Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO DIDN'T ASK HER TO TRUST HIM
Lorenzo arrived twelve minutes later.
Not alone.
A black sedan stopped outside Naomi's building, followed by an ordinary-looking gray SUV.
Two men stepped out first.
Then Lorenzo.
He wore a dark overcoat.
No umbrella.
Rain glistened in his hair.
Celia watched from the third-floor window.
Naomi stood beside her.
“That's him?”
“Yes.”
Naomi exhaled.
“He looks like he charges people for breathing near him.”
Celia almost smiled.
Then Lorenzo looked directly toward their window.
She stepped back.
Her phone rang.
“Celia.”
“Yes?”
“Stay inside. Police are on their way.”
She blinked.
“You called the police?”
“Someone threatened you. Why wouldn't I?”
Celia hesitated.
“Your reputation.”
“Is not a substitute for law enforcement.”
That surprised her.
Lorenzo continued.
“May I come upstairs?”
She looked at Naomi.
Naomi nodded cautiously.
“Yes,” Celia said.
***
He entered five minutes later.
Up close, he seemed even taller.
Naomi stood in the kitchen holding a wooden spoon.
Lorenzo looked at it.
“Should I be concerned?”
Naomi lifted her chin.
“Depends.”
Celia covered her mouth.
Lorenzo's expression remained solemn.
“Fair enough.”
Then he turned to Celia.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Has Travis contacted you again?”
She showed him the photograph.
His jaw tightened.
“Have you sent it to the police?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
He looked toward the window.
“Someone was watching the building. My people saw a man leave in a blue sedan before we arrived.”
Celia's stomach dropped.
“Was it Travis?”
“We couldn't confirm.”
She sat down.
Lorenzo remained standing.
For several seconds, he studied her.
Then said:
“You don't have to trust me.”
Celia looked up.
He continued.
“You met me yesterday. You know nothing about me except what you've read.”
“Some of what I read wasn't reassuring.”
“I imagine.”
“Are the articles true?”
He didn't answer immediately.
“Some are.”
Celia appreciated the honesty.
Lorenzo looked toward Naomi.
“Your building has a secure rear entrance?”
Naomi nodded.
“Yes.”
“Would you be comfortable having an officer escort you both out if necessary?”
Naomi blinked.
“An officer?”
“Yes.”
Celia watched him.
He wasn't ordering her into a car.
Wasn't demanding obedience.
Wasn't promising to make Travis disappear.
He was asking.
It felt unfamiliar.
***
The police arrived.
Celia gave another statement.
She provided screenshots and described the photograph.
An officer recommended documenting future contact and discussing protective-order options with an attorney.
Marissa had already arranged a referral.
Lorenzo waited quietly.
When the officers left, he handed Celia a business card.
Not his own.
A woman's.
EVELYN PRICE — ATTORNEY AT LAW.
Celia looked at him.
“Who's this?”
“An attorney who handles protective orders and stalking cases.”
“Do you employ her?”
“No.”
“Then why are you giving me her number?”
“Because she knows what she's doing.”
Celia studied him.
“What's the catch?”
Lorenzo's expression changed.
“There isn't one.”
She looked down.
“People don't usually help me without wanting something.”
His voice softened.
“Then you've known the wrong people.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
***
Before leaving, Lorenzo asked one final question.
“What does Travis do for work?”
Celia frowned.
“Commercial real estate. Why?”
“Which company?”
“Hail Development Partners.”
Something changed in Lorenzo's face.
Barely.
But she saw it.
“Do you know them?”
He paused.
“Yes.”
Celia's stomach tightened.
“How?”
Lorenzo looked toward the window.
“They've been trying to buy property from one of my companies.”
Silence.
Then Celia asked:
“Does Travis know you?”
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
“I suspect he does.”
***
That night, after Lorenzo left, Celia sat beside Naomi.
Naomi looked at her.
“Well?”
Celia stared at the door.
“Well what?”
“Do you like him?”
Celia laughed.
“I met him yesterday.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Celia looked down.
She remembered his voice.
His careful questions.
The way he had waited for permission before entering.
The way he had never once suggested that she belonged to him.
“I don't know,” she admitted.
Naomi smiled.
“That's a yes with paperwork.”
Celia threw a pillow at her.
***
Across Chicago, Lorenzo entered his private office.
His security chief, Matteo Russo, waited beside the desk.
“Did you find him?” Lorenzo asked.
Matteo nodded.
“Travis Hail. Thirty-two. Vice president of Hail Development Partners.”
Lorenzo removed his coat.
“And?”
Matteo placed a folder on the desk.
“His company has been moving money through three shell corporations.”
Lorenzo opened the file.
His expression darkened.
One company name appeared repeatedly.
NORTHSTAR HOLDINGS.
Lorenzo knew that name.
He had spent eight months trying to discover who controlled it.
And now the woman he'd pulled from traffic was connected to the man who might lead him there.
Matteo watched him.
“Boss?”
Lorenzo closed the folder.
“Keep her out of this.”
Matteo hesitated.
“She's already in it.”
Lorenzo looked toward the rain-streaked window.
May you like
Then said:
“That's what worries me.”
