For the Love of Flowers

by Kelsey Hodge

  I’m lost for words as I climb into the backseat. When Frank settles into the driver’s seat, I utter, “Thank you.”

  “So, is that over with now?” he asks, and I know what he’s referring to.

  “Yes,” I reply. I look up the side of the hotel to try to see the room where the love of my life is sleeping. “I won’t be seeing Wyatt again.” I look him in the eyes via the rear-view mirror, so he knows I’m honest. “Please take me home now.” I manage to get the sentence out before my voice breaks, and I allow a single tear to slide down my cheek.

  Chapter 28 - Wyatt

  I wake up and stretch. That has been the best night’s sleep I’ve had since Lorenzo left. I reach out my arm to him, hoping, more than knowing he would be there. I’m not surprised when all my arm finds is fresh air. I turn to lie on my back, flop my hands over my eyes, and sigh. I have a feeling it’ll be a lot harder to continue without Lorenzo, but I regret nothing of what happened last night. It’s now time to get back to reality. I roll away from his side of the bed and walk into the bathroom. I need a shower. I turn on the faucet and set it to hot; my muscles need it this morning. Once the water is up in temperature, I jump in, and the heat of the water tingles for a few seconds until my body gets used to it. I stand there for a long time, letting the water wash over me. When I feel the temperature decrease, it’s time to get out. I quickly wash my body and hair. I grab a large towel and wrap it around my waist and then with one of the small hand towels, rub it over my hair as I walk back into the bedroom. That’s when I see the note on the side table. The name ‘Wyatt’ almost screams at me, and my first reaction is to throw it away without reading it. I don’t think I’ll like what it says, but I’m fooling myself. I sit on the edge of the bed and open it.

  What we did last night was foolish, but I don’t regret it. I’ve missed you so much. But we can’t do it again, the risks are too high.

  Wyatt, please stay away from me, for your safety and mine. Don’t try to make contact; I’ll contact you when I need to.

  I love you, remember, and that will never change.

  Please take care,

  Lorenzo X

  It almost feels like Lorenzo is saying goodbye, and I scrunch up the paper and throw it over my shoulder. I need to talk to Liam. I need to get Lorenzo out. I need to make sure he’s safe. I walk over to my bag and pull out my cell to send a text to Liam. The sooner we meet, the sooner I can arrange for Lorenzo to come home.

  >Can you get to my place? Need to talk.

  I keep staring at the phone until I get his reply.

  >Was about to text you. Yeah, I can get to your place. Give me thirty minutes.

  The relief I feel is immediate. Once I explain everything to Liam, he’ll agree with me, and we can make a plan to get Lorenzo out. I dress in fresh blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt, but I must hunt for my biker boots, which I find under the desk in the corner. I run my hands through my still-damp hair to make it less messy looking and throw the rest of my stuff in my messenger bag. In the corner of my eye, I see the crumpled-up note from Lorenzo. I had planned to throw it away, but at the last second, I pick it up and put it in my bag. With an ultimate check to make sure I have everything, I leave the hotel room. Once I’m in the lobby, I pray that the checkout will be simple. I’m pleased to find a letterbox inlaid in the desktop with the words, ‘Check out key.’ I push the key card in the slot and make my way outside.

  I’m walking back to the apartment when I feel a presence behind me. At first, I’m not sure if it’s following me, so ignore it. As I change directions to get back to the apartment, the presence copies me, so I walk a little faster. The person keeps up with me, and when we’re about five minutes from the apartment, we pass a small side alley full of dumpsters. I feel a firm hand on my arm, pulling down the alley. I should fight, but I don’t want to make a scene on the sidewalk. I plan to change that once we’re in the quiet of the alley. I go with it and walk down the alley with the stranger. Passing a large blue dumpster, I expect to be pushed roughly against the wall. I’m surprised when he turns me around and moves his hand to the top of my shoulder and pushes down. He follows me so that the dumpster hides us if anyone were to look up the alley. At this point, I look up to see the face of the mysterious man who came to visit Lorenzo in the hospital.

  “Frank!” I ask, baffled.

