Page 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

LOTTO

“ W hat the fuck, Ari?”

Ari hung her head low at my scolding.

She had always been headstrong and stubborn, but her insistence of staying with Scotty was both stupid and strange. It didn’t sit right with me.

What the fuck did he say to her in San Diego?

“Did you really just use his past against him?” Bones asked. “For fucking Scotty Green?”

“It’s— You don’t understand?—”

“Then make us understand!” Frankie shouted.

Ari flinched back, and I hissed, “Frankie, keep your voice down.”

“Fuck no! She deserves it after that bullshit. Ari, you need to fix this or else?—”

“Scotty knows about Bones’ dad!” she yelled.

The room went dead quiet. My eyes widened. Bones was statue still in his chair, the bones tattoos on his hands stretching when he gripped his knees.

“What?” I somehow managed to ask. Hard, considering I couldn’t breathe.

Tears leaked down Ari’s cheeks now. She didn’t bother to wipe them away and scanned the three of us with red-rimmed eyes.

“He cornered me in the bathroom at our fight. Told me we had to either take them or sell them to keep him as a sponsor. I told him no. When I tried to leave, he—” She paused and tugged at her long ponytail.

“Did he touch you?” Frankie growled.

“No. He would have had two broken hands if he tried.” She shook her head. “He mentioned La Suprema.”

“He knows the name of Dad’s gym?” Bones whispered.

“And where it is. He said the kids love him.”

“How does he know this?” I demanded.

“His connections from prison. He didn’t say who, but he said to be careful of gang violence.”

“Racist ass prick,” Bones said. He gripped his knees so hard I thought he might break them. “I should beat his fucking face in.”

“You should have told us this, Ari,” Frankie pressed. “We could have figured it out together.”

“But you guys were so happy,” she whispered. She wiped away the tears on her cheeks, but wet tear trails remained. “You kept winning and talking about making it to the top four. How could I ruin that?”

“The only person ruining things is that fucking bastard,” I spat. “We need to go to the Circuit.”

“No, we need to go to Mexico City.” Bones pushed from his chair. The loud scraping of the wood on the floor grated on my nerves. “Check on Dad.”

“We don’t know where the gym is, Bones.”

“Then we’ll ask around when we get there. Someone is bound to know where it is.”

“Mexico City is huge. It’ll take us weeks.”

“And?”

“And what about the Circuit?” Frankie asked.

Bones threw up his hands. “What about the fucking Circuit? I’ve had it up to my fucking neck with those assholes!”

“But we’re so close to the finish line,” Ari added.

“And this is my dad’s life we’re talking about here! That’s so much more important than some tournament in Vegas.” Bones pointed an accusatory finger in my direction. “And you, of all people, should agree with me, Lotto.”

“I do,” I murmured. “I know how you feel, Bones, but?—”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He threw up his arms. “So, you’ll just let Dad die to stay in some useless tournament that is barely tolerating us?”

“No, I’ll stay in the tournament to let Pops die with some fucking dignity!” I shouted.

Frankie, Ari, and Bones all reeled back. I almost never lost my cool. But months of being on edge, on losing control, on losing one of my father figures—it was all too much. Anger pounded against the wall keeping my mouth shut and my words spilled over like a waterfall.

“I love Pops just as much as you. Just as much as any of us. But he went to Mexico City for a reason , Bones. He wants to go out on his own terms. He wants to see you win .” I grabbed the collar of his shirt and shook him with the same anger wracking my body. “That’s all he ever talks about in our calls. You in the ring. You back to winning. You making him proud.”

“Really…?” Bones sighed.

“He loves you. So fucking much. Do you know what he said to me after I called about his package? ‘I don’t want you guys to see me like this. I want you to remember me in my glory days.’ To the last damn second, Pops only thought of you. Of us . For fuck’s sake, Bones, let him have his dying wish.”

Tears shone in Bones’ eyes. His body went limp, and he folded back into his chair. I ran a hand over my chin to contain my anger. Ari exchanged a look with Frankie and sighed.

“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I should have mentioned it earlier.”

“It’s not,” Bones said weakly.

“But it is. Your dad left you in my care. I didn’t want to break your heart. I wanted you to keep fighting.”

