On The Ropes: Tapped Out Book 3

by Quinn, Cari

  “The heavy bag. Someone hacked into it last month. Not someone. Lo’s people. Someone he had working with him, anyway.” He cracked his knuckles behind his neck, circling the chair as if it was a snake he expected to make a move at any time.

  Out of nowhere he kicked it, sending it hurtling into the wall.

  “What the hell?” My sister burst into the room with Fox right behind her. “Mind not attacking our office shit, Costas?”

  Gio pointed. “Look.”

  Mia stopped halfway across the room. So did Fox.

  “Christ.” My sister’s boyfriend pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not again.”

  I crossed my arms. “You people better start explaining this to me, and fast. What happened to the heavy bag last month?”

  “It got torn up by a crazy bitch,” Fox muttered.

  “What crazy bitch?” I glanced at Gio. “I thought you just said—”

  The look he gave me told me to be quiet. Hell if I knew why.

  Hell if I understood any of this.

  Mia tugged on her recently fixed braid. She was fraying it all over again with her fussing. “Remember how you wondered why Slater wasn’t talking to us anymore?”

  “Yeah. You said it was a friend thing, and he’d come around.”

  “Not so much a friend thing. He’s dating a fucking psychopath.” Fox glanced at Mia, then at me. “The girl he’s with now has been harassing Mia.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  Mia only sighed. “Because she’s the daughter of Darren Winthrop.”

  “Who?” Gio asked.

  All of a sudden, you could’ve heard two MMA fighters take a deep breath.

  They’d momentarily forgotten Gio was in the room. Even I had, and he was pretty much my focus at all times.

  And now he would have questions. They were already burning in his eyes, turning the blue to something dark and menacing.

  Giovanni Costas angry wasn’t something I ever wanted to see again. The little taste I’d gotten a few minutes ago had been plenty.

  “I asked a question.” Gio’s gaze centered on me. “Who is Darren Winthrop, and what does he have to do with this?”

  I started to reply—to say what, I didn’t know—but Mia held up a hand. “It’s okay. I guess it’s long past time he knows. It’s not a secret…exactly.”

  “Ame,” I said softly. “You don’t have to tell him anything you don’t want to. Now or ever.”

  The look Gio shot me didn’t do anything but make me straighten my shoulders. I cared about him, yes. Just not at the expense of my sister divulging something she wasn’t ready to share.

  “Listen to your sister.” Fox rubbed his thumb over Mia’s knuckles like Gio did sometimes with me. “You don’t have to say a damn thing.”

  “It’s okay. Really. The more times I say it, the easier it’ll get, right?” My beautiful, brave sister smiled and glanced at Gio. “Darren Winthrop is the man who kidnapped me and held me hostage for three months when I was fourteen. The girl who was stalking me before, who ripped up the heavy bag last month, was his only daughter Olivia.” She glanced past Gio at the chair and sighed again. “Guess she’s still not tired of her sick games.”

  Fox’s eyes narrowed. “And I think it’s time we go have a chat with my old pal Slater.”

  Fourteen

  As shocked and disgusted as I was by what Mia had just told me, my brain was still whirling. Trying to make sense of what I’d seen now, and before, and how it fit in with the Andrettis.

  They hated Mia due to an argument she’d had with Lorenzo, and the so-called disrespect she’d shown him. In truth, Lo had been running his mouth, and he’d had the punch coming that Mia had given him.

  But in our world, punching an underboss could mean death. And it almost had.

  Mia’s debt had supposedly been paid off when she’d agreed to fight Evie Pierce last month, due to the amount of bets that would be generated on that kind of fight. Women’s MMA was coming up fast, and Mia had a rep in the game. Her retirement last winter had surprised a lot of people, and many of them had come out to bet that night. I’d been promised her acquiescence had been enough to quiet Lo and his men’s ire, but I didn’t trust them.

  Especially since a vendetta against Mia was way too close to Carly.

  “Are you sure?” I demanded. “You’re certain this Olivia person is really the one who was harassing you, Mia?”

