Page 78 of The Fractured

Nothing about this meeting was comfortable.

I fought again tonight but wasn’t nearly as bruised as last time. There were fresh cuts on my knuckles that stung a little once the sweat got to them, but it wasn’t why I was uncomfortable. No, I was uncomfortable because of the person who sat across from me.

Gabriele took one long drag of his cigarette and let the smoke pour from his mouth as he watched me closely. He had asked me to stay back after my fight.

After watching all the other fighters leave earlier, including Seb, an unsettling sensation settled in my gut.

I kept my guard up like always. Face unreadable as if I were uninterested in anything Gabriele had to say.

Beside him, Roxy was playing her part in a tight red turtleneck dress. She had garnered his trust, and they seemed to be closerthan the first night they met. She whispered things into his ear or played with the collar of his shirt while he draped his arm around her shoulders.

“You did well tonight. Congratulations.” He knocked the ash from his cigarette into an empty glass.

I was temporarily taken over by the urge to ask him for one to settle my already agitated nerves, but I held my tongue.

“You’re good.Verygood.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“You have a loyalty about you,” he continued, gesturing to all of me with his hand. “Like you’d do whatever necessary to protect people you care about.”

My jaw tightened.

“He is one of my best.” Roxy slid her palm along Gabriele’s chest to grab his attention.

His eyes went to her for a moment, and he smiled lazily before his gaze came back to me.

“You know the gentleman you fought on your first night here was found dead the other day?” His smile remained as he drew back on the cigarette again.

I dragged my attention to the room. “That’s unfortunate.”

Antonio was killing his ex-fighters one by one.

“Hm…” Gabriele sipped the scotch in front of him and made sure to really appreciate its taste. He sucked on his teeth in thought. “You know… My fighters, the ones who used to work for my father, tell me you were his favorite. They say he treated you much better than any of them. Like a son.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck—

Gabriele chuckled darkly. “You can see why I might see that as a threat… But they also mentioned he employed you to do jobs for him,Dean.”

My heart stopped for a second, and I think Roxy’s might’ve too, based on the way she stilled.

Of course, those fighters would tell the triplets what my real name was. We couldn’t stay hidden behind fight names forever. But it was the way Gabriele said it that set my mind racing. With my name in their minds, it felt like they had started to chip away at the wall of security I was trying desperately to hold up around anyone I cared about.

This was why I kept my circle small.

“I did.” They were the only words I could get out while I tried to remember if there was any moment in my past where my last name might have been spoken inside The Den’s basement. Some of those guys, fellow fighters, knew crumbs about my family and what happened to it. What they knew wasn’t big enough to be a threat, but—

Who am I kidding? It’s a huge fucking threat.

Gabriele’s smile was cunning as he watched me process it all. Of all the years working for a mob boss, I had never seen or met someone who could display so much malice in a smile. In that moment, what I wanted more than anything was to smack it right off his face.

Roxy jumped in again, trying to bring Gabriele back on side. “Remember what I said, though? We left Antonio. He wasn’t a good boss.”

Gabriele scoffed his amusement and rubbed his temples. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“No, of course not,” Roxy cooed, once again sliding a hand up his chest.

Gabriele caught her wrist and held firm.