Chapter Twenty
Maximus
My heart pounded, my pulse thundering in my ears, and sweat trickling down my back.
I trained every single day because I refused to allow anyone to beat me in a fight.
Jake ran beside me on the hamster wheel of death.
We had already sparred in the ring at the corner of my gym before working all the different muscle groups, and finishing on a run.
You never knew when fate stepped in, and you had to run for your life.
“Fuck!” I exclaimed when the punishment finally stopped, and I collapsed to the floor, my arms too heavy to lift.
“I swear there are some days that is harder than others,” Jake replied, sitting with his back against the wall.
We both had demons we were chasing, and my muscles screamed from the fight we’d had in the ring, neither of us backing down from our training.
“You wanna talk about it?” I asked, closing my eyes to concentrate on slowing my breathing down.
“Nope. I’d rather fuel my rage and hatred.”
“We talking about Lucio?” I hated my brother-in-law, but Jake loathed him with every fibre of his being since he’d been in love with Poppy most of his adult life.
“The fucker takes delight in taunting us,” he replied. “He is deliberately making deals with our enemies.”
I’d read the reports, and he was playing with fire. I would kill him slowly, but some of the men he was getting into bed with would fuck him before taking him apart one limb at a time.
“I spoke to Gabriel, and briefed him on the situation. He suggested Willow should invite Poppy on a trip with her. Considering Lucio is still trying to cosy up to Alexandro’s organisation, I doubt he’ll refuse.
We both know they hate people hurting women as much as we do.
” Considering I had offended Lucio, he was keeping Poppy away from her family.
“That fucker should have had an accident long before Poppy walked up the aisle to meet him,” Jake snapped, his tone filled with aggression.
“That would have turned him into a saint who no one would ever live up to,” I replied, rolling onto my side to stare at him. “Poppy needed to discover the type of man he really is.”
Jake stared at me. “He’s the type of man who knows how to hurt you, and not leave bruises. Some of the injuries are to your soul, and those never heal.”
“Yeah, I know.” I pushed myself to my feet. “I never wanted my sister to experience that, but you can’t choose who people love.”
That was the problem, Poppy had loved Lucio – he had love bombed her until she was infatuated with him. Some predators wore designer suits and possessed handsome faces.
“Isn’t that the truth,” Jake replied, and I saw the pain and sorrow in his eyes.
“Come on,” I said. “We might not be able to touch him directly, but we can certainly make sure he has a very bad day.”
Lucio needed his business deals financed since he spent heavily on a luxurious lifestyle. He was about to find out that I was involved in most of the money transactions in this city, and his interest rates were about to go sky high.
“Contact our banks,” I continued as we headed to the two bathrooms that were located at the side of my gym. “Tell them Lucio’s credit is to be cut-off, and his debts recalled.”
Jake whistled lowly. “That’s a lot of money to be repaid, and a lot of deals he has promised funding to.”
“Fuck him,” I muttered. “Lucio is going to learn he doesn’t hold the upper hand in this family. As soon as Poppy is out of his reach, Gabriel will ensure she isn’t returned until this problem is sorted.”
“And until Gabriel gets her out?” Jake demanded, stopping at the doorway to his bathroom.
A grin spread across my mouth. “Our mother moved in yesterday. If anyone can drive Lucio insane with her constant chatter, it’s Mum. She arrived under the premise of peace maker, and has stated she refuses to leave until her family is united again.”
“Fuck!” Jake exclaimed. “That is terrifying. Who the fuck came up with that cunning suggestion?”
“Olivia,” I deadpanned. “She compares Lucio to Roberto, and the only person he seems to avoid or behave around is their mother. Since Lucio has no maternal figure in his life, Olivia suggested our mother go, and negotiate a peace deal.”
“She’s as evil as you are,” Jake replied. “It’s so sneaky it’s brilliant. Who wants their mother-in-law living in their home and interfering?”
“Knowing Mum, she’s probably already moving stuff around while chattering about feng shui, and planning on how to redecorate.” I shrugged one shoulder. “Lucio will send Poppy to Willow willingly before the end of the week.”
Jake laughed, and I saw genuine relief on his face. “Brains as well as looks, you’re a lucky man.”
