Chapter 4: Chapter 4

The bad vibes I get driving up to the construction site on a Sunday night are enough to make me reconsider Lia’s directions to drop her off. The last thing I want to do is call the police, but I can’t risk being who I am in front of her. It’s bad enough I let her convince me so easily to give in to her other request. A weekend of sexual bliss at the beach, waking up beside Lia, inside of Lia, and replaying the memories for the foreseeable future are enough of a distraction.

Someone’s moving around in the long trailer and they’re not bothering to be discreet about it either. My eyes dart to every opening that leads onto the site. The massive gate for trucks and equipment is roped shut with a chain, but the padlock dangles from the hook where someone cut through it. I move toward it with my gun in a position to fire. There isn’t a guard on duty or any kind of electronic alarm system in place.

What kind of site are they running?

Nine-millimeter, long slide, a seventeen-round clip fits inside the handle of the black steel firearm with a grip that feels as perfectly molded to my hands as Lia’s sweet ass. This is what I’m talking about when I mean she’s a distraction. I want to charge into this trailer, kill the intruder, and then fuck her over the desk as a reward for getting the job done.

After taking a deep breath, I slowly make my way closer to the trailer. There’s a flashlight beam moving behind the windows, and before I can get a closer look, the door bursts open. I raise my arms, gun pointing at the door. Some asshole wearing a ski mask stops in his tracks. The shock is obvious; they weren’t expecting anyone.

What feels like an eternity is a matter of seconds before the intruder runs toward me. I pull the trigger and they dodge to the left, throwing their right shoulder low and into my body. I’m forced to stumble back as they barrel over me, stumbling and getting their footing quickly. The metal of the open gate clangs into the night when they bolt through it. They’re a few yards away before they hop on a motorcycle. I never saw the bike under the darkness of the scaffolding. It’s too late to do anything as they ride off into the night.

Bright red taillights accompanying the monstrous roar of the motorcycle’s engine taunt me. I head back onto the site, looking around to make sure no one else is lingering. The office is a mess, but empty. I close the door behind me before heading back to the car.

Lia is still on the phone, frustration gripping her as she hangs up. She growls and stomps her foot.

‘Ma called me back before I got a hold of the cops. She told me not to bother with NYPD. Are you okay? Was that you shooting at someone?’ she asks. It’s an odd decision not to have the police show up, but anyone paying Saul hush money doesn’t want the police anywhere near them.

‘Yeah. The fucker ran toward me. Either he’s got some combat training, or he’s a nutcase. Let me help you lock this place back up.’ I tell her, ushering her back toward the car, but she stops me.

‘I can’t just leave. I need to see what they were looking for or if they took anything.’ Lia pushes past me to head into the trailer. ‘Put that thing away, please.’

I slide my gun into the back of my waistband and follow her inside the office. She flicks on the lights. Those hazel brown eyes of hers are wide with concern, searching every surface of the room.

It’s in minor disarray, with the file drawers open and papers falling over the edge. Some scatter onto the floor while others are spread across the desk. Lia flips through them aimlessly. Undoubtedly puzzled over why someone would break in to ransack documents.

‘Where’s the security system?’ I ask her.

Lia shrugs and shakes her head. ‘Budget cuts. It’s hard to keep a security guard on staff at all hours of day and night when we have to pay Caputo who-knows-how-much every week.’

‘What does he have on you guys that forces you to pay him weekly?’

Lia dodges the question as she shuffles through papers on her desk. ‘Don’t worry about it, Val. I was told that the money you so generously bid on me is enough to get him off our backs.’

‘Do you have whatever dirt he’s holding over your family’s head? I know blackmail, and there are only a few ways to make it stop. Killing Caputo is a great option, in my opinion. However, the blowback of killing a don isn’t worth the trouble. The next best option is exposing whatever secrets he’s holding.’

‘That’s never going to happen,’ she states firmly, rifling through the keys on her keychain as she dips down to unlock a drawer in the desk. ‘The cash box is still here. The drawer wasn’t even tampered with.’

‘You leave cash in here?’ I ask her. Red flags about the safety of this building site flash like neon lights on the Vegas strip.

‘No. Friday was a bit of a shake-up in our normal routine. Some of the guys cash their checks with us on payday. Whatever’s left is sent to the bank. It looks like my parents took any cash that was here with them. But why break into the trailer? There’s nothing in this office worth stealing.’

‘You don’t know that because you’re not the thief. There’s a ton of stuff, materials and tools that can be sold for cash. Someone rifling through this office is most likely looking for information. The kind of information they’re looking for depends on who’s behind the theft. Do you keep any documents at home, Lia?’ I ask her.

‘Sometimes. There are always contracts, permits, vendors, invoices … there is always work to do. And since we don’t have a safe on the premises, I typically bring the important stuff home. My parents also have an office at their place where they keep employee records.’

