Page 12 of High Stakes

“Fuck,” one of them curses and slams against the wall. “They set them off early!”

“Are you fucking blowing this place?” I shout and get in his face, not letting him off the wall.

“Those were our orders. You don’t like it,” he jabs a finger into my chest and then shoves me backward, “take it up with the boss.”

Silas and Declan glare at the men as they shoulder the bags and disappear out the door. Another explosion rumbles and shifts the building. “They’re hitting it at the foundation. This place will be rubble before the night is over,” Declan snaps and grabs his brother’s arm. “Let’s go.”

We stalk through the hall and down the stairs as a cluster of small bombs go off somewhere above us, sending burning rubble cascading down the stairwell. The three of us push through the exit as smoke starts building up within the enclosed space. I cough a few times and rip the mask from my face, running a hand through my sweaty hair.

The building is fucked. I watch several people run and scramble around to get into cars and pull people to safety. The windows on the fourth floor shatter as flames erupt from within like an angry volcano. The night sky fills with smoke and ash as bombs continue to go off and the building is engulfed.

I watch the flames twist and dance, a bright glow against the otherwise dark and starless sky.

What the actual fuck just happened?

5

EMELIA

9 YEARS AGO

“Dig deep! Push through!” Diego yells at me. My eyes glance up and I see spit flying from his lips. His shouts fill the empty room and bounce off the exposed rafters overhead. “Don’t stop!” His passion is contagious.

I swing my arms furiously. My fists connect with the targets in rapid succession. One. Two. One. Two. One. Two. The heavy thud of my knuckles meeting resistance almost drowns out his constant instruction. I inhale through my nose and let my breath hiss out between my lips with each punch I land.

My arms are burning. My lungs are on fire. My eyes sting from the sweat dripping past my brow, but I don’t let up. I keep swinging.

“Jab! Cross! Right uppercut! Left body! Jab, jab, jab! Left hook! Cross, cross, cross!” He fires off combination after combination. “Watch your feet! Move with the punch. Use your body for momentum. Good!”

I shift my feet without looking down. I learned the hard way never to take your eyes off an opponent. I let my fists fly,crashing the knuckles of one fist into the target before following closely behind with the other.

Diego grins down at me and dances around the ring, moving the pads to different levels and angles. “One more minute!” He encourages me. He knows I’m getting tired. My arm strength is waning after so much exertion. “Finish strong, Phoenix, I know you can do it!”

I inhale deeply and let loose a guttural scream as I throw jabs and crosses at the pads on his hands. The timer echoes through the gym and I throw one more punch, a low kidney shot.

Diego deflects it with ease and smirks down at me. “Nice try, Little Phoenix. Better luck next time.” He removes the pads from his hands and drops them onto the floor by the heavy bags.

I huff out a response and start unwrapping my hands. We practice without gloves because in the real world, no one is going to have time to strap on boxing gloves while they’re being attacked.

“That was impressive,” a voice echoes through the gym. “For someone who wasn’t getting punched back.”

I glance up and narrow my eyes at Hector as he strolls into the room wearing black basketball shorts and a white tank top. His blond hair is gone, shaved to reveal a bare scalp with dark tattoos, and his sharp jawline has the faintest hint of a beard. He unshoulders his bag and drops it to the floor just outside the ring.

Diego scowls and opens his mouth to respond, but I just wave him off. “I’m still new at this. We’re starting slow, but if you’d like to volunteer…” I let my voice trail off and cut my eyes to Diego, who is grinning wickedly.

Hector holds up his hands and a look of unease flashes in his brown eyes. “I’m not game for hitting a girl,” he responds at once.

“Yeah but other people are. That’s why I’m training. You can pull your punches,” I offer with a sweet smile.

Hector rolls his eyes, but relents. “Fine. But one drop of blood and we’re done.” He wraps his hands quickly and pops in a mouth guard.

I rewrap my hands and take the mouth guard that Diego offers me. He leans forward so that only I can hear. “What are you doing, you devious little phoenix?”

“Having a bit of fun,” I respond lightly and duck under the ropes. I bounce on the balls of my feet with my hands up at my face, my fatigue and soreness forgotten for the moment. I’m always game to have a bit of fun and mess with the guys when the opportunity presents itself.

“Right,” Hector says and nervously shifts from foot to foot. His thumb comes up and he brushes his nose twice before cracking his neck. “No cock shots.”

I nod and shift so that my stance is notably off. “We can start off slow. Just a few bob-and-weaves to warm up.”

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