Page 9 of Ruthless Prince

“Get up!” Dimitri shouts, but the sound is muffled. Everything fades around me.

The Mountain doesn’t let me go until I black out.

When I wake up, I’m lying in the ring, staring up at the ceiling. The crowd cheers for the Mountain, who just won. I lost.

And in so doing, I lost Dimitri a shitload of money.

“You’re done,” Dimitri tells me through the rope. “Don’t come back to your apartment. It won’t be yours any longer.”

So, I’m officially homeless.

I should be more worried because my fighting reputation has just been ruined by the Mountain and I don’t have a home or money thanks to Dimitri.

I should be worried about it all.

And yet all I feel is … nothing.

Chapter

Three

VINCENT

All the money I earned over the years went straight into Igor’s pockets. The apartment I lived in was owned by him, and now, it belongs to Dimitri. That’s why he was able to kick me out.

All I have is a couple of bucks in my pocket. Enough to buy a cup of coffee in some shitty diner as I nurse the wounds I got from the Mountain.

A man slides into the seat next to me. “I hear you’re homeless now.”

I recognize the man. I met him the night Igor died. He has that pretty daughter … Ellie. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m looking for a fighter like you, Vincent.”

I snort. “I just lost a fight. The first fight I’ve lost in years. I was known as the unbeatable fighter, and look at me now.”

“Everything thought the Titanic was unsinkable, and yet it sunk. That didn’t stop other people from getting on other boats.”

“But it did stop people from getting on the Titanic since it’s at the bottom of the ocean. You don’t want me as a fighter. I’m fucked up right now.”

“That’s exactly why I want you. You’re a fierce fighter. You have a passion inside you I haven’t seen in most men. I want to sponsor you. You bring in money, I get a cut of it, and you can keep the rest. You can even come live with me.”

I push my cup away. “Why are you offering me this?” I worked under my father’s thumb for years, and I don’t want to work under another man’s thumb for the rest of my life.

But if I try fighting on my own, Dimitri will just find a way to steal it.

I really am fucked.

“I’m offering this because I see a lot of potential in you, Vincent. And if I’m being honest, I think we can make a lot of money together. What other options do you have?”

He has a point.

“I get to keep some of the money for myself?” I ask.

“You get to keep the majority of it. I’ll just take a percentage. This is a good deal, Vincent. You’re not going to get a better one.”

“What did you say your name was again?”

He extends his hand. “Mr. Moore.”

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