Chapter 107 Ch. 77
“I don’t know… I… I want to be with my dad.”
“That’s not safe.”
“Do you think he’s safe?” Zara questioned, sniffling. “What if they come for him? What if they think he’s in on it and…”
Lorenzo rolled his eyes. “You’re sentimental, and that helps nobody.”
“You know how it feels knowing you may lose your son forever, don’t you?” she questioned, walking towards him until she was only a few inches away. “Ethan acts like he hates you, and it bothers you. But you care enough to look after him. You cared enough that you made sure to find him—to find me. And you want another person's father to go through that?”
“Unfortunately, I do not care about anyone else,” he shot back with a tight smile.
“Well, you care about Ethan, so you care about me, so you have to care about my dad.”
“I’ll see what I can do. But I’m not bringing him here.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“It’s all you’re getting from me.”
The door to the basement opened, light from above swooping into it.
Ethan blinked once, adjusting his eyes to the new light. He glanced towards Jace and Dylan and then finally towards his father, who walked slowly down the stairs.
He stopped in front of Ethan and ripped the tape off his mouth painfully. Ethan’s skin turned slightly red before fading back into the pale, almost white skin tone he had.
“Remembered us?”
“How could I forget my precious little son and baby brother? My reckless brother, Matteo.” He ripped the tape from Dylan.
Dylan’s eyes were as furious as Ethan’s. Jace was the only one who appeared unbothered. It seemed as though he reveled in his punishment.
“How did you find us?” Ethan asked.
“Like I said… reckless. Did you think you would snoop around my study—my laptop—and I would not have an idea?” Lorenzo chuckled heartily. “Luciano, I saw you. I watched every file you accessed, and I knew the one you stopped at.”
He pulled the tape from Jace’s mouth and then got a chair from the corner, sitting on it gingerly. “I must ask, though: How did you know where to look?”
“I had a vision… Zara reached out to me,” Ethan sighed, rolling his eyes. There was no point playing cocky or getting on his father's nerves, especially if he wanted to get out of these chains fast.
“Beautiful,” his father replied, then shifted his gaze towards Dylan. “Clean up. You had a plan for that—I hear your girl is back at Neon 24, new identity. Is she to paint a story for us? The police have to be in on it. They are the only ones who can give a plausible story, so how many of them are we compelling?”
Dylan looked like he wanted to rip his brother apart. He caught Ethan’s gaze and then weakened his resolve. “Marcus. He was supposed to get a call from me before police will actually show up. We were going to devise something… something believable.”
“Where can I find him?”
Lorenzo sat on the red leather couch, his left leg crossed over his right. His fingers tapped impatiently by his left side, and then he glanced at the clock on the wall. 7:13 a.m.
It was only a matter of time before the man returned.
His lips stretched into a grin the moment the door unlocked and voices floated in.
“He’s not home. His phone isn’t going through—what if they’re dead?”
“I’m sure they’re fine.”
“We should visit the scene,” the female voice said with worry.
“And what are we going to do? There’s no solid plan,” the deeper voice answered. “Get ourselves killed, too? We need a plan, a plan that won’t involve my office. At least for now.”
“So you’re suggesting we go to the bastard that murdered me? Is that what you’re saying, Marcus?”
“If by that bastard you mean me, yes. That’s the wise thing to do.”
Ivanna and Marcus’s jaws dropped open as they saw Lorenzo sitting casually in the living room.
Ivanna was dressed for work already, while Marcus was in his uniform but looked haphazard.
“I take it you're just coming from work. How’d the night shift go?” Lorenzo asked.
“Dylan and Ethan are in danger. And everyone else who went—you have to do something. Even if you hate your brother, for your son.”
“Oh, they’re fine. Locked up very comfortably in my basement. Say, Ivanna, this new look absolutely suits you. How stunning—and how does it feel to be… in the same workplace acting like you know nothing?”
“So they’re not dead.”
“No, they’re not. And Zara is fine.”
“I want to see Dylan.”
“Now is not the time to play lovey-dovey.” Lorenzo made a face of disgust. “Damage control. That’s what we should focus on.”
Marcus and Ivanna looked at each other.
“It is only a matter of time before patrol police will discover the crime scene. Only a matter of time before it gets to your division. We need the scene to look… a little more… normal? Human?”
“So what’s the plan?” Ivanna asked with a resigned sigh, sinking onto the ground.
“There’s a mystery around the murder of three blonde women—you included,” Lorenzo began.
“How does that have to do with it?”
“We tie everything together.”
“It will be more helpful if you can explain without talking in circles,” Marcus snorted.
Lorenzo smiled. “What two things do vampires do best?”