Page 63 of The Last Dance You Saved
“Your welcoming committee could use an overhaul,” he said instead of answering my question.
Lauren darted me a worried glance. “Let me get you the keys so you can get settled in.”
She went to an antique writing desk I recognized as once being in the housekeeper’s quarters. The cubbies were now labeled with gold numbers, and Lauren grabbed an envelope from one of them, handing it to Puzo. “It’ll just be you and the groom’s parents at the homestead. Nicky and his groomsmen are in the bunkhouse, and Marielle and her bridesmaids will be here. Do you need anyone to show you the way?”
“No, I’ve been here enough to know my way around.” His lips curled upward again at the dark grunt that escaped my lips.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, Lauren hissed, “What is wrong with you?!”
Then, she hurried after him, and I followed on her heels. We’d just made it to the front door when Adam came hurrying in. “Lorenzo! I thought I heard your voice.”
He extended his hand, and Puzo shook it, asking, “How’s my favorite gambling partner?”
Disgust and disbelief punched me in the stomach. Adam was gambling with Puzo? Was that how he’d gotten his hands into the ranch? Because Adam owed him money? Adam had been all about chess as a kid. He’d despised cards simply because of what they’d cost his family. Since when had that changed?
“Can I offer you a drink? Maybe take you to dinner tonight?” Adam’s affable charm was disorienting—a much shinier, more polished version of the Adam I’d grown up with or I’d witnessed this week. His wide-eyed honesty caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. It was all an act. But for whose benefit? Mine? Puzo’s?
“Thank you, but I have other plans tonight. I’ll have to come back another weekend.”
It was another shot he sent in my direction. Another reminder he had his hooks into much more than the ranch and wasn’t going to slink away at my say-so.
Adam and Lauren both gave him a warm goodbye that had me biting my cheek and tasting blood. The door had barely shut behind him when I said darkly, “You’ve let the goddamn devil in the door. Puzo’s only goal here is to destroy all of you as a means of getting revenge on me.”
Adam’s charm dissipated in an instant. “Your ego is larger than ever, Rafe. As I told you before, Lorenzo has had nothing but good advice for us. He’s the reason we got the cell tower contract and the reason we’ve got steady income coming in from the dock and the stables. Hell, he even sent hay sales our way.”
“I doubt he did it out of the graciousness of his heart. How much do you owe him?” I demanded.
Adam’s face paled ever so slightly. “Nothing. I don’t owe him a damn thing.”
I didn’t believe him, and the way Lauren looked at him, I wondered if she knew he was lying too. But she turned to me and said, “I’m not sure why you hate Lorenzo, but Adam’s right. He’s been nothing but helpful. Spence wasn’t always thrilled with how he handled business in town, but even he knew Lorenzo had stepped into the void we’d been forced to leave behind in the community. He’s been good for all of us.”
“Because it serves his purpose. But believe me, he’ll take you for every penny he can and walk away laughing. And if you try to stop him, he’ll have no qualms about wiping you out.”
“You’re overreacting,” Lauren said.
“Am I?” Fear and fury fueled me. I yanked up my shirt, revealing the scars that slaked down the left side of my chest. “Is this an overreaction? Because this is how Lorenzo handles business with those he believes have crossed him.”
Lauren’s voice was barely above a stunned whisper when she said, “You told us you were mugged.”
“I told you that in order to protect my family.” But I hadn’t. Instead, I’d ignored them and let him sneak right in the back door.
“I don’t believe you.” Adam’s voice was contemptuous. “Lorenzo told me all about how you worked for him in Vegas and got involved with a bad crowd. How the FBI came after you, and you ratted out your supposed friends to save your own skin.”
I pressed a knuckle into the knot in my jaw. “And of course you believed him.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Adam glared. “He’s given me no reason to doubt him.”
And every reason to doubt you.The words were unspoken but hung in the air anyway. It bit at me in just the way he’d intended.
“I did gather evidence for the FBI, but it was on Puzo’s criminal activities. He’s involved in drugs, guns, money laundering. You name it, his family has done it.”
“What?” Lauren demanded, her voice shaky and unsure. “Why isn’t he in jail, then?”
“Because he lets the people below him do all the dirty work, and no one is willing to testify against him. People who do, end up dead.”
“I don’t believe you,” Adam snarled. “Whatever your issue is with Lorenzo, it has nothing to do with us. You washed your hands of the ranch after you got your cut. We don’t want or require your assistance. And we certainly don’t need for you to cause a scene this weekend. Plenty of important people will be attending this wedding. People who can not only invest in the ranch’s renovation, but who would be happy to sprinkle their money around by staying here and bringing other weddings to our doors. You want to do something for all of us now? Just leave.”
He turned on his heel and strode down the hall.
