“Matteo! Guard!” Vito’s warning boomed across the gym.
I walked out of the locker room, and Matteo’s opponent connected a mean right hook with Matteo’s left forearm. Lucky son of a bitch got his guard up just in time.
Shuffling and grunts came from the ring. The discordant clank of free weights rang out above the rhythmic thud of the punching bag. Stale sweat and disinfectant clung to my nostrils in a familiar mélange. Vito’s gym was like a second home, a sanctuary where I reset my brain by punishing my body. And after today, I needed a hard reset.
I wrapped my knuckles and made my way to where Vito hovered over two stacks of receipts and an old-school printing calculator. The tape advanced, and he moved a small piece of paper from one stack to the other.
“That kid’s gonna get his teeth knocked out if he doesn’t learn to keep his guard up,” Vito mumbled from behind the desk.
I grunted. “At least he’ll learn his lesson. How’d we do last week?”
“Better than average. Everyone bet on the Pats.”
“Excellent.”
Football season was our busiest time. Gambling was a profitable racket all year round, but nothing came close to what we pulled in on football. Which reminded me…
“How’d it go with our friend?”
Vito finished adding the receipt he was holding, stopped, and looked up. “He either wasn’t trying very hard or he’s wildly incompetent.” I snorted. “Either way, I think we identified a loophole that’ll work. The waiver should be ready by late next week. Two weeks max. He’ll email your assistant when it’s ready.”
“Good.” Good for us, and good for Doug. He didn’t have the cash to pay his debts, but lucky for him, his position guaranteed he could pay me back in other ways. “I want that shit locked down. Any word from the clerks on the Shaughnessys?”
The zoning commissioner wasn’t the only member of city hall I kept on payroll. I had clerks in most departments feeding me information.
“Nothing. Just the initial tip. Confirmed by two clerks.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way. Last thing we need is those Irish fucks buying up that property before the waiver’s in place.”
“You worry too much.”
“What about the European accountants? Find any dirt?”
“No smoking gun. One guy cheating on his wife.” He shrugged. “Nothing that’d push someone onto a take. But not all snakes are born out of dirt.”
Wasn’t that the truth. Greed was just as powerful a motivator. What I couldn’t get with dirt, I got with bribes.
“Keep digging. The timing’s too convenient for coincidence.”
His forehead creased. “Aren’t you flying out tomorrow?”
“What?” I smirked. “Want me out of your hair or something?” He snorted. “I am. Needed to blow off some steam.”
“Hit the bag,” he said and returned his attention to the receipts. “I’m not going to be done for a while, and you’ll KO those kids in about five minutes.”
The bag would help, but not as much as getting in the ring. I wanted to fight. “It’ll be good for them. No better teacher than getting your ass kicked.”
“Marco.”
I scowled at Vito’s gruff admonition. “Fine.”
He picked up a receipt and punched a few numbers into his calculator, and I headed around the ring to where the custom-made speed bags and heavy bags hung from steel chains mounted into a reinforced ceiling. Standard gear didn’t hold up to blood demons.
I warmed up on the speed bag. The sweat forming on my brow and the burn in my shoulders released some of the tension that had been building in my body since earlier in the day. The furious speed of my fists drove the bag in a blur of maroon leather, but I wanted to hit something. Hard.
Doug wasn’t moving fast enough with my waiver. I’d played nice so far, only using bribes and my reputation to scare him into action. But if he didn’t hurry his ass up, I wouldn’t hesitate to turn the screws. And if Shaughnessy got to that property before I did, I’d use his slimy face as a warmup instead of a speed bag.
With a final punch, I sent the speed bag flying. I rolled my shoulders and moved for the heavy bag. One of my men working it backed off, eyeing me warily. I threw up my guard, bounced on the balls of my feet, and unleashed a flurry of hooks and crosses that slapped and thudded against the thick leather. My chest heaved and arms burned with exertion.
Doug wasn’t the only person who’d pissed me off. Anna’s confession about her job, why she’d forgone her plans to work in industry… The regret in her voice and the tentative way she’d opened up about what had brought her to DEI… I wanted to strangle the person who’d squashed the dreams of such a brilliant woman.
I slammed my left fist into the bag, and the force of the impact jerked the chains securing it to the ceiling causing an ear-piercing screech.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Marco!” Vito yelled from across the gym. “If you rip through another bag, I swear to God…”
I backed off and faced him, opening my arms. “Then get your ass in the ring so I can fight!”
