Lorenzo: A Mafia Boss Series

Chapter Five: Flustered

~Lorenzo POV~

I could sense Carmen fidgeting in her seat and the asshole in me decided to go just a little faster. I was driving 120 miles an hour on the I-278 highway, and I had no worries about being stopped by the police. Even if one was stupid enough to have run the plate, he would soon find out it belonged to a Bernardi and the ones who weren't stupid would quickly tell him the score. As a kid I would get picked up by the police constantly, but it never made it on the record. I soon realized the only reason they even bothered was that they were given strict instructions by my Uncle Vito to keep me out of trouble. So, the fucker had them arrest me, rough me up at times just so I could learn early enough that being behind bars was not where I wanted to be. This was not a lesson to go straight by no means. I am a Bernardi after all. This was a lesson in being smart enough not to get caught. So, lesson learned.

“Why were you working so late on a Friday night?” I finally got the nerve to ask her.

She snickered, “Not everyone can party their way through life.”

I rolled my eyes and quipped, “And not everyone should work themselves to the grave.”

She turned to look at me, “Who said that was what I am doing?”

I took the exit off the highway. I shrugged out a response, “That’s what it looks like to me. You seem to be hiding behind your job.”

She didn’t respond, and I turned to look at her in confusion. Carmen always had a smart comeback, and it seemed something I said had her stomped. She was wearing her gym clothes and the sweatshirt she wore over it had fallen off one of her shoulders. I saw the delicate curve of her collar bone. The shape of her round breasts underneath. I was all of a sudden bombarded by the quick flashes of naked skin I had seen earlier. I could feel my c**k getting hard in response.

I then heard a car honking, and I quickly turned my head back onto the road. I had veered onto the medium. I grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and hastily straightened the car. I turned to face her, out of breath from my panicked state and realized Carmen had not noticed our near-miss head-on collision. She appeared lost in thought. After a short while, she whispered in a barely audible voice, “I’m not hiding.”

I don’t know why those words struck me as hard as they did, but they did. She was hiding and everything in me wanted to know why. Before I could say anything in response, she quickly said, “Slow down. My apartment is coming up.”

I drove up and saw three sketchy guys hanging by the front of her apartment building. Carmen was making a good six figures if not more, knowing that my cousin Victor was not cheap when it came to compensation and Isabella would not take advantage of a friend. Though I didn’t have the exact figures, I could surmise that Carmen could be living in a sky-rise apartment in the more lucrative areas of New York, if she wanted to. ‘Why here?’ I wondered.

I asked, “Do you want me to walk you up?”

She turned to look at the men I was seriously eyeing now, passed her shoulder. She chuckled, “They are harmless. Anyway, I can take care of myself.”

I shook my head, “I’m sure you can, but it would make me feel better if I walked you up.”

“It’s not all about you, Lorenzo,” she muttered. Before I could protest, she added, “I’m right up there.” She pointed up to a third-floor window to the right. “How about I text you when I get inside safe and sound?”

It dawned on me that she would be giving me her number in order to do that. So, it would be a win-win situation. Not that I could not get her number within seconds, given my legit and illegitimate methods of getting information, but her giving it willingly was always a better option.

“Fine,” I said begrudgingly, hoping she did not catch on.

We exchanged numbers, and she got out of the car. I watched as she walked toward the two dilapidated doors of the apartment building. I can’t be sure, but I do believe one of the glass doors had bullet holes going down them. As expected, the men checked her out as she passed, which caused me to clench my fist. This was definitely an unexpected reaction, as I was the least jealous man you could ever meet. f**k, I loved the women I was with to show it up a little. The less clothes, the better, so I could walk around next to them as King Kong, knowing that I was f*****g the most beautiful woman in the world that every man wanted.

I got out of the car, but not before sliding my Glock out from underneath my seat. I tucked it to the back of my jeans under my leather jacket and walked toward the group of men.

“Hey,” I said as one of the men got up to size me up.

I chuckled, though it didn’t reach my eyes, “What’s your name supposed to be?”

He defensively replied, “Whose f*****g asking?”

I coolly smiled. “Lorenzo Bernardi,” I said, and saw instant recognition come to his eyes as he stiffened.

He hastily said, “I mean no disrespect…. Mr. Bernardi.”

I nodded my head, “I didn’t think you did. But do me a favor. You see that woman that just went in there…”

He appeared confused before blurting out, “Cammi? She’s cool….”

I could feel heat rising under my collar. I hated the fact that it appeared that he knew her and had even come up with a pet name for her that was so informal. So intimate. My jaw ticked thinking about it, and it took everything in me not to punch him out. I got closer and tapped his shoulder instead, as if we were buds. “Nothing and no one messes with HER, OK,” I said menacingly.

