Page 20 of Havoc

“You were right on this one, Trigger.” He laughed. I turned to find the now familiar tatted-up biker who had talked to Ricky at the start of the tournament. He’d had front row seats at every fight. “Grim Gates, please meet the owner of the Lost Lives competition, and the president of the Devil’s Reach motorcycle club, Trigger.”

“Nice to meet you.” I reached out for a handshake, but he nodded instead, and I dropped my hand. I turned to Mr. Capri. “What was he right about?”

“We’re looking for someone we can trust, someone who can fight but not be bought or swayed in some way. So far, we haven’t been disappointed.”

“You didn’t bite when I offered you information on your competitors.” Another guy in a leather cut stepped up. The name Brick was stitched on it. “Even Rail couldn’t get ’em.” He pointed to a guy who puffed away on a cigarette. “He tried to bribe your trainer.”

“He’s smarter than that,” Ricky chimed in. “I trained him to fight here,” he held up his fists, “and here.” He tapped his head.

“We’ve established you’re here for the right reasons, so why do I feel like there's more?” I cocked my head at them.

“We're looking for a full-time fighter, a ringer, if you will.” Mr. Capri moved around the table and leaned against it. “Someone who will fight once a week against any challengers. It’s a way for us to make some money, of course, and to keep the tournament out there in front of people. It sounds like it could be a good fit for you. A way for you to have an outlet for inflicting pain without consequences.” He smiled.

“And one that won't land you behind bars either,” the president of the Devil’s Reach MC drawled.

That piqued my interest, and I took a moment to study the guy. Trigger. Then it hit me. I remembered that name. I’d heard about his days in the ring. He was a ruthless fighter. It was rumored he’d black out when he fought and often didn’t even remember the fight.

“Trigger will work with you when you train here, and when you’re in Vegas, Ricky can take over.”

“So, what do you say?” Brick grinned. “Wanna come play in the Devil’s playground?”

“When do we start?” I felt my addiction takeover.

Kenna

Sleep, a long shower, and a good breakfast perked me back up. I pushed down all the nervousness that was rooted deep in my stomach, because what choice did I have?

I hated to admit it, but I was pleased Grim wasn’t there when I woke. It gave me the chance to slip out after making the bed. We’d had a moment in the night that played over and over in my sleep, and though it was a nice distraction from the nightmares, it left me feeling strange. Like something had shifted slightly inside me. It was a foreign feeling and one I wasn’t sure I wanted to explore.

I was still a bit sore but felt much better, and that was good because people had started to notice my absence. It wasn’t like me to take time off, and I didn’t want to call any more attention to myself.

“You look better.” Minnie appeared next to me and made a show to check my outfit. “Nice to see the girls again. They needed some sunlight.” Her gaze went up and down my short, skin-colored dress. “I thought you were naked when I spotted you across the way.” She made a sad face. “But I see I was mistaken.”

“God, we’d make an excellent couple, wouldn’t we?” I smiled and threaded an arm through hers. I turned her so we could see our reflection in the glass. Then she turned so we could both admire her ass in her leather pants.

“Your tits and my ability to bend like a pretzel at almost forty would make us unstoppable.”

A blur of color and a sudden waft of weed came to us.

“It’s like every man’s fantasy.” Rail puffed out a cloud of smoke as he draped an arm around our shoulders. “Min, your man’s lookin’ for ya.”

“Duty calls.” She winked at me. “I want to talk later.”

“You know where I’ll be.”

“Fuck, all these gorgeous women.” Rail grinned. “I’m always sportin’ a hard-on.”

“How are you?” I swatted his shoulder as he patted his crotch.

“Nope, that’s my line.” He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out a fat joint. “Tess wanted you to have this. It’s her favorite. Called Dragon Butter.”

“Thanks,” I slipped it into my cleavage before anyone saw it, “and to answer your question, I’m fine. Rattled, a little sore, but better.”

“Grim told Trigger,” he whispered loudly. I reached out and pressed my fingers against his lips to stop his words.

“Rail, you can’t say that stuff. Whoever it is, they have people everywhere. They seem to know what I’m doing—hell, where we all are.” I forced myself not to look around.

“Fine, but that means now we all know,” he lowered his voice and held up a hand to stop my mini freakout, “which means Trigger wants to meet up tonight and make a plan and flush this fucker out.”

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