Shielded Wrongs (Bellandi Crime Syndicate 4)

“How boring,” he sighed, nodding for his man to release Vanessa.

“You are banished from the city,” I said to Vanessa. “You will not find another job within the limits. You’ll quickly find yourself evicted from your apartment. I suggest you go home and pack what you can and get the fuck out, Vanessa,” I said, leaning into her space to growl. “Know that it is only Sadie’s kindness that has allowed you to walk away from this. If I ever see you again, I’ll feed you to Rafael and Ryker,” I said. She backed away, glancing from Sadie to me with a red face.

Then she turned on her heel and ran. If she’d thought I may show her kindness, she had no such disillusions about Ryker and Rafael.

She was smarter than I gave her credit for.

Sadie nestled into me. “Can I go see my fucking gym now?” I chuckled, touching my lips to the top of her head while Rafael studied us curiously.

Like a man taking notes. I shuddered to think of what he may be filing away for later use with Isa.

32

Enzo

The old warehouse was a little outside the area Sadie wanted, but I'd known the moment I saw the photos that she'd love the building enough to make up for it.

It was close enough to the Loop, prime real estate property that sat unused because of a death in the facility years before, when it had been a building where they built commercial engines. Despite the rough shape of the building that I saw in the photos Lino had sent back, I knew it could be converted to a perfect gym for Sadie's purposes.

"Enzo,” David said, his brittle lips pulling into a smile. "Miss Hicks. It’s so nice to see you again." He turned a polite smile to Sadie, but just as before, his eyes didn't linger in the way I might have worried with a male agent who wasn't familiar with Bellandi men. He glanced down at Rebel, smiling indulgently at Sadie’s constant companion.

He'd clearly spent some time around Ivory or Samara and knew his eyes belonged elsewhere. He moved to the front door without another word, shoving it open as Sadie looked around the building hesitantly. "This isn't the Loop," she observed.

"No, it's not," I admitted. "But it's close enough that people will come here if you build a good enough gym. You're a boxing gym, Baby Girl. Embrace that and you'll find the right clientele. You'll never have the regular clients just looking to go jog on a treadmill at the end of the day. This is the complete opposite side of the city from the original location, so once both are up and running, you'd have the option to open an East or West branch or both one day to accommodate everyone."

She eyed the damage to the structure as she fiddled with the tote she carried at her side. "This looks like a lot of work, Enzo. I told you I can't even buy the place, let alone pay for these repairs. I'm just looking to kind of move into a ready-made space."

"Just keep an open mind," I reassured her. I wouldn't tell her it wouldn't be Matteo funding the purchase and repairs or that if she insisted on making payments monthly, all that money would go back to our bank account in the end. Sadie wasn't the type to tolerate that. So she never had to know.

She stepped inside, wandering through the building slowly. The first thing the smart ass commented on were the windows. "Those are floor to ceiling," she commented.

"We'll make them smaller in the remodel, and the building is big enough that the entire interior isn't visible through them. There are blind spots where people could hide away from the windows. That's what's most important," I said.

She walked from the windows and strolled around the space, her eyes immediately drawn to the loft and windows overlooking the ground floor. "The one on the right would be a perfect office for you. We'd replace the glass with a two-way mirror so nobody can see in while you work up there, but you can still supervise downstairs." I guided her to the alley-like space between the two lofts, showing her how far back the warehouse went.

"This place is enormous!" she yelled, but excitement colored her tone despite the hesitance as the dollar signs added up in her head.

"Rings out in the open space," I said

, spinning her to look behind us. "Beneath the lofts would be weight training and bags and all that stuff on one side, and I thought if you wanted, we could close in the space underneath one of the lofts and use it for your defense courses. Give the women some privacy and make it so you wouldn't need to close the gym and only operate once a week. I know you love it, but it could be more of a full-time enterprise if you hired a staff member for that specifically. Paid courses with either individual focus or small groups, but offer some classes to large groups for free a few times a week too." I guided her further down the alley, to the back where the two lofts connected. "Seal up back here and make it the locker rooms and showers on the bottom floor." I took her to the stairs at the back, guiding her up even though they were rickety. Rebel looked at them in hesitant consideration for a moment before dropping to sit at the foot of the stairs. I couldn’t blame her. David had assured me he’d had them inspected before we came to tour the property and they would hold, and that was the sole reason I guided Sadie up. "Your office and the staff space to the left. The right side could be used for treadmills or cardio equipment, or we could put the women's space up here for more privacy if you wanted and leave the whole bottom floor for the gym to limit the foot traffic. That might be a better idea actually," I murmured, guiding her through the space.

"You put a lot of thought into this," she observed.

"I tried to think about all the things you might want. Is there anything missing?" I asked, matter of fact and keeping my hands to myself. I'd expected more excitement from her, but she seemed hesitant to give me anything.

"Yes," she said. "What's missing is the fact that you aren't touching me. You're a foot away from me, and I just can't get excited knowing you're still pissed." In the urgency of dealing with Vanessa that morning, we hadn’t had time to settle things between us. I’d known it ate away at me, but it felt good to know Sadie couldn’t stand fighting with me either. The admission pulled at me, drawing me to close the distance and pull her into my chest.

"I could have lost you," I said, tucking my chin against the top of her head as she tried to burrow into my chest. "I'm pissed because I would burn the entire world down to keep you safe, but I can't protect you from your own choices."

"I know," she sighed. "I'm sorry. I know it was a stupid reflex, but I’d just watched everything I've spent my entire adult life building burn to the ground. It was traumatic, and I got lost in the shock of it. We know I hate feeling out of control. Choices being stripped away from me puts me in a bad place."

"You have to know that I'll make it right, Sadie. This location is part of it, but we're going to rebuild the old location too. You lost the gym because of me, so I'll give it back to you," I murmured, grabbing her face and turning her attention to me.

"I don't want—"

"I don't care. I've told you where I stand, so all that's left is for you to decide what you want," I said. "If it's the same as what I want, then things like yours and mine won't exist once we're married. I have more than enough money to make this gym everything you want it to be, but it will be done with you as the owner of this location. Not your father." Her wide eyes stared up at me. "I'll try to respect your choice if you would be more comfortable making monthly payments or something along those lines, but it would be silly in the long run when we could own it outright."

"We?" she asked, turning shocked honey eyes to the surrounding space.