Page 23 (1/1)

Before I knew it, it was Friday and I had to show up at Nassir’s club for the fight I hadn’t been in a knock-down, drag-out, blood-splattering, dirty-as-hell fight since the first year I was locked up Once you put down all the guys ere bigger than you out of sheer desperation, they stopped trying to take you down a peg In fact, they stopped trying to mess with you at all There were always scuffles and dustups, that was going to happen with a bunch of violentforti I had done since I was a teenager I hoped I could still take a beating and bounce back enough to function the next day

I was sy I would never admit to Nassir’s had turned froht club Instead of trendy kids filtering in froood time, it was now packed to the rafters with ory show I didn’t want to knohat the odds were I had caught just a glie, and there was no denying he was a ood inch on me, but was leaner and more cut I had a thick, bulky build that cauy looked like he had a trainer and a tea machine

“Nervous?” Nassir’s smooth voice scraped across my already frayed nerves as I looked down at the bare circle someone had drawn on the center of the factory floor with red spray paint No ring No pads Nothing but fists and blood It was a brutal way to make a buck

“No”

I looked overa tu reed to do it Seventy-five hundred is a fair chunk of change and I know you squirreled awayfor cash I thought maybe it was to save face in front of the redhead, but then you showed alone”

“I don’t have to save face for anyone”

“Ahhhbut she was different I’ve been around a long tie people There was soave him a dark look and opened and flexed my hands mechanically I had never been ht noishing I had a bottle of tequila and a dark rooet myself psyched up in I wrappedand watched the crowd below mill about More than half wantedas they got their payout at the end of the night It made my stomach hurt I didn’t want this scene to be what my life looked like anymore, but I doubted I would ever fully be rid of it

“She’s important to someone who’s important to me That makes her different”

“It’senough, and he either becoresses to all wild animal You went in wild, so that one, Baxter I can see it, and if I can see it, thatto see it and exploit it You need to be careful”

His words wormed underabout it, I grabbed the tu over the open railing to the crowded floor beloatched as it shattered on the ground, sending glass and expensive liquor in every direction and splattering the crowd Nassir clicked his tongue at me and squeezed me on my shoulder

“See what I nored me Good luck, ht I am not sure that is the case”

He turned toward the steps “You have ten a my head I squeezed alledlocked up Doing tiold and just madethey landed on was a shock of orange-and-red curls h the frantic and frenzied crowd I blinked because I thought I was hallucinating, but sure enough, she turned to look up, and our eyes locked A girl with a stylish blond bob put a hand on her shoulder and yelled so away fro, but it felt like longer Like her skin was paler, her eyes were smokier, her freckles more prominent across her pert little nose, and like she wasn’t sure what she was doing here either Her friend grabbed her elbow and pulled her out of the way as the other guy suddenly bounded into the center of the circle

A loud roar fro like a lunatic Shit, I bet he was hopped up on so veins and wild-eyed look he was sporting He ripped his black T-shirt off and threw it into the crowd, getting everyone even es of so under each eye like this was soer

Gru why Dovie was here, I went down the stairs and headed for where I had last seen her I didn’t need to look very hard because she waylaid me as soon as my booted feet hit the arettes, and handed the ataze

“I got a text saying if you were fighting, Race was bound to be here They even sent the code to get in that crazy purple door”

Her hands clutched aroundto be here It’s a setup They want you here so I’ll be distracted and that Hulk has a chance to cave ed “Novak That’s way too sed me to no end that I was actually happy to see her I really liked the stubborn tilt of her chin and the messy waves of her endless hair I pulled my shirt off over aze drop to ht think I was scum and question my motives, but she was hot for me, no doubt about it