The devil you begged for

008

LORENZO

~•~

“What’s your deal with the American girl?” Ricardo strolled into my office, not knocking as usual. “I just saw her leaving for school. She isn’t your hostage?”

“You’re American yourself, Ric.” I pointed out, just as I started assembling the gun I was busy cleaning. “Also, why would I need to hold her hostage?”

“Aren’t you keeping her around because you want something from her?”

“And?”

“What if she runs away?”

I chuckled at his question. Isla had no reason to run away. She didn’t even think she was trapped here for her to think of running. “She won’t. She won’t survive a day outside this mansion if she does.”

The day she left and came back in the evening, I found out that she had been chased by low-life thugs who wanted to be part of an organization so badly. She didn’t trust me but she knew I was her safest option. She was taking a risk on her life, betting her life on me. I wasn’t sure whether to call her stupid or brave, but it sure did work out for me.

After assembling the gun, I pointed it straight at the dummy in my office and pulled the trigger, the bullet piercing right in between the dummy’s eyes.

Ricardo covered his ears, scowling at me. “Psycho,” he spat out. “Do you know how loud that s**t is indoors?”

“Then get out.”

He scowled at me again, but removed his hands from his ears. “So…” he sat on my desk. “What do you want from her? s*x?

I held back a sigh. I wasn’t sure what he took me for. “Do I need to go through this trouble for s*x?”

“So you really want to marry her?” He asked instead. “She’s the only one left of her family. Are you planning to steal her wealth or something?”

“That’s not a bad idea.” I hummed. Since she was the only Smith left, everything that once belonged to her family would belong to her. She had enough money to live on her own, but in this city, money wasn’t everything. She had lost her household overnight. She was never involved in her family’s business so she didn’t know many people. She didn’t have any connections. She didn’t have power, which was why she was with me.

I traced the gun with my finger, trying to figure her out. I kept her with me because I wanted to use her, but she didn’t seem aggrieved enough. She was mourning her parents, but I didn’t know what her next step was. Was she going to avenge them? Seek justice? Was she going to let it be and move on with her life? I could ask her these questions straight up but I doubted she would tell me the answer.

A small smile appeared on my face as an idea came to mind. “Keep an eye on her. Let me know when she gets back from school.”

“Tell Romano to do that.”

I held my breath. He was so hard to deal with. His brother was a lot more obedient. “I’ll get you the motorcycle you want.”

“Deal.” He grinned.

Before I could chase him out, there was a knock on the door. Instead of Ricardo waiting for me to invite them in, he walked towards the door and opened it to reveal Romano.

“Speak of the devil.” He chuckled, stepping aside to let the latter man in.

Romano looked between both of us. “You were discussing me?”

“You came here for something, no?”

“Oh yeah,” he walked further in. “Frank è qui. He said he scheduled a meeting with you. Should I let him in?” [Frank is here]

I closed my eyes briefly.

“That old man is relentless.” Ricardo laughed. “Hasn’t he gotten the hint by now with how much you have avoided him?”

“Should I send him back?”

I sighed at Romano’s question. Frank was a vital part of my plan. I wouldn’t particularly enjoy working with him but I couldn’t straight up reject him either. I would need him in the future. For now, I just had to put up with him. “It’s fine. Just let him in.”

“He came with his daughter.”

“I expected that. Let them in. If the pressure gets too much, I’ll agree to the marriage.”

“What about Isla?” Ricardo asked.

I stared at him blankly. “What about her?”

“Didn’t you want to marry her instead?”

Instead of answering her, I turned to Romano. “Let Frank and his daughter in. Take Ricardo on your way out.”

“Yes, boss.”

“What do you mean by–“ his words suddenly came to a stop when Romano started pulling him by the back of his shirt. “Romano! Come osi? Let go!” [How dare you]

As the door shut behind them, I aimed my gun at the dummy and fired another shot before dropping it on my table. A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Frank stepped in, his daughter following closely behind. I stood up with a false smile. “It’s been a while, Mr. Robert. I’ve been so busy, I feel bad I haven’t had time to see you.”

“You’re Lorenzo Russo. Of course, you’re busy. You’ve got no time for us small folks,” he laughed, the sound just as fake as my smile. “This is my daughter, Rachel.” He introduced her as though we hadn’t met before. “Rachel, say hi to Mr. Russo.”

“Mr. Russo,” she said softly, extending her arm to me with her palm facing downward.

I chuckled to myself, but still took it and placed a kiss on the back of her palm. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re quite the lady.” Her cheeks grew warm. It wasn’t the first time I was seeing her. She had been trying to get my attention for a while, no doubt instructed by her father, hoping I would help him if his daughter managed to seduce me. When that didn’t work, they gave up, but as soon as they heard I might need their help, he had been trying to curry favor with me.

After letting go, I offered her father a handshake. His chest puffed up with pride at my initiation and I clasped his hand firmly, squeezing a little harder than necessary. His smile faltered but he managed to keep it in place.

“Take a seat.” I led them to the couch by the side and sat on the one adjacent to them.

“Mr. Russo,” Frank began, his voice carrying a desperate eagerness men like him couldn’t hide. “I know you’ve been considering expanding your routes. My contacts overseas could ease that transition. I still have ties with the Balkans.”

I stared at him for a while, letting the silence stretch until he started to feel uncomfortable. Then I plastered a smile on my face just as sweat started to glisten across his forehead. “Expansions do require the right doors.”

“I’m just trying to help in the small way I can.” He added, trying to prove himself useful. He was useful for now, so I was going to make use of him.

I tilted my head, my smile never fading. “See, I like men who have something to offer. It keeps them from being deadweight.” My tone was conversational and mild, but I caught the flicker in his eyes. Good. While I needed him for a while, I didn’t want him to grow cocky. “These things go both ways though. Surely, you aren’t handing me your contacts on a silver platter.” I said like I didn’t already know what he wanted.

Instead of just offering his daughter up for marriage like I knew he wanted, he said instead, “Well… I need a source for gunpowder. Everything is getting expensive these days.”

He was a bit smart, I would give him that. He knew I would reject it if he proposed marriage straight up. He was most likely going to keep bringing her around me so she could keep crossing her legs and hoping I would notice.