Shielded Wrongs (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 4)

The moment my foot touched the mat, it felt like my body relaxed beneath me. It was where I belonged. Where I’d grown up, even when my parents encouraged me to explore more girly endeavors. Softening my expression as I turned my attention back to her, I didn’t beat around the bush as I got right to the point. Time wasted was time she could spend learning. “What’s your primary concern? Sexual assault? Being taken to a different location? Being beaten?”

“All of it,” she whispered meekly. “I have no clue where to start, to be honest.”

“Okay,” I said sadly, walking to the center of the mat. “I can work with that.”

Unfortunately, I’d worked with that far too often for my comfort. I could only hope it helped her as much as it had helped Ivory and Samara.

2

Enzo

Strolling in the front doors of Indulgence, I nodded to Dom as I passed, and he closed the doors behind me. Even when the club wasn't open, we always kept a bouncer on every point of entry.

When you made as many enemies as Matteo Bellandi, security was just the smart thing to do. "All's quiet, Boss," Dom said with a return nod, and I resisted the urge to wince. I knew damn well that with Lino managing the new properties and Matteo operating the more criminal side of the business, the men had started seeing me as their supervisor.

I was, in a way, but I also wasn't.

I didn't want to be.

The manager, Armando, should have been their boss. But since he wasn't part of the Bellandi family, that seemed to fall to me by default. I missed the days when I'd been just another sergeant taking orders from my commanding officers. Those times were much simpler, much more guilt free. In contrast, being in charge meant that if something went wrong, the blame was on me.

I didn't want that kind of responsibility when it was all I could do to keep my shit together half the time.

One booming noise.

That was all that stood between me and a gripping flashback that stripped away reality and plunged me back into my own living nightmare.

One sound. One vibration. One moment.

And then everything was gone.

"That's what I like to hear," I told Dom, giving a two-finger salute and making my way towards the front bar where Ash stood making sure it was set up for the night. Sundays didn't normally draw in a huge crowd, but Valentine's Day was another story. Indulgence filled with singles ready for random hook ups and hoping to find their forever while they drank their way to the bottom of a bottle. The gift card industry that capitalized on love and the desperation for an ever after that didn't exist, truly did a number on the single women in the city who acted like they'd failed at life simply because they were alone.

What was wrong with being alone?

There was nothing sexier than a woman who owned her single status and thrived in it, rather than wallowing in despair because she didn't have a man to call her own.

The woman who stepped into my path and blocked me from having a conversation with Ash was one of the ones looking for a meal ticket. I hated to think it about any woman, thanks to having five sisters, but there came a time where even I’d had enough. Even being raised to respect women couldn’t change the fact that she offered herself up on a platter any chance she got, despite my lack of interest.

"There you are, Lorenzo," she purred, the too-high tone to her voice grating on my ears in a way that did not mix well with the name I hated. Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever called me Lorenzo.

Her strapless little black dress clung to every curve, and even though I couldn't deny she was a beautiful woman, my cock didn't so much as twitch. "I've told you not to call me that. It's Enzo. Always Enzo," I reminded her, and then I side-stepped her to get to my true target.

I had way too much shit to do to deal with Vanessa's crap. Knocking my knuckles on the counter, I stared Ash down and waited. When he didn't provide any information and his face twisted into a mocking grin, I rolled my eyes. "Pick up and deliveries go as planned?" I asked.

"Smooth as could be. The product is gone. The cash is in."

"Good. Did Bryan come to pick up the cash yet?" Vanessa's eyes felt heavy on my spine, and I knew she studied every word that passed between us.

She wouldn't talk, and she knew the score. But that didn't mean that I wasn't bothered by the fact that the woman knew any details of the less savory part of the Bellandi business. It was just another reason that I'd never touch her.

A scorned woman who knew my dirty laundry was not my idea of a good time. I took security risks seriously. And that one had a flashing red warning sign etched onto her ass.

Do not fucking touch.

I was good with that, at any rate. The last thing I wanted was to get drunk on whatever love Kool-Aid seemed to be in the air. "Not yet," Ash said, nodding his head at Vanessa over my shoulder and motioning her on to get back to work setting up at the back bar. She let out an audible scoff, undoubtedly wanting to annoy me some more, before she moved on finally.

Tapping the bar one more time, I turned and spun for the stairs in a hurry to escape before anyone could follow me. Once I rounded the top, I found the privacy of my office and closed the door behind me with a sigh of relief.