Page 51 of Fighting the Forbidden

I know for a fact Aubrey says this to everyone she talks into doing a spot on their channel. But Sully lets us work out here for free in exchange for the promotional clips his fiancée shoots, so I don’t hold a little harmless flattery against Aubrey. The woman hustles hard to help her man make his business successful.

I’d like that kind of partnership with Molly one day. When I’m not thinking about when, where, and how to get my hands all over her again, I’ve been searching for the ’71 Malibu Molly wants to restore as our project car.

“Any time.” Remy runs his hands through his hair. “Just let me know so I can look my best.”

Aubrey’s mouth twitches. “You always look good, and you know it.”

He smirks at her, then lifts his chin at me. “I gotta head out. You good?”

“Yeah. Thanks, bro.” I hold out my hand and he pulls me in for a quick hug and slap on the shoulder.

“Catch you later.” He nods to Aubrey, then heads for the locker room.

“Speaking of the channel…” Aubrey glances over her shoulder toward the front door, then focuses on me again. “A woman stopped by looking for you.”

“Me? Here?” I swipe my towel over my face. “Who?”

“A Diane something.” Aubrey bites her lip. “She left a card. She’s from the city.”

“New York City?” Or did she mean Empire, the closest actual city to Johnsonville.

“Yup. She’s a television producer.”

“Why’s she looking for me?”

“Saw you in one of our videos. I looked her up. She’s legit. She’s putting together some kind of reality show for cage fighters.” Aubrey shrugs. “She specifically asked for Stonewall.” Not a surprise. For the public YouTube videos, available for anyone to see, I only ever use my ring name.

Aubrey slides her gaze toward Remy as he disappears into the locker room, then back to me. “She mentioned Remy, but she was the most interested in you.”

“Why? Remy’s a better fighter.”

A brief scowl flickers over her pretty face. “I’ve seen both of you in the ring. I’d say you’re evenly matched and skilled.”

The corner of my mouth quirks. “Is that your professional opinion?”

“Yup.”

Aubrey had never been to an underground fight in her life until I talked her into subbing in as a ring girl for us at The Castle. Sully still hasn’t forgiven me for involving her in our deviant business. But it gave him the nudge he needed to break his rule about dating his employees, so really, he should be thanking me.

Amused by her assessment, I ask, “What’d Sully think of someone coming here to recruit me?”

“He was impressed. Thought it was pretty cool.” She winks at me. “I think he’s proud of you.”

Sure he is. But I return her smile. “All right. Maybe I’ll give her a call.”

Aubrey’s nervous gaze darts around as if she’s about to impart some top-secret information. “I hope you won’t be mad, but I kind of gave her your workout schedule.”

“Why would I be mad about that? It’ll make things easier to talk to her here.”

She blows out a breath. “Good. She asked me for directions to where you guys fight ‘for real.’ She didn’t mention The Castle specifically, but I think that’s what she meant. I told her I had no idea what she was talking about.”

Aubrey might be a good girl engaged to a guy who hasn’t dirtied his knuckles in an underground fight since he was a teenager, but she’s not dumb. I trust her not to spill our secrets. “Thanks, Aubrey.”

Her lips quirk. “To be fair, if you told me a pot of gold was waiting for me at The Castle and handed me a map, I still probably couldn’t find my way out there again on my own, but…”

I snort with laughter. “You underestimate yourself.”

“You overestimate my sense of direction.” She laughs and backs away. “I’ll text you a pic of her card so you can reach out to her if you don’t run into her here.”

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