  “Lorenzo flat out told me she was involved.”

  “You spoke to Lorenzo again?” I moved forward. “When?”

  “Hey there, buddy, you might want to watch whose face you get into.” Fox pressed his hand into my chest, not so subtly holding me back. “I’d hate to have to break your nose.”

  I lifted a brow. “I’d love to see you try.”

  “Boys,” Carly said from right behind Fox. “Seriously, my sister could break both of your noses, so cool it with the posturing.”

  “Yeah, but she likes mine.”

  “Some days,” Mia agreed. “Yeah, Costas, I talked to Lorenzo. Weeks ago, before the fight with Evie. They tried to convince me to see things their way, and I declined.”

  “What things?” I took another step forward, and resoundingly met with Fox’s hand—now a fist—one more time. “Do you really think she needs you as her guard dog? Seems to me she’s quite capable of handling herself.”

  “I am, but he enjoys playing the tough guy. I let him take his jollies where he can find them.”

  Fox dropped his fist. “Yeah, well, my jollies just deflated.”

  Carly rolled her eyes. “Can we get back to the point, please?”

  I ignored their byplay. I had more important concerns at the moment. “What did they try to convince you of? Did Lorenzo hurt you?”

  Mia’s spine snapped ruler straight. “Hell no, he didn’t hurt me. You think some pussy in a thousand dollar suit can slow me down with his threats?”

  Carly’s eyes widened. “He threatened you?”

  “What did he say to you?” I asked carefully, wishing I could get Carly out of the room. Or at least hold her hand. But I couldn’t, because we weren’t supposed to be anything to each other.

  Less than nothing.

  “It wasn’t any big deal.” Mia shrugged, though I suspected she was downplaying things for her sister’s benefit. “He wanted me to throw the fight, because they felt Evie was a bankable fighter and they wanted her to win. Beating me would hasten along her restarted MMA career, I guess. But I said no. I don’t throw a fight for any goddamn reason. They tossed a few empty threats around, tried to use some scare tactics to—”

  “What threats?” I stepped forward and took Mia’s wrists, and this time, Fox didn’t make any move to stop me. “I need to know exactly what they said, and how. It’s important. Not just for curiosity’s sake,” I added, catching Carly’s eye over Mia’s shoulder. I knew she was thinking, as I was, of that conversation we’d had about Mia in my bed last week. “But because I know these men, and I can’t help ensure your safety if I’m in the dark.”

  “You know them, all right, because you’re in league with them.” Mia shook me off. “Why should I tell you anything?”

  Behind Mia, Carly’s face gave away nothing. She was waiting for an answer too.

  “I give you my word on my mamma’s grave, I would never see you harmed. Any of you.” I looked at each of them in turn. “My word is all I have to give.”

  Mia frowned. “Your mother is dead too?”

  I swallowed hard. All these years later, it was still difficult to say. To acknowledge. “Yes. Six years now.”

  “I’m sorry. Ours is too.”

  “I know. My condolences as well.”

  At Mia’s frown, I realized I wasn’t supposed to have intimate knowledge like that of them. I was a stranger. An outsider.

  Carly lowered her gaze, her long, dark lashes casting shadows on her cheeks. Did she wish she could tell them what we were to each other, or was she happy we’d agreed to
secrecy?

  You’re not anything to each other. You can’t be.

  Knowing that and remembering it when she seemed so fragile and beautiful next to her older, harder sister were two different things. The light in Carly was so strong, still. My urge to tuck her in and protect her wasn’t something I could wish away or ignore. I’d been struggling with it since the day we met.

  That it was a distraction I didn’t need didn’t cause the desire to go away.

  “Lorenzo threatened the people I love, once he realized his threats on my life wouldn’t sway me.” Mia rubbed the wrist of the arm that had been broken. “In the end, I lost, anyway, so they got what they wanted.”

  “You threw the fight?”

  Her head came up, her eyes blazing into mine. “No, I said I lost. She beat me, fair and square.”

