Truths and Chains - MxM Romance

Chapter Four

**This is an excerpt of the book TRUTHS AND CHAINS. The first six chapters will be uploaded to Wattpad. You can read the whole book as it's updated for free on my website, whispersconfusions.com**

 Vito had hit the gym at home almost immediately after Tito dropped him off. Now, he sat down on the padded seat of the bench press and grabbed the roll of wrap cloth from the floor. Crazy how it never ended up anywhere near its actual place in the gym. The floor in plain sight was actually probably one of the least pain-in-the-ass places he'd ever tossed it after a boxing session.

He stared at the wrap for a moment before setting it beside him. He pulled his cell phone from the pocket of his gym shorts and unlocked the screen. After selecting Bo Austen-Taylor's names from his contact list, he called the man and pressed his phone to his ear.

"What'd you do?" Bo asked after the third ring.

"Rude. Maybe I just wanted to chat."

"Mmhmm."

Vito rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything. Yet. But if I don't get a job to get my head screwed back on straight, I just might."

"Yes, things have been... quiet for a while now, haven't they?"

"Yeah, and the occasional fights in the ring aren't enough for me. I need something to do before I lose my damn mind."

"Most of what I have available are bodyguarding jobs. You likely wouldn't be killing or torturing anybody." He flipped through a few papers. "What do you know about the Hernandez family?"

"That they're dog fighters. Don't know much outside of that."

"Well, do you want to save some dogs? I still need to get a few blueprints and finalized dates before I set anything into motion, but I do have every intention of shutting down their ring in Kansas, permanently."

"I do like the sound of 'permanently'."

"I assumed you would. I'll try to get things lined up for the bust as soon as I can. I'll talk to you and Tito as soon as I have everything laid out and put together." A pause. "Do Carmine and Venetia know you're desperately in search of a job?"

"No. With the kid on the way, I try not to bother them with my... I don't know. Urges. Whatever the fuck you wanna call 'em."

"Of course," Bo said, his voice soft. Vito never quite knew if he liked that understanding tone or absolutely loathed it. "For what it's worth, I appreciate you calling to see if I had something for you rather than you going out there and doing something stupid. I can only sweep so many messes under the rug before the rug has no more room beneath it, you know?"

"I know. Tryin' not to kill you too young, Chief."

Bo snorted. "It's appreciated." A pause. "I'll be in touch soon. In the meantime, just keep control of yourself, all right? I'll try to get everything together as soon as possible."

"I'll do my best. Thanks, Chief." Vito ended the call and set his phone down on the bench. Though he would've been much better off having a job fall at his feet now, having one lined up was better than nothing. For now, while he waited to hear back from Bo, he had a back he could kick the shit out of. That was something.

***

A flip through his dad's contact book had allowed Elias and JJ to pick out 'Hank Sawyer Prez' as the man they needed to talk to, but Elias had decided to wait until Saturday morning to pay him a visit. He'd taken an Uber most of the way there, walking the last two blocks to calm his nerves and figure out what he was going to say. He had no idea if his dad had been important enough to Hank for the guy to even remember him. He didn't know if Hank would remember his dad, Michael, had a son, if he would know that son had survived the crash.