Passing His Guard

“Is Aiden there?”

She recognized that voice, or more the sour, impatient tone. “No, I’m sorry he’s out for the evening. Can I take a message?”

“Rya

So the woman did know who she was, and if she wasn’t mistaken, there was a definite sense of urgency in her voice that made Rya

“I have tried his cell—several times. He isn’t taking my calls.”

He isn’t taking my calls, either.

“Rya

It took Rya

Madeline’s call confirmed how wrong she was, how hurtful and foolish she’d been with her assumptions. Aiden was working with the police after all. He hadn’t betrayed her. When she thought of all the things she’d accused him of, the shame of it nearly crippled her. Oh, God . . . how could she have misjudged him so horribly? How could she have turned against him so easily? She glanced at the clock and checked the time. Depending on how quickly those fights went tonight, Aiden could already be getting ready to get into the ring.

“This had gone too far . . . It was never supposed to get this out of hand.”

“What wasn’t? Madeline, talk to me. I need to know what’s going on.”

“I hired you to find Aiden for Moralli. You were supposed to bring my son home—that’s all. He was never supposed to fall in love with you. Once he and Cynthia were wed, he would have become the new don. But then that chit ran away with another man and it all fell apart. Moralli’s been forcing him to fight. This has to stop. I can’t stand by any longer and watch those men destroy my son. Despite what Aiden believes, I do love him, Rya

“I will. Madeline, I have to go.”

“Please hurry,” she urged.

Rya

CHAPTER

43

I’m worried about this fight.”

Aiden locked eyes with his friend, who was busy securing his hand wraps. “What are you worried about? I got this.”

“Your head isn’t in this, man. You know it and I know it. And in about ten minutes that fighter out there is go

“It’s not Rya

Nikko chuffed a don’t lie to me grunt.

Aiden vacillated on how much to tell his friend. Though he’d been careful to keep everything confidential up until this point, he didn’t want Nikko getting caught off guard when the shit hit the fan tonight. Del Toro had some touchy triggers, and there was a good chance an FBI raid was going to set one of them off. The only peace of mind Aiden took solace in, his only anchor to sanity right now, was that Rya

He’d had another long and exhausting day with the feds. This time, he’d had to go to One Police Plaza. There had been issues with his recorded confession, more red tape to cut, and last-minute scrambling to get the warrants in place and make sure the cases were airtight for tonight’s raid. They’d confiscated his phone as evidence, since it had photos of documents he’d taken at the firm.

He’d hoped to get out of there with enough time to get back to the penthouse and try to talk to Rya

“Listen, man, there’s something I gotta tell you—” But before Aiden could say anything more, there was a sharp rap on the door. It swung open, and Vincent Moralli strolled in with Frank Luciana on his heels. Moralli was wearing a tailored pinstripe suit, looking like he was ready to go to a gala instead of an underground fight club. What the fuck was he doing down here in the pit?

“Aiden, getting ready for your fight, I see. Good, good . . . It looks like I caught you just in time.”

Apprehension needled up his spine. The arrogant glint in the bastard’s eyes warned Aiden he was up to something. “About your fight tonight . . . There’s been a change of plans.”

Aiden cocked his brow, feigning nonchalance when every instinct inside him was clamoring to attack. In sixty seconds this could all be over. He could KO this piece of shit, drag him out the back door, and deliver him to the FBI himself. It was a temptation he was giving serious consideration to when Frank, Moralli’s enforcer, slipped his right hand inside his jacket, no doubt resting his palm against the butt of his gun. Of course the bastard wouldn’t be dumb enough to confront Aiden unarmed.

“What kind of change?” he asked, tempering his voice but unable to completely banish his loathing growl.

Moralli gri

Nikko swore at the same time Aiden snarled, “The fuck I am.” He shot to his feet and saw Frank tense from the corner of his eye. “I don’t dive, and that was never our agreement.”

“I think you’ll change your mind.”

“Don’t fucking count on it.”

Moralli shrugged. “We’ll see . . .”

It took every last bit of Aiden’s frayed self-control to let that fucker walk out the door.

“What the hell was that about?”

“I don’t know.” Aiden began to pace, his mind racing with scenarios. He hadn’t seen this change in the game coming. “How long ago did you talk to Rya

“Half hour ago. I texted her to let her know you were here. I told her we’d be home after the fight.”

“Did she respond?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Well, as fine as she can be. She’s worried about you. I think she feels really bad about what happened last night.”