was surrounded by peace and quiet with only my thoughts to keep me occupied. Thoughts that I kept at bay by being busy. But now they were at the forefront, demanding the change that was in motion.
I pulled my cell out and typed an email to the lawyer handling the purchase of the new house I was buying. I needed it to go through quicker, even if it meant spending more money. The faster we got out of this place, the better.
Just as I clicked send, my satellite phone rang. Lorenzo’s name flashed on the screen, so I snapped it up, answering, “Boss?”
“Need you at the mansion asap.” He didn’t say another word as the line went dead. It was straight to the point, giving nothing away, just like he always was. My body worked on automatic as I stood and headed to my room. Once I was changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I headed toward the front door.
Fuck.
I halted. I couldn’t leave the kids here alone with Mom. I’d never left them on their own during the night. If I’d had to go and handle business during the darkness, I called the babysitter in, but now we didn’t have one. Goddammit.
My heart raced. There was no way in hell I couldn’t go to the mansion. Lorenzo had called, and you didn’t just not turn up when he demanded you there.
I glanced around the apartment, trying to search for answers when my gaze landed on a bright-pink hair tie Chiara had left on the table.
Luna. I could ask Luna.
Her words from a few days ago echoed in my mind. If you ever need anything…
This was that time. I needed her, even though I didn’t want to admit it fully. I’d read her full background check and I knew more about her than possibly even she did. Her parents were addicts, had been before she was born. She’d grown up in the same house as them, never leaving their side. She’d even moved them here with her. Maybe they were getting a fresh start. But something in her eyes told me that it hadn’t gone to plan. Not only that, but I wasn’t the only one who had noticed the random people going in and out of her door.
We lived in a rough part of town, one where we didn’t intrude on people’s lives, mainly because we didn’t want people poking their noses into our own business. Which was why I hadn’t said anything to her.
But right now, I needed her. So I opened the apartment door and rushed up the stairs. I’d never been up here to her apartment, but I didn’t need to to know which one hers was. I’d stared at the peeling paint of the door way too many times since I’d found out which number she lived in, thanks to the background check.
Music blasted through the apartment door and I frowned. I didn’t know Luna, but from the few times I’d met her and spoken to her, she didn’t come across as a party girl. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after—
The door swung open followed by a small squealed, “Holy fuck.” I stared down at Luna, narrowing my eyes and trying to figure her out. She was a mystery to me, one that begged to be solved. Too bad I had too much on my plate to even consider it. “You scared the life out of me.” She laughed, the sound too high. Her hand landed on her chest, and I moved my attention down to it. Her breathing was faster, causing her tank top to pull taut.
My nostrils flared and I clenched my hands at my sides to keep them there. There was no doubt that Luna was beautiful in a haunted kind of way. Her brown hair was always up in either a messy bun or a braid. Today was a mixture of the two. Her eyes, clear and focused, pulled me in, but they were nothing compared to her full lips. Lips that were always bare of any lipstick but that begged to be touched.
Fuck. I couldn’t think like this, not now. Not when I needed something from her. I was using her for my own gain, but at that moment, I didn’t care how it made me look.
I pulled in a breath and the sickly-sweet smell of drugs wafted from the apartment. “You on drugs?”
Luna raised her brows and stepped out of the apartment, closing the