Lazzaro let out a curse as he checked his watch. I’m going to be fucking late for work again if I don’t move my ass quicker. He peeled his trunks and underwear off and hopped into a stall for a quick shower. I think he does that on purpose, the young man grumbled; the guy is amused to see how I lose my head trying to shower, change, and get to work in record time.
Lazzaro was sure Luca wanted him to get more organized, plan his day better, but he had yet to master that art. So far, the young man failed to find a way to make the most of his time, which was frustrating, to say the least, because he, more than anyone, knew that, in the cage, every second mattered.
Lazzaro was lucky that day; he arrived a few minutes before work started, much to his relief. Winter, the boss, greeted him with a smile, and gestured to a pile of carrots, peppers, and onions, which needed to be washed, sliced, and diced. The young man nodded and began to work with enthusiasm, completing the task in record time.
Lunch came before Lazzaro knew it, and he went into the main dining hall, to arrange the tables for the kids who would soon come to eat. Winter called his name, and pointed to a delivery bag, telling him to take it to the library, to the office inthe back of the building. Brian’s lunch, and two portions for his guests.
Lazzaro took the bag and sprinted to the library; he didn’t want the food to get cold. He walked inside the library and went to the back. He stopped in front of the office’s door and discreetly knocked two times. Brian’s calm voice invited him in, and he opened the door, only to gasp in shock, eyes wide. The fucker calling himself his boss and the one Lazzaro planned to raise a family with were there.
CHAPTER 7
“Look, food!” Brian exclaimed, rubbing his hands together with the satisfaction of a child who got his favorite toy as a birthday present. He turned to the illegal cage fight club owner. “I asked the head of the kitchen to send two portions for you, too.”
“I only eat the finest, and this is far from that.” The older of the two guests grimaced in disgust. “As for my little fuck toy, he breathes, eats, takes a leak, and everything else, only when I tell him to, and right now I tell him no.”
“Once a bastard, always a bastard.” Lazzaro put the delivery bag down and advanced to his former boss, hands balled into fists. “Who the hell do you think you are to behave like that with another human being?”
“Once a loser, always a loser.” The man calmly replied, grinning evilly. “I see you left a promising career as a cage fighter behind to become a… food delivery boy? Well, to each their own. As for this one here, I took him from the streets and offered him food and shelter, so yeah, I have the fucking right to tell him what to do.”
“Romjin.” Lazzaro got dangerously close to his former boss, hands still clenched into fists. “That’s the name of the poor boy you exploit, and you better fucking use it when you talk about and to him.”
“Easy, gentlemen.” Brian, who closely examined Martino’s cousin and didn’t intervene in the heated dispute, raised both hands in surrender. “Lazzaro, why don’t you take the food and go to the main hall? I bet Romjin is hungry, and I’m sure you haven't eaten yet, either.”
Lazzaro nodded. “Come on, buddy, let’s stuff our faces with some goodfood. Winter is the best cook in the world and all the dishes he prepares smell and taste divine.”
Brian waited for the two youths to leave the office, then gave his older guest a piercing look. “I don’t think it’s wise to insult our champion. Firstly, you are disrespecting me, something I won’t tolerate, and secondly, you risk losing a great deal of money.”
The other man huffed contemptuously. “You are joking, right? I mean, this clown can’t be your fighter, all he knows is losing match after match. No sponsor in their right mind…”
“Well, probably the guys who pump money into this tournament are a bit crazy, because they pay to see Lazzaro fighting. What they do with their cash shouldn’t be your concern.” Brian spoke in an ice-cold voice. “And, anyway, if your champion is so good, and ours nothing more than a caricature, you don’t have anything to worry about, if the two end up fighting against each other in the final. I mean, your guy would clearly win, wouldn’t he?”
“You Mafia fellows are weird.” The other man showed his yellow teeth in a grin. “But yes, you’re right, it’s not my business to stop your associates if they want to put money in my pocket.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, your fighter is foul-mouthed, and I don’t like that. Also, I don’t want to see him anywhere near my slave.”
