Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Jeremy is new to Lucian’s Gym, and Lucian wanted to see what the kid had, so he asked me to spar with him. He’s young and in shape, but that doesn’t mean he’ll make a good fighter. My brother is in shape, and I’d make his ass tap out any day of the week.
I observe him for a few more seconds and then make my move. He sees it coming and defends himself, but he’s not experienced, so when I pull a fake on him and clock him in the jaw over the protective helmet, he stumbles back, his ass hitting the floor.
“All right, that’s enough,” Lucian says. “You have potential,” he says to Jeremy, “but we have a long way to go.”
The kid beams with pride, and I know exactly how he feels. Getting complimented by Lucian doesn’t come often, so when it does, you feel like you’re on top of the world. Because, unlike most people, he genuinely cares.
If it wasn’t for him pulling me off Anthony all those years ago, I don’t even want to think about where I’d be. Sure, I have my brother, but when Andrey was alive, Dominick didn’t have a say, and it was Lucian who kept my head on straight.
It was Lucian who was there when I dropped out at sixteen and my dad threw me onto the streets, telling me I didn’t deserve to be an Antonov.
It was Lucian who spent day after day teaching me how to regulate my emotions, how to control my anger and frustration.
It was Lucian who taught me how to work smarter and not harder.
He’s the reason why the Antonovs not only run the business world, but we’re also a force to be reckoned with in the underworld. Instead of fighting against who I was, I used it to my advantage and became one of the most feared and respected men in South Florida.
“Hey, Matteo,” Lucian says, jogging toward me before I can make it to the locker room to shower and get ready for work. “Some city official came by the other day, talking shit about updates and permits.” He hands me the paperwork and shrugs. “I’m not sure what all this means, but …”
“I’ll handle it,” I tell him, patting his shoulder.
Several years ago, when the city tried to shut down his gym, I offered to become Lucian’s partner. After renovating it and bringing it up to code, the city not only left him alone, but he also started to bring in more money. If the city thinks they’re going to fuck with this place, they have another thing coming.
After showering, I check my phone and see a few missed texts from Dominick—nothing dire—and one from Lorenzo.
I stick my earbud in and click play.
Russo: I need your guy to run a check on Henry Thomas. Go as deep as you can go. His family has a business here in Harbor Point. The fucker married my sister.
My thoughts go to Daniella. When we were younger, Lorenzo and I played on the same football team. I started calling him Russo since it was plastered across his back, and it just kind of stuck. So, naturally, Daniella’s nickname became Little Russo as a joke because when I would hang out at their house, she’d follow him around everywhere. But he didn’t care because despite the twelve-year age difference, Daniella is the most important person in Lorenzo’s world.
I haven’t called her by her nickname in years, mostly because she was shipped off to boarding school and then college and I never saw her.
Not until her parents’ funeral, where the little girl I’d last seen was no longer little. She was in fact a grown fucking woman with a beautiful heart-shaped face, bright and expressive green eyes, silky brown hair, and curves for fucking days. And not the fake curves. I’m talking the real deal. The kind you can grab in bed and hold on to. I’d bet my life she could take a good pounding.
And that last thought was why I used the nickname Little Russo when I asked her how she was doing—to remind myself that she was my best friend’s little sister and off-limits.
Her being married shouldn’t affect me in any way, but for some reason, it does. It’s not like I was going to marry the girl, but she’s always seemed so out of reach. Like she’s above the rest of us mere mortals.
I’ve listened to Lorenzo talk about her our entire life. Straight A’s, works hard, president of her sorority. She’s dated a few guys over the years, but none of them lasted because, according to Lorenzo, they weren’t good enough for her—his words, not hers.
So, to hear that she’s gotten married since I saw her at their parents’ funeral is hard to believe, but kind of a relief. When Lorenzo told me she was planning to move home to learn the family business, my first thought was what it would be like to bend her over the desk and fuck her brains out, and that wouldn’t be good for my friendship or business relationship with Lorenzo. But since she’s married, she’s off-limits.