Tony threw a cheap jab into Knox’s ribs and wasn’t surprised when he found himself on his back on the mat in a chokehold before he could blink.

Damn. Knox got the best of him most of the time, but even still, this was just pathetic.

As Tony was contemplating how to get out of the situation, Knox suddenly released him and hopped to his feet.

Tony rubbed his throat and looked up at him. “What gives, man?”

Knox shrugged. “You’re making this too easy. It’s no fun when you half-ass it.”

Tony took another second to catch his breath, then climbed to his feet. “Again.” This time, it wouldn’t be so easy.

Knox bounced lightly, waiting for Tony to make the first move. Tony faked a left cross and attempted to sweep Knox’s legs. No go.

Fuck. He was more than off his game. And the reason for it was a gorgeous brunette who had pervaded every part of his mind.

Ginny.

It had been two days since he’d seen her at the 5k. She was a constant in his mind, making it hard to concentrate on anything—here and at work. He’d picked up his phone countless times to call her but, in the end, fought the urge. Better to give her a day or two first. Besides, he needed to figure out how to approach her. There was more to her marrying Barkov than she was letting on, and he was determined to learn the full story.

He threw his forearm up at the last second to block a blow to his kidneys, but he was too late and took the brunt of the hit. Damn. That was gonna hurt later. And he couldn’t afford to take the beating. Not anymore.

Just another way his brother’s leaving had fucked up his life. Now he couldn’t take a hit in the ring without worrying about the aftermath.

Narrowly avoiding a strike to the eye, he stepped back. “I’m out.” He hated doing it, but he couldn’t exactly show up to the next board meeting with a black eye.

Before, he’d fought with the best of the guys, had trained until he was almost at the top, not caring how beat up he got in the process. It was all about the adrenaline rush, the high of raw hand-to-hand combat. Since the gym went under and he started spending most of his time at work, he’d gotten soft.

But priorities changed. Sometimes against one’s will.

Knox tossed him some tape. “Wrap ’em. We’ll hit the bags.”

Tony exited the cage and strode over to the line of punching bags hanging along the wall. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, then he started whaling on the smooth leather. He wished it were Barkov’s face.

That fucker did not deserve Ginny.

And I do?

He wasn’t even gonna go there. He’d worry about that after he got her away from Barkov.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and ripped the tape off his hands. A glance at the clock had him cursing. His lunch hour had turned into nearly three.

“I gotta go,” he said.

Knox nodded. “The kids will be here soon anyway.”

Tony still found it hard to believe that tougher-than-fuck Knox, who had once been king of the underground MMA circuit, now spent his days working with troubled teens.

As if on cue, the front door opened and two Dobermans pranced in, followed by their owner, Amelia, who helped run the Anna Farrington Youth Center. Today, Lula and Bambi’s necks were adorned with sparkled collars, making them look more like pampered prize poodles than the sleek, trained animals they were. They trotted over to the fluffy beds in the corner and perched as they always did, prepared to preside over the afternoon’s happenings.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Amelia said. “Smells like sweaty men in here.” She pressed the button on an air-freshener dispenser, one of four permanent fixtures at the perimeters of the room.

“I carried the supplies upstairs for you,” Knox said. While Knox ran the training part of the after-school program, Amelia supervised homework time.

“Thank you.” Amelia patted him on the cheek and Knox smiled down at the older woman. Tony had already vaguely known Amelia, since she also came from old money, though she was mainly a recluse from high society. He never would have guessed she and Knox would develop a pseudo mother-son relationship. The tough-as-nails woman brought out a soft side in Knox that Tony hadn’t even known existed when they were fighting the underground circuit.

Then again, Knox’s life had certainly done a one-eighty since he had gotten involved with society heiress Natalie Farrington Kent.

As soon as Amelia had disappeared upstairs—the dogs loyally following—Tony risked a sidelong glance at Knox, who immediately scowled, reminding Tony was Knox was still no one to mess with.

“What?” Knox asked with a growl.

“Nothing,” Tony said, wiping the grin off his face. One ass-beating was enough for today.

