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“I have a lot to do. I’ll see you tomorrow. Send the shit to my office for Leo. He’ll be out by this evening.” I leave the office without looking back. The whole conversation has put me in a worse mood, and I need to relax.
I pull out my phone and text my latest bed buddy. She’s a little high maintenance, but she can suck dick like it’s her middle name. Carly is just the remedy I need to relax.
***
“You cocky son-of-a-bitch! I knew you could do it!” Sean slaps me on my back as I sit in my dressing room.
The fight was closer than any I’ve ever had, and I know Sean is so ecstatic because he was worried that I would get beat. By the look on his face, I could tell that he was losing faith in my skills. But like I said, I’m the best at this shit.
Sean nor anybody else had anything to worry about. Just because I didn’t finish him off in the first two rounds didn’t mean I would lose. It just took me four rounds to get a handle on Kane’s technique. He had obviously done more studying than I did because he changed his entire style.
However, no matter how much he changed shit up, I wasn’t about to let him win. No fucking way was I going out a loser. I. Do. Not. Lose!
Everyone in the dressing room is celebrating my win. They’re popping bottles and laughing, and I wish I could enjoy it as much as they are. But I can’t. I can’t enjoy leaving something that was mine and mine alone.
Fighting had nothing to do with my family, and although they supported me in whatever I wanted to do, it was an unspoken rule that there was a time limit on my dreams of being a professional fighter. We don’t do things in the spotlight that might bring unnecessary attention to us. That’s not how the DeLuca’s operate.
So this fight was a bittersweet moment for me. I am an undefeated champion, the best in the sport, and the world record holder. I did everything I set out to accomplish in MMA, but now I have to leave it all behind. I have to be okay with it, but honestly, I’m not.
I have decided to harden myself in an effort not to feel disappointment. I have an obligation to my family, and I’ll do anything for my them. I don’t regret my decisions, and I just need to be a man about it and let it go.
And in time, I will do exactly that, but until then, I’ll be the soldier and Capo that I was trained to be. I’m sure I will have plenty to keep my mind off of my early retirement.
“Alright, I’m out. I got shit to do.” I say to nobody in particular as I stand up.
“You’re leaving, now? This celebration is for you.” Ross says in an annoyed tone, but I just narrow my eyes at him, and he throws his hands up in surrender.
“The official celebration is tomorrow. I’ll be there. Tonight… I got shit to do.” I reiterate with steel in my voice.
Ross and Sean both are about to see a side of me that they’ve never encountered. My Capo persona has been neatly tucked away, but there’s no need to hide that side of me anymore. I can’t say that I’ve ever been a nice guy, but I’ve never shown them Capo Gio either. They better hope I never have to.
I grab my bag and start toward the side door of the dressing room. It’s good being the champ. I get all the extras, including the largest room backstage. But, unfortunately, it includes strangers who just want to be part of the party. They don’t care about me. As a matter of fact, if I would’ve lost, none of these people would even be here.
I shake my head at all the hangers on as hardly any of them even acknowledge me leaving. It’s a shame and definitely one part of stardom that I won’t miss.
The door slams shut behind me, and a calmness that I didn’t feel in a room full of fakes comes over me. My phone chimes with a text message, and I look down to read it.
Before I know it, I’m hit in the head from behind. The hit knocks me to my knees, and my phone falls out of my hand. I’m slightly dazed, but I will be damned if I’ll be taken out that easily.
I drop my bag, and even though I don’t know exactly where my attacker is, I sweep my leg behind me. A guy with a mask hits the ground with a loud thud. His head bounces off the concrete, and I can tell he’s knocked out.
I go to stand up to pull the mask off his face, but a gun is pressed to the back of my head.I can’t believe I’m going out like this. After all my regrets of having to give up fighting for my family, I won’t even get to be Capo.
“DeLuca scum will not come into our territory.” A man’s thick, accented, gruff voice sounds behind me. I recognize the accent as Italian, but he hasn’t said enough for me to pinpoint the exact region. My head is a little foggy from the hit, so I doubt I’d be able to identify it right now anyway.
“Hey! What the hell is happening back here?” Another man yells from the end of the corridor that leads to the private parking lot.
The distraction works in my favor because I’m able to duck out of the way before the guy pulls the trigger. The shot doesn’t make a sound which tells me two things; the guy is using a silencer, and this was a hit.
I give the shooter an uppercut, and his head snaps back violently, and although that was enough to disorient him and drop the gun, I keep throwing punches. Once he’s on the ground, the guy who yelled runs over and picks up the gun.
The man holds the gun on the first guy I knocked out while I pummel his accomplice.
“It’s okay, son. I don’t think he’s getting back up.” The man says from behind me.
I get in one more good hit before I stop. My chest is heaving up and down even though it didn’t take much effort to beat the shit out of these douchebags. I’m breathing hard because of the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
Who in their right fucking minds would have the audacity to try to put a hit out on me? In the middle of DeLuca territory. I don’t give a fuck what he said. Nashville is my family’s territory! As a matter of fact, all of Tennessee is fucking DeLuca territory.
