Page 22 of Repairing the Wreckage

Twenty minutes later, I slip out of the house, carrying a bag of food. Feeling like a criminal, I walk a wide circle around the pool, hoping to avoid the cameras. I clear a row of low hedges and dip into a garden area with trees and flowering bushes that provide privacy.

Seems like the perfect setup. Make us think we’re safe from the microphones and cameras, then catch us talking strategy.

This place is turning me into a paranoid lunatic.

Venom’s sitting cross-legged in the grass, head tilted toward the sky, eyes closed.

Not sure how the fighter will react to being startled, I clear my throat while I’m still out of striking range.

He slowly opens his eyes and lowers his chin. A faint smile ghosts his face. “Feels good to touch grass after being cooped up all morning.”

“It does.” I wiggle my toes in the thick, cool, green carpet.

He gracefully stands, then plops onto one of the picnic benches. I drop the bags of food on the table and start pulling items out of my bag.

If nothing else, the show feeds us well. We’re able to ask for whatever we want and usually have it by the next mealtime. We still have to prepare it ourselves. No fancy chefs or anything like that. But I’ve been feeding myself since I was eight. Some of the other guys have never seen the inside of a kitchen and it shows.

I hand Venom a round container of salmon, quinoa, and sweet potatoes that he measured and prepared last night. It’s cold but he doesn’t seem to care.

“Thanks.” He rips off the lid and grabs a fork.

I dig into my own container of spinach, chicken, and hard-boiled eggs.

“Kelly makes this for me all the time.” Venom taps his fork against the pink fillet of fish. “She does it much better.”

The mention of his wife brings a stab of unease to my chest. It must show on my face.

“We don’t have long. Tell me what’s going on?” Venom asks.

I take a deep breath. What’s the worst that could happen? They kick me off the show for telling Venom? No, they could kick both of us off the show.

I lean across the table and lower my voice, forcing him to lean in too. “If I tell you, it could get us both sent home.” I stare him dead in the eyes so he understands I’m serious. “Still want to know?”

His eyes narrow slightly. A flicker of concern creases his brow before he masks it with a casual chin lift. “Spill.”

So, I tell him everything I learned from Remy, leaving out the part about Molly destroying her car.

He sits back, takes a sip of coconut water and stares at me. “How’d they let you talk to your friend?”

Fuck, now I have to explain about the car and the cops being called.

Slowly, I unravel the whole story.

“Fuuuck.” Venom’s jaw tightens and he stares at the table. “No wonder Kelly’s been weird on all our calls. I thought she was just anxious because we’re being recorded.”

“She probably doesn’t like you makin’ friends with a lowlife who cheats on his girlfriend.”

He grunts but doesn’t agree or disagree. “Did Remy say if they showed anyone else in the house hooking up with the bunnies?”

“Honestly, I was too fucking pissed to ask.”

“Don’t blame you.” He frowns and doesn’t say anything for a few beats. “I knew this was probably bullshit. Especially after the girls showed up. But I thought that might be a side story, not the main event.”

“Same.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re kinda fucked.”

“Thanks. That hadn’t occurred to me.” I stab my fork into a piece of chicken and shove it in my mouth, chewing viciously.

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