* * *

Tony pulled into the parking space marked with a shiny new CEO sign. It was right in front of the doors of the building, closer than even the handicapped parking spaces. He stayed in his car, shifting uncomfortably as employees strode past, coming from the far ends of the parking lot. While they would get reprimanded if they didn’t clock back in in exactly one hour, Tony had the luxury of taking all the time he wanted for lunch. In theory, anyway. His father would most likely give him shit for being out of the office for so long.

Guilt ran through his gut, not because of the tongue-lashing due from his father, but because of how the employees respected and looked up to him, not knowing he hadn’t even wanted this job.

If Adamo Enterprises hadn’t been Nonno’s baby, built from the ground up, he would have walked. But he owed it to his grandfather’s legacy to keep the business successful and in the family. It’s what Nonno would have wanted.

Fucking Marco.

His older brother had unexpectedly flown the coup and joined the military. Their father’s threats, bribes, and other attempts to cajole Marco into staying fell on deaf ears, so the family responsibilities had fallen to Tony. He’d like to go a few rounds with Marco for that, but then again he was probably taking enough of a beating on his tour in the Middle East. Tony understood why he’d done what he did, but he wished it hadn’t also fucked him over in the process.

The real pisser was that Marco left just as the brothers were getting their shit in order to go into business for themselves—Adamo Sports Bar & Grille. Tony was supposed to be the point man while Marco would be a silent partner. Now that dream was as empty as the building they’d purchased to house it.

Tony lucked out and his father was nowhere to be seen in the building. That probably meant he was down in the lab. Though his father hadn’t inherited Nonno’s chemistry prowess, he still liked to be involved in research and development. His father’s skills lay in the business side of things. He’d taken the small successful company founded on the single patent for a proprietary drug Nonno had developed and turned it into a force to be reckoned with in the pharmaceutical industry. Adamo Enterprises was on the cutting edge of medicine and recruited the top minds in the field.

And Tony intended to keep it that way. If he was forced to be here, then he might as well do it right.

The company was certainly profitable, but that wasn’t where its value was, not in Tony’s mind. And he knew his grandfather would agree with him. The family was already wealthy, so Nonno’s intent in forming the company hadn’t been to rake in money. Rather, he had wanted to use his skill in chemistry to develop and produce quality drugs that eased suffering. It was a noble cause. Aside from the familial duty, that was why Tony stuck around.

As soon as he sat at his desk, Ingrid, his executive assistant, stuck her head in the door. “Do you have a moment?”

“Sure.”

She took a seat across from his desk, iPad in hand. “We need to review your schedule for this month. There are still several outstanding invitations.”

A headache pounded at edge of his temples. Damn. He’d been dodging those bullets for months now. He sighed. “Okay. Lay them on me.”

Ingrid chuckled. “Don’t sound so glum. You’d think you were on the hook for a cavity search rather than a social event.”

When she put it that way, Tony supposed he was getting the better end of the deal. Barely.

He had no desire to socialize with the clones of his father who mostly attended these things—fake people who’d smile to your face but stab you in the back if it would earn them a nickel.

To be fair, he thought begrudgingly, since he’d attended a few of these events, he’d realized that not all the attendees were like that. But even still, he had nothing in common with these people. They preferred playing tennis and golf in their fancy polo shirts. He, on the other hand, got his kicks beating the shit out of people in a cage, no designer shirt required.

“The first one is a charity event for cystic fibrosis. Next Friday.” She looked at him expectantly, hand poised above the tablet.

“Can we just send a donation?”

Ingrid pursed her lips, and Tony sighed. She had been with the company since nearly the beginning. As a child, he would visit the office and play with Matchbox cars on the floor of her office. He couldn’t shake the weird feeling that came from being her boss. He felt like it should be the other way around. Not that she’d ever said or done anything to make him feel that way.

“Fine, I’ll go,” he said.

“Good. The next one is an engagement party for Tom Grekowski’s son. It’s this Saturday.”

The Grekowskis were old family friends, but still he frowned. “Why was that sent to you?”

“Your no-show reputation precedes you.”

His frown deepened. Ingrid’s time shouldn’t be wasted on his personal things. She wasn’t his damn social secretary. He opened his mouth to decline but paused. Weren’t the Fraziers also friendly with the Grekowskis? He tried to remember if he’d seen them at any of the events he’d attended years ago, with Veronica, but it was all a blur. Still, the chances were good.