‘I don’t think it’s safe for you to go home, Lia. I think—’ I pause, knowing she’s a distraction but not wanting her to be anywhere else except with me. ‘I think you should stay with me. My company deals with security. Let me⁠—’

‘I’m going to stop you right there, Val. Thanks but you’ve already done too much for me and my family. I need to get back to the real world. Remember, you don’t have time to be obsessed with me. I don’t want to owe you anything more.’

‘Lia, I already told you that what I paid for at that auction was your time. Time you gave to me generously. This is for your safety. You don’t owe me anything. It’s the least I can do. What if Saul’s behind this burglary out of bitterness from losing the auction? He’s a different kind of animal when he doesn’t get what he wants.’

‘How about we compromise? I’ll stay at my parents’ house until we’re certain that Saul is done with my family. I’m sure once Saul finds out my virginity is gone, he won’t be interested in me. My parents can pay him off tomorrow with the funds from the auction and that should be the end of this.’

She’s being optimistic at best and delusional at worst. Still, Lia’s decision not to stay with me is a stark reminder of why I don’t get into relationships. Just like my mother, they always choose someone else over me. That’s fine in this case. As much as I want to be with Lia again, she doesn’t belong to me. If she believes she’s safer with the people who persuaded her to auction off her time to Saul Caputo, then so be it.

Instead of trying to convince her otherwise, I help her lock up the trailer and the site. Lia allows me to drive her to her parents’ home, where she lets herself inside with a brief wave over her shoulder to me. I watch her disappear behind the front door and when a light turns on; I decide it’s safe enough for me to leave.

It nags at me for the rest of the night, causing me to toss and turn until my alarm goes off the next morning. My workout session sucks and my ride into the office feels even worse. I can’t stop thinking about Lia as I walk into Barten Security headquarters. However, just because her pussy is on my brain, it doesn’t mean my job can wait.

Armande Laurentis, my best friend and vice president, is standing in the lobby waiting for me. He’s about the same height as me. His hair’s black and wavy, where mine is light brown. The smile on his face is far too chipper for me. I hope it’s good news about the company we run versus anything that happened to him over the weekend.

‘How was the auction?’ He asks with a wide grin. There’s a lightness in his green eyes that contrasts the hardness of the stubble growing along his chin.

‘Eventful. I need something though. Keep it off the books.’ I tell him, knowing that I can trust Armande with anything. We’ve been friends since grade school and there’s very few people I trust more.

‘Is this family business or family business?’ His voice is low as we board the elevator with other employees. I want to believe that they don’t know who we are, but the respectful silence and dodgy glances in our direction say otherwise.

I don’t say anything until we reach the inside of my office on the twentieth floor. Armande closes the door behind us and crosses the room to sit in front of my desk. The view of Midtown Manhattan is phenomenal, but there’s a huge interactive map of the world along the wall that holds my attention most days.

There are several magnetic mini-LED lights that tell me where my security teams are stationed. Every tiny flashing light tells me what country and city the team is in.

South American teams are usually on some diplomat’s detail to keep their family safe. There is another team deep in a village near Sierra Leone protecting medical facilities and international volunteers. The bulk of our teams are in the U.S. with at least two teams of six waiting for new assignments.

I don’t want to waste too much time thinking about Lia and her family. We need our focus back to the business. Correction, I need to focus.

I tell him, ‘I want to know what Saul Caputo’s interest is in the Bonetti Brothers construction firm. It’s a mom-and-pop outfit in Brooklyn. They have a project going at Saint Bartholomew’s Community Center. Do a deep dive. I want to know everything. Once you get that for me, I want a private detail assigned to Lia Bonetti. We may need a team to protect her parents as well.’

Armande sucks in a breath, raising a brow to question me. ‘We have the Prime Minister of Ireland coming in for a conference. They want a private detail for the kids’ teacher and nanny. We shouldn’t stretch ourselves too thin. How important is this Bonetti situation?’

‘I don’t know yet. Once I know what Saul knows, that will determine how important it is to me. Lia is—’ I hesitate, unsure of what I feel about her just yet. ‘Lia is important enough to me to keep her safe. Saul wants her and I had her for the weekend. I just want to know more before I toss her back into her life.’

‘Ah, the auction win. Very nice, Valley boy.’ He snickers at the name he’s been calling me since we were five. ‘You outbid Saul for her, too?’

‘Yeah, but he’s got something on the family. The whole thing just rubbed me wrong. I like fucking with him, but breaking up whatever he has on the Bonetti family feels necessary.’

‘Are you sure you want to save this family? What if they’re his burial company? Bodies in the foundations of buildings and shit?’ Armande asks. I can hear the sarcasm in his tone, but it’s not an impossibility. Saul Caputo is capable of heinous shit.

‘Just do it please,’ I tell Armande with a sigh.

‘Whatever you say, boss. Whatever you say.’