  “Wyatt,” he says, but there are no pleasantries in his voice. “Do you mind telling me what the fuck you were doing yesterday?”

  Wow, this guy is very blunt and to the point. “I needed to see him. He looked so unhappy.”

  “Do you even realize the danger you put him in, or you for that matter?”

  “I was careful,” I reply defensively. “When I was in the shop, anybody looking in would have thought I was a customer.”

  “You’re fucking kidding, right?” He laughs almost menacingly. “All you had to do is look at Lorenzo and even a child could guess his feelings. You’re damn fucking lucky Alfredo is still asking me to check on him. Anybody else, and we could be having a different, very unpleasant conversation at this point.”

  I’m about to argue with him again, but Frank continues, “Stay the fuck away from Lorenzo. Do you understand me?” There’s no doubting the venom behind his voice.

  I don’t know why, but I say, “He’s not happy.”

  “You don’t think I can’t fucking see that for myself? Why do you think I let him have those hours with you yesterday?”

  This time, I’m genuinely confused. “You know about that?”

  “Of course I do. I covered for him. But I won’t do it again! STAY. THE. FUCK. AWAY!” he says slowly, pronouncing every word so I get the message.

  “And if I can’t?” I reply.

  “Then put simply, he’s a dead man. His father will find out, and that will be it.”

  The scariest thing about that statement is the truth behind his eyes and the pain. I then realize he doesn’t want to see him dead any more than I do.

  “You love him?” I say to him.

  I can’t believe it, but the hard man in front of me softens a little. “Yeah I do, but not in the way you’re thinking. I see him almost like the son I never had. Which is why I want him safe.” Just like that, the hard man is back in front of me. “So, do me a favor…”

  Before he finishes, I say, “Stay away.”

  He smiles, stands to his feet, looks down at me, and says, “Glad we understand each other.” With that, he walks down the alley and vanishes from sight.

  Holy shit, did that fucking happen! First, the note from Lorenzo to stay away, then Frank saying the same. I’m even more confident that we must get him out. Maybe I can try to get him into witness protection. The only problem is that he won’t want to leave his flowers. Being around them seems to help him, but I must do something. I need to get home and talk to Liam.

  Thankfully, by the time I get to my building, Liam isn’t waiting outside for me. I head up to the apartment, let myself in, and head straight to the kitchen to get a pot of coffee on. Coffee will be needed the moment he arrives. I grab two mugs out the cupboard and place them on the countertop. Soon after, the security phone buzzes. Knowing it’s Liam, I press the buzzer to let him in and put the front door on the latch, so he can come straight in. I’m pouring coffee into the mugs when I hear voices coming into the apartment. That stops me in my tracks; it means that someone is with Liam, and I’m not expecting that. Walking to the voices, I’m surprised to see Marco with him. I look to Liam and raise an eyebrow.

  “After I received your text this morning, and after yesterday, I guess whatever you need to talk me about involves Lorenzo. So, I contacted Marco to join us,” Liam says to me.

  “I didn’t know you guys were in contact with each other,” I say. Lorenzo had told me he had given Marco my contact details, but I wasn’t aware Liam had been given them too

  “When Lorenzo gave me your details, I thought it best I have Liam’s too,” Marco explains. “Just in case I
couldn’t get in touch with you in an emergency.”

  “Oh, right,” I say. “That makes sense, I suppose.” Now isn’t the time to dwell on this, so I turn back into the kitchen and pull out another cup from the cupboard.

  “How do you like your coffee, Marco?” I ask.

  “Just cream and sugar, please.” He pauses for a second before asking sheepishly, “You don’t happen to have French vanilla creamer, do you?”

  I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I have it. It’s Lorenzo favorite, so I’ve been keeping some just in case.”

  “Oh cool, no sugar then please,” Marco replies.

  “Cannot believe you drink this stuff too,” I say as I go to the fridge and pull out the creamer and pour a little into the coffee cup before handing it to Marco. I make up Liam’s and give his mug to him. After making my own cup, I take a grateful sip before walking back out to them. I point to the kitchen table.

  “Let’s talk,” I tell them, and we all make our way over to the table. I notice that Liam and Marco sit opposite me and stare. I get the feeling this conversation won’t go as I thought, but I carry on anyway.

