Chapter Seventeen

Jillian

Our prenatal visit with Dr. Bowers went as expected, with one minor point. He was very old-school, and though I insisted I felt fine, he insisted on treating me as a high-risk pregnancy. That meant more frequent office visits—and more of Damon watching my every move like a hawk zoned in on its prey.

Good thing I enjoyed being my man’s prey.

When the doctor announced I’d need more frequent sonograms to monitor the twins’ growth, the extra visits suddenly didn’t seem all that bad.

“But everything’s okay with Jillian and the babies, right?” Damon instinctively slid his hand across my stomach, cupping the ever-growing bulge in a protective move.

“Everything’s just fine. This is more precautionary since twins tend to come prematurely. The extra sonograms let us measure growth rates from month to month. I prefer to get ahead of any potential problems if at all possible. We’ll do the next one when you come back in two weeks. Do you want to know what you’re having?”

“No, we don’t want to know until the moment they’re born. It’ll kill me to wait from now until then, but I love the thought of being surprised.”

“Technically, Doc, she doesn’t want to know until they’re born. I want to know right now, but I’m going along with this plan because I love her. And because she’s the one who has to go through the pregnancy and delivery, so I figure she deserves to make this call.”

Dr. Bowers laughed with us and nodded. “With her small frame, carrying twins may be a little rough on her toward the end. She’ll be beyond ready to get this over with. But we’ll take good care of her, don’t you worry.”

Of course, that only made Damon even more hypervigilant about my comfort and safety. Had I been the type to take advantage of someone, I could’ve milked the situation for everything I wanted. But since I still enjoyed being moderately independent, I wasn’t ready to give in to being a kept woman. Even if my quote-unquote prison was a beautiful mansion.

“Seriously, Damon, I’m fine. Dr. Bowers just told you not to worry. That doesn’t mean you should worry more than you already do.” We walked out of the doctor’s office, Damon’s hand on my lower back, and headed toward the car.

“He said twins are considered high-risk. That means we have to be more careful with everything you do. More rest. Less stress. Definitely no more shootouts in the middle of the night.”

“Well, I’ll agree to the last part. I’m not staying in bed all the time, though. Your mom is doing all the heavy lifting for the wedding, but I plan to be intimately involved. Put your caveman tendencies away, and realize women have been giving birth to babies for centuries upon centuries now. I’m sure we can manage with all the high-tech care we have today.”

“So, I guess dropping you off at home before I go to Carrie’s to discuss the embezzlement scheme is out of the question, then?”

“That is absolutely out of the question. I’m the one who found every bit of that information. You’re not cutting me out now.”

Later that evening, we pulled into Carrie’s driveway for our working session, but Damon grabbed my arm when I started to reach for the car door handle.

“Babe, seriously, I can open the door for myself. I’m pregnant—not helpless.”

One side of his mouth quirked up in the sexiest smirk. He tilted his head to the side and arched one eyebrow. “Believe me, I know how capable you are, doll. But something is off, I can feel it. Indulge me for a minute and sit right here while I check it out. When I’m sure the coast is clear, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay. We’ll wait right here until you signal it’s safe.” I patted my stomach then watched him exit the car.

The truth was I didn’t like Damon being in the line of fire any more than he liked the idea of me being a target. But since he had more experience in that area than I did, I heeded his warning while I held my breath. He walked around the car, appearing nonchalant when he approached my side, but I knew better. His keen eyes scanned our surroundings, homing in on any potential danger with pinpoint accuracy.

When he opened my door, I knew he’d spotted what had raised his hackles.

“Want to fill me in on what you know, Damon?”

“It seems Lorenzo has volunteered as Carrie’s personal security detail. I wonder if she knows.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s sitting in his car over there.” Without moving his head, Damon indicated the direction with his eyes. “From the look of him, he’s been there for a while. I’d almost think he was on a stakeout if I didn’t already know he’s not a Fed.”

“He worries about Carrie the same way you worry about me. You should cut them some slack, you know. I don’t even know him, and I can tell he’s crazy about her. If he makes her happy, where’s the harm in supporting their relationship?”

“Maybe you’re right, I don’t know. All I know is I was the last one to find out about it, and that didn’t sit well with me. We’ll see. I’m not the Boss yet.”

I laughed out loud before I caught myself. “Damon, you may not have the official title yet, but that doesn’t mean you accept anything less. I mean, your approval of Carrie’s boyfriend holds more weight than anyone else’s.”

“You have a solid argument there, doll. But there’s a reason why they look to me for the final say-so. That’s because my reputation proceeds me, and they’re more afraid to cross me than anyone else.”

“Thank you for further making my point, Damon.”

Carrie met us at the door, and we followed her into the command center in her basement. True to her word, she’d been doing her homework on the accounts and money transfers we believed Geno had made.

“This whole plot just took a new twist.” The excitement in her voice immediately conjured a vision of her rubbing her hands together in an evil madman fashion. “I may have broken in to the offshore account where the money is being deposited and found other deposits. I also may have backtracked those funds to their origins…and found the money that has been trickling out of Lorenzo’s account—the Ponzi scheme account.”

