Deception (Infidelity #3)(43)

Instantly I understood that what I’d done as a purposeful disgrace to my father had farther-reaching repercussions. I was a Demetri, but I was also a Costello. I wasn’t sure if Vincent had planned this solely for me, or if it was meant to hurt Oren, too. All I knew with some certainty was that I was about to be bludgeoned to death before hundreds of witnesses.

Three rounds, five minutes per round.

Normally the fight was stopped when the injuries got to be too much. Still, I knew in the pit of my stomach as Vincent stared at the organizer that no one would step in. No one would stop what was about to happen.

Back in my hotel suite, over ten years later, I closed my eyes and pushed away the memory of the blood and gore. The sound of bones crunching beneath my fists, the crumbling as my fist contacted bone and cartilage. The eerie realization that my bones were breaking too.

In a sadistic way, it was addicting to be the perpetrator.

Crunch.

The sound a person made as he expelled the breath he needed to continue his involuntary functions. Somewhere between a ‘whoof’ and a ‘sigh.’ During my time in the octagon, I’d become hooked on the pain and anguish.

Receiving it in greater measure wasn’t as exhilarating.

I survived. Luca survived.

Oren had appeared sometime during the fight. My memory wasn’t clear. But as I recovered, I wisely decided to heed his warnings.

Vincent gave me a choice: I could continue to do what I’d grown to love, the carnage and destruction, but instead of doing it for my own name, I would do it as Luca did it—for family. Or I could disappear from that world and have my freedom.

Everything came with a price.

Though I hated to admit it, I knew that somehow I owed that freedom to my father. I still don’t know the price he paid, but in order to maintain it, my duty was to step away from MMA and never look back, and to do my part to make Demetri Enterprises a success—a reputable success.

That incident helped me understand that not everything Oren had told me were lies. I never wanted to admit that he’d actually worked hard to get where he was, but he had. My father had worked both sides of the business world and made Demetri as legitimate as he could. As I healed I vowed that I’d be the one to take it further, seeing for the first time how, in many ways, his hands had been tied.

I pushed the thoughts of my young adulthood away as I made my way back to my computer in my hotel suite. The pristine furnishings in the suite were all part of the life I’d helped to create, the life Oren had begun but I’d continued.

Was today’s incident in the park another warning? Or was it intended as more?

Questions still loomed. Could I blame today’s incident on Davis and the hearing at hand, or were there old ghosts from past dealings who still believed I should pay?

Was that freedom that I’d been granted years ago still mine to enjoy?

A voice in my head told me to do what I’d done last time and heed the warning. I knew what happened when I didn’t listen. The consequences were devastating.

The transcript from today’s earlier proceedings sat before me as I tried to concentrate. The dinner that Isaac had brought me sat untouched. I needed to learn what I’d missed while dodging bullets and getting lost in Charli.

Today the hearing had been mostly dominated by testimony from those in favor of the bill’s current wording. To listen to the so-called experts, this bill would do everything from saving baby seals to curing childhood cancer—literally. The revenue they claimed would come from the increase in tax was already appropriated to specific destinations, yet the testimony made it sound as if it would be sitting in the form of a great big check, waiting for appropriation into everyone’s favorite pork-barrel project.

I dialed Senator Carroll’s private cell phone.

“Doyle,” I said after he answered. “I’m very concerned about the whales.”

“Whales?”

“Seals will benefit from this bill but who’s looking out for the whales?”

“Lennox, I’m more concerned about you and that pretty little girlfriend of yours. I’ve been completely distraught over what you told me following today’s testimony.”

“We’re both safe,” I answered, bristling at Senator Carroll’s description of Charli.

She was beyond pretty, and hearing the words from his lips made them sound inadequate. I fought the urge to tell him that Charli wasn’t just pretty. She was ravishing, a spitfire with a mind of her own, who could tear him and any other condescending man to shreds. I’d warn him to approach with caution, because though she may appear tame, in reality she was almost too hot to handle. In her eyes she held her essence. They glistened with joy and love even when danger and pain surrounded her. Her beauty went further than her gorgeous exterior. She was enthralling and alluring.

Pretty was a disservice to my girlfriend. She was way beyond that, and most importantly, she was mine.

“Should you be here?” Doyle Carroll asked.

“Yes. I don’t have proof that the attempted shooting had any connection to this hearing. I’m scheduled to testify tomorrow. Davis not only acted like he was surprised to see me, but also surprised I’d be returning for the next few days.”

“He’s baiting you. That man knows the schedule backwards and forwards.”

“Well, I didn’t bite, but I admit he’s on my list of suspects.”