  “I saw Lorenzo yesterday,” I start and before I can continue, Marco interrupts me. He isn’t too happy.

  “How do you mean you saw Lorenzo? Did you check on him like Liam is doing, or did you actually talk to him?” Marco asks.

  How the fuck does he know Liam has been spying on Lorenzo? Who the fuck told him and why? If it was Liam, why is he bringing Marco into all of this? Lorenzo will have a fit when he finds out. The last thing he would want is for Marco to somehow get involved. What would happen then if their dad found out? After the conversation with Frank this morning, I have a feeling the planet would be missing two Romano bothers. I’ll have to remember to ask Liam about all this. Now, my priority is Lorenzo and getting him home, so I answer him truthfully, “As in I went with Liam to check on him, saw how unhappy he was, and went into the shop to talk to him.”

  Just when I think Marco will let loose on me, he turns toward Liam.

  “You let him talk to Lorenzo? Are you fucking insane? What if someone saw them?” Marco says, and you can hear the angry undertones, even though he’s trying to keep calm.

  “I didn’t have the chance to stop him—he’s fast when he wants to be,” Liam replies, trying to add some humor, but Marco is having none of it.

  “You should have been faster!” he states.

  “I had planned to go into the shop and drag him out, but Lorenzo looked so happy to see him. I stood back and let them have five minutes. I kept a lookout, but I didn’t see anyone. I think we’re safe,” Liam answers him, and I’m not sure if I should throw gasoline onto the flames.

  “We were seen.”

  Gasoline might have been an understatement, considering the color Marco has gone and the daggers he’s currently shooting at Liam and me.

  “By whom?” he says through gritted teeth.

  “Frank,” I say and watch his reaction. I’m surprised to see him calm down. “Is that a good thing?”

  “Actually yes. From what Lorenzo has told me about Frank over the last month, he’s probably the only good guy on Dad’s payroll,” he replies.

  “Good guy. He was scary as shit earlier,” I mutter, unfortunately loud enough for them to hear.

  “Earlier?” Liam asks, “Wyatt, what the fuck is going on?”

  “After I spoke to Lorenzo, I kinda booked a room in a hotel for us and sent the details to him, hoping we would meet up.”

  At the same time, Marco and Liam shout, “You did what!!?”

  “I sent all the details to the cell I got him. I had no idea if he would turn up or not, but I had hoped.”

  “So, that was the family emergency yesterday afternoon,” Liam says. “I should totally kick your ass, you shit.”

  “I wasn’t lying. Lorenzo is my family.” He had thought I was talking about something to do with my parents or brother and sister. “Anyway, he turned up, and it was amazing. Then everything went downhill, especially when I woke this morning to an empty bed and this note.” I pull the note Lorenzo left me and flatten it out. You could still tell it had been crumpled up. “When I was walking back here, Frank pulled me into an alley to basically tell me the same. He can be scary as shit.”

  “Well, that explains Lorenzo’s behavior this morning,” Marco says, and Liam and I look at him this time. “He was down this morning. Sadder than I had seen him in weeks. Of course until Dad spotted it.”

  “Shit, what happened then?” I ask, worried.

  “Lorenzo thought fast on his feet and said it was a slow day in the shop and that the meeting with his friend didn’t go as he had hoped. He was very gender neutral in his conversation, but I think Dad thought it was a girl. Even though Lorenzo was down, the thought he had gone on a date made Dad happy, but Lorenzo seemed to retreat further back into himself. Seeing you and then leaving must have been hard on him.”

  I take this as an ideal point to discuss my idea. “Well, that’s why I wanted to talk to Liam this morning. I want to get Lorenzo out.” I sit and wait for their answers. They both shoot each other a look, and Liam responds first. My heart sinks with his response. “Not going to happen,” he says to me.

  “Why?” I reply, trying not to sound whiney.

  “This was Lorenzo’s plan. We have to trust him to know what he’s doing.”

  “He’s so unhappy. Surely, there must be another way to bring Alfredo down without having Lorenzo hurt anymore,” I try, hoping to persuade them to change their minds.

