Page 22 of Unruly Obsession
“I’m not the type to hide,” I reply as I hold out my hand. “Lorenzo Moretti.”
He looks down at my hand for a beat, as if it’s covered in dirt, but slowly places his hand in mine as others watch on. I squeeze a fraction too tightly.
“Quite the firm handshake,” he comments as he quickly pulls back.
“My father always told me that a firm handshake is the start of good business,” I tell him. I give the man credit; even when I’m playing nice, most men would have averted their gaze by now.
“Yes, and who precisely is your father?”
“Dad, can we talk about this later?” Lily quickly interrupts, making a point to glance to her left, where two men are shamelessly eavesdropping on us.
He turns his attention back to me, giving me the once-over, and makes no attempt to hide the fact that he thinks I’m less than gum on the bottom of his shoe.
“This conversation isn’t over. It seems I’ve allowed you to have too much fun if you’re bringing peculiar types of guests to these events,” he says dismissively.
Lily turns two shades paler, and as she goes to speak, her father pins her with a narrow-eyed gaze, causing her to snap her mouth shut without saying a word.
“Peculiar?” Dmitri says, inviting himself into the group. “I’ve done plenty of business with Lorenzo. He's a little brazen and rough around the edges, if you ask me, but he’s not a businessman who should be looked down upon.” He throws an arm over my shoulder. “I always considered you an opportunist, Henrith.”
Henrith scowls, an awkward tension rippling through the circle.
This fucker is actually inserting himself just so he can piss me off again, but I have the good sense not to brush off his arm just yet.
But I grab Lily’s hand and tug her closer to me to make a point. She seems taken aback, but I don’t give her the chance to pull away again. Her size makes it easy to tuck her against me, as if physically shielding her from her own father while spitefully making my claim.
Her father’s gaze snaps back to mine. Vivid images of all the ways I could easily end his life right now flash through my mind.
“Henrith, we should say hello to the others,” Lily’s mother says as she offers us a tight smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lorenzo. My, how the youth are thriving today. Isn’t that so, Henrith?” she says, practically pulling him away.
“So it seems,” Henrith grumbles, glaring at his daughter once more before adjusting his jacket and walking between the two young women who are obviously uncomfortable in his presence.
“Oh, we should say hello to Maria. We’ll talk soon, Lily,” the blonde says, and is quick to scuttle away, dragging the other women behind her.
“It’s harder to keep the fangs retracted here, isn’t it?” Dmitri says as he lowers his arm from my shoulder with an arrogant smile.
“Not at all.” It goes without saying, I didn’t need his help in the first place. I might not be a charismatic playboy like most of the men here, but silence is something respected and feared, no matter the company you're in.
“A word of advice—you might want to learn how to soften around the edges for whatever this ‘business’ is. Or your girl isn’t going to make it through.” Dmitri side-eyes Lily, who stares after her father, and I notice the slight tremble of the hand holding her drink. She’s terrified of him.
It's all the more reason why he should be removed. Permanently.
“It doesn’t start with killing your girl's father either,” Dmitri says quietly, with a shit-eating grin.
Lily overhears the last comment and looks up at me, horrified.
“You can’t”—she tightens her jaw, as if suddenly coming back into the room—“killmy father.”
I say nothing because I don’t make promises I can’t keep. If I want Henrith Taylor dead, it’s only a matter of time until it can be done.
She scowls just as someone new approaches us, but she recovers quickly.
“Good luck, friend,” Dmitri says as he clasps his hand with Elanee and pulls her away.
I’d really like to kill him right now.
“Just don’t speak. That’s what you’re good at, right?” Lily bites out, then turns and smiles as another woman comes to hug her. And just like the other two who approached Lily, her gaze immediately drifts to me, curious and judgmental.
I’ve done a lot of bloody deeds. And I would choose to do each of them again rather than stand in this room like a spectacle for these people.
