Page 13 of Fight Me Daddy

Stop staring at him! Jesucristo. What's my problem?

It wasn't my fault that he was so good-looking. But he was also dangerous as hell. Gabriele Bianchi was the kind of man that could make you disappear if you weren't careful. I didn’t want to be one of his victims.

"We're here," Gabriele said as he turned down the radio and looked at me. "You can stop staring now."

I scoffed and frowned. "I wasn't."

"Sure. Whatever you gotta tell yourself to sleep at night," he said as he climbed out of the car. "Move your ass."

I rolled my eyes and slipped out of his car. We were in a pretty rough neighborhood, but Gabriele didn't seem concerned. Instead, he adjusted his suit jacket and nodded toward a tall, dirty brown building.

"First collection is here. Jeffrey Salinger. We're going to go in, ask for the money nicely, and if he doesn't have it, well... that's what you're for. No reason for me to lift a finger."

I shook my head as I followed him into the building. "I told you, I'm not killing anyone."

"Did I say anything about that?" he asked, his gaze narrowing. "Times like this, at most you'll have to punch someone a few times. But it might be good enough for you to be standing behind me. Just try to look menacing. No one wants to fuck with us so they're more likely to pay than put up a fight."

"Even if it's their last few dimes?"

Gabriele stepped onto the elevator and raised a brow at me. "We don't force people to take out loans. They do it themselves, get in over their heads, and then when it's time to pay they like to shove a big middle finger up at us. What's the bigger sin? Collecting what's ours? Or some asshole running up debt and expecting to get off without having to pay it back?"

I shook my head. "You don't want me to answer that."

He scoffed. "Probably not."

The tension was so thick between us, I could choke on it as we exited the elevator. We moved together to the door and after Gabriele nodded to it, I knocked. Let's get this over with.

***

I was surprised things had gone smoothly all night. One after the other, money was handed over to Gabriele and all I had to do was stand by and look tough. I wasn't going to complain. The sooner the money was collected, the faster I could go back to my place, crawl into bed, and get ready for my next fight. If I kept winning, I could get the sort of money that would easily wipe away what I owed and I would be free of the Bianchi's, my father's failures, all of it.

Ugh I’m still worried about Dad though. That bastard. Where is he? Is he still breathing? I was pissed, but he was all I had. I didn’t want to think of him floating facedown somewhere.

"How many more to go?" I asked as we pulled to a stop.

Gabriele looked at his phone. "This is the last one."

I nodded. "How come you're doing things like this? I mean, isn't it kind of...beneath you? Don't you have people who can collect for you?"

He paused and looked at me oddly. "Yes, we do. But there are other things I have to look into and I can do it better with my own eyes. Other people make mistakes. I don't."

"Everyone makes mistakes."

Gabriele shook his head. "Not me," he said before he climbed out of the car. "Move your ass."

I groaned and dragged myself out of my seat. Gabriele was hiding something. Mind your own business. There's no need to get mixed up with it.

I followed Gabriele into the bar we'd parked down the street from. The sound of country music and the smell of beer were the first things that hit me. Cigarette smoke filled the air obscuring my vision and making me crinkle my nose. Cigarettes and MMA don’t mix and I didn’t want to screw up my training. But lately, I couldn't get away from it.

"Who are we looking for?" I asked.

"Seth Hills. He's usually hanging out around here. I'm damn sure this place is where all the money he borrowed went."

I nodded and shuffled after Gabriele. A man glanced up at us and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He jumped out of the booth he was sitting in and ran in the opposite direction.

"Goddamnit," Gabriele growled. "Go get his ass!"

On instinct alone, I took off after the guy. Glasses fell to the ground and the sound of them breaking barely registered as I raced after the man. I burst through the back door after him and into the dark alley. Even if I hadn’t been able to see him anymore, I would be able to hear his heavy, panicked breathing. He ran for a closed fence, but I was faster. I grabbed him and tackled him to the ground.

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