“Our hearts are going to be broken either way.” I glanced down at Bones. “Tell them about the package.”

He shook his head.

Frankie crossed his arms. “What package?”

Bones sighed. “Dad sent me a package from an estate lawyer. Had a bunch of stuff inside. I think… he’s ready to go.”

A blanket of cold settled over us. Now that my anger had subsided, all that was left was a hollowness in the pit of my stomach.

“I’m really sorry, Bones. You, too, Lotto.”

“Frankie apologizing. Now I’ve seen everything.” I snorted.

“Why don’t we ask your dad to sponsor our gym?”

Bones sat up a little straighter. “He mentioned winning at the casinos, but I don’t know if he has that kind of cash. And we’re gonna need a lot of it to convince the Circuit.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to ask.” I set a hand on his shoulder. “He wants to support you in any way he can.”

“Sure. We’re planning a call at the end of the week.”

Ari sighed and scrubbed at her face. “That would make this whole Scotty mess so much easier.”

I scratched at my scalp. “We should probably call River back in.”

“If he hasn’t left us.”

“I’m pretty sure he hasn’t. This place is still standing. It’s not burnt down yet.” Bones shook his head.

“Yet,” Frankie added.

“I’d still let him cool off. He knows how to get his way. Trust me, when he?—”

Ari paused. Her cheeks colored. Frankie’s eyes narrowed and he set his hands on his hips.

“When he did what, Ari?”

I stared at her. What other secrets was she keeping from us?

She licked her lips and glanced around the room. Her eyes eventually landed on Bones, and her face contorted into an expression that screamed “please fucking help me.” I leaned down into Bones. Even his cheeks were tinged with color now.

I knew what was going on before Ari said anything.

“I may have invited River into the family in a different way.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Ari’s expression turned curious. Frankie somehow managed to look even more pissed. Bones turned to me and lifted a brow.

“That’s it?” I asked. When Ari nodded, I laughed again. “So you fucked River?”

“...yes.”

“Excuse me?” Frankie shouted. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Bones was there, too!”

Bones nodded. “For that one.”

“ That one?” Ari questioned. “What other one is there?”

He shrugged and kept quiet.

“Jesus Christ, you horny bastards. Can’t keep it in your pants?” Frankie rolled his eyes. “What about you, Lotto? Did you fuck him, too?”

“Yeah, I did.” I smirked when Frankie’s face dropped, and Ari snorted. “Right here in this office, actually.”

“Good fucking God. So what, we all fucked River?”

“We?” My eyes bored into Frankie’s. The way his expression twisted made me smirk. “So, you’re included in this, Frankie?”

His lips twisted a few times before he ground out, “Once.”

“How can you call us horny bastards when you did the same?” Ari teased. “You’re as guilty as the rest of us.”

“It was to blow off some steam.”

“So was mine.” I ran a hand over my jaw. “But I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

Ari sighed like the weight of the world had left her shoulders. “I’m glad you said it first.”

“Hold on. What are you saying?” Bones asked. “You want him to join us?”

“He’s already part of the family. I don’t want him to leave Smiley’s. Or us. He just… fits.” She glanced around the room. “He’s good for us.”

“And we’re good for him,” I agreed, “but only if he agrees.”

Frankie pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are we really considering this? Balancing the four of us has already been a headache.”

“But now we have experience.” Ari laughed. “So, what’s adding a fifth?”

“You’re insane,” Bones said. But when he turned to look at me, there was a small smirk on his face. “You think he’ll agree, Lotto?”

“I know he will.”

Because I felt the same as Ari. Things with River just felt right. Like he was already one of us from the beginning.

Frankie sighed. “I guess we’ve got some shit to talk about.”

“Let’s hope he didn’t get lost going to buy those cigarettes.” Bones slapped his knees and stood again. “I’ll get him.”

“Better you than us.” I shrugged. “He might lay our asses out.”

“You’re really going to put this on an injured man?”

Ari snorted and crossed her arms. Gone was the nervous, apologetic woman from earlier. Our boss bitch was back and ready to take the reins.

“Bring him back in, Bones. Let’s make this right.”