Page 51 of Sweet Lies

The folder is heavy in my hand. By now, she’ll have noticed it’s missing and have read my note. She’ll be out for revenge, and I grin, thinking about what she might be planning. I don’t need her intel to find Lorenzo. I could find a needle in a haystack if the pay is large enough—it might take a bit, but I’d find it—so using Rebecca’s info and getting under her skin is just a bonus.

It was pure luck she had it on her desk. I knew Juliet kept information on her clients in case of missed payments and hoped Rebecca followed the same playbook. Never did I think it would be on her desk at the perfect moment. Her research is extensive—Juliet did well putting her in charge.

There were three bars listed that Lorenzo frequented. It seemed he’d been busy since getting to New York. He was getting too comfortable being away from home, thinking Alessandro would let his grudge go, but if I were him, I would give up gambling, since he clearly isn’t very good at it.

Milo’s is a large bar with wooden chairs and tables, and a cherrywood counter. It looks like a carpenter designed the place.

Slipping into a dark corner, I watch and wait.

Lorenzo is on edge as he finishes his dark beer. He continues to look from right to left—not enough to unnerve the person next to him, but enough that I’ve taken note. He owes a few hundred to Bec, but that’s not enough for her to send men after him yet. It can’t be her that’s worrying him. By all accounts, he’s seemed at ease since leaving Rome. He must have pissed someone else off. It won’t matter for long though, as he’ll be heading back to Italy tonight.

Suddenly, Lorenzo stumbles from the bar stool and steps toward the door.

Outside, Lorenzo is still jumpy. He continues to glance around, as if expecting shadows to take him. He isn’t incorrect; his time is near.

He walks close to the streetlights, hands stuffed into his pockets, back hunched over. He’s trying to make himself look as unthreatening as possible. He may not be a well-trained killer, but that doesn’t make him any less threatening. A man facing death is the deadliest of them all.

A cool breeze washes over us as the air chills. The streetlight up ahead is out. There appears to be an alley to the side of the light, and I know that’s where he’ll turn. That’s the route I would take if I believed I was being followed. It’s dark, and if he’s lucky, there’ll be a fire escape he can climb so he can break into one of the apartments.

The hunt is on.

Just as Lorenzo steps into the darker part of the street, his body slips down the alley. Following him, I find him doing just as I expected—he’s a few steps up on the first escape.

His eyes meet mine in surprise. “You’re Alessandro’s man.” His face is a mask of horror.

“I’m my own man. Who were you expecting?” I ask as his leg slips on the next step, his hands gripping the metal tightly as he tries to regain his balance.

Stepping forward, I grab his leg, pull him away from the wall, and step aside. He falls to the ground, his wide eyes scanning from side to side, trying to find an escape route. As I expect, he jumps up and runs toward the street.

Near the vast trash can is a large piece of metal pipe. I snatch it up, test the weight in my hands, and take off after him.

I reach him two steps before the street and bring the bar down hard on his head.

His body slips to the cold ground, and I call for a car. It won’t take long for Franco to arrive. Alessandro sent him after me in case I needed help cleaning up. In my case, he’s the man with the car trunk. I couldn’t risk being seen leaving the alley, getting my car, and driving back—there were too many variables between the possibility of witnesses and him waking up.

Once Franco arrives, we dump Lorenzo in the trunk and call Alessandro with an update.

“What do you think he’ll do with him?” Franko asks, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Whatever it is, it’s bound to be creative.”

“You want me to drop you off anywhere before we go back?” he asks, rolling down the window.

Bec flashes through my mind, but I push her away. Staying away from her is the best option for both of us.

“No. I have nothing here,” I answer, forcing her from my mind. She deserves to be left in peace.

ChapterSeventeen

REBECCA

“Rebecca Rossi, it’s been too long.”

Sebastian’s voice sends icy shivers down my spine. My eyes stay on the page in front of me, hoping I imagined it.

“I can’t decide if I’m more surprised to see you or your sister alive.” Forcing my eyes up, I meet the gaze of the man who was the catalyst for my nightmare. He has no power here. I do.

If it were possible, he appears more unhinged than the last time I’d seen him. His eyes still held a crazy tick to them. I had hoped he would have fallen drunk in a ditch somewhere and died, but my luck had never been that great. I had stayed under the radar of the Five Families over the past several years by someone’s grace. If any of their kind had wandered in, I found out before they entered the hall and stayed in the back.

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