Chapter 3 Provocation

Leah hooked her arm through Nathaniel's as they came out of the alley.

Her flushed cheeks made her look like a girl who'd just been caught sneaking a treat, giving passersby all kinds of ideas.

Out on Fifth Avenue, traffic humming along without a break.

Nathaniel was thinking about where to go next when Leah suggested they eat first.

She wanted to know what it felt like to have a meal together like a real couple.

It was right around dinnertime anyway, so Nathaniel was happy to agree.

Leah wound through the streets with practiced ease and led them to a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Then she ordered without hesitation: spaghetti bolognese, fried calamari rings, tiramisu.

Nathaniel added a bottle of Chianti.

Halfway through the meal, Leah suddenly looked up, a smear of tomato sauce still on the corner of her mouth. "Oh right, I still don't know your name."

"Nathaniel."

"That's it? No last name?"

Should he tell her that after his marriage he'd taken Rosalia's surname and was now Colombo?

Better not.

"So what do you do?"

"Nothing. I'm between things."

"Liar." Leah pursed her lips. "Someone with nothing going on doesn't scare Cameron off with one sentence."

"I'm serious." Nathaniel cut into a calamari ring. "Just lost my job. Looking for something new."

"What did you do before?"

Nathaniel thought for a moment, then answered sideways. "You ever heard of someone whose job is making problems go away?"

"Like a hired muscle?"

"A step above that." Nathaniel took a sip of wine. "More like a... problem terminator."

Leah blinked but didn't push further. She might be naive, but she wasn't stupid. Some things you just don't ask about.

By the end of the meal, the waiter came over with a smile and set down the bill.

Leah glanced at it, dug through her purse, and her face fell. She'd left her card at home.

She looked over at Nathaniel with the most pitiful expression she could manage.

Nathaniel picked up the bill and scanned it.

Three hundred and sixty-three dollars. Round it up with the tip — four hundred even.

"Leah, don't tell me you're broke." Nathaniel rolled his eyes.

"I only brought seven hundred in cash," she said quietly. "I already gave you five hundred. That doesn't leave enough."

The waiter shot Nathaniel a look that said it all: good-looking guy, turns out he's broke — living off his girlfriend and making her pick up the tab too.

"I owe you. I'll pay you back double when we get back." Leah promised.

"One night with me and we'll call it even." Nathaniel threw her earlier words right back at her.

Leah's face went red in an instant. She shot him a sharp glare.

After dinner, Leah figured whatever they did next couldn't cost too much money.

But Nathaniel already had somewhere in mind.

"Come with me to look at some furniture." He put his phone away and flagged down a cab.

A black SUV quietly pulled out and followed them.

Cameron was in the back seat, phone to his ear.

"Yes, Mr. Adams. We have eyes on Ms. Adams right now. Still can't find anything on the man she's with."

"Understood. I'll keep close watch."

A moment later, something about the route started to feel familiar. Cameron went tense. "Mr. Adams, we have a situation. The man is taking Ms. Adams to the Calvino family's Furniture Center."

......

The Furniture Center sat in the southern part of Brooklyn — officially a large furniture showroom, covering over twenty thousand square feet.

Floor-to-ceiling windows displayed Italian leather sofas, solid wood dining tables, and crystal chandeliers. All very legitimate-looking. Nothing to hide.

But Nathaniel knew the real money was in the basement and the warehouse out back.

By the time they arrived, it was fully dark. The parking lot out front had several black SUVs, all with covered plates.

Leah spotted the glaring "Townwide Furniture Center" sign.

Her expression shifted. She stared at Nathaniel in surprise.

Her body was trembling. Nathaniel glanced at her, then reached over and ruffled her hair.

"You paid me. Might as well do the job right." He smiled.

The sudden gesture caught her off guard. Her heart skipped a beat.

Nathaniel didn't rush to get out. He waited.

Until another black SUV pulled up and stopped.

Then he got out and knocked on the window.

Cameron was inside.

"Why are you here?" Cameron had the unsettling feeling that Nathaniel was someone he couldn't read at all.

"Fill me in on my girlfriend's engagement. I don't like flies buzzing around what's mine."

Everyone in the car froze.

Was he just calling the Calvino family flies?

Shortly after, the group pushed through the glass doors of the Furniture Center.

Leah led the way with her arm around Nathaniel, Cameron and his men behind them.

Inside was a bright, open showroom. A few staff in work uniforms were adjusting price tags.

The air carried that distinct smell of new furniture — wood and leather mixed together.

Seeing the group come in like they owned the place, a blonde employee stepped forward right away while the others quietly slipped through a fire door.

"Welcome, everyone. How can I help you today?" Her smile was perfectly professional.

Nathaniel didn't look at her. He walked straight toward the fire door at the far end of the showroom.

The employee's expression flickered. She moved quickly to cut him off. "Sir, that's a staff-only area. It's not open to the public."

"Stand down. This is Ms. Adams of the Adams family." Cameron snapped.

The employee's face changed completely. She pressed her earpiece and murmured something.

Less than thirty seconds later, the fire door swung open from the inside. Four heavyset men walked out — all in black shirts, collars slightly open, something bulging at their waists.

The one in front was in his early forties, a scar cutting through his left eyebrow. He had the kind of hard edge that only comes from years of street-level violence.

His eyes swept over Nathaniel, then settled on Leah. A slow, unreadable smile crossed his face. "Well, if it isn't the little princess of the Adams family. Couldn't wait, huh? Came to meet your future husband early?"

Leah went pale but bit down and said nothing.

Nathaniel stepped forward, putting himself between her and the man.

"I'm Nathaniel. Leah's boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" The man's face darkened. He looked past Nathaniel at Cameron with contempt. "Cameron, what's the Adams family trying to pull here? They looking to break the engagement?"

Cameron glanced at Nathaniel, at a loss.

He had no idea what Nathaniel was trying to do either.

"Theo, your face is covered in scars. There's no way I'm marrying you." Leah shot back, her voice hard.

"Leah, once we're married, I'll show you exactly what scars are about." Theo Calvino grinned. "Word is you're still a virgin. That's worth more than gold." The men around him burst out laughing.

Then, without warning, a wad of spit flew like a bullet straight into Theo's throat.

His face twisted. He gagged hard.

The whole room stared at Nathaniel in shock.

He had just spit into Theo's mouth.

That took serious nerve.

"You spit on me, you piece of—" Theo exploded with rage and yanked out his gun.

Cameron's side drew too. Both groups squared off instantly.

"I'm here to settle a debt. Not to listen to you run your mouth." Nathaniel didn't even flinch. His eyes were steady and cold. "Say another word like that, and next time it won't be spit going down your throat. It'll be a bullet."

For a split second, Theo felt a chill run straight through him.

"I'm not here for games. This is about the debt the Adams family owes. Bring out the original debt documents. We need to go over the numbers."

Theo narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you to look at our books?"

"Let me put it another way." Nathaniel reached into his bag, pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and held the screen outward. "This shipment — the 'Redwood' order from last June. Customs seizure records show that sixty percent of the goods were held by federal customs. By your own rules, if the goods don't arrive, the final payment doesn't have to be made."

Theo's expression shifted.

The men behind him instinctively stepped forward.

Nathaniel calmly put his phone away. "Which means the most the Adams family owes you is around four million dollars. Not twelve million. You rolled in the interest and the seized goods together. You know what that's called — fraud."

"Who the hell are you?"