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No wonder I couldn’t keep my nose where it belonged.
“What about the matching tattoos you guys have? Is that like a gang thing?”
Lorenzo laughs. “You think we’re going to put physical proof on our bodies of our connection? That’s asking for trouble. No. Santi and I did that in our last year in college, when we realigned our vision and decided to get serious about our desire to take down the business. The night we met Ted, we got the ink.”
He lifts his shirt up to reveal the tattoo, but it’s not what catches my attention. My eyes are popping at another tattoo, one that wasn’t there before. It’s inked directly over his heart.
A moon.
“Almost like you're the moon and I’m a hatching sea turtle. I just want to follow the path that leads me to you.”
I know there are words coming from his mouth, but I can’t process any of them. I’m left gaping, unwilling to believe what I’m seeing. It can’t be about me… it just can’t.
But every part of my heart, which is quickly being pieced back together, knows it’s true.
“What is that?” I ask in a whispered tone. He follows my line of sight, and as though he’s only just remembering what’s there, his eyes shoot back to mine. And he looks scared. Vulnerable. Lit on fire.
“I needed something to remember you by…”
“A tattoo?! That’s so permanent! You weren’t even my boyfriend!”
“Haven’t you pieced it together by now, princess? I couldn’t risk having a girlfriend. You were never supposed to happen. I couldn’t have any liabilities lying around. If Marco ever caught us, if he everknew, anyone that meantanythingto me would be dead.”
The gravity of his tone forces me to believe him.
“It was killing me not seeing you, not talking to you… and then you moved locations…” His eyes water. “I knew it was for the best. Not because we shouldn’t be together, but because I shouldn’t have ever put you at risk. I was desperate when I asked you to let me explain. But when you ignored me, and I calmed down, I realized… it’s for the best. That one day, I’d be able to explain. Once my father was taken down, and I didn’t have to live in fear. I’d sacrificed this long, I could sacrifice a bit longer.”
His words trigger a memory from months ago in Santi’s garage.
“We don’t get to make those kinds of choices, Zo!”
“I’m not stopping. This is the limit for me. I’ve sacrificed enough!”
I stare at him. Everything… It makes perfect sense. The puzzle pieces fit.
“Say something, princess,” Lorenzo whispers. I meet his worried eyes.
“Tell me what happened tonight,” I say, needing every last bit of information. He recounts the entire takedown, leaving my mouth hanging open when he explains how close he was to killing Marco.
Once the FBI had hold of Marco and Rowan, they raided the closet to retain the evidence. Their fathers are likely in jail cells already, or enroute to be. Santi and Lorenzo returned to Ted’s office to sign paperwork releasing them from their roles as confidential informants, as well as agreeing to testify in court in exchange for pardon of their crimes.
“You’re the only reason I didn’t kill him, you know,” he concludes. “I had to see you tonight.”
Is that supposed to be romantic?“I… this is a lot. I don’t trust you.”
He looks disheartened, but he nods in understanding. “I don’t blame you.”
“You shot a man!”
“He was prepared to kill you!”
“But you could have just knocked him out or something! Why would you want the man’s death on your conscience?”
“Do you really think I’m going to let a man that touched you walk away with his life?” He lets out a dark chuckle. “No one hurts you and gets away with it.”
His expression turns murderous, and I’m suddenly grateful I wasn’t able to turn in time to see him pull the trigger. It likely would have scared me more than anything, and I don’t need that image seared into my brain.
“I…”
