26. Tatiana

26

TATIANA

W e only walked for a few minutes before we found ourselves in a crudely erected locker room.

There was a shower room I spotted down a short hallway off to the side that we passed. There were several rows of lockers on either side of us, the majority of them dented, rusty, and banged the hell up. Towels were stacked on benches and spread out on the ground and there were a few duffle bags that belonged to the fighters.

We stood in the center of the room for a few minutes, Dmitry and Nikolai speaking in Russian, and Amara and Claudia having a quiet conversation between the two of them in Italian.

And then a door on the wall to my left, behind a row of lockers, opened and closed, and it was Gio who strode around them, freezing when he saw all of us standing there. Clearly, this was a surprise.

He still wore his skull mask, sweat dripping down his temples, with blood splattered on his chest—unrecognizable if we didn't already know who he was. But I noticed he was tense. His hands were clenched tightly, and he paced back and forth.

Then Gio stopped moving, his gaze darting between Dmitry and Nikolai, this low sound of warning leaving him. When he ripped off the skull mask and gripped the material fiercely in his fist, I could see how pissed he was.

I looked at Claudia and Amara, and by their lack of shock over the fact that the fighter was Gio, it confirmed to him they already knew of his identity before he yanked off the disguise.

"You," he said and pointed to Nikolai. "And fucking you," Gio hissed under his breath and stabbed his finger toward Dmitry. "Both of you bastards actually brought my sisters down here? I thought for sure you'd realize how fucked up it would be to bring them after that conversation the other night. What the fuck is wrong with you assholes?"

Dmitry was tense, his hand still wrapped around Claudia's waist as he kept her back to his chest. Nikolai chuckled deeply, placing himself in front of Amara, as if he thought her brother might hurt her.

Gio flared his nostrils and ran a hand over his face. "Plus, taking them to a fight is one thing. But bringing them to the backrooms—where you clearly wanted them to see me and have my identity revealed—is another." He snarled as he looked at me, then back at them. "And bringing your little sister here? Bunch of motherfuckers. The both of you, Russian assholes. You knew they'd find out it was me in that ring." He took a step toward my brothers, and they moved the women back and behind them.

"I would've found out eventually," Claudia said, and all eyes were trained on her now. "I found paperwork last night with your signature on it, D'yavol . I recognized your penmanship. I figured it out that way. But if I hadn't, I would've known the second I saw your tattoos."

"Which was how I knew it was you," Amara inserted.

Gio's nostrils flared once again, and I saw his face become red. With a disgruntled sound, he turned from us, running a hand over his short black hair.

"Your husband just had to cross that line?— "

"Watch it, motherfucker," Nikolai was the one to snarl now, not liking his wife being spoken to in any way other than submissive respect.

Everyone stayed silent, as if they were waiting for one of these three men to lose their shit.

"I made a deal with Dmitry and Nikolai in order to fight in the underground circuit. They keep the winnings, and in return, they let me fight as often as I want." And then he spun around, fire blazing in his eyes while they shot gasoline-soaked arrows at my brothers, as he forced his next words out through gritted teeth. Loudly. "And. They. Keep. Their. Fucking. Mouths. Shut."

It was clear all truths were coming out tonight.

"If the Cosa Nostra found out what I was doing behind their backs, making deals with the Bratva without speaking to the Head of Italy first, chaos would ensue."

And, of course, Nikolai had to open his mouth. "Get a fucking grip, man."Amara hissed something unintelligible at him, which had him snorting like he found this shit funny. "Your brother is over here throwing a hissy fit. From where I'm standing, watching a six-foot-five, three-hundred-pound man act all pissy that his little sisters found out he is participating in illegal fights is hilarious to me. "

"Jesus Christ, brat ," Dmitry muttered in annoyance. "Shut the hell up."

Nikolai cast him a narrow-eyed glance.

At that moment, Gio quickly rounded on Nikolai, and my brother pushed Amara back even farther, barking out orders in Russian to me. I reached for Amara, even though I knew Gio would rather die than have either of his sisters get hurt. Or me, for that matter.

Gio faced off with Nikolai, his eyes going cold, the aggression pouring off him tangible enough I had no doubt everyone felt it.

I could see Nikolai grin before he moved his head back and forth on his neck to crack it, took off his suit jacket, and then rolled his shoulders.

And then, faster than I could've expected, Gio clocked Nikolai, right in the side of the mouth. My brother's head whipped to the side, and I could see his lip split and blood ooze out of the fresh wound.

Amara gasped, and I took a step forward. I felt someone grab my wrist and glanced behind me to see Dmitry holding on to me while sporting a hard look.

