Page 123 of Unbreakable Thread

Waving my dad to follow me, I open the door. “Do you want forgiveness and for us to repair our relationship?”

He frantically nods his head. “Of course, Max, I would want nothing more than to be accepted as part of your life and your family’s life. I understand it will take you some time to forgive me. I’ll do anything to earn a spot in your heart as your father.”

“Then do this for me.” I point to Sol. “Watch her. Make sure she’s safe. She means the world to me. Living a life without her isn’t possible. I understand now how you’ve always felt without Mom… You didn’t know how to function in a life without Mom, and you lost yourself.”

My dad looks at me. “I drowned in sorrow. It’s no excuse to lose you⁠—”

I squeeze his shoulder. “It’s okay, Pops. Just keep her safe for me.”

“I will.” He looks over his shoulder at Sol, then whispers to me, “You shouldn’t go alone. Take one of the guys. I don’t trust Carlos,” he says in our native tongue.

“I can handle him.”

He nods. “Cuidado.”

The Nova rumbles in the quiet evening, its engine’s throaty growl vibrating through the floor and up my spine. My knuckles whiten as I grip the polished steering wheel. My blood pumps hot acid through my veins, each heartbeat a thunderclap of rage and fury behind my eyes.

Chapter 36

Max

My knuckles have tasted more flesh than I can remember—high school brawls in the parking lot, amateur matches, then the Underground warehouse fights where they want you to fight to kill, and finally, to a professional ring. But today, these same knuckles will find the jaw of my mentor—the man who showed me how to throw a proper hook, who I once called a father figure. I thought he was a loyal man—someone I could trust. Damn, was I wrong. I’m going to make sure he never makes a dime off anyone.

The car idles in the empty lot of the gym, with only Carlos’s car in sight. I sit in the deserted parking lot, not bothering to find a parking space. Once, these walls held something like home—the sweat-soaked promise of fresh starts. Now they’ll witness an ending. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel. Carlos crossed a line when he threatened her, threatened our babies growing inside her. If that cocksucker thought our history would make me choose him, he never really knew me at all. The mask he’s worn all these years has slipped, and I’ve seen what lurks beneath it. He hasn’t seen mine. I’ll be the nightmare who keeps him up at night. The villain who prowls over his shoulder.

Unlocking the door, I step in. The gym lights are off. Only the light in his office is on. Carlos looks at me from the papers on his desk when I walk in. “Max, my boy, what are you doing here? You didn’t train earlier. What happened?” he says nonchalantly. “Did you come to train now? I can stay awhile. I have dinner arrangements later, so it will have to be quick.”

“I’ll make it quick.” My voice rolls out of my chest like a dangerous thunderstorm. I don’t think I’ve ever looked at a man with so much disgust as I am now.

“Grea—”

My fingers curl around the edge of the desk, knuckles whitening. Wood scrapes linoleum as I heave upward. His coffee mug shatters against the wall, leaving a brown splatter. Papers spread and rain down, scattering around the room, ballpoints clicking against tile. A stapler clatters to a stop at his feet. His face flushes crimson as he rises, veins pulsing at his temples.

“What the fuck is your problem?” The words burst from him, spit flying.

My knuckles connect against his stubbled jaw. He stumbles backward, eyes wide, mouth hanging open, a thin trickle of blood appearing at the corner of his lip.

“What? Asshole, did you think you could threaten my girl and get away with it?” I grab him by the neck; he swings. I know Carlos. He might be good at teaching, but when it comes down to fighting, he doesn’t have it in him to fight me.

“Fuck that bitch.”

Another jab to Carlos’s face. He groans and then charges at me, but I block every hit. “Keep your distance from Sol. Don’t look her way. Don’t fucking talk to her, or I’ll make sure you take your last breath.”

“After everything, you listen to her? I have been protecting you.” His voice rises. “From her. She wants to control you, take everything you worked for. I have been the one who made you what you are. I shaped you.”

“You did nothing but use me. You might have trained me, but it was always in my blood.”

Carlos laughs, blocking the hit to his gut. “You were a twig when you showed up at my gym. Never thought I’d have Hector and Marabel’s son at my doorstep. Frightened of everything. Homeless. I cared for you and gave so much when your drunk father couldn’t.” Blood trickles down his split lip, metallic, leaving a crimson trail that curves around the edge of his chin. He spits.

“All you wanted was to make money off me. Don’t act like you gave a shit about me.”

“I did.” He doesn’t try to deny it. “Your fucking dumb bitch ruined it. I knew from the beginning what she would do to you. She was raised in wealth. You had been looking for her for so long. I should have done away with her years ago, but I didn’t think you’d ever find her. The day you arrived from Tahoe, I was shocked you had found her. It worked out… You came back heartbroken, and that was the fuel I needed to make you unstoppable…lethal.” He shrugs. “I found some guys who fight in the Underground. It was easy to plant the seed. You wanted money…for her. What else did she tell you…? She doesn’t know how to keep her mouth shut.”

I’m not sure if I should be surprised that he was the one who got me involved in the Underground, but I wasn’t quick to say no. He knew me well enough to know Sol was my weakness. Now I know why he became friends with Daniel. My large hand clamps down on his thick neck, cutting off the air to his lungs. His hands pull, struggling to get me off him.

A chuckle rises from somewhere deep in my chest. “Pops was right about you. All those years of getting nowhere in the ring, and your big plan was to ride my coattails to the top. The next big thing was to use me. You wanted to be like Frank Royce, the most recognized trainer who coached many legendary fighters and made thousands of dollars. And you know what? I would have given it to you. After this coming fight, things are going to change. I’m going to keep moving up, making a name for myself, and I would have kept you beside me. Fighters would have sought Max Cano’s trainer.” I sneer. “There were reasons why my mom wanted nothing to do with your ass. What was it—did it get you off knowing I’m Marabel’s son? That you wanted to play father to something that was never yours.”

His nostrils twitch. “You were supposed to be mine!”