Chapter 166

• GUSTAVO
• Dawn light barely touched the gym windows when I started on the heavy bag. Left. Right. Hook. The thuds echoed off the walls, steady, hard. Sweat ran down my back, stung my eyes. Every punch pushed out the same pictures—her leaving his building last night, hair damp, steps quick like she was running from something. Or toward it. Then the informant’s message. Harlan knew about her. Saw her as leverage. Wanted to pull her in. Use her against me.
• I hit harder. The bag swung. Chain rattled. My knuckles ached under the wraps. I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. The jealousy sat there like a live wire. Hot. Constant. I told myself it was about protection. She was tied to my world now. If she got hurt, it came back on me. Business. Nothing else. Not love. Not that kind of weakness.