Page 55 of Lorenzo

I finish the last of my pizza as Mike turns away, hunching his shoulders over his phone.

Then I make my way out of the restaurant.

I can’t wait to tell Gina tomorrow. Maybe The Rod isn’t what her restaurant needs after all.

CHAPTER 23

EMILY

Iwalk out of the restaurant. The sky had gone fully dark while we were eating.

Stars shine in the sky. But it’s not a friendly twinkle.

It’s almost like a mocking smirk.

Oh, shit. I’m not one to believe in Macbeth-like premonitions.

But at this moment, it’s easy to buy into the world of supernatural warnings.

Just then, the full moon slides out from behind a cloud.

It hangs there, enormous and pale, flooding the empty street in a wash of cold silver light.

I pull my jacket tighter and keep moving.

The street widens into what should be a main road. A road where I’ll find a cab. But there are no cabs. No headlights. No traffic noise at all.

Just a streetlight buzzing at the corner.

I keep walking. No way will I find a cab here. I have two choices. Google for a car service or call Lorenzo.

Lorenzo doesn’t seem like the type to welcome any woman’s call in distress.

But I’m not really in distress, am I?

I peer down at my phone to Google a taxi company.

Only when I hear footsteps behind me do I turn around.

But by then, it’s too late.

CHAPTER 24

LORENZO

It’s the crazy hour at Inferno when the barman beckons me over.

The floor is packed, the music loud enough to feel in your back teeth, and every table runs a tab that won’t be settled until near sunrise.

“Hey, boss,” the barman says, shoving the house phone across the bar toward me. The cord is stretched taut. “Your butler’s on the phone.”

Butler? He must mean Ciro. But Ciro would never use the house phone.

“What is it, Ciro?” I say into the phone.

“Sorry for disturbing you, sir. But we couldn’t reach you on your cell. It’s Miss Gina.”

“The baby? Gina? They’re okay, right?” I ask, my gut twisting.