Page 25 of Finn

“By all means, then.” Alessia waves her arm as though saying the stage is mine. “Show me how it’s done.”

I hold out my hand to Enzo for the punch mitts, and he hands them over, still wearing the smirk.

“She’s not a fan of being told she’s not perfect,” he stage-whispers, and Alessia scoffs.

“I had no idea,” I reply in a droll tone as I fasten the mitts to my hands.

When I turn toward my wife, she’s trying to look bored and unaffected, but I see the challenge flare in her gaze.

I hold my hands up. “Begin.”

Her first few punches are perfect, but I can tell she’s concentrating too hard. I nod my head, acknowledging she’s doing well, which relaxes her enough for her to get a little cocky, and she drops that shoulder again.

“Right there,” I say before she throws another punch. “You got sloppy because you thought you had the upper hand.”

Alessia plants her mitted fists on her hips. “Ugh, you’re as bad as Enzo.”

I laugh because her irritation with me and her bodyguard is cute. She really doesn’t like being corrected.

“Do you work out every day?” Again, I have no idea what she does with her time, and that unsettles me.

“Most,” she replies.

“Good. I’ll meet you here every morning at the same time. We’ll work out together.”

“I don’t know…” She doesn’t look excited about my offer in the least.

“I think it would be a great addition to your training for Mr. Monaghan to join us,” Enzo supplies.

“It’s settled,” I say, even though she hasn’t agreed. “See you tomorrow, dear.” I plaster a happy smile on my face as I return the mitts to Enzo.

“I thought you came in to work out?” Alessia asks.

“I think I’m going to go for a run instead.”

And then take a cold shower.

The run did me some good, but it didn’t clear my thoughts of Alessia at all. My shower, which wasn’t cold, involved me fisting my cock with thoughts of my wife in her tight tank covered in sweat and shorts that left little to the imagination. After, I called my brother to have him put me on the schedule for a fight tonight. Then, I made a call to my man inside the Cataldi organization to have him meet me at the bar. It’s not uncommon for men in any of the three Italian families in Massachusetts to come to a fight every now and then, so there’s no reason to believe it would raise any suspicion.

The basement is packed wall to wall with people when I get there. As soon as I see the ring set up in the middle of the large, brightly lit space, I breathe a little easier. This is exactly what I need tonight. I shake hands with a couple of regulars and keep an eye out for my cousin, who I have placed in the Cataldi organization. When I spot him, a sense of relief washes through me. It’s important for us to have face-to-face meetings every once in a while. I want Luca to remember he has family who cares about him, and his time being my mole in the Cataldi family is important to me and mine, even if no one except me, him, and Cillian knows about our family ties—or that he’s still alive.

“Luca,” I say when he approaches, and I hold out my hand, shaking his like I would with any other person here tonight. “Any word?” I ask, looking around the room and keeping a friendly smile on my face.

“None. Seems Carlo has vanished into the wind. I doubt he’ll stay hidden for long though. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the man throughout my years there, it’s that he thrives on control, and with the old man in prison, it’s his to take.”

When Carlo’s father went to prison on RICO charges, it was a prime opportunity for Carlo to take over the family. But his pride got in the way, and he wanted to settle a score with the US attorney who put his father away and the MC that was protecting her when his usual intimidation tactics didn’t work. The dumb fuck thought he could get away with kidnapping the couple, killing the Black Roses MC president then selling his woman into the skin trade. Thankfully, Luca was in the right place at the right time and overheard where they were holding the couple. Needless to say, the plan blew up in Carlo’s face, but he still managed to get away like the snake he is.

“I think Farina might have something to do with it.”

“Really.” I raise my brows in surprise. “What makes you say that?”

“Whispers and innuendo. Nothing concrete.”

Luca has been one of the bodyguards with the Cataldis since my men shot the capo he was serving under and the rest of his crew. We were hoping Carlo would have decided to give Luca a shot with his own crew since the one he was with handled the skin trade for Carlo, but instead, he threw Luca in the house to guard his family before he made a decision where to put him next. I can tell he’s been getting restless with keeping the charade, but until we have a lock on Carlo and can dismantle his organization, Luca needs to keep up the ruse a bit longer.

“Keep your eyes and ears open. I thought with the moves I made on the port, it would have brought Carlo out of hiding, but none of my men have heard anything about him.”

Luca nods and looks at the ring. “You going in tonight?”

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