Page 34 of Unrelenting
When I think about it, I really don’t know what he does on a daily basis. Apart from the winery, I know he has many other businesses, but that’s all above board.
What his Mafia life entails, I have no idea. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know. Like he already told me, it’s best I remain in the dark about some things.
“Yes, but I don’t want to get involved in anything like that, so let me run my business my way.”
“If that’s what you want,” Lorenzo says tersely. I get the feeling I’ve hurt him by not accepting his help.
“But if I find I can’t handle it, perhaps you can step in then,” I offer.
Lorenzo nods. “Anything you need, Lucia, just ask.”
What I need right now is for him to ease his foot off the gas a little, but I don’t want to insult his driving so soon after denting his ego.
It’s not that he’s a terrible driver. He weaves effortlessly through traffic, handling the corners like a pro. He’s just going way too fast for my liking. It’s as if he’s involved in a car chase, trying to evade his pursuers.
Considering that a viable possibility, I glance back over my shoulder, but there’s nobody following us. I guess this is just how Lorenzo drives.
When we get to La Stanza Rosso, he slams on the brakes, screeching to a halt and startling the patrons lined up outside the club.
“Is it always this busy?” I ask, looking down the street and trying to work out how many people are waiting to get inside. It has to be at least two hundred.
“This is nothing.” Lorenzo unclips the seatbelt I’m surprised he bothered wearing since he broke every other driving law. “On theme nights, there’s double this number. Most of them won’tget in. Damiano’s manager fills the club from a list. There’s usually only a couple of dozen spaces left for walk-ups.”
“Wow, I wish Gianetta’s had that much demand.”
“You’re busy every night.”
“Yes, but people aren’t trying to bribe my staff to get a reservation.” I nod toward the young guy who’s waving a handful of euros at the doorman. The burly security guard shakes his head and shoves the younger man away. “He didn’t take the money.”
Lorenzo chuckles and shakes his head. “Only because I’m sitting here. If I wasn’t, Mario would have pocketed the money and let him in.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Yeah. Mario’s got a family to feed. Damiano knows his staff take bribes, but he turns a blind eye to it.”
“What if someone they take a bribe from causes trouble in the club? What if they bring in a weapon?”
“They can’t. There’s a set of stairs to go up. You have to pass through a security scanner at the bottom. If it goes off, you won’t make it into the club.”
“So you aren’t armed?”
I haven’t seen Lorenzo with a gun yet, but I’m pretty sure he carries one most of the time.
He swivels around just enough for me to see that he does in fact have a gun tucked into the back of his jeans. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I
t’s scary that he’s armed like this but also strangely arousing. I take a breath to steady my racing heart as Lorenzo gets out of the car.
He comes around to open my door and help me out onto the sidewalk.
“Hey, Lorenzo,” Mario greets him with a handshake as we walk up to the door. “Miss Lazaro.”
I frown, unsure how he knows my name.
“I proposed to my wife at your restaurant,” Mario explains when he sees the look of confusion on my face. “Best night of my life. The steak was to die for, and then she said yes.”
I can’t help laughing. “Glad my steak sealed the deal for you.”
Mario shakes his head. “I think it was the panna cotta that did that.”
