Page 90 of Fight Me Daddy

Gabriele

Calix satby the window and stared down at the garden below. I'd tried to get him to walk around a little, but he'd spent three days out of it. At least he wasn't drugged anymore. I stood in the doorway and watched as he sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Are you okay?" I asked and immediately regretted it. I walked over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Nevermind."

"No, it's okay," he said as he gazed up at me. "I was just thinking." Cal picked up the cup of coffee I'd sat in front of him an hour ago and took a sip before he grimaced. "Gross."

"Yeah, it's been a while," I said as I pulled over a chair and sat beside him. "Want me to get you more?"

He shook his head. "I think I'd rather get dressed and go check on the gym today. Sam and Tal have been blowing me up, but I haven't been able to pick up the phone." He sighed. "Still need to call my dad and let him know about the house."

My throat tightened as my heart dropped to my stomach. Right, he still doesn't know. I'd given him a few days to breathe, but I couldn't hide it from him anymore. I reached out and grabbed his hand quickly. Cal raised a brow at me and my heart skipped a beat. I didn't want to hurt him any more than he already was.

"You can't go to the gym," I said.

He frowned. "What? Why not?"

"Because it's...it's gone," I spat out before I could stop myself from telling the truth. "I sent some guys to protect it, but by the time they got there..." I waved a hand. "There was nothing they could do."

Cal stared at me in silence. He didn't move for so long that I wasn't sure if he'd heard me. I opened my mouth and started to speak when he held up a hand.

"The gym is gone," he said.

I nodded. "Yes."

"It's gone." He turned to stare out the window. "Fuck."

"I'm sorry. I'm going to figure out who did this and-"

Cal stood up and walked over to the dresser without a word. He rifled through my clothes and pulled out a few pieces before he started tugging them on.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

Cal glanced at me before he went back to getting dressed. "I'm going to go find those sons of bitches and stab them to death. Never done that before, but I feel like it'll be satisfying," he said as he tugged a hoodie over his head.

I groaned. "You don't even know where they are."

"Do you?" he asked.

I did. Well, some of them. I still had to wait to find the big fish, but I had found more Russians and the seedy little joints they liked to hang out in. It was my intention to go pay them a little visit later. But Calix didn't need to know that.

"No," I lied.

He narrowed his eyes. "Are you lying?"

Goddamnit. The man could read me like a book now. He glared when I didn't answer and turned around before he found his cell and shoved it into his pocket.

"You don't know the first thing about killing someone," I said as I tried to sidestep him and cut off his path. "You'll get yourself killed."

"I don't care."

I grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Calix, this is not the time to go running off. Besides, you don't know where they are and I'm not going to tell you."

He whirled around on me. "That's fine, Gabriele. I'll go have a chat with Conor Kelley's brother and I'm sure he'll have some information for me."

A growl rumbled up my throat. "No, he won't. They both know that if either one of them even speaks a word to you, it'll be the last straw that tips off a war. I will slaughter each and every one of them and they're not willing to take that risk."

He stopped and stared at me. "Tell me."

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