“So, who is behind this—Lorenzo or Geno?” Damon’s expression hardened, and I knew exactly where his thoughts went. If Lorenzo was behind the scheme, his presence outside Carrie’s house might not be benevolent, after all.

“My opinion is this has Geno written all over it. The funds transfers started before the showdown at his garbage station. He wanted his son to take the fall for the money and for Jillian’s mother. He wanted you to kill Lorenzo that night, then while a war raged between the families, he’d take the money for himself and run.” Carrie clicked between screens, showing us the dates and amounts deposited into the offshore account.

“But you don’t know that for sure, right?”

“No, I don’t know for sure, Damon, but I can make an educated guess.”

“You know I don’t work off guesses. I want confirmation.”

“Well, let’s just call up Geno and ask him ourselves. I’m sure he’ll be forthcoming with us about all of his plans.”

“Smartass. I have a better idea. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Carrie looked at me with raised eyebrows when Damon rushed out of the room. That was one battle I wasn’t interested in getting caught in the middle of, so I shrugged my shoulders. “You know how your brother is. Give him a minute, and you’ll have more questions than answers.”

“You just summed up my life with him in one sentence.”

The front door slammed shut just before we heard the sound of heavy footfalls on the stairs—from more than one set of feet. I didn’t have to turn around to see what had so completely caught Carrie’s attention. Or, more accurately, who caught her attention.

“Lorenzo.” She scrunched her eyebrows together while her eyes darted between the two men. “What are you doing here?”

“So you didn’t know, after all.” Damon took his seat next to me and pointed to an empty chair. “Have a seat, Lorenzo.”

“I didn’t know what?” Carrie was still trying to catch up.

“Lorenzo has been parked outside your house for what appears to be a while now. I wasn’t sure if you didn’t know or if you’d hired him as your new security detail.”

“Why have you been sitting outside my house? Has something happened?”

“I don’t trust my dad. He’s still around here somewhere, moving frequently so he doesn’t get caught in one place too long. He’s still in the area for a reason. I don’t want that reason to be you.”

“As it turns out, your presence outside my sister’s house today is very fortunate. If you’re the one running this scheme, we’ll back off and let you have at it. If not, we have other plans for the money. I just need you to be upfront with me either way. Are you running money through the Blaine Financial accounts into an offshore bank?”

“No. I stopped everything when I quit working there soon after Jillian went back to Louisiana. I left my offshore account in place, but that’s the extent of my activities right now. My mind has been otherwise preoccupied.” Lorenzo cut his eyes to Carrie for a split second before meeting Damon’s gaze again. “Who do you think is behind it?”

“We’re almost one hundred percent sure it’s Geno’s operation. You should also know it’s set up to trickle money out of your offshore account. Looks like your father plans to bleed you dry.” Damon kept his eyes locked on to Lorenzo’s, gauging his reaction to the news. Deciding if Lorenzo was telling the truth or not.

When Damon realized Lorenzo honestly didn’t know anything about it, Damon’s facial features relaxed and a shadow of empathy passed across his eyes. He understood how a close family member’s betrayal shook the very core of a man.

“Carrie, can you put Lorenzo’s money back and stop any future transfers?”

“Sure. It’ll take a little time to make the money route through different accounts and different countries before it deposits into his account so nothing can be traced back to me. But I can stop the future transfers right now with no problem.”

Damon nodded, giving Carrie the green light, and she turned back to her computer, her fingers began flying across the keyboard while she worked her hacker coding magic.

“Listen, Lorenzo. After we put your money back, we’re taking the rest of the money Geno stole and giving it to Maria. She hasn’t been around since Leo died, but we’re not going to leave her out in the cold for something she didn’t know was happening. The thing is, I want Geno to know it was me. I want him to come after me so I can end this once and for all. Any suggestions how I can accomplish that?”

“Cryptic clues are always an option, but I prefer the direct approach. I’ll be glad to give you his cell number. Text him and tell him. Send him a picture of his account balance. Sign your name. He’ll eventually figure it out.” The grin on Lorenzo’s face left no doubt he liked the idea of helping plot revenge against his father.

“Great idea. That could give you away too, though. He’ll assume you gave me his number.”

“Let him assume whatever he wants. I don’t give a fuck what he thinks. I’m ready for him if he wants to come after me, too.”

We talked while Carrie worked for several hours straight, routing money transfers through several shell corporations, across oceans, and finally back into Lorenzo’s account. When it came time to transfer the money from Geno to Maria, she wasn’t as careful. She found his IP address and cloned it so it appeared the money was transferred directly from him. When the transaction was complete, she took a screenshot of Geno’s zero balance and sent it to Damon.

“The Marchetti Family would like to thank you for your generous donation to Maria Marchetti in her hour of need. She will live comfortably for the rest of her years on the millions you gifted her. From my family to you, thank you. –Damon”

He hit send with a smile and waited for the message to be delivered.

“Did you hear that? It’s funny, but I swear I just heard my name being cursed all the way from Brooklyn.”

Funny wasn’t the word I’d use to describe it. I felt the same sensation, only it felt more like a warning of what was to come.