“That night you saw me? That was the night of the fight. They made me attend that event to – you know I still don’t understand the damn point of me attending that night. I won the fight but fuck if I didn’t get my ass kicked. I wasn’t ready. You can’t really be ready for a fight without enough time to train or study your opponent. I didn’t even know who my opponent was. You know Cara told me the next night, Stephano’s brother was killed. Said it was awful. Apparently, his dad and another business associate were killed too.”
My entire body tenses. The blood in my veins turns to ice. “Tori, what is Stephano’s name?”
She looks at me confused for a second. Then I see more fear run through her. “Why do I feel like if I tell you, everything is just going to get so much worse?”
“Baby, if you tell me what I think you’re about to, then it couldn’t possibly get any worse.”
“Stephano DeLuca. His brother’s name was -.”
“Romano,” I finish for her. “Fuck.”
She sits up and looks me dead in the eye. She already knows what I’m going to say. The way she pales about ten shades is the proof. “Zane? Do you – do you know them?”
“Yes,” I tell her without hesitation. “Who is the other guy you mentioned? The friend?”
“His name is James. James Rossi.”
What the actual fuck?
“Did you just say Rossi?” I ask her because I have to make sure I heard her correctly before I lose my shit.
She gives me a slight nod. “He followed me here, Zane. He was in my hotel room.”
“And he’s the one who did this to you?” I ask but I already know the fucking answer.
“I think he knows you,” she says softly like it should probably be some kind of secret. “He said it was fun to screw you over.”
“Oh, he definitely knows of me. If he really is a Rossi, he is some kind of cousin to Rory, Jax and Bastian.”
Except I have never heard of this person. I didn’t know there were any other Rossi’s left apart from Rory, Jax, and Bastian. But whoever this person is, he knows exactly who I am and that means he knows who I am. And he knows who Tori is to me.
“Go take a shower and get warm,” I tell her with a kiss to her forehead. “I need to make a couple of phone calls.”
“Now?” she exclaims as confusion fills her eyes.
“I won’t take long,” I promise.
She nods reluctantly but gets up to do as I say.
I am grabbing my phone as soon as I hear the bedroom door shut behind her. I dial Jax and pace the floor as the phone rings. “I love you, man, but this better be good,” he answers slightly out of breath.
“Fuck, Jay. You could’ve just let it go to voicemail instead of answering me like that. I do not want to hear the sounds of you fucking my sister. My pregnant sister.”
“How do you think she got pregnant," he chortles. "Besides we shared an apartment for years. Pretty sure you’ve already heard it.”
He’s not wrong, but that doesn’t make it any less disturbing. I need this subject changed. I need to keep on task about why I'm calling him. “Jay, we have a problem. Rather Tori has a problem that could be directly related to us.”
“And it’s serious enough it couldn’t wait until morning?”
“Tori is being – blackmailed, I guess. By the DeLucas and a guy who says his name is James Rossi.”
I hear a bit of mumbling in the background and some rustling. I can only guess that he is getting away from Zoey before he responds. “What the fuck?” he hisses after a minute. “What is she being blackmailed to do?”
“Fight in some underground matches or something. If she doesn’t, they threaten to hurt Cara.”
“Didn’t we get rid of DeLuca and his father?”
“Apparently there’s another plus this Rossi guy.”
