Page 160 of They Break Beauty

“That was a hell of a fight. You’re really bringing the wild tonight,” he said, slap-shaking with me, then tossing me a ratty towel to wipe my bloodied face. My eye was a little sore from a nasty hit I’d taken, and it was gonna leave one hell of a bruise. I’d wake up with a black eye tomorrow, no doubt. But it was nothing compared to what I’d sustained before during my training years.

And it certainly wasn’t enough to purge what I needed to tonight.

“Give me another,” I told Sammy.

“You sure?”

“You want to make money, or you want to worry about me?”

“Both, my friend.”

I tossed the towel back to him. “I’m fine. Hit me up.”

“All right.”

I turned away and strode back into the fight space.

It wasn’t two minutes before another guy joined me.

A guy about my size and a few years older with shaggy blond hair.

Sammy had just called the start of the fight when a sharp whistle rang out that stilled both my opponent and me.

I got a hell of a shock when I saw Brianna pushing through the riled up crowd.

I growled low in my throat when a bunch of them checked her out in her little pink skirt and her leather jacket, with a scoop neck hot-pink top beneath that did amazing justice to her breasts.

That antagonism was replaced by yet more shock when she stepped into the fight space and walked right up to my opponent.

I watched her slap a wad of bills into his hand and tell him something quietly.

He grinned happily, then gave her a chin lift and took off.

Then she moved into his place.

To take me on?

What was happening?

“Wildflower, what are you doing?”

“What do you think?” she bit back at me with an aggressive edge.

“I’m not fighting you. Ever. Step out.”

She stormed toward me instead.

“How could you?” she yelled irately.

No, it was more than anger. It was… pain.

Disappointment and hurt—in me?

“Brianna, what—”

Her fist came at my face, the surprise of it actually managing to make me stumble back a step. And, damn, she had a solid punch. There was a lot of power in it, no doubt.

“You took my friend from me! Another mindfuck? Seriously? After everything we’ve been through, everything we’d worked through, and you do this? It’s beyond fucked-up, Levi!”

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