In fact, the chances were good Ginny would be at a lot of these events. He didn’t know much about Barkov, but he knew the man was social climber. Now that their engagement was official, surely Barkov would take advantage of the Frazier name to try to integrate himself into society.

The man’s sleaziness might just work to his advantage.

“I’ll make this easy for you, Ingrid,” Tony said. “I’ll attend everything. Just load up my calendar.”

Her mouth dropped open slightly. “Seriously?”

“Sure, why not?”

Ingrid shot him suspicious glances as she tapped away on the iPad, as if she was afraid he was playing a trick on her. It definitely wasn’t a trick though—his desire to see Ginny again was no joke.

She looked up at him when she was done. “Your schedule for the rest of this week is full. Tomorrow you have two conference calls. Two more on Thursday. You also need to make a decision on the new marketing manager.”

Tony nodded. All of this was expected, which was why he went to the gym today. The only daylight he would see for the next few days was what streamed through his office window.

“I also have the latest press release prepared. It needs—”

“Tony, a word.” His father had opened the door without even knocking, had interrupted Ingrid without even acknowledging her presence. There was a reason she’d jumped at the opportunity to work with Tony when he’d started, leaving his father behind.

In a word, his father was an asshole.

Tony spared his father a glance before returning his attention to Ingrid. “Please send me the updated draft and I’ll look at it later today.”

“Yes, sir.” Ingrid avoided his father’s gaze as she quietly slipped out.

His father paced in front of his desk. “Where were you? This company isn’t going to run itself, son.”

“Do you need something?” Tony had long since stopped letting his father get to him. Now his domineering manner was more of an annoyance than anything.

“What’s the status on the security?”

Tony ground his teeth. If his father had bothered to read the brief he’d sent, the question wouldn’t be necessary. “I have two companies coming tomorrow to survey the building and provide quotes.”

Last week, a strung-out drug addict attempted a break-in looking for some Oxycontin. The attempt was sloppy and nowhere close to successful, but his father now had the notion that their security was inadequate. So he’d asked Tony to handle it. But like everything else in the company, his father couldn’t keep his nose out of it.

Though they both shared the title of CEO—one of his grandfather’s final decrees—his father’s position held more weight simply because he was the senior officer. He’d been there decades to Tony’s months. It frustrated Tony to no end to have to report to his father, but he understood the necessity of it. Santi Adamo might be difficult to deal with, but in his hands, the company had grown exponentially in the past decade. No one could doubt his business expertise.

“I want copies of the proposals.”

Tony nodded.

“Security is of the utmost importance.” His father paced back and forth, obviously agitated, more so than the situation warranted. “We can’t let stuff like this keep happening.”

Keep happening? As far as Tony knew, there had only been one attempt, and that’s all it was—an attempt. The perpetrator didn’t even make it past the exterior doors. While Tony agreed that the work in the lab was sensitive and needed to be protected, it had been protected. His father was going off the deep end—making trouble where there wasn’t any.

It never hurt to improve security, though, which was why Tony agreed an upgrade was justified.

“Has this happened before?” Tony asked. “I’m only aware of this one instance.”

His father held up a solitary finger. “One time. That’s all it will take for our reputation to be ruined. The work that takes place here is the future of the company.”

“I agree,” Tony interjected before his father could continue his tirade. “That’s why I’ve personally lined up the two best security firms in the city.”

“Good.” He stopped pacing and looked down at his son, his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to say something but obviously thought better of it because he clamped his mouth shut and left.

“Nice talking to you, Dad,” Tony muttered. He’d accepted the fact that his father was an asshole, but he still didn’t understand it. Nonno and Nonna were two of the kindest, most genuine people he knew, and unfortunately, the apple fell light-years away from that tree.

He turned to his computer to find Ingrid had already sent the press release. He read over the document that highlighted how their latest drug was expected to ease the effects of chemo for childhood cancer patients. While they hadn’t cured cancer, they’d at least made the treatment easier to bear.

Pride swelled in his chest. Nonno would be proud.

* * *

The wine in Ginny’s glass was a 1998 Dom Ruinart and the bottle cost more than Ginny’s entire outfit. She took another sip, then put her glass down. It somehow seemed obscene to get drunk on wine that expensive. And anyway, Ginny knew better than to get intoxicated in Fedor’s presence. Her betrothed was not to be trusted.

