Page 24 of Traitor
His eyes hardened, and it shot a shiver down my spine. “Since I fucking said so, Mutt.”
I slowly stood to my feet. “If you don’t want to talk about the success the raid was, and you haven’t come here with any new plans or information, than you can see your way out. Because while you might own this place and allow me to stay here, I’m the one paying the bills. I’m the one doing your dirty work for half the price. I’m the one cleaning up the shit that’s going on while also making plans on how to take down the one rival we need out of our way to conquer this entire place. So, you can either get the fuck out or sit down and help me figure this shit out. Got it?”
And when he stood to his feet, matching my movements, I readied myself for a gunfight in my own damn home.
* * *
I whispered to myself. “Fucking idiots.”
I eased myself silently back down the stairs after propping myself against the door. The guard standing watch was probably too concerned with this last-minute intrusion than with my own movements, and I used that to my advantage. I was quickly coming to understand that the Lucchese Family was made up of loud-mouthed idiots that only talked louder the more agitated they became. And now that I had all of this knowledge at my disposal, it was more pertinent than ever that I find a way to contact Mateo.
If anything, so he wasn’t blindsided by Lorenzo’s next actions.
11
Charlotte
The more Iplayed into Lorenzo’s ego, the more he let me loose. I mean, he was still tossing me in the basement at night, but he wasn’t shackling me to the floor anymore. And whenever he brought me up for meals, there were times when he let me roam. Sometimes, he’d take me on a tour of his home that was only about half the size of Mateo’s, and he’d boast about all of the hand-carved wooden shit he stowed away in every corner. Or, he’d brag about the expensive artwork on the walls. Or, he’d point out how the faux-marble floors were just shined.
It was pathetic, really.
“See these light fixtures?” he asked.
I looked up at the crystal dangly things that hung from the hallway light. “Oh, wow, look at the colors it reflects. It’s gorgeous.”
He grinned. “I enjoy the fact that you have taste. I custom-built these myself. Got together with a designer and I have more in the works to put them on every minor ceiling light in the house.”
Gaudy.“Just gorgeous, Sir. I mean, honestly.”
He grinned wickedly. “Would you like to see your new room?”
I blinked. “My new what now?”
At first, I thought I heard him wrong. But, when he threw open the door to his right, he ushered me inside. I forced my legs to move despite my shock and I found myself quickly standing in the middle of a room whose size was at least twice the size of the room I held at Mateo’s.
“This—is mine?” I asked.
Lorenzo placed his hand in the small of my back. “Technically speaking, it’s mine. But, you can have it if you want to come out of the basement.”
I tried not to sound too eager. “Oh my God, I would love that.”
“You have to do something for me first, though.”
I will bite your dick off before I suck it.“Anything, Sir.”
He gripped my chin and tightened his arm around my waist. An action that, in any other situation, would’ve earned him a knee to the groin.
“You need to be on your best behavior. No refusing my company, no pushing me away, and no telling me ‘no’. Got it?” he asked.
I swallowed hard. “Yes, Sir.”
He smirked. “Good girl. Come, let me show you around.”
My eyes kept bouncing off the walls with its ornate crown molding and wooden baseboards. The carpet was plush beneath my feet, almost as if I were walking on a cloud. The walk-in closet wasn’t too big, but then again it wasn’t as if he rained gifts down on my head like Mateo did. And the bathroom left something to be desired.
I also noticed there were no windows in sight.
“There’s a phone?” I asked, pointing to my bedside table.
