Chapter 15
Matteo
“Let me do the talking,” Kevin says as we walk into the county office to handle this permit bullshit with Lucian’s Gym.
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.
“Since you don’t know who it was, the best I can do is send a guy around to watch over your place.”
Peter swallows thickly and nods. “Okay, I’ll fix it.”
“Smart man,” I say, standing. “Today. I want the gym back open today.”
“Okay,” Peter says. “I have to go to my daughter’s school for Career Day, but once I get back, I’ll submit the paperwork.”
Since he’s leaving as well, Peter walks us out and heads in the opposite direction, to what I assume is his vehicle, while Kevin and I head toward ours.
I’m shaking Kevin’s hand and thanking him, even though he didn’t really do shit, when a loud explosion rings out.
Kevin drops to the ground, and I pull my gun out, scanning the area for any threats. And that’s when I notice the car that blew up—Peter’s.
Kevin stands and shakes his head in shock. “I think someone was trying to send a message.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. “And they sent it before he could fill out the goddamn paperwork.”
“That shit was personal,” I say to Dominick.
After calling Eddy and having him check the cameras, only to learn someone had hacked into them and wiped them clean, I went to Dominick’s office to discuss this with him.
He’s the stability to my chaos, and before I go off, I always go to him.
He’s not just my brother and business partner. He’s my best friend.
“Enrique?”
“Okay, but why?”
“He knows you have Daniella.”
I shake my head. “He made it personal when he went after the gym before I took her. It’s one thing to put me behind bars, but to fuck with the gym that might as well be my second home? I think there’s something we’re missing.”
“Anthony’s dead,” Dominick points out. “It could be the mayor. He pulled strings for Anthony, so he could’ve done it for Enrique. But again, why?”
“I don’t fucking know,” I hiss.
“And Daniella knows to stay in, right?”
“Yeah.”
I pull out my phone and curse myself for the dozenth time because I left this morning to avoid her without thinking about the fact that she doesn’t have a goddamn phone, so I have no way to get ahold of her.
“I have guys on the front and back door.”
The only way anyone is getting to her is if they get past the doorman and the guard and Daniella opens the door and welcomes them in, which isn’t happening.
“Has Eddy been able to get anything from Enrique’s laptop yet?”
“Get this.” I chuckle and sit up, leaning toward him. “While Eddy was doing his thing, Enrique popped up and tried to remotely wipe it out.”
Dominick whistles. “You can’t say this guy didn’t come to the battle prepared.”
“Yeah, but he underestimated us. Eddy locked his ass out and sent him a digital note, telling him he’d better run because we have access.”
Dominick chuckles.
“He’s going to send everything over to you soon so you can sift through it.”
Thanks to my dyslexia, it would take me months to try to read through it all, and even once I did, I wouldn’t know half the business jargon Dominick would understand.
“Good shit.” Dominick nods. “What are you up to this afternoon? Want to come to my place for lunch?”
“Nah, I have a lunch date with a certain cabin in the woods. My guys and I are going to roast marshmallows.”
Dominick just shakes his head, but doesn’t argue.
He already knows I do what I want. Is blowing up Enrique’s house a bit much?
Maybe. But after what he did to Dani, the only thing that would be better than destroying his house would be burning it with him in it.
Especially if our theory is true and he killed Lorenzo and Dani’s parents in a fire.
Some prefer to let karma do its thing.
Me? I prefer to be karma.