He was the only person who had any inkling what I did to ensure Olivia was put in my path, and he was smart enough never to mention it.
“There was a reason I put a ring on her finger. To survive in our world, you need to be able to stand in the eye of the storm.” I walked into my bathroom without another word, standing under the beating heat of the shower until my muscles had relaxed, and I felt able to face the world with my mask of indifference intact.
Before we returned to the office, Jake and I visited our detainment facility to check on our guests from a few evenings ago. They were still suspended against a wall, a drip in their arm keeping them hydrated.
“Have you reconsidered talking?” I asked asshole two, who constantly whinged about the injuries to his legs.
“Fuck off!” He tried to spit at us, but his mouth was dry, and he ended up coughing instead.
“Let me give you a scenario,” I said, setting my ass on the edge of the table in the middle of the room. “We’ve checked all your accounts and online presence so I have a reasonable understanding of you as a person.”
His eyes widened at my words.
“Tobias is too cautious and intelligent to try and shit in my property. He was angry about losing his heir, but he’s not stupid.
His son Rocco, on the other hand, is impetuous and thinks he knows better than everyone else.
He has his grubby fingers involved in drug trafficking, and would have access to the amount of narcotics you and your friends were trying to hide in my property.
” I straightened the cuff of my jacket. “Let me know if I’m getting close. ”
He glared at me, his distain etched on his face.
“You had several bank Apps on your phone, but everyone only has one set of biometrics,” I continued. “It was easy to find your alter ego, and follow the money from Rocco. He’ll be pissed he lost all those valuable drugs.”
The police arrived the next morning as we had suspected, but our reception staff played their roles to perfection, allowing the perplexed officers to look around. One of them searched where the second team had been placing the drugs, so we now knew who was on their payroll.
He glanced away from me, showing me I had guessed correctly. We hadn’t received all his financial records yet, but I had ears everywhere, and Rocco had been jubilant the day after our burglary, his mood souring after several phone calls.
“All your secrets are already unravelling,” Jake said. “We are following the pathway, but Rocco is several steps ahead of us. If you have family that you care about, now is the time to decide how your legacy is protected.”
“Rocco has no honour,” I added. “He has no problem regaining his money by selling your family into the skin trade. I’ve seen the camps they are sent to, their bodies and spirits broken by evil men who relish being allowed to play out their fantasies on a daily basis.”
He continued to stare at me. “You rich fucks are all the same, so I have no guarantee that you’ll not do the same to my family.”
I slapped him so hard his head snapped to the side. “My sister was in one of those camps,” I hissed. “I spent months of my life involved in taking them down. You can accuse me of many despicable things, but trading souls is not one of them.”
He moved his jaw from side to side, since he couldn’t rub it with his hands restrained. “Just shoot me,” he said. “I have nothing to say.”
I left the room without a backward glance, moving to the room where the other man was restrained against the wall. Most people in these rooms jumped at the chance of saving their family when they knew they were never leaving. His reaction said he thought Rocco couldn’t trace his loved ones.
“Your friend isn’t very co-operative,” I said, sitting on the chair, and putting my feet up on the table. “Rocco is looking for you all, and my guess is that he knows exactly who you are, and where to find your families.”
The guy stared at me for several moments. “I have no idea who Rocco is. Strap me up to a polygraph if you don’t believe me. These assignments are all arranged via a secure server so neither side can trace the other.”
“And yet we are all aware of who you are. Nothing is untraceable when you have the correct experts in your organisation.” I lifted his phone from the table which had already been downloaded, and thoroughly interrogated by our tech expert Ryan.
“Once you gain access or clone a phone, it contains all the information of your life from the boring to the most intricate.”
“That isn’t my personal phone,” he replied.
“Then why does it contain family photographs? Your German Shepherd is stunning, especially the photographs of it with the little girl,” I said, setting the phone down again.
That got his attention, his eyes narrowing, and gaze moving to the phone.
“My guess is that Rocco has used a virus to create a back door into your network.”
“In fairness, that’s what we do,” Jake said. “No one even knows we can see their entire phone history, and the phone connected to their accounts.”