Page 29 of The Air You Breathe

“It wasn’t the first time he went against a professional. This should have been easy for him,” Lucio snapped, not seeing how flawed his reasoning was. “You did this on purpose.”

It was silent for a minute, while everyone processed that Lucio accused Cal of throwing the fight. Cal was sporting a shiner already and half of his face was swollen. He still didn’t fully heal from the last fight and his eyes were a little unfocused, I would bet he had a pretty good concussion.

“Who the fuck—”

“That’s fucking bullshit.”

“Why the hell would he fucking do that?”

All three of them started talking at the same time before Aiden glared at Cal and Nathan to shut up.

“I wouldn’t doubt this was payback for enlisting Jane to help Dev.” Lucio walked up to them, unconcerned that Aiden or Cal were close enough to snap his neck. “I think you're so pissed about your situation, that you had the need to rebel.”

“Why the fuck would I want my ass kicked?” Cal snarled, having a hard time keeping his anger in check. “I haven’t even fully—”

“That makes no sense. Losing means he doesn’t get a payout and his debt stays the same,” Aiden interrupted Cal, giving him another glare. “Cal would never throw a fight.”

“I agree with Aiden, Lucio, it doesn’t make sense for him to lose the fight. He was up against a guy who clearly had been trained professionally and his crew looked just the same.” I tried to appear cool, calm and collected. Lucio knew I had some sort of friendship with them, but I had to seem like the uninterested party. “It seems we might have been played by the other fighter and his team.”

Lucio looked at me as he thought about what I said. If I could shift the blame to the other fighter, I might be able to get Cal out unscathed and with no more debt. Two more men entered the room, standing by the exit.

“That seems like a possibility Evan, but I think it might be far-fetched.” He walked with his hands behind his back. “Cal lost me a shit ton of money. Since he’s been acting out and adding to his debt, showing him a lesson isn’t getting my point across.”

“I think it has gotten—”

“Let's make sure he knows his actions have consequences.” He snapped his fingers and the two men who were beside him stepped forward. I assumed he was going to get another beating, but they went for Nathan instead.

Aiden and Cal both lunged forward to protect their friend when I heard the first punch. The guy by the door was next to Aiden with a gun pointed to his head making Cal stop in his tracks. The other man came forward aiming his gun at Cal.

“Lucio, I think we should think about this,” I said, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.

He shrugged nonchalantly like he was thinking about what to have for dinner. “I have, are you doubting my leadership capabilities?” He asked and I knew it was a loaded fucking question.

“No, sir. I’m just worried this might have the opposite effect,” I said, flinching as I heard a loud crunch.

“Evan, you are so naive. You have much more to learn about this world,” he said, patting my cheek, in that condescending way. “Make sure they don’t go to the authorities. Make sure he feels—they all feel it tomorrow.” Lucio yelled over his shoulder walking out of the room at a leisurely pace.

I looked back to see Nathan, a bloody mess on the floor. Aiden was vibrating with anger while Cal looked like he might throw up. Lucio’s guards took a break before they went at it again and then they stepped on his hand. A loud crunch was heard by all of us and then Nathan yelled.

“Alright you’ve made your fucking point,” I snarled, walking up to the guards to push them back if I needed to.

“I don’t remember Lucio putting you in charge.” The larger guard, Poalo, sneered at me. He was a little bigger than me, but his reputation preceded him. He was a textbook psychopath and he scared the shit out of me.

“I know it's hard for you to understand, but he said to make them feel it tomorrow, breaking his hand does that.” I stood in front of Nathan, knowing I was going to get shit for this later.

The door swung open as Giovanni walked into the room looking like he was ready to kick some ass. When he saw Nathan on the floor his face transformed into a murderous glare.

“Lucio needs you to escort some men to the airstrip. He said they are very important and if something happens to them, there will be consequences,” Giovanni snapped at them, and they didn’t question him. They left the room, but Poalo looked back at me one more time. His gaze held a promise that me talking to him like that wouldn’t go without some sort of retribution.

Fuck, don’t look scared.

Once he left the room, I took a deep breath, dreading what was to come out of that. Aiden and Cal rushed to Nathan, as I heard one of them curse up a storm. I took another breath before I turned around to see him, I almost wish I hadn’t. His face was bleeding, swelling quickly and his hand looked horrendous. He passed out from either the pain or a concussion.

Aiden tried to make him as comfortable as possible. He checked his injuries, washing away some of the blood from his face. Cal was pacing behind Aiden, like a caged tiger. If I felt guilty, I knew Cal was taking this harder, blaming himself for something that was completely out of his control.

“I know you want to leave right away, but I think it might be best if you guys stay here for a bit, while the place clears out,” Giovanni suggested. “I want to make sure no one else bothers you and we don’t have another run-in with Lucio.”

Aiden looked like he wanted to lash out but he nodded. “Fine.”

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