Page 109 of Invisible String
MAX
“What the fuck, Max?” Carlos yells, pacing in his office. “I told you from the get-go that the Underground is dangerous, and crime organizations are dangerous. You are a skilled fighter. I understand why you did it. Believe me, I know. This is why I have supported you. But, son, he has you by the balls, making you his bitch.”
I snort, leaning back in the chair, my legs spread.
“Don’t fucking give me that. Look at your face—you’re lucky it wasn’t worse. He tried to set you up to fail, putting you in a two-against-one situation.” He pounds the desk with his fist.
Thank God for Rainey cleaning me up. She helped with the swelling. Carlos called his ring-doctor friend to check on me. Nothing is broken, and Rainey sealed the cuts. He just left mere minutes ago.
“Everything is fine. I won. Kicked ass. The end,” I say nonchalantly.
He narrows his eyes, and a network of veins becomes prominent. He knows I realize it’s not the end.
Carlos shakes his head. “To them, it’s not an end if you supply money for them. You can get kicked out of the pros beforeyour first fight.” His knuckles whiten as he presses down on the desk with the palms of his hands. The desk creaks slightly under the pressure. “You went alone. You should have taken me with you.”
I didn’t want to endanger him and Nessa.
“And you risked harming your girl. You didn’t keep a low profile, knowing Daniel was there.”
I exhale and run my fingers through my hair. My anxiety wants me to protect her. I fucked up. Jealousy ruled that night. “I know,” I say, standing. I introduced Rainey to the bodyguard, and she said she felt safe around them. She went to have lunch with her brother, and they planned to go shopping with his girlfriend. Johnny texted, showing me a picture of her, letting me know she was okay. “Daniel put a gun to my face and threatened Rainey. I did what I had to do, and I hired a couple of bodyguards in the meantime. I’ll fix it.”
Johnny said he hadn’t seen anyone suspicious.
Carlos eases into his rolling leather chair, the material creaking softly under his weight. From the direction of the gym, the sharp thuds of gloved fists meeting flesh mixes with the rhythmic grunts and groans of boxers sparring in the ring. “There’s a way to take eyes off of her. They need to see you’re not interested.”
The backs of my palms press firmly against the smooth, polished surface of the wooden desk. I raise my brows. “What do you have in mind?”
Carlos leans in the chair, hands on the back of his head. “Take a different woman out. Start with Annette. You don’t need to be touchy with them so they can see Rainey is unimportant,” he says nonchalantly.
Sure, maybe it would work. It only makes my anger rise.
“Fuck, no. I won’t take any woman out, even if it’s to draw attention away from Rainey.”
He sighs. “Okay, well, how about she goes on dates?”
Hot jealousy erupts like lava, my hand swings to a pile of papers on the desk, causing them to fly to the other side of the room. Carlos stares at me, then at the papers on the floor. My insides rage with possessiveness to think someone would so casually be having dinner with my sunshine, who is not me, and it has steam shooting out of my pores. If Carlos weren’t so important in my life, I would strangle him for implying it.
“No one takes my woman out. No other fucker will stare at my woman’s beautiful eyes but me.”
Carlo’s lips curve.
“I spent years looking for her, getting my shit together, and I won’t allow some dickhead to pretend to flirt and be with her.” I bend at the knees to grab the papers. “Absolutely fucking not.”
His head jerks back into a hilarious crackle. I stare at him questionably. “Never seen you like this. Territorial, jealous, possessive, and in love. I can’t wait to meet her.” He wears a proud grin. For a long time, he was worried about me because I rarely smiled. Although I had smiled for Rain, I was unhappy with myself. To cherish and care for her, I needed to love myself.
“You know where I’m coming from. Women.” I laugh. “You’ll meet her soon. First, I need to work on her forgiving me and loving me.” In unison, we walk into the gym.
“Have you spoken to her father?”
I shake my head and high-five the kids walking in. They give me a wide grin. “No, she’s had dinner with him, but it didn’t go far. He asked her to have Andrew live with her and talked shit about me.”
“Max, can you help?” a small boy with the biggest dimples asks. He hands me his gloves. I nod and kneel.
“Rowan is going to string it on for life. If you tell her, you need to be ready,” Carlos suggests, his knees cracking as he sits on the bench.
“I’ve been giving him time to tell her while I spend time with Rainey.” Ben, I think that’s his name, lifts his other hand to snug his glove in. “It seems he’s too much of a puss—I mean, chicken—to tell her. I need her not to run from me when it happens. I need her to love me enough.”
Carlos ruffles Ben’s hair before running off with Leo to coach him.