“Don’t worry, we play by the rules here.” Brian felt his anger rising and bubbling inside of him, and made colossal efforts to rein it in. “And the rules say any interaction between the members of rival teams is totally forbidden for the duration of the tournament.”
“Those are some great rules.” The man grinned again as he stood. “I’ll leave you to eat…whatever you have there, and I’m going home, to have some caviar and lobster. Will you please call your champion and tell him to bring my slave here? They shouldn’t interact anymore, you said so yourself.”
“Oh, my!” Brian exclaimed, covering his mouth with one hand. “How could I be so forgetful! From today on, all the members of the cage fighting teams participating in the tournament will be camped here, at The Base, until the competition ends. It’s a decision of those who finance the tournament, so, if you want to complain about it, I’ll put you in touch with them.” His voice had a tinge of malicious satisfaction. “As for Romjin, he’s my guest, so I hope you don’t mind if he stays at the library a bit more.”
The man grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, then left the office and, at Brian’s request, exited through the back. Rumors had it, those who were financing the competition belonged to the Old-World Mafia, an organization whose members, from the youngest to the oldest, were not to be crossed.
Back when Lazzaro was the eternal loser at his cage fight club, he and the slave boy, Romjin, had a thing, so the man wasn’t very happy that he had to leave the teenager in the fighter’s company, but didn’t have much of a choice. At least, heshould have sent one of the guards with him, to emphasize how important he was. What’s done, is done, he grumbled, cursing his own superficiality as he looked around, a bit disoriented, waiting for someone to pass so he could ask for directions.
Alone in his office, Brian left his seat and went to the bookshelf covering the whole wall behind him. Taking the mini-camera carefully masked between books, he downloaded a few pictures of the cage fight club owner and Romjin and messaged them to Elyan, asking him to do some digging on them.The librarian was mainly interested in the boy with delicate, almost feminine features and fragile body, because he sensed Lazzaro had feelings for him.
Meanwhile, in the library, Romjin finished eating and was staring at the bottom of the empty plate. He was still very hungry, but didn’t dare to ask for seconds, afraid that his owner could walk in on him at any moment, and the teen didn’t want to anger him more than he already had when accepted Lazzaro’s current boss’s kind invitation.
From across the desk, Martino’s cousin examined Romjin, his only true friend in the hellhole the cage fight club was. The kid lost a lot of weight since the last time he saw him; he was thin before, but now he became almost transparent, and more fragile than ever, flinching at the faintest sound and casting fearful glances around.
When the boss moved Romjin from the barracks into his private quarters, Lazzaro envied the boy, thinking that the man wanted to turn him into the club’s next star fighter.The boywasn’t built for such a brutal sport, but that could be solved with some cleverly designed sets of bodybuilding exercises.
Lazzaro wasn’t the type who held a grudge against someone who was offered a chance at something he dreamed about, too, so, instead of drifting away from Romjin, he became more attracted to the beautiful boy, who seemed to reciprocate. In the rare and short moments when they saw each other, the two confessed the love they had for one another and made plans for the future.
“Why?” Romjin broke the silence, his voice shaky and barely a whisper. “Why didn’t you come to get me out, as you promised when you left?”
“I couldn’t right away, I didn’t know anyone, and needed time to plan everything by myself, just like when I escaped from the barracks.” Lazzaro’s answer came in a gentle voice. “Then, I found out some pretty cool things about my family and I, and, just when I was about to tell my new friends about you, I got the news about this tournament, and thought you would come here anyway. I mean, after all, you are his best fighter.”
Romjin didn’t reply right away; for a few good seconds, he stared in disbelief at the man across the desk from him, then huffed out a bitter laugh. “Did you really think he got me out of the barracks to turn me into a cage fighter?” The other nodded, so he continued. “You are so fucking naïve!”