The server cleared away the last of their dessert dishes, her tiramisu still mostly intact. Fedor insisted they indulge in every course whenever they dined out. Everything with him was an event full of pomp and circumstance. She’d rather be curled up in bed in her pajamas, watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy.

“How are the wedding plans coming, luybov moya?” Fedor looked at her over his clasped hands. His knuckles were large from too much cracking. They reminded her of walnuts.

“Fine,” she said. “The venue has been confirmed. The next step is to decide on a menu. Do you have a preference?”

“Whatever you like.”

What she’d like was to not go through with the wedding, but that wasn’t an option. So instead she nodded and picked up her wineglass again, no longer caring about getting drunk. A nice buzz might make the situation more bearable.

Though Fedor seemed to defer to her, she knew he’d expect nothing but the best at this wedding—after all, the entire goal was to wow their guests into accepting him. His family was all deceased and his part of the guest list contained business associates and those he hoped to go into business with.

The large diamond on her ring caught the light as she swallowed her wine. Thank God she’d remembered to put the obnoxious thing on. She didn’t wear it unless she was with him. Soon she’d be with him all the time. The thought was repugnant.

She drained the rest of her wine and gestured for the server to refill her glass.

Half-hour later, in the car, Fedor placed his hand on the inside of her knee, making her skin crawl. She adjusted her coat and in the process, shifted away from him.

He gave her a sidelong look. No, he wasn’t fooled by her antics. He never called her on them, though. Probably because he knew he’d get his way in the long run. He was a man used to getting what he wanted.

Though this probably hadn’t been the smartest time to pull away considering what she was about to ask.

Ginny took a deep breath. “Fedor, the company is coming up short again this month.”

“You want money.” It was a statement, not a question. That was one thing she could appreciate about Fedor—he got right to the point with business matters.

“Just an advance of what we’d already agreed upon,” she explained, hoping it would be enough. The negotiations for her marriage contract had been thorough and absolute. At the time, she’d thought she’d negotiated for everything she needed, but now she was learning she may have been shortsighted. Fedor didn’t like talking about the contract—it was almost as if he was trying to convince himself this sham of a marriage would be real and that she’d actually love him.

He was delusional.

Of course, the most important part of the contract didn’t involve money, but rather Fedor’s discretion. Her hand in marriage was the only price he’d accept for keeping his mouth shut. When it came to keeping her family safe, Ginny would do anything. So she’d signed on the dotted line.

The money to save the company was merely the cherry on top.

“I might be persuaded,” he said. “Have you considered my proposal?”

She closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, she focused on her hands that were folded in her lap. “Yes, Fedor.”

She’d considered his request that she move in with him and dismissed it immediately. She wasn’t giving up her freedom any sooner than she had to.

He raised a hand to her cheek and ran a finger along her face. “I’m looking forward to—” his eyes roamed over her body, “getting to know you better.”

His hand moved lower, over her shoulder, down her side. His fingers brushed the side of her breast and she forced herself not to cringe.

Soon she’d have to give herself over to this man, so she’d better get used to his touch. Soon, he’d be doing a lot more than running his hands over her clothing.

Her head started swimming, the wine hitting her all at once.

“I’d prefer to wait until we’re married.” She hoped her tone sounded apologetic. “I’m old-fashioned that way.”

“You’re a smart woman, so I’m sure you’ve already figured this out. I’m a man of give-and-take. If you’re wanting to take something from me, you need to give something in return.”

An ultimatum. If she wanted his money to save the company, she’d have to do some more negotiating, except this time, she didn’t have much leverage left.

“Just say the word,” Fedor whispered, “and I’ll tell the driver there’s only one stop this evening.”

Her stomach lurched and she tried to tell herself it was from the bumpy motion of the car.

“Two stops,” she said firmly.

Fedor’s eyes turned hard and she recoiled from his harsh stare. Normally he put on the show of being an absolute gentleman in her presence, but at his core, he was a dangerous man with corrupt morals. She was walking a treacherous line. If she didn’t know it before, she definitely knew it now—she was in way over her head.