Page 59 of Captured Fantasy

“I’m early,” I said coldly, taking off my helmet and setting it on the porch. “Where are we going?”

“Warehouse,” said Lucien. “I had a meeting with Romano and we absolutely cannot lose the shipment this year. I’m thinking of moving everything in Warehouse A over to G over the course of the summer. We can’t move it all at once. Too much heat.”

Lucien strode across the street to where his Tesla sat and opened the door. Deliberately not meeting Federico’s eyes, I followed him and got into the passenger side and Federico got in the backseat. The engine purred to life and the air conditioning whirred full blast. Some kind of disco music started blaring from the speakers and Lucien hit the button with his palm.

“Olivia was in the car yesterday,” he said.

A pang of regret moved through me at the mention of my sister’s name. I should probably visit her at some point before the summer was over.

I’d left the warehouses in perfect condition the night before. Everything was stocked, inventory was done, and the new locks had been installed last week. When we pulled into the shipping yards, the armed guards milling by the doors dipped their heads to acknowledge us. Lucien got out and I followed suit, digging in my pocket for a cigarette.

“Buildings look good, Barone,” Lucien said. “They look secure.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Spot me a smoke,” Federico said, coming up behind me.

Without looking at him, I held out the box. Lucien reached around, snatched one, and took off, striding across the yard. I left Federico by the car, digging in his pockets for a lighter.

The side door opened and one of Lucien’s soldiers stepped aside to let us in. It was cool and smelled faintly of engine oil inside. Our footfalls echoed on the concrete, still faintly stained from blood. I put the cigarette to my mouth and my hand shook slightly as I breathed in, trying to drown out the memory of that smell. The fucking smell that had just about turned me into a vegetarian. Raw, scorched meat.

Every goddamn time I stepped foot in this place it came flooding back. The memory of Elio crumpling, of Paolo’s still body on the ground, of Amadeo’s paper white face gazing up at me, eyes glittering with tears. I took the cigarette from my mouth and released a slow breath and drew it back in through my nose.

I was fine anywhere else. Thank God Lucien was planning on switching to Warehouse G. I never wanted to come back here again.

“You alright, Barone?” Lucien’s calculating eyes rested on me.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I said quickly.

Of course I was alright, there wasn’t space in our world for feelings like these. It wasn’t like I could just walk into a therapist’s office. And I wasn’t about to spill my guts to any of the men I worked with because they’d only see it as a weakness. No, I was going to keep handling it and hope the feelings eased.

“How long do you think it would take to move this much product?” Lucien asked.

“With a few more trucks, I can do it by July probably.”

“Have you talked to the officer assigned to this area recently? Are we all paid up with him?”

“And then some,” I said. “It’s getting fucking expensive, getting these cops to keep their mouths shut.”

“Maybe I’d better send someone to talk with them,” Lucien said. “It can’t hurt to remind them what happens if they don’t take what we give them.”

“If he asks for more, I’ll let you know,” I said.

Lucien lifted his cold eyes to mine and released two fine streams of smoke from his nose. “Perhaps I’ll send you, Barone. Would that bother you?”

I frowned, annoyed that he thought I would care. The man who had hesitated to kill those three men by the riverbed was gone, replaced by a much harder one. A man who had gone through real violence and lived to tell about it. Who was now entertaining murderous thoughts about one of his peers over a woman.

“No,” I said shortly.

“Alright, it’s up to your discretion then. If you think he’s pushing too hard, push back,” Lucien said.

“I’ll make sure it’s handled.”

Lucien paused and I felt his eyes on me, studying me for a long time. “You’ve impressed me lately, Barone. Good work.”

He began striding toward the back of the building, disappearing into the weaponry. I stood by myself for a long moment feeling a tinge of satisfaction. Lucien was growing on me—I wasn’t sure I would go as far as to say that I liked him. But I understood him better and I knew that what he’d said was the highest praise coming from him.

We spent a good hour walking around the building and talking about the possibility of reinforcing the secondary warehouse. Federico spent most of the time smoking quietly and scrolling his phone in the corner, but his presence was like a rock in my shoe. I was trying to concentrate on the task at hand, but my mind kept filling with images of him and Lorenza. God, it made me sick to think of his hands on her, of them tangled up in her bed together.

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