Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
I spoke to Lucian this morning and told him I’d take care of it, and as always, his only concern was for me, making sure I was okay and asking if I needed anything.
What I need is to get laid.
After walking in on Dani fingering herself, I took a long, hot shower, where I used that very image to get myself off … twice. And then I spent the next several hours working out in my gym, trying to burn off the tension. But it was no use.
Dani is under my roof and under my skin.
I’ve told myself she’s off-limits. Besides the fact that she’s twelve years younger than me, she’s my best friend’s little sister. And while I have no doubt the sex would be hot … then what? She’s not the type of woman you fuck and leave. That’s why I make it a point to only spend time with women who know the score.
But Dani … she’s the marrying type. Wants the kids and husband and white picket fence—everything I don’t want. I’ve yet to see a marriage that isn’t toxic. And before you say my brother’s, they’ve only been together for a short time. And look at what happened when Peyton came back into his life. Their son was nearly kidnapped … twice.
“Matteo, you with me?” Kevin asks, making me realize I was spacing out. Something I do when my head is all over the place.
“Yeah,” I tell him, “I’m with you.”
“Okay, good.”
Dominick offered to come, but I wanted to deal with this myself. His time is better served by handling our businesses and being with his family. He supports my love and need to fight and understands that the gym is vital to my well-being, but if the gym were to get shut down, it wouldn’t affect him like it would me.
Shit, maybe I should’ve had him come.
I don’t know this Kevin guy, and if I let my emotions get the better of me, I could fuck it all up.
Kevin walks over to the counter and requests to speak to the inspector. The woman smiles nervously, telling me she knows who I am, and then gets up and guides us back to his office.
Peter Greenfield is written across his door, but I already know who he is. I did my research, and Eddy helped me find everything I needed to know about this jackass. I’m going to let Kevin handle it, but if I need to, I’ll step in.
The moment Peter opens the door, I know everything Eddy found on him is true. The man is perspiring like a little bitch.
“Mr. Greenfield,” Kevin says, using that voice attorneys always use that makes them sound above everyone else. “Thank you for meeting with us.”
We have a seat, and Kevin tells him why we’re here, even though we all know Peter already knows why we’re fucking here.
They’re going back and forth, talking about the bullshit violations the inspector supposedly found this morning when he did another inspection. Finally, I’ve had enough, and I cut in.
“Who bribed you?”
Kevin groans, and Peter’s eyes go comically wide.
“I don’t—”
“Don’t finish that sentence. It will be a lie, and I don’t like liars. You have a gambling problem, and someone paid you to fuck with Lucian’s Gym. I want to know who.”
Eddy tried to trace it, but whoever it was, the person was smart and didn’t leave a paper trail.
“Please,” Peter pleads, switching gears. “I have a family and a wife and—”
“I don’t care. Who gave you the money?”
“I don’t know.” Peter shakes his head. “A guy came to me and offered me cash to get the gym shut down. I owed a lot of money and—”
I lift my hand to silence him. “Fix it—now.”
He doesn’t know who it was, and it’s a waste of time to ask him more questions. Whoever did it used a middleman. So, right now, my focus is on getting Lucian’s Gym back up and running, and then I’ll figure out who did this. The obvious guess is Enrique, but it feels too personal. If he wanted to go after my family, he would’ve targeted our businesses, not a small gym that’s become my sanctuary.
“You don’t understand. He said if I didn’t shut it down, he would come after me and my family. That my money problems would be nothing in comparison.”
“And if you don’t fix it, I’m going to go—”
Kevin clears his throat, and I take a deep, calming breath, letting my threat hang in the air. I don’t need to finish my sentence for him to know what I’m saying.
“Can you … protect us?” Peter asks. “If I overturn it, can you protect us? I have two daughters and a son, and if anything happened to them …”
I glance at him for several seconds, and something in my gut turns as I think about Dominick and how he would do anything to protect his family. This guy is caught in the middle of something bigger than him, and he was only doing what needed to be done to save himself. I can’t fault him for that. But I also can’t ensure his safety since I don’t know who bribed and blackmailed him.