

Lorenzo shook his head. “I’ve got plans.”

“Break them,” Eddie demanded.

“No can do.”

“Lorenzo–”

“Non-negotiable.” Lorenzo checked his watch, then mentally flipped through his calendar. “If you want to meet earlier, then meet me for tea time at the MARC this afternoon.”

Nate choked on his coffee. “Tea time? You do tea at the MARC?”

“Yes, though we also serve coffee. If you’re going to act like an asshole about it, though, don’t bother coming. If you can be respectful to my men, then come and you’ll see why we host it every day.”

Lorenzo’s phone rang signaling a call from Rio; he put it on speaker. “Captain, Signore Cellini is here to see you.”

“Thanks, Rio. Send him in.” Lorenzo turned to his brothers as he hung up. “I believe that’s your cue.”

Nate set his coffee cup down. “You’ll be there this afternoon?”

“Yes. I rarely miss tea time.”

Nate nodded then stood, Marcello and Eddie following his lead. They were leaving just as a man was poised to enter.

“Pardon me.”

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