“Yes, you do.”
I lost it and burst out. “That door’s still open for Brando. All he has to do is pull his head out of his fucking ass and follow the rules. If your punches didn’t knock some sense into him, maybe Aldo’s will.”
Maxim took a deep drag on his cigarette, then walked out of the locker room.
I spent the rest of the day checking the warehouses. By evening, I dropped by one of the strip clubs to go over the books, when Giorgio called.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Hey, boss. Emily wants me to train boxing with her.”
My brows lifted, my voice firm and authoritative. “No.”
“Well, the thing is... she’s not exactly taking no for an answer. She’s been chasing me around, throwing punches non-stop, and says she won’t quit until I agree.”
“You’re scared of a girl’s punches?”
“I’m not scared,” Giorgio replied evenly. “I’m worried she’ll hurt herself. She throws pretty hard punches, and she’s already fallen on her ass twice.”
Great. I must’ve hit one of Emily’s crazy buttons this time. Knowing her, it was probably better for Giorgio to absorb the blowback than me.
I sighed. “Fine. Train with her, but make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”
“I’ll do my best, boss,” he said, then hung up.
That evening, Emily didn’t show up for dinner like I expected. She was doing everything she could to avoid me.
***
A week had passed since the incident, and aside from catching fleeting glimpses of Emily’s shadow behind her window, which faced mine, I hadn’t seen her once. She was eating all her meals in her room and from what I’d gathered, made sure I wasn’t in the gym before she showed up to train with Giorgio.
According to the report in my hands, she was also looking into universities that offered online courses. Apparently, she wasn’t planning to back down. She was determined to get a degree. To…what was it?build a life for herself. Find work. Maybe even get married.
My thoughts reached that point and a surge of rage tore through me. The idea of herbuilding a lifethat didn’t include me set my blood on fire. I crumpled the report and hurled it at the door as Maxim walked in.
The paper hit his chest and dropped to the floor. He bent down, picked it up and gave it a quick glance. His eyes flicked to me, already knowing what it was about.
Without a word, he tossed it into the trash and sat down on the sofa a few feet from the bed, the same sofa where I’d fucked Emily countless times, made her cry my name until her throat went raw.
The memory flashed in front of my eyes, driving me insane, but I shoved it down and stood to pour myself a glass of scotch.
“What’s going on?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.
Maxim got straight to the point. “I came to ask when you’re going to drop that mighty pride of yours.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean your mood’s getting unbearable. For fuck’s sake, just go apologize to the girl, fuck her brains out all night and spare the rest of us from the shitty attitude you’ve had since you’ve been blue-balled for way too long.”
I swirled the amber liquid in my glass. “Apologize? For what? For making sure I can track her down and save her ass if Giuseppe gets to her?”
“Yeah, but you didn’t give her that explanation. You pinned her down and did whatever the hell you wanted.”
I snapped. “Why the fuck should I explain myself? I don’t owe anyone shit.”
Maxim shook his head, completely unfazed. “As a Capo, that’ll work just fine. As a man in a relationship, it’ll just give you those blue balls.”
A mocking laugh escaped me as I arched a brow. “Relationship? I’m not in a relationship with Emily. I’m just fucking her.”