He nodded his head, vigorously as the other man said, “That will not be a problem.”

The third man echoed,” Not a problem, Mr. Bernardi!”

I replied curtly, “I didn’t think so.”

I pulled out the Bernardi Enterprise card out of the breast pocket of my leather jacket and handed it to the meaner of the men who appeared to be the leader. “There’s maybe a place for vigilant men like you guys in the business. How about you give me a call,” I said with a disingenuous smile.

They eagerly nodded their heads in agreement. I looked up and saw the light to Carmen’s apartment turn on. I heard a simultaneous buzz to my phone, and I looked down and saw it was her.

She texted: I made it up safe and sound.

I couldn’t help smiling for real this time at the message and the cute middle finger emoji she added at the end. I look back up at the men, instantly transforming back to the killer and asshole that I could easily become.

I gruffly said, “It’s getting late. I suggest you leave this post. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to potential new recruits.”

The men did not have to be told twice as they quickly shook their heads and dispersed. I headed back to my car, but before I could pull out to leave, I heard another buzz. It wasn’t coming from my primary phone. It was the burner I had placed in my cup-holder. I looked down and saw a text that read, “I got a job for you.”

It was Kaleb. Kaleb Covitz has been working for my family for the last seven years as the head of digital defense and weaponry. Though he was an undergraduate and seven years younger than my cousin Victor at the time they met in Oxford, they became fast friends when they both discovered each other’s not-so legit backgrounds; Victor, a soon-to-be mafia head, and Kaleb, a notorious hacker. Rumor had it he hacked the US nuclear launching pads, though I never really confirmed that story.

He and I have had a side hustle, so to speak. It was a nice way to make quick cash, not that either of us really needed it. It was more of a hobby than anything else. I was an enforcer for hire. I would do light rough-up jobs like breaking kneecaps, faces, collecting money from people who refused to pay up, ransom exchanges and rescue missions, that kind of thing.

Though I wasn’t opposed to killing, I never took on any assassination assignments. That’s what my cousin Victor didn’t realize there were RULES and codes I lived by. Unless the crime was against the family, I would not exact that kind of justice, no matter the price. I was known as The Ghost. I could find anyone thanks to Kaleb and deliver on a note within two days tops. I can go in and out undetected from any secure location. This enterprise was so successful, Kaleb and I could essentially name our price.

Everything was on the hush, hush, and no one knew our identities. Our clientele was not the mafia or crime bosses. f**k they had their own enforcers, or they should if they actually were an organization to speak of, that was. No, we catered to the regular Joe Schmo, who could afford our services, not so powerful and naïve enough to actually get online and asked for an enforcer. Those guys were begging to be nab by the cops. My clientele was savvy enough to go on the web and say the secret phrase, “Read me a Ghost Story”. Within 24 hours, Kaleb would make the connection, get the money and then I would make good.

From the outside, Kaleb and I were not close friends and were opposites in every way. He was a digital freak, nerdy with a wife and two kids now, and me the aloof playboy. This was yet another reason our partnership worked. No one would believe we were the best of friends. My typical circle consisted of Frank, a third generation Bernardi lieutenant, Tony, head of defense, Sebastian, the enforcer, and Caden, who was completely clean. He and Victor go way back from their college days at Princeton, and he was the VP of Bernardi Corp. For a while, Caden and I were the best of friends despite the age difference. He had a more notorious reputation than me when it came to the ladies, that was until he got together with my sister, Gia, behind my back. I still have not gotten over that s**t. They are engaged to be married now, and I’m supposed to play nice. He’s asked me to be his best man. I’m still mulling over on that.

I got on the phone, “What you got?”

Kaleb replied, “A quick knee. This guy is willing to give 3 million to rough up a guy who slept with his girl, but he’s nervous we might run off with his money and not deliver.”

I sigh disinterestedly, “Oh well, he might as well do it his damn self. Maybe his woman would not be cheating if he actually had balls. Let’s move on.”

Kaleb chuckled, “Yeah probably. I just replied to him that it’s a no.”

Before I could hang up, Kaleb exclaimed, “Oh s**t, he just tripled it!”

I coughed out, “9 million for just kneecaps!”

Kaleb uttered, “Yes, and the only thing he is asking is to meet you personally so he knows we will follow through. He’s not far from you at Mikes bar in Brooklyn.”

I tapped my hand on the stirring wheel thinking. After a short while, I said, “Fine. I’ll be there in twenty.”