Chapter 141 Aftermath
Serena’s POV
The look in his eyes said everything but just a normal day.
But two can play in this game.
So I grinned, matching him at it. “Perfect,” I slurred out slowly.
Then we started off easy as he showed me how to set the treadmill and I matched his pace beside him.
After a few minutes, he moved to the weights and I followed, but with lighter ones.
He helped me out once with his hands gentle on my elbows as he guided me to do the lifting.
We talked the whole time, mainly about stupid, just light talks like my favorite songs, especially when one booms from the speakers.
Then he shared his worst coffee moment, and how Valentina always burned toast when she was annoyed.
Everything stayed easy, no Luca, no danger. Just sweat and laughter and the steady pressure of metal.
At one point he went to the heavy bag and I watched him hit it in a controlled and powerful manner.
After a few rounds he stepped back, breathing steady, and wiped his face.
“Yesterday was rough,” he said out of nowhere. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”
I shook my head. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m just glad you’re chill now,” I replied.
He nodded once, then hit the bag again, lighter this time. “Me too,” he muttered.
We kept going. I tried the rowing machine but flopped terribly, he spotted me and couldn't hold his laugh.
It was nice to see him without those heavy weights on his shoulders, and I'm in no way referring to barbells.
We joked about who would quit first, then he let me win on purpose just to make me laugh.
The whole room felt warm and safe, and ours.
Then, while I was catching my breath, I wiped my face and said, “you know, you never really told me what happened last night,” I started softly.
But Dante’s fist stopped mid-punch as the bag swung once and slowed.
He turned to me slowly with his gloves still on. “What about it?” He asked.
And I shrugged, trying to play cool. “I just would like to know what happened, if it's fine with you. I was worried, you know,” I said softly, barely above a whisper.
He smiled and shook his head. “Fine, we were attacked,” he stated and I nearly rolled my eyes.
“Uhm, no offense, but that's really the most obvious thing here,” I replied and he laughed softly.
Then he hesitated long enough for me to know he was weighing his options.
Dante's POV
I wasn't sure she needed to know. We'd gotten to a critical point and the less the people that knew of the mole, the better.
“You know, it's alright if you don't want to tell me,” she said all of a sudden and I noticed the slight sadness in her voice.
Then I shook my head. “No, it's not that. Me and the boys were checking through our records, just doing some thorough clean up which led us to a warehouse we believed illegal family business was going on,” I started.
She nodded, giving me room to continue.
“Long story made short, we were spotted and attacked, then it later became clear that it was a trap from the onset and before we knew it, we were surrounded,” I continued.
“How did you get out?” She asked, and I smiled, knowing the answer but wouldn't say everything.
“I didn't, but the boys did,” I replied and she raised a brow.
“That easy?” She asked.
“Not exactly, they slipped out and I wasn't just fast enough, main reason I'm here,” I replied, gesturing towards the gym to cover up for my half-lie.
She nodded, buying my excuse.
“And they came back for you?” She pressed on.
I nodded slowly, feeling the words weighing heavily on my tongue.
“Figures, Marcus couldn't stop talking about the both of you,” she remarked and I chuckled.
“He didn't?” I asked as I returned to punching the bag.
She smiled a little, like she was remembering something nice.
“Yeah, he told me stories while we were down there,” she started.
“Wow, stories like?” I asked between each punch.
“Stories of how you two grew up together, how you pulled him off the streets when he was just a kid, how you trained him, and fought beside him,” she replied.
I smiled without knowing when it started. So he still remembers everything.
“He told me of how you've saved each other more times than he could count. It sounded like you two were more like brothers than anything else,” she added.
I didn’t answer right away, but stopped moving as my fist stayed on the bag with my knuckles pressing into the leather.
I could feel the old memories trying to push forward, the dirty alleys, the first gun I ever gave him, the night we both almost died in that warehouse fire when we were nineteen.
Things kept it locked down for good reasons.
“Yeah,” I said finally. “We came up rough in the same street, fought the same fights, and even though his family had no influence like mine, he never backed down,” I said softly.
Serena stood and stepped closer, still breathing a little hard from the rowing machine.
“That’s nice. It must be good to have someone like that. Someone who knows all your history and still shows up when you need him,” she whispered.
I nodded once. “It is,” I said, more to myself.
“Let's get back to work,” she said softly and I nodded with a smile.
She picked up the lighter dumbbells again and I guided her all the way with my hands close but not touching unless she needed it.
We talked lightly the whole time, discussing simple stuff at first.
How she used to hate running in school, how I used to sneak into fights when I was fifteen just to prove I could take a hit.
She laughed when I told her about the time Marcus and I stole a motorcycle from a rival crew and crashed it into a river the same night.
And I laughed when she told me about the first time she tried to cook and almost burned the kitchen down.
I showed her how to use the cable machine and she showed me she could do ten pull-ups without stopping. Pretty lame but I wouldn't be the one to tell her.
We took turns on the heavy bag as I corrected her stance more times than I could count.
We kept going for a long time, going from the treadmill to the weights, then the rowing, and patching them up with light boxing drills in the small ring.
Every time one of us got tired the other would joke and push the other to keep going.
I guess coming with her wasn't the worst idea.
After almost two hours, we were both wiped. I dropped onto the bench with my towel around my neck. Serena sat beside me, breathing hard with her cheeks flushed.
“I’m done,” she said, laughing. “My arms feel like jelly,” she muttered.
“Same,” I admitted. “We should clean up. I’ll order food. It’ll be here in thirty minutes,” I suggested.
She stood up slowly, stretching. “There’s a bathroom here?”
I nodded towards the glass wall. “There’s a lot of things here you don’t know about yet,” I smirked.
She smiled at that. “Of course there is.”
I pulled out my phone and texted the front desk to bring food, grilled chicken, rice and more beef, loads of them. I was famished.
Then I stood up.
Serena started walking towards the glass doors and without hesitating, she reached for the hem of her tank top and pulled it over her head in one smooth motion.
She was right there in front of me only in her sports bra and shorts, skin glistening with sweat.
My eyes dropped before I could stop them, to the curve of her waist. The way her back tightened and loosened.
I stayed where I was with my towel in my hands and jaw tight.
I wanted to step closer, to reach for her. But I held back, this wasn’t the time. Maybe.
She glanced over her shoulder, caught me looking, and her cheeks went pink.
But she didn’t cover up, she just gave me a small, knowing smile.
“Separate showers?” She asked softly.
“Yeah,” I said. “Male to the left, and female to the right,” I muttered.
She nodded and disappeared through the door on the right, I went left.
By the time I stepped out wrapped up in a fresh towel around my waist, I felt lighter.
Serena came out at almost the same time with her towel wrapped tight around her body and her hair wet against her shoulders.
I looked at her for a second longer than I should have, then I got a wild idea.