The masked man on the floor halted, and he shifted to his side and grabbed something from his pocket. He flipped open the pocketknife as if that would somehow save him.
It made no sense. But . . . “Giovanni sent you?”
“Wait, what?” The man behind Natalia stumbled back a shocked step. “How do you know that name? You’re a chef in Charlotte. You shouldn’t know his name unless . . .” His dark gaze fell to the floor.
“Yes, you idiota,” I rasped. “I’m Lorenzo fucking Costa.” I knelt alongside the bastard and snatched the pocketknife from him. “Lower your weapon,” I ordered to the one holding Natalia hostage.
The man hesitantly did what I’d instructed, and Natalia rushed toward Maria. They hugged and backed away from the scene.
I could breathe again, but these three men were about to lose their ability to do so in a moment.
“Get in my office. Lock the door,” I told Maria and Natalia, and once they were out of sight, I stood tall again, lowering the firearm to my side, knowing the only threat in the room now was me.
“We didn’t know,” the man by the door said. “We’d never have taken the job if we realized you were that Costa.” He slowly peeled his mask up because there was no sense hiding his face anymore.
“Giovanni would’ve known,” I coldly remarked. “So who really sent you?” Is this about Bianca?
The man tucked his firearm at the back of his jeans and held up a surrendering hand. God, he was practically a child. He couldn’t have been any older than I’d been when joining the army.
“Tell me what’s going on or I slit his throat.” When they all remained quiet, I took a knee again and set the blade to the man’s throat, almost hoping for a reason to cut. I nicked him, drawing a little blood, my frustration growing by the second.
“Giovanni doesn’t know we’re here,” the man closest to the door shared. “We take side jobs here and there when we get bored.”
Bored? God help these men, because I wasn’t sure if their age would be enough to save them from me. “What’s your name?”
“Jensen. And the truth is, we were offered a lot of money to show up today to give you a beating. Break your arms. Fingers. Those were our instructions. We only take jobs outside of New York so our boss doesn’t find out about our side gigs.”
“Who hired you?”
“We don’t know, I swear,” Jensen replied. “Dark-web kind of thing.”
My jaw tightened, and I shifted the knife away from his throat and slowly stood, pointing the 9mm at Jensen. “Call Giovanni.”
The guy I’d disarmed, who’d been obediently kneeling, begged, “No, Giovanni will kill us for this.”
I grunted and cocked my head. Did I really need to warn him what I’d do if they didn’t listen?
Jensen was quick to follow my order, and he approached with caution while placing the call on speakerphone.
“Why the hell are you calling me at seven in the morning?” Giovanni rasped in a sleepy voice. “Someone better be dying.”
“Someone is about to,” I remarked in a low voice.
“Who is this?” Giovanni slowly asked.
“Lorenzo Costa. Three of your men are at my home in Charlotte. And they were sent here to try and beat me up.”
A string of Italian curses flooded the line before Giovanni said, “I have nothing to do with this. We have a deal. You know I wouldn’t break it.”
“And what about your son-in-law, Nico? I heard he’s taking over soon.” I was testing him. Testing Jensen’s story, too.
“Nico knows better than to mess with a Costa.” He was quiet before saying, “What did you do, Jensen?”
Jensen looked at me, then back at the phone. “We were just trying to make some money on the side. We never, uh, do anything in New York. I promise.” His dark-brown eyes disappeared with every dramatic blink. “I don’t know who hired us.”
“You have until tomorrow to get me the name of whoever the hell did,” I said in a steady, low voice, doing my best not to unleash my anger on the three idiotas in the room with me. “The only reason we tolerate your family is because you’re my mother’s cousin. But believe me when I tell you that won’t stop me from burning your entire operation to the ground if I don’t have a name by tomorrow.”
Giovanni quietly assessed my threat, but he knew better than to fuck with me. Family or not, I meant every word. “What do you plan to do with them? Jensen is my wife’s nephew.”