Page 40 of Dirty Little Sins

I gritted my teeth against the name Romeo. I'd never been overly fond of my given middle name and liked it even less when it got adopted by female fans and the media. Their habitual use as it applied to my lack of a singular woman in my life annoyed me, but until Italy it had been a minor nuisance. And I was certain that Anthony was not referring to "that" reputation.

As it turns out my mother gave me my biological father's name after all despite her refusal to reveal his identity to me before she disappeared.

"I don't care what you call me as long as you do it walking out the door." I tossed my water bottle back in the bag and began shoving my hands into my gloves.

"Is that really how you want to treat a new colleague? With disrespect?"

I glared up at him, unsure I'd heard him correctly while knowing that I did. "Is that some kind of joke? You planning to throw into the ring now?"

"Don't be coy, boy. It's disrespectful and I only have so much tolerance for that kind of thing. Maybe when I was younger I would have found it amusing, but these days I can't be bothered."

I ground my back teeth together to keep from spitting out every violent laced word that ran through my head. Part of my job over the years had been to mouth off against an opponent and right now I viewed Anthony akin to one.

However, with everything going on right now I needed to keep my focus on what was important and that wasn't this guy.

"Why don't you save us both some time and just spit it out. What do you want?"

"A decent greeting for one," he sneered.

When I didn't respond he continued. "Maybe you should have stayed in Italy a little longer and taken a crash course in manners from your father. This is not how we conduct business."

"Considering we have no business together I think that would be a stretch. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my training.

When I tried to brush past Anthony, his two thugs stepped in my way and blocked my exit.

"Now I know you're joking." I turned back to the mobster still breathing my air. "I could snap your neck a hell of a lot faster than those two men can draw those guns they have at their backs. You want to test me?"

The anger that flared in the older man's eyes did little to dissuade me from my fury or my plan to show him exactly what I meant. It had been a long time since I'd taken a fight and I was itching for it.

That trip to Italy had been both a blessing and a curse. I'd unwittingly walked into a battle for power and apparently I wasn't going to get to walk away like I'd planned.

"Violence begets you, Vincentius, just like it does your father. I always liked that about him and I hope I will enjoy it with you as well. But first, you have to do something for the organization. For your family."

I took a step in the direction of Anthony and his two goons moved faster than I'd expected. They had their guns drawn and pointed in my direction within a couple of seconds. I neither backed down or advanced any further. I had no fear of being shot or even dying. When the time came, it came. I didn't live my life that way.

There were, however, too many people in the gym to risk any collateral damage. So for now I would bide my time. But if they were going to pull me into the family business before I was ready it would be with broken bones and blood.

"Tell me what you want, but don't pretend to be surprised when I tell you no. Either way you need to get out of my gym before this goes badly for you."

Anthony laughed then. A big belly roll type of sound that might have been amusing if I wasn't so pissed off. "I have thoroughly enjoyed your brand of brash arrogance during your fighting career and have to admit that I am sad to see that come to an end. It could serve you well in business though, when used at the right times and with the proper respect. But you will learn. If you are open to learning. Otherwise your chance at leadership I'm afraid, will be very short."

"Look, old man, I am not in the mood for a lecture. I already have several businesses to run and I don't need any fucking lessons. Get. To. The. Fucking. Point."

Anthony glared at me and I saw not just the spark of anger, but something much darker in his eyes. "You're going to throw the fight."

"The fuck I will!" Anger exploded inside every molecule inside me. Who the hell did this asshole think he was?

I lunged forward, but the two idiots guarding this fool got to me before I could lay hands on the infamous mobster. I knew what kind of trouble my moves were buying me and at the moment I didn't care. I'd barely gotten to the point where I could wrap my head around who my father was. My plans on how to utilize that fact had yet to crystalize.

"Vincent. What the hell is going on in here? I thought you were going to get in the ring."

At the sound of Bennie's voice behind me my blood chilled. I didn't want him involved in any of this. I was in an unusual position to antagonize these men to an extent, but anyone else would be fair game for their well-known brand of violence.

"Chill, Bennie. I'm coming. These men were just leaving anyways." I narrowed my eyes on Anthony and made it clear as I could that they were actually on their way out.

"Yes, our business is done here for now. You know what needs to be done."

"You're out of your mind if you think that is ever going to happen. I have a 49-0 record and I'm not about to risk my perfect retirement."

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