  Fox cursed under his breath. “Fair and square, my ass. Those goons dragged Olivia through the crowd to throw you off your game. Somehow they knew you’d care. You shouldn’t, but you did.

  “What were the threats, exactly? Vague doesn’t help me.”

  “How does any of this help you? Why do you even care? At best, we’re friends. At best,” Mia repeated, making it clear she didn’t even believe we were truly that.

  It took everything I possessed not to make eye contact with Carly. “Friendship matters to me. I told Fox that too. I don’t have many friends, so the ones I have I don’t take lightly.”

  “There’s a big long river between not taking our friendship lightly and risking your life to help us. Not that we need you to,” she added. “I lost, a ton of bets were cashed in that night, and Lorenzo hasn’t contacted me since. Everything has been quiet.”

  “Until today.” I glanced back at the skewered chair. “That is definitely not quiet.”

  She rubbed her wrist again, saying nothing.

  “The threats were against me,” Fox said after a moment. Mia’s eyes went to slits, but she didn’t admonish him. “And Carly.”

  “Me?” Even as my hands went to fists, Carly pushed her way in front of her older sister to speak to Fox. “Why would they threaten me?”

  Suddenly, it was all so clear.

  Because you’re in their club every night. Because they have you right where they want you.

  When the Mia situation had occurred with Lorenzo, Carly had already been dancing at the club for months. Mia and I hadn’t known it, but Lorenzo and his men surely did. Marco in particular.

  It hadn’t been a coincidence that Marco had chosen Carly to bring to the back room that night. They hadn’t been finished with getting their retribution, and they’d accomplished two things by setting us both up. I’d proven my loyalty by doing as they asked, especially since it skirted the laws of consent, and they’d taken another shot at Mia via her sister.

  Two questions remained. Were they finished taking shots at Mia, through Carly or otherwise? And was there another reason they’d pushed me and Carly together that night?

  Easier to take out two ducks with one shot.

  “It was just idle crap. They just snatched onto the first handy target.” Mia rubbed Carly’s shoulder. “Nothing at all for you to worry about. I took care of it.”

  I didn’t miss the look that Mia and Fox exchanged. They didn’t believe that for a minute.

  “Lorenzo hasn’t attempted contact since the fight. You’re sure of it.”

  “Yes, no contact. Why would he? He got me to fight, which was what he wanted. It was just one stupid punch,” she added defensively. “What kind of pussy is he, making such a big deal about nothing?”

  “It’s a matter of honor in front of his men. Without honor, you’re less than worthless. At the very least he would want to make an example of you, to ensure no one else would try something similar.”

  The more I spoke, the more pieces of the puzzle snapped together.

  I was being set up.

  Just as Mia and Fox—and even Carly—didn’t trust my motivations, neither did the Andrettis, for good reason. Not only was I a Costas by blood, the son of one of their biggest rivals, I was aligned with Mia and had even campaigned for leniency on her behalf.

  One of those things might be overlooked. Not two.

  There was no fucking way they thought I was actually on their side. They were going along with me for the time being, letting me think I’d been made, but they would soon take the next step to demonstrate otherwise.

  Or maybe they’d just sit back and let my own father order a hit on me. Perhaps that was how Vincente had heard of my doublecross in the first place—from the Andrettis themselves, hoping to keep their hands clean of the dirty work.

  “Gio?”

  I glanced up to see Carly at my side. I hadn’t even seen her approach. Or the others leave. I’d been lost in my own world, contemplating the almost certain death that was coming sooner than I’d thought.

  My own.

  But I wouldn’t let it happen that way. No way in hell would I get this close to Roberto Andretti and allow them to kill me before I’d accomplished my goal. If I was going to die, he was going down with me.

  “Gio, look at me.”

  I might be able to overlook her soft, concerned voice, but I couldn’t ignore the sensation of her cool, strong fingers curling around mine. Or her big blue eyes, willing me to meet her gaze.

  I looked, because nothing else felt as real or as solid at that moment than her hand on mine.