And then with his other hand, he pulled a gun on Gio.

"No!" Claudia shouted at her husband .

Nikolai pulled his eyes off his opponent long enough to murmur, "Ты не совсем ясно мыслишь, брат. Кулачный бой это одно. Проделать дыру в голове своего шурина, это другое." You're not thinking clearly, brother. A fist fight is one thing. Putting a hole in your brother-in-law's head is another.

He held his hand up, stopping our brother from coming closer. It was interesting to see Nikolai being the more level-headed of the two of them for once.

Nikolai ran his thumb over his mouth, smearing the blood before placing the digit back in front of his lips and then crudely licking it off. "That's your free shot, Gio."

Both men stared at each other, Gio's chest pumping up and down, his teeth bared, and murder in his eyes. Nikolai stood there like he was bored as hell.

After long, very tense moments, Gio exhaled and scrubbed a hand over his face. It was clear he was trying to regain his control, and as the seconds passed, his aggression dimmed.

"I wasn't purposely trying to keep this from either of you," he finally spoke, addressing Claudia and Amara. "But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that if I could have, I would have. "

"I wish you had told us. I would've been there for you, rooting you on," Claudia was the one to speak.

"We both would've been there for you," Amara inserted, then took a step closer, brushing away Nikolai's arm when he tried to stop her.

Gio cleared his throat and nodded, but he wouldn't look at anyone. "Growing up—" He paused, then cleared his throat again. "—Father was…."

I knew where he was going with this, and my heart ached for the man I loved. I could see he was sifting through the memories of his childhood and found myself lifting a hand and placing it over my heart… which felt like it was breaking.

My gaze went to his bare arms and chest, and although I couldn't see the permanent marks that littered his flesh, I knew they were there, and they not only scarred his body but also deep inside.

"The things Father made me do, the situations I witnessed—they're forever a part of me." Gio's shoulders bunched. "I did a lot of fucked-up shit." The tension in the room increased. "And I'm forever fucked up because of it." He looked around at everyone now.

Although he bared his soul, Gio's expression was apathetic, like he hadn't just confessed to us his trauma .

"I fucking like it. You understand, sisters?" His voice was hard and sharp as he addressed Claudia and Amara.

I looked between the two women, who both sported the same expression.

Terror that their brother had gone through what he did and now had to deal with the aftermath in his own—albeit twisted—way of healing. And also… love. They loved their brother as much as I loved mine.

"And fighting… it helps me unleash all that hate I have inside me. It'll never go away. So I fucking embrace it." He held his hands out, palms up, as he stared at the women. "These hands have killed many people. They've been covered in blood, helped bury bodies, and tortured people… even some who didn't deserve it." He glanced my way then.

I could see his sisters looked nauseous, knowing this was the last thing they wanted to hear, but they let Gio get this off his chest.

He wanted them to know. He needed them to hear every word because it was a weight that was finally being lifted from him.

"Fighting has been my dark, messed-up therapy for a long time. But I feel relieved that both of you finally know what I do." He ran a hand over his sweaty, bloody face. "And I won't lie and say I didn't fight in Desolation because I wanted to be closer to my sisters. With both of you so far away, it was fucking hard on me." Although he addressed them, he looked at me then, as if he didn't care if anyone in this room picked up on his hidden, underlying meaning.

He wanted to be closer to me now, too.

Claudia was the first to make a move. She walked toward Gio and threw her arms around his waist. She rested her forehead on the center of his chest and murmured how much she loved him.

"You're so strong," she whispered but loud enough I heard. "You've always been so strong for us because you were the best big brother anyone could ask for."

She was openly crying, and I could see it was doing a number on Dmitry. My brother wanted to go to his wife, but he gave her this moment with her brother.

"You were a good son, and I'm sorry Father and Mother never saw that. I'm sorry they hurt you. I'll never leave your side."

Amara went over and wrapped her arms around Gio from his side. It took every ounce of my strength to stay put and not do the same. I glanced at my brothers, and thankfully, they were too focused on their wives to see the love I had for my Italian fighter that was no doubt clearly displayed in my expression.

"I love you, fratellone . We're family, and we love you. You're not alone."

I held back my tears as Claudia said those words to Gio.

She and Amara pulled away, and Gio cupped one of Claudia's cheeks and did the same to Amara with his other hand. The corner of his mouth lifted in a small, painful smile. "La mia famiglia." My family.

And then he lifted his head and looked right at me, his stare hard and clear, and one that my brothers most certainly saw, if the pressure increasing in the room was anything to go by.

La mia famiglia, Gio, I thought. You're my family now, too.