  “Yes, he’s unhappy. I won’t deny that. He knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but I don’t think he thought it would go on this long. He’s determined to see this through to the end and like Liam said, we have to trust him.” Marco takes a breath. “He knows that all this hardship will be worth when we’re both free.”

  “If we can get him out, get him into witness protection, and still take his dad down, you would still be free,” I say for one last time.

  “Do you honestly think he would go into witness protection? I don’t.” Marco asks, and I must admit he’s right.

  “No, I don’t. What if he stayed in the apartment?” I try again.

  “And what, make him a prisoner in his own home? You know he won’t stand for that either,” Liam argues.

  “So, what do I do?” I say, desperate.

  They give me a sorry look, and Liam whispers, “Listen to him. Stay away permanently. I’ll still check on him. I promise that if I see anything different, I’ll tell you.”

  Marco adds, “I’ll try to send more updates too. Other than that, we must let Lorenzo do this. All of us need to have some patience.”

  Because this is no longer up for discussion, I add, “This sucks.”

  “We know!”

  Marco looks at his watch and says, “I have to get going. I promise to keep in contact.” With that, he gets up from the table and walks to the front door. I suddenly think of something that might keep me going.

  “Hey Marco, wait for a second. Can I have a word…” I get up from my chair and point to the door. “Outside.” I don’t bother to turn to see the WTF expression that’ll be on Liam’s face. I place the lock on the latch, so I’m not locked out and close the door.

  “What is it?” Marco asks. He’s wary about why I want to talk to him outside.

  “Look, this is coming out of left field, but it might keep me going until the end… It makes sure you’ll keep him safe.”

  “What are you going on about, Wyatt?” Marco asks, his face full of confusion.

  “I love your brother, more than I ever thought I could.” At this, he nods at me. “If this were any normal situation, I would talk to your dad.” Marco’s eyes widen; he has guessed what’s coming. “As there’s no way I can ask your dad, who else can I ask but his brother.” I take a deep breath. “When this is all over and enough time has passed, I want your blessing to ask Lorenzo to marry me.”

  Even though he guess
ed it was coming, he’s still surprised. “You’re asking for my permission to marry Lorenzo,” he says again, and I nod. “OMG!” I see the tears in his eyes. “Of course you have my permission. I can’t think of a better man for Lorenzo than you. Thank you for asking me; that means a lot.” He pulls me into a painful hug and whispers, “I’ll keep him safe. I promise. I’ll get him back to you.” He lets me go, turns, and hurries down the hall to the elevator. I make my way back into the apartment, feeling better. I know Marco will keep his promise, and Lorenzo will come home to me.

  Chapter 29 - Lorenzo

  Two months later

  It has been a long three months, and the only thing that has kept me going is those few hours I spent with Wyatt. He has stayed away as he promised. He has made no contact whatsoever; the only information I have is when I beg Marco, so I stay sane. Even then, all I get is, ‘He’s fine. Misses you but is waiting as best he can.’ I’m not sure how much longer I can do this. When I came up with this plan all those months ago, I had thought Dad would only take a couple of weeks to take me back under his wing. I forgot it was Dad I was talking about, and it had taken almost a month before there had been any improvement. Even longer before he talked to me about the business. I had made sure that during this time, I followed any instructions he had given me, hoping he would trust me sooner. I’m not sure if the news of Dad organizing the attack on me had made the rounds, but everyone seemed to do their best not to annoy him. This meant that I hadn’t been asked to take anyone out, and I was thankful for that. I only wanted to use my gun one last time, when I killed Dad.

  The only good thing to come out of this entire situation is the amount of time I spend with Marco. He comes to visit more often, and I know the reason is to make sure I’m safe, so he can report back to Wyatt and Liam, but it’s still lovely. When we’re alone and know we won’t get caught, we talk about boyfriends we’ve had, the famous men we fancy, if we have a type. I wish I had known about him before. But then we both might have come out together, and I shudder at the thought of what might’ve happened. Even though it would have been nice, the way it had happened is the safest way for Marco. We’re making up for lost time, and I can’t help but hope that once this is all over, the closeness isn’t lost.