Cruel Betrayals (Savannah Sharks Hockey and Mafia #3)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

JOSEPH

Just as I’m walking out the door to head to the arena for my morning workout, my phone rings. It’s the private detective.

I answer his call as I get into the rental car. “Hello?”

“Mr. Marino, I have everything you asked for.”

“Great, and right on time. Email everything over to me, and I’ll wire your payment.” I can read the paperwork while I workout.

He hesitates. “I think it’s best if we meet in person.”

I scoff. “It’s that bad, huh?”

“It’s a lot of information to email over. I’d have to get you an external hard drive. You basically asked for her entire life story, and I delivered.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not horrible, it’s just a lot of information. “Alright, that’s fair. Meet me at the arena in fifteen minutes.”

I send a group text to the guys, letting them know I’ll be a little late.

I have a last minute meeting, but I’ll be in the gym in about half an hour.

Rhett responds first.

Coach canceled the morning workout. We are meeting tomorrow at nine for a morning skate before the game.

What the fuck? Why wouldn’t Coach Bobby let everyone know?

Thanks for the heads up.

It was posted in the team chat. Check your messages.

I check all of my group chats, including the ones specifically for mafia business, and come up empty.

Nothing. Are you sure it was in the group chat?

Spencer chimes in.

I never got a message either. I’m here now with Williams and Young. They are going to stay. I’ll work out on my own.

As I’m typing my reply, Rhett messages.

rhett

Sorry, guys. It was my fuck up. The message was just to me. I’ll double check next time.

I’ll go work out for a little while. I could use the workout.

spencer

Dude, you have a state of the art gym at your house. Why not stay home?

Sometimes, it’s nice to clear my head away from my house.

rhett

Are you alright? I can cancel my brunch plans with Chessie.

gage

I’m heading to the gym now if you need to get something off your chest.

I’ll let you guys know after my meeting.

I put my phone in its cubby and drive to the arena. The private detective is already waiting for me.

“Mr. Marino, thank you for meeting me.”

It’s not like I had a fucking choice.

“Give it to me straight. What did you find out?”

He glances around the empty parking lot before handing over a large manila envelope.

“Before you read what’s in that envelope, I think you should meditate beforehand and make sure you are alone.”

That doesn’t sound good at all. The faster my heart pounds in my chest, the more shallow my breathing becomes.

“How about you just tell me what you found out, so I can hit the gym with my teammates?”

“Finding out what she’s been doing the past couple of weeks was the easy part. The hard part was finding her past and what drove her to Savannah.”

“I’m not following.”

“Alexandra Ferguson has been meeting with Giuseppe Rossi almost every couple of days. They meet. They talk. Then she heads back to work.”

The edges of my vision blur as anger fills my veins.

He continues. “When she was seventeen, she petitioned the court to become an emancipated minor. She changed her name from Alex Marie Wilson to Alexandra Marie Ferguson.”

“What else?” I bark out, needing to know what else he found out.

He glances around nervously before saying, “Her father is a habitual gambler that has racked up more debt in Giuseppe’s casino than your family’s net worth.”

“Are you sure about all of this? She’s been meeting with Rossi?”

“Yeah. No doubt about it. There are almost one hundred text messages and phone calls between the two of them. I’ve printed out the call logs and the messages.”

I clench my jaw and grit out, “Thanks. I’ll wire your payment.”

He holds up his hand to stop me from leaving. “Wait, there’s a lot more in the envelope that I think will interest you.”

“That’s all I need to know.” I walk away from him and head straight to the gym.

With my jaw clenched, I walk past William, Young, and Roberts and head straight to the punching bag. I drop my duffle bag and start hitting the bag without gloves.

I need to feel the pain from every punch.

I need to get Alexandra out of my system. Damn if she didn’t look great last night. I could tell she was crying, but at what? I don’t know.

The news was on and they were covering my accident, but would Alexandra really cry over me being in an accident? Does she still care about me?

No. Stop it, damnit. I can’t think about her in a caring manner. I need to face the fact that my heart and mind are not on the same page.

With each set of punches to the bag, I ask myself another question.

Smack. Smack.

How long has she been working for Rossi?

Smack. Smack.

How long has she been lying to me and my family?

Smack. Smack.

Did she ever care about me, or was I just an easy way for her to get information about my family and our businesses to give to Giuseppe Rossi?

Smack. Smack.

How does she even know Rossi? Did she meet him when she was growing up because of her father’s debt?

Smack. Smack.

Why do I still care about her? Why is my heart begging my mind to forgive her? Why do I want to fuck her until she confesses to everything and begs for forgiveness?

Pain radiates through my hands as the skin on my knuckles split open.

Blood coats the bag, but I don’t let up. I need to get all the anger out. I need to get her out of my system.

Chase Williams and the other rookie, Phoenix Young, laugh at one another.