  “What is it? You can tell me.” Her throat moved as she glanced over her shoulder. “They’re gone now. I think they went to go see Slater. Fox is set on talking some sense into him.”

  “Who’s Slater?” The name sounded familiar, but right now, my head was spinning too much for me to place it.

  “Fox’s best friend. You might’ve seen him at Fox’s fights in the old days. He was his corner man. Oh, and at Mia’s fight last month. He also came to that dinner at our place, the one you were at also.” She made a face. “You know, the one where my sister kept trying to talk about my lovers to make a point to you.”

  Oh, yes, I remembered that night. Quite well. I recalled seething over imagining Carly with another man, then deciding it wasn’t any of my business. She had the right to see whomever she wanted.

  “What was that point? That you were sexually active?”

  “Yeah, with guys that weren’t you. That’s my big sis. As delicate as a heart attack.” She snorted and shook her head. “Man, poor Slater. I never would’ve figured him for the type to fall for a psychopath, but he’s got a sweet heart.”

  My gaze drifted back to the chair. “They don’t know for certain this was done by Olivia. They’re just assuming.”

  “Well, it’s a reasonable assumption, don’t you think?”

  I paced away. “There is nothing reasonable when it comes to Lorenzo Donato and anyone associated with him.”

  She grew quiet, and I soon found out why. “Gio, you’re associated with him.”

  It was my turn to become quiet.

  “I’ve tried not to ask questions. I know you want my trust. But trust only goes so far. If they’ve threatened my sister—”

  “Forget your sister. They threatened you. They harmed you.”

  Her chin came up in that defiant gesture I both adored and hated. Adored because I admired every sign of her inner strength. Hated because her stubbornness often made a bad situation so much worse.

  “If that truly mattered so much to you, you would walk away from them. No matter what was in your past, no matter what they have over your head.” She crossed the few feet between us and placed both hands on my chest. “Whatever they have on you, is it really worth selling your soul to them?”

  A harsh laugh escaped me. “You think they have something on me? That they’re blackmailing me?”

  “I don’t know what to think.” Her hands fell away. “I want to believe you’re a good man, but God, the more I hear, the more I wonder. How could you be good surrounded by so much filth? Filth you willingly continue to
spend time with?”

  “You dance in that club,” I reminded her.

  She nodded. “They pay my paycheck. They don’t own me, no matter what they think. Can you say the same?”

  She turned and walked out of the room without another backward glance.

  Fifteen

  He had a fight tonight, and I wouldn’t be there to see it. Because we were arguing, and because I had to dance.

  Maybe the club owned me after all.

  He’d called me a couple of times, and though I knew it was cowardly, I hadn’t answered. I didn’t know what to say. Worse, I knew whatever he said, I’d be back in his arms before my shift was over unless I practiced strict avoidance.

  I’d even gone so far as to give my notice today—two weeks as was standard, but Trina had begged me to stay for three weeks instead. She’d had two girls quit on her in the last week, and I’d be doing her such a huge favor. Pretty please with a cherry between my legs.

  It wasn’t like I couldn’t use the money, especially now that I might be going into business with my sister, so I’d agreed. If I picked up an extra shift or two in that time, even better.

  In under a month, it would all be over. I wouldn’t need to survey Gio’s activities anymore, or to try to recapture my youthful enthusiasm for something that now seemed dirty and fake under the cold light of reality. I wouldn’t have to rationalize the mistakes I’d made. I would move on, a little older, a lot wiser, with my heart and soul mostly intact.

  For the last two weeks, I’d spent almost every night with Gio. Not the whole night, just stolen hours here and there. Enough to take the edge off the need we had for each other, but not enough to arouse suspicion from my sister. Not seeing him again after these next few weeks at the club would hurt like hell, but I didn’t have any choice. I wouldn’t spend my life wondering when he’d end up in jail or dead. Or if he’d kill someone at Marco and Lorenzo’s request. I’d always known one day I would have to draw a line in the sand.