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"Punishment? I understood why you did what you did. I'm not planning to tell—"
He interrupted me. "I know you're not going to tell anyone. Firstly because of the way it would look to the police if you did. You didn't tell them sooner, and you've been living with us. That makes you an accessory. If we get arrested for it, you'll be arrested alongside us."
That was a cheery fucking thought.
"Secondly," he continued before I could speak, "you're one of us. You got scared. It happens, but you belong here with us. If—when, someone like Eric turns up again, you'll be there with us dealing with them, the way we dealt with him." He leaned back just far enough to give me a challenging look.
I felt as though he was looking into my soul. Like he knew there was darkness in me that would speak to the darkness in him.
"I guess so," I said finally. "If it keeps people like that off the streets." After a moment I added, "Was Ares right? Is it really war between you… us, and whoever Eric was working for?"
He looked approvingly at my correction, and nodded. "Whoever followed you home that night, that was part of it. If they caught up to you…" He was obviously thinking murderous thoughts.
My blood filled with ice and I shivered. That night was disconcerting as fuck, but I hadn't thought about what might have happened.
"They could have caught up to you when you ran," Mannix continued. "Charlie is a dickhead, but if someone found you before he did, or someone got to you before we picked you up…" Again with the murderous-thought-face.
"Did it cross your mind to tell me all of this before now?" I asked. "I've been living here for weeks, not knowing any of this." That explained the increased security at the gym, and the way they hated to let me out of their sight. It went beyond being possessive, although that certainly was a big part of it. They were also trying to keep me safe from people even more unscrupulous than they were.
"We were going to tell you when I decided the time was right," he stated. "You forced my hand. Next time, come to me instead of sneaking away."
"I thought there was a good chance I would end up the same way Eric did," I admitted.
He stared at me for a moment, then sighed. "That's why you have nightmares, isn't it? Because of what you saw? Fuck."
"Yeah, and because Ice's words were as scary as hell. I thought you were going to spend your days hunting me down so he could kill me. Would you have killed me if you caught me that night?" Did I want to know the answer to that?
"Only if you worked for them," he said easily.
"Who are they?" If someone was coming after me, then I should know who they were.
"Most likely the Bell family, or someone who works with them and is trying to flex their muscles." He scowled. "They're one of the three most powerful families in Australia. The Bells, the Brantleys and to a lesser extent the Fiorellis. Although, the Fiorellis are too disorganised to get much done. Rumour has it they're fractured, which works perfectly for us. They're less likely to come after us if they can't get their own shit together."
I nodded. "So this is a turf war? Like rival gangs trying to elbow into the space of other gangs?"
"Yeah, kinda, but we're more sophisticated than a pack of street thugs." He'd put his tuxedo jacket back on, but he still had his shirt unbuttoned and his tie hanging around his neck. He looked like the opposite of a street thug. He looked more like a billionaire apprentice. Which was precisely accurate.
"What does that make me?" I raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. Mum and I had spent the morning getting waxed and plucked in all the right places, so I knew I looked somewhat respectable.
He pulled me closer and blew softly on my earlobe. "It makes you my very fuckable, gorgeous step sister. Who now understands what's at stake."
"I guess I do," I agreed. "What does that mean for me though? Are you going to let me keep running the gym?" Could I do it without Charlie?
"Could I stop you?" he asked.
"You could lock me in behind the gates until I'm old and grey," I said.
"I don't think you would tolerate that for long," he said. "And unless I take every device and computer away from you, you'd find a way to get out. Changing the code will only hold you for so long."
"Damn right." I gave him a short nod. "I like that you care, but I don't need you controlling every little thing I do."
He gave me a look that suggested he'd do that anyway, at least as much as he was able to.
"You can keep running the gym, but I'll be vetting any new staff you hire. And any families who put their kids there. And the kids themselves." He was deadly serious.
"Good, because I don't want to let the kids down." I had some idea how it would feel to have the place close with no warning. For a lot of kids, the gym became a sanctuary away from their regular lives. It wasn't just great exercise, it was a great way to burn off frustration and anxiety. That was one of the things I liked the most about it.
"But once you can pass it on to a manager, Leo agrees there is a role for you in our business." He was blasé about talking about me behind my back.