Young jumps off the treadmill and walks over to the refrigerator for a cold bottle of water. “Hey, Marino, how was your break?”

Williams answers for me. “Probably lonely.”

Young downs half his water before saying, “Yeah, everyone’s been talking about how you don’t have a woman in your life. You don’t want to grow old and become a bitter, lonely man. Just ask Coach Bobby.”

The two of them continue to tease me back and forth about being alone during the break.

Finally, I have enough, and I snap.

“How about the two of you just shut the fuck up and let me work out in peace? If you two are such experts in women, why don’t I see any rings on your fingers?”

The two of them open their mouths to talk, but I cut them off.

“How about instead of gossiping about shit you don’t know, you work on your skating, passing, and shooting?”

Williams rolls his eyes. “Damn, dude, you just need to get laid and relax.”

The only person I want is Alexandra, but she’s a fucking traitor and a liar.

Young nods and says, “He must be angry at himself or at a woman. No man punishes himself to the point his knuckles are bleeding all over the equipment unless it’s something serious.”

He finishes his water before adding, “We sure do love them, but women leave nothing but destruction behind. Am I right?”

Williams stops the treadmill and wipes his face with the towel draped across his shoulder. “This is why I fuck them and leave them. There are no attachments. No love. No unhealthy, whatever this is.”

He gestures toward me.

I grab the spray bottle and clean my blood off the bag. “Fuck off, or your face is next.”

Gage shoots them a glare and nods toward the showers.

Williams picks up his bag. “Fine, we’re going. We will let the seniors have the gym to themselves so they can sort out their problems before the game tomorrow night.”

Young follows Williams through the gym’s double doors.

Gage walks over to one of the weight benches. “So, do you want to talk about it? Or do you want to continue punishing yourself for whatever happened?”

“There’s a lot to unpack.”

“And I’m just starting my workout. I have hours to listen. Or if it will make you feel better, I have a stocked beer fridge right across the street.”

Right across the street where Alexandra lives.

I finish cleaning up my blood and grab a bottle of water, downing the entire bottle. I make my way to the treadmill. It will be easier to run and talk.

“I don’t even know where to begin.”

“How was your meeting? Who was it with?”

I set the speed on the treadmill to a light jog. “A private detective. Alexandra has been acting weird, and I needed to know what she was hiding.”

I catch his reflection in the mirror. He’s surprised. “Whoa. You had your father’s assistant investigated? Why do you think she’s hiding something?”

“One minute she wanted to pursue a relationship with me and the next she changed her mind. She started attending every meeting with my father and always took notes. She wasn’t being herself. Something changed.”

“And you just found what it was? Based on your attack on the bag, I’d say it wasn’t good.”

“She’s been working with Rossi. There are calls and texts between the two, and the private detective said she’s been meeting with him every couple of days.”

“Damn, dude. What are you going to do about it? Am I the only one that knows?”

“I just found out, but eventually, I’ll have to tell my dad, Francesca, and the rest of the guys. I don’t know what to do except fire her and lock her out of everything.”

She has access to everything, including bank accounts, business accounts, and the entire shipyard database.

I murmur, “My heart and mind are at war right now, and I don’t know what to do. I’m pissed. I’m hurt. I feel betrayed.”

“Rightfully so.”

“To be honest, I was afraid of falling in love, especially with the events from the past couple of months. I didn’t want to risk being betrayed like my father was with his mother, but it happened anyway. This is the same shit my mother did.”

“I think what your mother did was worse, but we don’t know the entire story. Maybe there’s a reason she’s been meeting with Giuseppe Rossi. You can always ask her.”

“There’s absolutely no reason for Alexandra to be consorting with the enemy. Giuseppe Rossi waged war on us and named her specifically, so why work with him?”

“What if she’s being the middleman for your father? He hasn’t included you in everything lately, has he?”

“When it comes to something like this, I’m always included.”

“Alright, if you want to fire her and lock her out of all accounts, then I support you and will help you, but I think you should be certain there isn’t more to the story than there seems.”

“I have an entire envelope full of proof that she isn’t who she said she is. She changed her name for fuck’s sake because her family is associated with Giuseppe Rossi. I bet if I pull up the database, her father will be in there.”

He puts the weights down and holds his hands up. “Hey, I’m not arguing. I work for you. I’m just playing devil’s advocate right now. I don’t want you to do something you regret.”

“It’s too late for that. I never should have fucked her in the first place.”

A stabbing pain radiates through my heart, but I push all emotion to the deep corners of my mind, where I won’t think about them. I don’t have time to let emotions cloud my judgment.

Giuseppe Rossi is still coming after us, but this time, he has a mole on the inside that’s been giving him information.

We are severely disadvantaged, but I won’t let a woman I might have loved take us down from the inside.