He shook his head, ripped the tape from the calculator, and set it across the two stacks of receipts. He stood, threw off his hooded sweatshirt, and climbed between the ropes into the ring. “Out,” he barked at the two men still sparring. They dropped their hands, scrambled out, and hung on the ropes to watch.
I climbed in, and we squared off. We’d done this so many times, neither of us hesitated. We threw up our guards, hands wrapped, but no gloves, and Vito came at me with a mean right hook, no doubt irritated I’d interrupted his bookkeeping. I blocked the punch and smiled. Finally.
Anna’s eyes had glistened with tears in the car, and my overwhelming need to comfort and protect her had resurfaced with a vengeance. The same feelings I’d had during Vinnie’s unexpected visit.
Two quick jabs and an uppercut. Vito blocked them with ease and countered with a quick succession of jabs. I welcomed the onslaught of his fists, needing to get her out of my head. I swung a left cross, and he got his elbow up just in time. He danced away with a knowing tilt to his head. Now, we were moving.
What pissed me off even more was the sucker punch she’d landed on the ride back to Terme. Made me say things I hadn’t meant to say, admit things I didn’t want to admit. Then one day, you wake up, and you realize… you want more. The words had spilled out of me as if wrenched from my lungs by the force of their truth.
Round after round, we threw and blocked punches with the strength and speed only used when fighting another blood demon. We flirted with the edge of exhaustion, daring each other to give in first. Sweat-soaked and straining for breath, my anger, tension, and defenses melted away.
I had responsibilities. To my family, to my crew, and to my community. I protected. I provided. That’s all that mattered. Was I happy? Was I satisfied? Who knew; it’d never mattered before. I’d been so busy carrying the weight of all my shoulds, I’d never considered there might be another way, that I might want something more.
Anna’s fingertips trailed the length of her necklace to where it landed between her breasts. Her hair fell to the side exposing her neck. My fangs ached to pierce her delicate skin, and longing ripped through my chest.
Vito’s left fist connected with my jaw.
“Argh!” A shock of pain lanced through my face to the back of my skull. I spun away and doubled over, holding my chin. It was shifted out of socket, throbbing to the beat of my rapid pulse. I took two deep breaths and on the third squeezed my eyes shut and snapped it into place.
“Cazzo! What the fuck!”
“Come here,” Vito growled. He took my chin in his hand and examined my eyes. They stung from sweat and from having my fucking jaw dislocated. He turned my head from side to side, studying my face, and patted me twice on the cheek. “You’re fine.”
I breathed rapidly through my nose, jaw clenched despite the sharp pain, pissed off more at myself than Vito.
“But you shoulda blocked that,” he said and gave me a disapproving look.
“No shit,” I snapped and ran a hand through my sweaty hair.
Vito whistled and held out his hand. Matteo grabbed a couple of towels and a water bottle and climbed into the ring. He tossed me a towel, and I wiped the sweat from my face.
“All fired up and distracted. Dangerous combination, boss. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were hung up on some woman.” Vito raised his eyebrows and squirted water into his mouth.
“Good thing you know better,” I barked.
He handed me the water bottle and stared at me sideways. “She’s not one of us,” he said, only loud enough for my ears. “Don’t forget that.”
I squirted water on my face and in my mouth. I handed it back to him with a scowl and headed for the locker room. I slumped onto one of the benches and gripped the old wood on either side of my thighs, hanging my head while I caught my breath.
Distracted. From the fight right in front of me and the fight to maintain control of my empire. And by a human, no less. A fragile human who’d likely never been exposed to crime and had no idea blood demons existed.
The instinct to possess and protect this woman I barely knew was running roughshod over the tight control I kept on my appetite for blood and sex. I wanted her. To feed from and to fuck, an inclination I’d never experienced beyond a fleeting moment. It bothered me.
I rolled my shoulders, pushed off the bench, and stripped out of my sweaty clothes. I didn’t wait for the water to warm up but stepped beneath the cold blast hoping to ice my unwelcome desires. I placed my palms flat against the tile, dropped my head, and closed my eyes. The water pounded the top of my head and shoulders.
Anna’s beautiful face appeared—its two little beauty marks, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, the trusting expression she’d worn when she’d opened up.
Maybe she was right. Maybe there was more to life than responsibility. Maybe true happiness and satisfaction were possible.
Or maybe I couldn’t afford those things. Maybe belonging and companionship weren’t possible for an immortal criminal.