“Idon’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 tofuck 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.
